Smoked Paprika Chicken and Potatoes. In about 90 minutes you can serve this amazing comfort food meal. You’ll love this succulent roasted smoked paprika chicken with thyme on a bed of crispy roasted potatoes.
I certainly do talk a lot about meal planning, make ahead shortcuts and Quick And Easy Meals here on Rock Recipes. These are all essentials in getting dinner on the table, while eating real food and probably most of all, keeping it interesting.
It can get pretty hard mustering some dinner enthusiasm from the family if there’s always the “same old, same old” meals in your menu rotation.
That’s why I enjoy making lots of variations of things like roast chicken. Lemon and herb or sage butter roast chicken or even my recent success with Asian Spice Brined Roast Chicken are all good examples of making essentially the same dish while keeping the flavours varied and interesting.
Roast chicken doesn’t necessarily come under the banner of a Quick and Easy meal but it doesn’t have to be an all day affair either. This brings us to this utterly delicious smoked paprika chicken version which is cooked on top of a bed of roasted potatoes in only about 90 minutes.
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Looking for more tasty chicken dinner ideas? Be sure to check out this newly updated collection of Our Top Ten Chicken Dinners from more than a decade online. These have been made literally millions of times and get the best reviews from our followers.
Some tips for preparing this meal.
I roast two half chickens or chicken pieces on top of the potatoes. Not only does this provide crispy potatoes as a side dish, it also allows for good air circulation around the meat allowing it to roast quickly and evenly.
I find it works best to give the potatoes a bit of a head start to crisp up before turning them and then adding the chicken. That also gives the chicken a few extra minutes to marinate in the spices and absorb all that delicious flavour.
I can tell you that when Spouse and I cooked this for dinner last night with the kids, there was not a single morsel left on the serving platter. We polished off the entire lot!
I expect this one will become a family favourite for many Rock Recipes followers.
Get all my tips for Perfect Roast Potatoes here.
Originally published Sept 2014. Updated Oct 2020.
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Smoked Paprika Chicken and Potatoes
Smoked Paprika Chicken and Potatoes. In about 90 minutes you can serve this amazing comfort food meal of succulent roasted smoked paprika chicken with thyme on a bed of crispy roasted potatoes.
Ingredients
- 3 lb fresh chicken or chicken pieces
For the spice paste rub
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/2 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp granulated garlic
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
- 1 tsp dry thyme
For the potatoes
- 2 lbs russet potatoes
- 4-6 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 head garlic cloves, unpeeled
- salt and pepper to season
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, optional
Instructions
To prepare the chicken
- Cut the chicken in half by removing the backbone and splitting through the breast bone. (or use large chicken pieces)
- Pat the chicken dry with paper towels.
- Mix all the ingredients in the spice paste rub together and rub it liberally all over the chicken. Let it marinate in the fridge while you get the potatoes ready, or even overnight if you want to plan ahead.
To prepare the potatoes.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Heat a 9x13 (or similar size) roasting pan or dish in the oven at the same time.
- Peel the potatoes and cut them into 3 inch chunks if they are large.
- Boil for 5 minutes in salted water before draining all the water off.
- Return the potatoes to the pot, put the cover back on and give the pot a few good shakes to rough up the surface of the potatoes. This helps them get crispier. Let them steam off for 5 minutes.
- Add a pinch of salt and pepper along with the olive oil and garlic cloves and the smoked paprika if you are using it. Toss together well to coat the potatoes in the oil.
- Working quickly, take the hot pan from the oven and add the contents of the potato pot to it. The potatoes should sizzle as they hit the pan. this ensures they wont stick. Get them back into the hot oven immediately and cook for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes turn the potatoes once and place the chicken pieces, skin side up, on top of them. Return the pan to the oven for 45 to 60 minutes depending on the size of your chicken pieces, until the chicken is fully cooked. It should be nicely browned and the internal temperature of the largest pieces should be at least 170-175 degrees F on a meat thermometer.
- Let the chicken rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Nutrition Information
Yield
4Serving Size
1 servingAmount Per Serving Calories 796Total Fat 34gSaturated Fat 5gUnsaturated Fat 0gCholesterol 218mgSodium 990mgCarbohydrates 43gFiber 4gSugar 2gProtein 78g
Stephanie
Thursday 23rd of July 2015
I have done this with bone in chicken pieces before. With great success. Do you think I could do it with chicken wings and potatoes in the same roasting pan?
Barry C. Parsons
Monday 3rd of August 2015
Maybe give the potatoes a bit of a head start. They might cook too quickly before the potatoes crisp up....but worth a try.
Baker Barb
Monday 29th of September 2014
I made this for supper tonight using bone-in thighs and it was fantastic! Very easy to make, instructions were excellent and very flavourful. We were all impatient to eat based on the smells coming out of the oven. We were not disappointed - YUM!!!
Barry C. Parsons
Monday 29th of September 2014
So glad you liked it Barb. Our family loves this recipe too. It quickly became a much requested dinner.