You will love this easy one-dish dinner with baked chicken, eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, basil, and olives. This is a healthy, rustic-style Mediterranean chicken dinner that the whole family will love.
This Mediterranean chicken bake is Paleo, Whole30, Keto and Gluten-Free.
This easy chicken dinner is full of fresh Mediterranean style produce such as eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, olives and basil. The succulent chicken is simply marinated in lemon, garlic and olive oil.
These are some of my favourite ingredients, the fresh simple flavours work so well together........
This Mediterranean chicken bake makes a great dish for entertaining. It is very simple to make, is always a crowd-pleaser and is suitable for your Paleo or Keto friends.
It does not require much preparation if you are short on time, just whip up the marinade and leave for as long as you have.
Anything that you can bake in one dish and quickly put in the oven without numerous pots and pans is always a bonus when entertaining. And let's face it fewer dishes is always a good thing!
What should I serve with Mediterranean Chicken Bake?
- If I'm making this just for my family then we eat it as is, or sometimes with a side of simple greens such as spinach or rocket leaves with a dash of balsamic vinegar.
- If you are entertaining or need it to go further then this chicken bake will work well with any type of side salad, roasted potatoes, baked polenta chips, or with a side of quinoa or couscous.
Additional Recipe Notes
- I have marinated the chicken for an hour for extra flavour, if you are short on time you can just quickly marinate it and leave it for 5 min, this recipe will still work however the longer you can leave the chicken marinating the better.
- You can use any type of olives in this recipe, I used pitted kalamata olives which go well with the Mediterranean-style flavours.
Love Food Nourish Nutrition Tips
I love olives and love to eat them on their own or put them in savoury dishes where I can. Not only do they taste good they bring a great depth of flavour to various dishes, they also are very nutritious!
- Olives are so commonly used for their delicious healthy oil but their remarkable health benefits from using them in their whole form are often overlooked. Olive skins are high in phytonutrients and olives have been shown to have excellent antioxidant benefits (source).
- Olives are also a source of vitamin E and contain amounts of selenium and zinc.
If you are looking for other healthy dinner recipes you may like to try.....
Hot Smoked Salmon Salad with Egg & Mustard Potatoes
Vietnamese Summer Roll Salad with Spicy Peanut Dressing
One Pan Chicken with Chorizo and Veggies
I hope you enjoy this recipe! Please let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
For more tasty recipes and to see what I’ve been getting up to you can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest or Twitter.
Have a lovely week!
Hope
(This recipe for Mediterranean Chicken Bake was originally published on Love Food Nourish in October 2016, this post has been updated for user experience)
Mediterranean Chicken Bake
A rustic style chicken dinner full of Mediterranean flavours. Succulent marinated chicken with Mediterranean style produce all cooked in the one dish.
This recipe is Paleo, Keto, Whole30 and Gluten Free.
Ingredients
Chicken Marinade:
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- Β½ teaspoon salt
- Β½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Main Dish:
- 8 chicken drumsticks
- Β½ eggplant, medium size
- 1 zucchini, medium size
- ΒΎ cup cherry tomatoes
- Β½ cup fresh basil leaves
- ΒΌ cup pitted kalamata olives
- 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped.
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- About 1 tablespoon olive oil to drizzle over top
- Salt and Pepper to add over top
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F.
- Next make the marinade: Crush garlic, add lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper to bowl and mix together. Add the chicken drumsticks into a large dish and pour the marinade over top of the chicken. Ensure the drumsticks are evenly coated. Cover and leave to marinade for 1 hour.
- Slice the Β½ eggplant in half again lengthwise and then cut each quarter evenly into vertical strips - about 4mm in width (or roughly just under ΒΌ inch).
- Cut the zucchini in half and then slice each half length-ways into thin vertical strips - about 3mm or β inch in width.
- Remove the chicken drumsticks from the marinade and place drumsticks in a large baking or casserole dish. Drizzle the remainder of the marinade over the chicken drumsticks.
- Place the chicken in the oven and cook for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes remove the chicken from the oven. Add the eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, garlic cloves, olives and half of the basil evenly around each drumstick.
- Drizzle olive oil over top of chicken and vegetables and sprinkle salt, pepper and oregano over entire dish. Place the dish back in the oven and cook for another 30 minutes.
- Remove after 45 minutes. The juices from the chicken should be clear - if not cook for another 5-10 minutes.
- Add the remainder of the fresh basil to the dish and serve.
Notes
- I have marinated the chicken for an hour for extra flavour. If you
are short on time you can just quickly marinade it and leave it for 5 minute. The dish will still work but the longer you can marinade the better. The above additional time is for the marinade time. - You can use any type of olives in this recipe, I used pitted kalamata olives.
Nutrition Information
Yield 4 Serving Size 4Amount Per Serving Calories 518Total Fat 32gSaturated Fat 7gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 23gCholesterol 231mgSodium 601mgCarbohydrates 11gNet Carbohydrates 7.7gFiber 3gSugar 4gProtein 46g
This nutritional information is an estimate only and is provided as a courtesy to readers. It was auto-generated based on serving size, number of servings, and typical information for the ingredients listed in the recipe card. Please feel free to use your preferred nutrition calculator. Please consult your doctor about any specific dietary requirements.
Raia Todd says
I love the deep colors in this dish! With all those olives and tomatoes, I'm sure it will be one my family will enjoy.
Hope Pearce says
Thanks Raia! Yes it is a family favourite π
Emily @ Recipes to Nourish says
This just screams summer! So beautiful and vibrant! My family would love this.
Hope Pearce says
Thanks so much Emily! π
Joni Gomes says
Oh man, this looks good and juicy! Love all the brown bits that happen in the oven! Mega Flavor!
Hope Pearce says
Thanks Joni! Yes it is full of some of my favourite flavours π
Lindsey Dietz says
This is rustic summer perfection.
Hope Pearce says
Thank you Lindsey π
Yang says
Oh, I love this one pan dinner, Hope! Bet it tastes really good. I used to not like olives, now I can eat those kalamatas on anything - they really add so much flavour!
Hope Pearce says
Thanks Yang, me too, nothing better than only having one pan to wash up! Yes not everyone likes olives, I am a massive fan - I could eat them all day - I just love their strong flavour! I'm glad you enjoy them now π
linda spiker says
Mediterranean meals are my favorite! So many good flavors in there.
Hope Pearce says
They are one of mine too! Thanks Linda π
Renee D Kohley says
You had me at one pan dinner! I love the olives in there - definitely a favorite of mine! Yum!
Hope Pearce says
Thanks Renee - yes I'm a big olive fan too! π
Jean says
Love all the flavors and healthy ingredients in this! I love Mediterranean spices and this is definitely my kinda recipe.
Hope Pearce says
Thanks so much Jean! π
Tessa Simpson says
So simple, and the smell while it baked was heavenly!
Hope Pearce says
Thanks Tessa,I'm glad you enjoyed it π
Megan Stevens says
I didn't realize how healthy olives are! I love these flavors and look forward to making!
Hope Pearce says
Thanks Megan!
paleoglutenfreeguy says
Yesss. Eggplant is such an underrated vegetable and these are the perfect ingredients to pair it with. Love this idea!
Hope Pearce says
Thank you, yes totally - I love eggplant, it is so versatile!
Kelly says
You put so many of my favorite ingredients in here. Can't wait to dig in!
Hope Pearce says
Thanks Kelly, I hope you enjoy this recipe π
Anne Lawton says
I love one pan dinners and especially ones like this that are full of fresh wholesome food and of course the olives!
Hope Pearce says
Thanks Anne, one pan dinners are the best aren't they ? π
Rachel says
I tried to make this and a lot of water came out-- so the whole thing is just swimming like a soup. What did I do wrong?
Hope Pearce says
Hi Rachel, sorry I'm not sure what has caused this - I have made this dish numerous times and it has never come out like a soup. The chicken releases juices as do the vegetables so there sill be juice in the bottom of the pan but never like a soup - the dish always looks like the photo you see above. Could it be the quality of chicken you are using? I can't say for sure, I don't know where you are based...I am in New Zealand but I do know that some chicken can be injected with a lot of water and this can vary country to country....
Maybe try using organic chicken if you make it again, and also check that the dish you are using is not too over crowded. You can also try searing the drumsticks first in a pan, (I have never had to do that when making it) but that may be worth a try if the chicken you are using is too "watery".
Sherry Rice says
Are we supposed to add the olives in Step 7? The recipe doesn't say.
Hope Pearce says
Oops sorry this was missed, yes in step 7, I have amended in the instructions.
Vanessa says
Hi Hope
Iβm making this tonight. I would like to substitute breasts or thighs for the drumsticks - which do you recommend?
Also with the cooking time remain the same?
Hope Pearce says
Hi Vanessa, apologies for the delay I cannot always respond to comments straight away... I have only made this recipe with drumsticks, I am not sure it will work as well with chicken breasts. You should be able to replace the recipe with thighs easily with the around the same cook time, possibly 5 to 10 min longer. Check a piece before eating, cut into it and check if the juices are running clear.