Chicken and vegetables in a bag is an easy, flavorful dinner made with juicy chicken, tender potatoes and vegetables all cooked together in one oven safe bag.
From the recipe collection of Tara Ippolito
Chicken and vegetables in an oven bag is one of those incredibly easy dinners that gives you a ton of flavor without a lot of work. Everything cooks together in the bag, keeping the chicken juicy while the vegetables soak up all those delicious seasonings and juices.
I especially love this recipe for busy weeknights or when I just don’t feel like dealing with a sink full of dishes. It’s hearty, comforting and made with simple ingredients the whole family will love.
Why You’ll Love It
- Easy cleanup: Everything cooks together in one oven bag, so cleanup is super simple.
- So flavorful: The chicken, vegetables, butter, broth and seasonings all cook together, creating tons of flavor.
- Complete meal: You’ve got your protein, potatoes and vegetables all in one recipe.
- Great for busy nights: Prep everything, add it to the bag and let the oven do the rest.
Ingredients
Here’s everything you need to make this delicious dinner. You can find the measurements and instructions on the recipe card below.
- Baby Potatoes: Halve them so they cook until nice and tender along with the chicken.
- Chicken: Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and/or drumsticks stay juicy and flavorful while they cook.
- Carrots: Add a little sweetness and make this meal extra hearty.
- Celery: Adds great savory flavor to the vegetables and cooking juices.
- Onion: Slice or chop it into larger pieces so it holds up well during cooking.
- Fresh Garlic: Gives the chicken and vegetables lots of delicious garlic flavor.
- Olive Oil: Helps coat everything and allows the seasonings to stick.
- Butter: Adds richness to the chicken, vegetables and sauce that develops inside the bag.
- Chicken Broth: Adds moisture and creates a flavorful cooking liquid.
- Worcestershire Sauce: Adds a little extra savory depth.
- Salt and Pepper: Essential for seasoning everything.
- Garlic Powder: Adds another layer of garlic flavor.
- Onion Powder: Gives the seasoning blend extra savory flavor.
- Paprika: Adds flavor and a little color to the chicken.
- Italian Seasoning: An easy way to add lots of herbs and flavor.
- Dried Parsley: Adds a mild herby flavor and some color.
- Oven-Safe Cooking Bag: Be sure to use a bag specifically designed for oven cooking and follow the package directions for preparing and venting it.
How to Make It
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and prepare the oven bag according to the package directions. Place it into a large baking or roasting pan. Add the potatoes, carrots, celery and onion to the prepared oven bag. Add the chicken and fresh garlic. Drizzle everything with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, Italian seasoning and dried parsley. Add the chicken broth and Worcestershire sauce, then place the pieces of butter throughout the bag.
- Carefully move everything around inside the bag so the chicken and vegetables are evenly coated in the seasonings. Arrange the chicken so it sits mostly on top of the vegetables with the skin facing up. Close and vent the oven bag according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
- Place the pan onto the center rack of the oven and bake for about 60–75 minutes, or until the vegetables are fork tender and the chicken reaches a safe internal temperature of at least 165°F. For additional color on the chicken, carefully open the bag for the last 10–15 minutes of cooking, if permitted by your oven bag’s instructions. Let the chicken rest for about 5 minutes, then carefully remove it and the vegetables from the bag and serve with some of the flavorful juices spooned over the top.
Pro Tips
- Cut the potatoes and carrots into similar-sized pieces so everything cooks evenly.
- Keep the chicken skin-side up so it gets as much color as possible.
- Don’t cut the vegetables too small because they’ll be cooking for about an hour.
- Always follow the directions on your specific brand of oven bag for closing, venting and safely opening the bag.
- Be very careful when opening the bag because hot steam will escape.
- Chicken is safe at 165°F, but bone-in thighs and drumsticks can become even more tender when cooked a little beyond that temperature.
- Spoon some of those juices from the bottom of the bag over the chicken and vegetables before serving. They’re packed with flavor.
Variations
- Use different vegetables: Green beans, mushrooms or chunks of sweet potato would all be delicious.
- Make it spicy: Add cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper flakes to the seasoning blend.
- Change the seasoning: Try Cajun seasoning, ranch seasoning or your favorite poultry seasoning blend.
- Add lemon: Add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice before serving to brighten everything up.
- Use all thighs or all drumsticks: There’s no need to use a combination. Choose whichever pieces your family likes best.
What to Serve With It
This is already a complete meal with chicken, potatoes and vegetables, so you really don’t need much else. A simple salad or garlic bread would all be great if you’d like something extra.
Can This Be Made Ahead Of Time?
You can chop the vegetables and prepare your seasonings ahead of time. For food-safety reasons, keep the raw chicken refrigerated and assemble everything according to your oven-bag manufacturer’s instructions when you’re ready to cook.
Storage & Reheating
Store leftover chicken and vegetables in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3–4 days.
To reheat, place everything in an oven-safe baking dish with a little of the leftover cooking liquid and warm it at 350°F until heated through. Individual portions can also be reheated in the microwave.
Other Easy Chicken Dinners
Sometimes a nicely done chicken dinner really hits the spot! I've rounded up all my Best Chicken Dinner Recipes so you can find then easily in one place. I highly recommend my Crockpot Chicken & Noodles. Its one of the most popular recipes on my site.
Chicken and Vegetables In A Bag Recipe
Equipment
- Oven Safe Bag
Ingredients
- 3-4 Bone In, Skin On Chicken Thighs
- 3-4 Bone In, Skin On Chicken Legs
- 1 Pound Baby Potatoes, halved
- 3 Large Carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
- 2 Large Stalks Celery, cut into chunks
- 1 Large Onion, cut into chunks
- 4 Cloves Garlic, minced
- 2 Tbs Olive Oil
- 4 Tbs Butter, cut into pieces
- ½ Cup Chicken Broth
- 1 Tbs Worcestershire Sauce
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ teaspoon Paprika
- 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
- 1 teaspoon Dried Parsley
- 1 Large Oven Safe Cooking Bag
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and prepare the oven bag according to the package directions. Place it into a large baking or roasting pan.
- Add the potatoes, carrots, celery and onion to the prepared oven bag. Add the chicken and fresh garlic.
- Drizzle everything with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, Italian seasoning and dried parsley.
- Add the chicken broth and Worcestershire sauce, then place the pieces of butter throughout the bag. Carefully move everything around inside the bag so the chicken and vegetables are evenly coated in the seasonings. Arrange the chicken so it sits mostly on top of the vegetables with the skin facing up.
- Close and vent the oven bag according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Place the pan onto the center rack of the oven and bake for about 60–75 minutes, or until the vegetables are fork tender and the chicken reaches a safe internal temperature of at least 165°F. For additional color on the chicken, carefully open the bag for the last 10–15 minutes of cooking, if permitted by your oven bag’s instructions.
- Let the chicken rest for about 5 minutes, then carefully remove it and the vegetables from the bag and serve with some of the flavorful juices spooned over the top.
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