One pot roast chicken and veggie couscous

Slow baked in the oven, this roast chicken on couscous is a complete meal for the whole family.

This is not your average roast chicken. My roast chicken with couscous is a whole meal baked in one pot - including vegetables!  The best part about this dish is how everything cooks in the juices of the chicken. Such a flavoursome way to cook and also, minimise the dishes. This is one of my favourite chicken dinners.

I bought my chicken on special at Countdown. It was filled with a herb and couscous stuffing but you could use any chicken for this meal, it doesn't need to be flavoured or stuffed. You can use whatever vegetables you have on hand that are in season. I made this in summer so the tomatoes and courgette were grown from my garden. 

How to make roast chicken with couscous:

To begin, switch the oven on to 180°C fanbake. In the bottom of a large cast iron casserole dish add the red onion wedges and lemon halves then drizzle with olive oil. Place the chicken on top and bake covered, for one hour. Remove the dish from the oven, take the chicken out and stir through the remaining vegetables. Place the chicken back on top and bake uncovered for another 30 to 45 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.

Remove the chicken and place on a board to rest covered with tinfoil. Pour chicken stock and couscous over the vegetables and stir. Then, replace the lid and bake the vegetable and couscous mix in the oven for 5 more minutes. Remove the dish from the oven, stir and leave on the bench, covered, while the couscous absorbs all the liquid. Cut the chicken into pieces. Serve on top of the roast vegetables and couscous with lemon wedges and a dressing of your choice.

If you love one pot meals as much as me, be sure to check out these no-fuss recipes for Beef Ragu and Lamb Shanks. 

COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT roast chicken and couscous:

What would make a good dressing for this meal? A great dressing would be the tzatziki from my Lamb and Haloumi Wraps recipe. It's made from greek yoghurt, lemon juice, cucumber and mint.

Can I use any whole chicken? Absolutely. I used a stuffed and flavoured chicken because it was on special! But a plain whole chicken would work well too. Just be sure to season it with some salt and pepper before you cook it. Chicken drumsticks, thighs or marylands would also work well just adjust the cooking time and add the vegetables at the start. 

Where is my cast iron casserole dish from? It is the Oval casserole dish from KitCo by Pepper & Me. Such amazing quality and a great price. 

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Roast chicken and veggie couscous

Yield: 4 serves

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 50 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours 5 minutes

A slow cooked meal of chicken, vegetables and couscous that's baked in the one dish.

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Ingredients

• 1 red onion, sliced into wedges
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 whole chicken
• 1 lemon, halved
• 2 courgettes, chopped
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 red pepper, sliced
• 200g cherry tomatoes
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 cup couscous
• Lemon wedges to serve

Instructions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C fanbake.
2. In the bottom of a large cast iron casserole dish add the red onion wedges and drizzle with olive oil. Cut the lemon in half then place the chicken on top.
3. Roast covered for one hour then remove the dish from the oven and take out chicken. 
4. Stir the courgette, carrot, red pepper and tomatoes through the chicken juices and onions. Place the chicken back on top and bake uncovered for another 30 to 45 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
5. Remove chicken and place on a board to rest covered with tinfoil. 
6. Squeeze the juice from the roasted lemon halves in to the pot and discard. Pour chicken stock and couscous over the vegetables and stir, cover and bake for 5 more minutes. 
7. Remove dish from the oven, stir and leave to sit on the bench covered while the couscous absorbs all of the liquid. 
8. Cut chicken into pieces. Serve on top of the roast vegetables and couscous with lemon wedges and a dressing of your choice.

Notes

• A creamy yoghurt, mint and cucumber dressing would go so well with these flavours. Check out the one I have used in my Lamb and Haloumi Wraps.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 564Total Fat: 25gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 16gCholesterol: 133mgSodium: 227mgCarbohydrates: 36gFiber: 5gSugar: 8gProtein: 48g

Nutritional values are approximate. Please use your own calculations if you require a special diet.

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