Syn Free Lemon Garlic Chicken Rice Traybake

Delicious all in one dinner  - this Lemon Garlic Chicken Rice Traybake is tasty, fuss-free and really easy to make.

I love traybakes this time of year with the nights getting dark early and the days starting to get bitter cold. All I want to do is get dinner done with minimal clear up afterwards so that I can get to bed early snuggled under my warm duvet.  I often make a traybake early in the day so that all I have to do is put it in the oven when dinner time comes.

They are so easy to make, great for those days when you want to get something done really quick but still stay on plan.

When making a traybake it is best to choose ingredients that will compliment each other and cook at similar timings. You can, of course, add other certain ingredients towards the end. If it is something that might cook quicker.

I have actually been grocery shopping choose ingredients that will work well for a traybake because of how easy they are.

This week I grabbed some bone-in chicken pieces. These kind of cuts are perfect for a traybake as the chicken stays nice and moist and really takes on the flavours of whatever you season it with.

I remove the skin first to keep it all syn free as it cooks.  A really neat trick for removing the skin from chicken is to use a bit of kitchen paper. Grip the chicken skin on the kitchen paper, and then you can remove it really easily. I then use some kitchen scissors or a knife to trim off any visible fat, before seasoning.

To go with the chicken this week, I grabbed a bag of Brussel sprouts, because as much as I hated those things as a child, I love them now, especially when sauteed or roasted in the oven.

The last part was choosing what seasonings and flavours to go with it. Garlic is perfect with Brussel sprouts, I mean have you tried these Sauteed Shredded Garlic Brussel Sprouts? Those are pretty darn delicious for a speed side dish and I figured the lovely fresh flavour of lemon would really compliment this dish and boy was I right.

I used a handy lemon zester tool, to add some lemon zest into the seasoning for the chicken, and then also scattered with slices of lemon on for the actual tray bake.

The Chicken, Potato and Vegetable Tray Bake I made last week was amazing, but because I added potatoes to that dish, I really fancied something different this week, so picked some basmati rice instead and for a contrast in colour, because I like to make dishes look pretty, I also added a couple of sliced carrots.

When cooking rice, you need liquid, so I also added in a little bit of stock and then covered in Aluminium foil for part of the baking process and removed it for the last part of cooking just to give it a lovely golden colour.

Seriously this Lemon Garlic Chicken Rice Traybake was drool-worthy, the aroma that filled my kitchen was just fantastic and I really didn't want the meal to be over, fantastic flavours and freshness and super healthy too.

I just served the Lemon Garlic Chicken Rice Traybake as it was, as there was plenty of speed vegetables in the recipe, but if you want to increase your speed, feel free to add some other speed foods of choice to the side.

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Why not have a look through these side dishes for inspiration.

Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my FULL RECIPE INDEX where you will find over 500+ delicious Slimming World recipes to choose from and all are searchable by syn value, meal type, ingredients etc.

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If you want the chicken to remain lovely and moist, I do recommend bone-in chicken, as you will not get the same result with chicken breast, or boneless thighs, but if you do decide to use either of those, you will need to reduce the cooking time a little. Maybe just uncovering for the last 10 mins or so.

Wondering what kind of baking tray I use for the Lemon Garlic Chicken Rice Tray Bake? I use one of these large Nordicware Baking Sheets. I love the nordicware cookware, it is heavy duty and really good quality. Cleans up super easy too.

I actually have these in 3 different sizes - small, medium and large as well as muffin trays and baking dishes. I love them.

Originally I only bought one tray, but have been gradually replacing all my baking trays to Nordicware.

Give this Lemon Garlic Chicken Rice Traybake a try for dinner one night this week, it is perfect for a fuss free Sunday dinner, if yo you want minimal clean up afterwards. While Sunday roasts are delicious, the clean up afterwards can sometimes be a chore. This will mean you can enjoy dinner and still have plenty of time to put your feet up with a cuppa.

What Kitchen Items do I need to make this Lemon Garlic Chicken Rice Traybake?

• Kitchen Scales
• Kitchen Scissors
• Measuring Spoons
• Measuring Jug
• Lemon Zester
• Chopping Board
• Wooden Spatulas
• Santoku Knife (perfect knife for chopping veg)
• Mixing Bowl
• Baking Tray
• Aluminium Foil
• Kitchen Paper