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 my local supermarket. 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
A slow cooked meal of chicken, vegetables and couscous that's baked in the one dish.
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
- Preheat the oven to 180°C fan bake.
- 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.
- Roast, covered, for one hour then remove the dish from the oven. Take the chicken out and put it on a plate.
- Add the courgette, carrot, red pepper and tomatoes to the dish, mix to combine. Place the chicken and any resting juices back on top of the vegetables, then 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.
- Squeeze the juice from the roasted lemon halves into the dish, then discard. Pour the chicken stock and couscous over the vegetables and stir to combine. Cover and bake for 5 more minutes.
- Remove the dish from the oven, stir and leave to sit on the bench covered while the couscous absorbs all of the liquid.
- Cut the chicken into pieces. Serve immediately on top of the roast vegetables and couscous with fresh lemon 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: 1Amount 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.
Gwen says
Hi, do you have to add the couscous, can you leave it out
VJ cooks says
Hi Gwen, you could leave this step out 🙂
Jenny says
Hi, Could you do this recipe in a slow cooker?
VJ cooks says
I haven't tried that sorry. The process involves adding and removing ingredients over time which you would need to be present for. Plus I think the chicken roast better in the oven.
Lucinda says
Looks like such a great, healthy and easy meal. I can't eat couscous but was thinking of substituting with quinoa. Do you think that would work?
VJ cooks says
Hi Lucinda. Unfortunately quinoa takes much longer to cook than couscous so this process wouldn't work. You could cook the quinoa separately in another pot then add it in at the end, but it sort of defeats the purpose of a one pot meal.
Helen says
Can I use a Muscovy duck instead of chicken?
VJ cooks says
I've never cooked with Muscovy duck sorry! I'm sure it will be fine, you might just have to alter the cook time depending on the size of the bid.
Karen says
Wondering what I was going to do with some chicken thighs tonight, and up pops this posted on Facebook! Just used the thighs instead of the whole chicken. Didn't have courgettes, so added some broccoli instead. Recommend adding the suggested tzatziki, it was the perfect dressing!
Elin says
Hi does this dish freeze well?
VJ cooks says
I haven't tried that, I think it would be too soggy.
Jane says
Can you use pearl couscous
VJ cooks says
Pearl couscous ins much bigger therefore it takes longer to cook. You would either need to cook it in advance, or add it with more liquid and a longer cook time - neither of which I've tried sorry.