Nadiya's One-Pan Peanut Chicken Bake

Published April 24, 2021

As I recommended in my post 4 Netflix Shows for Foodies, Nadiya’s Time to Eat became my favorite Netflix cooking show. She makes time-friendly recipes using a blend of homemade and short-cut ingredients for recipes that are flavorful and easy.

I followed Nadiya’s recipe and made her raspberry cheesecake croissants — which were a hit — so I knew I wanted to test out her savory recipes as well.

So for this week’s blog I’m making Nadiya’s one-pan peanut chicken bake.

Ingredients for Nadiya’s One-Pan Peanut Chicken Bake

I already had most of the ingredients for this recipe. Since I didn’t have fresh cilantro, I substituted fresh parsley as a garnish.

I went to the store to buy the green curry paste, which is an ingredient I never used before. I found the Thai Kitchen Green Curry Paste jar within the Asian speciality ingredients of my local grocery store. I used the whole jar for this recipe, which was about 4 tablespoons.

Nadiya uses homemade peanut butter and homemade green curry paste. I used my everyday smooth Skippy peanut butter instead.

How to Make Nadiya’s One-Pan Peanut Chicken Bake

Tools for the Dish

• A pot of water and a spider-strainer for cooking the gnocchi

  • A medium bowl for the gnocchi once cooked

• A cutting board and knife

• Measuring spoons and bowls (for the peanut sauce ingredients)

• A 10x14 baking dish

  • If you have an equivalent-sized, oven-safe dish feel free to use that.

    • Note that if your tray is shorter with taller sides, you will have a thicker layer of the ingredients, which means you may need to bake it longer to ensure everything heats through. Use the internal temperature of the chicken as your gauge.

• A rubber spatula or spoon for mixing the sauce and folding the ingredients together

• Tin foil

  • Nadiya did not use tin foil when baking. However, after 30 minutes I felt that covering the tray would help it bake faster. I uncovered my tray for the last 5-10 minutes to help it brown.

Cooking Notes

The Baking Time

I had a generous layer of ingredients for my one-pan peanut chicken bake. I was nervous as I popped it in the oven that it would actually be cooked within 30 minutes.

Everyone’s oven is different, and I’m not sure if Nadiya’s oven uses a stronger setting, but my dish was not cooked at the 30 minute mark. I covered it with tin foil and cooked it an additional 30 minutes.

It was difficult to use the color of the chicken as a gauge of whether it was cooked, since it was coated in peanut sauce. I used a thermometer and confirmed it was done. I removed the tin foil and tried to brown the top of the dish for an additional 10 minutes, for some extra color.

I would recommend that you check your chicken at the 30 and 45 minute mark to see if it is cooked. Everyone’s oven is different and depending on the size of the pan you use, your dish may need more or less time. I selected a 10x14 pan, because it would have a thinner layer of ingredients distributed for baking. If you select a shorter pan with taller sides, then you should take into consideration that the cooking time may need to be adjusted because your ingredients are in a thicker layer.

The Final Product

I wouldn’t change anything about the flavor of this dish!

At first I was hesitant about the amount of curry paste for this recipe, and whether it would be too spicy for me. But I stuck to Nadiya’s instructions and added the full amount of curry paste, honey, peanut butter, and oil.

In the end, the peanut sauce was amazing! There was a whisper of heat and an echo of peanut butter flavor.

I sprinkled some extra salt and lime juice on top of my individual serving for a pop of flavor.

Recipe Score

I give Nadiya’s one-pan peanut chicken bake a 10/10. This recipe expanded my comfort zone with new flavors and ingredients for an easy one-pan meal.

• Recipe Level

  • Easy: I would consider this recipe to be easy. Most of your time will be spent chopping ingredients. However, since this recipe is mixed and baked within one pan, I would consider it easy to follow.

• Ingredients

  • You should be able to find these ingredients at your local grocery store, even if you’ve never worked with them before.

• Prep

  • Besides preheating the oven, most of your prep time will be spent measuring your ingredients and chopping the broccoli, onions, and chicken.
    
    I would not consider using frozen broccoli as I’m not sure how the texture would change when baking (and if it would become mushy). I would also keep the red onion instead of substituting for white or yellow. As it bakes, the flavor will change and it pairs well with the peanut sauce!

• Flavor

  • 10/10: I’m not a fan of red onions, so I was hesitant to add cubed onion chunks to this chicken bake, but in the end the onion was delicious! Baking the red onion took away that sharp flavor and made it sweet and enjoyable.
    
    Despite the hour baking time, my chicken was moist and the peanut sauce was creamy. It thinned out to coat all of the vegetables and the gnocchi, which I was surprised, still had a chewy texture (not mushy, despite being cooked beforehand). The broccoli was al dente, which is why I recommend using fresh instead of frozen or precooked.
    
    For someone who doesn’t like spicy food, this dish had a soft heat that didn’t numb my mouth. It paired well with the bright lime juice and crunchy peanuts. I would love to use fresh cilantro next time, though my parsley leaves sufficed for the garnish.

K. Martinelli Makes Nadiya’s One-Pan Peanut Chicken Bake

Looking for more dinner recipes?

Click here to browse my other entree recipes or leave a comment if you’ve made Nadiya’s recipe!