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This is my fuss-free Stir-fry style chicken traybake for those nights when energy is low but cravings for takeout-style flavour are high. Everything goes in one tray: chicken, peppers, onion and a glossy sweet-sticky Chinese stir fry style sauce, then the oven does the work. The cornflour thickens as it bakes, so you’re pulling out a tray of tender chicken in a shiny sauce that’s ready in under 30 mins. That’s a proper weeknight win in my books!
Nicky’s Notes
I love tray-bake dinners, (more here –>) baked honey garlic chicken or baked sweet and sour because they’re so easy.
You just mix the sauce, toss it all on a tray, place in the oven and walk away.
- No marinating
- No frying first
- No juggling pans
The sauce leans sweet-savory with garlic, ginger and a whisper of chilli flakes for warmth. Using hot chicken stock plus cornflour means the sauce thickens in the oven, so you get that takeaway sheen without standing over the hob. Family verdict: empty bowls and “is there more sauce?” — so I always make sure to spoon every last bit from the corners of the tray.
Table of Contents
📋 Ingredients for this chicken traybake
***Full recipe with detailed quantities in the recipe card below***
Note on the Chicken
I’m using chicken breast but you could swap for boneless skinless chicken thigh fillets.
Abbreviated Recipe
***Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card below***
Dump chicken, onion and pepper in a baking tray. Whisk the sauce ingredients together (except the stock), once combined, stir in the stock. Pour over the chicken and toss. Bake at 220C/425F (fan) for 20–25 mins, stirring once, till the chicken’s cooked and the sauce is glossy.
Recipe Tips
- You can add more vegetables – such as green beans, broccoli or sugarsnap peas to this dish.
- Add them in the last 15 minutes of cooking. If you add more vegetables, it will take a little longer to cook.
- Just ensure your vegetables are tender and the chicken is piping hot throughout and no longer pink in the middle before serving.
Tender chicken in a glossy, sweet-sticky garlic-ginger sauce with a gentle chilli tingle. Juicy peppers and soft onions add sweetness, this chicken tray bake is dangerously moreish.
Pin this now to find it later
Pin It🍽️ What to serve it with
I love to sprinkle on some chopped spring onions, sesame seeds then serve with:
- Fluffy boiled rice or egg fried rice
- Stir-fried tenderstem broccoli or spring greens
- Sesame noodles
- or how about, some steamed bao or prawn crackers for a little crunch
Why this Chicken Tray Bake Works
- Dump-and-go: minimal prep, everything cooks together.
- Built-in glossy sauce: cornflour + stock thicken as they bake, delivering that sticky finish.
- High heat, short cook: keeps chicken tender while lightly catching the sugars for flavour.
- Balanced sauce: sweet (brown sugar + ketchup) and savoury (ginger, garlic, rice wine) with a little chilli warmth.
📺 Watch how to make it
Chicken ‘Stir Fry’ Traybake (Dump-and-Go!)
Ingredients
Chicken and vegetables
- 3 chicken breasts (roughly 525g/18.5oz), chopped into bitesize pieces
- 1 onion peeled and chopped into thin wedges
- 1 red bell pepper deseeded and sliced
Sauce
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 ½ tablespoons cornflour (cornstarch)
- 2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine
- 4 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons chilli flakes
- 2 tablespoons tomato ketchup
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 240 ml (1 cup) hot chicken stock
To Serve
- Spring onions scallions
- Sesame seeds
- Chilli flakes
- Cooked rice or noodles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 220C/425F (fan)
- Place the chicken, onion and red pepper into a shallow roasting tray.3 chicken breasts, 1 onion, 1 red bell pepper
- Mix together all of the sauce ingredients, except for the chicken stock.2 cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon minced ginger, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, 1 ½ tablespoons cornflour (cornstarch), 2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine, 4 tablespoons light brown sugar, 2 teaspoons chilli flakes, 2 tablespoons tomato ketchup, 1 tablespoon oil
- Once incorporated, stir the chicken stock into the sauce and pour all over the chicken and vegetables.240 ml (1 cup) hot chicken stock
- Place in the oven and cook for 20-25 minutes, stirring once, halfway through cooking, until the chicken is cooked through and golden brown. You can check this by slicing into a piece of chicken and ensuring it’s piping hot and no longer pink in the middle.
- Serve topped with spring onions, sesame seeds and chilli flakes.Spring onions, Sesame seeds, Chilli flakes
- I love to serve this up with boiled rice or noodles.Cooked rice or noodles
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This chicken traybake recipe was first posted in Jan 2026.
⏱️ More Quick Chicken Dinners
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Absolutely loved this, just had it for the first time for my lunch. I halved the chilli content and added a bit of cream at the end as it was still a bit hot for me. I have enough for tomorrow and will definitely be making it again
Oh, and thanks so much for the “Abbreviated Recipe” and the mini ingredient-lists in the full recipe. So, so, so much easier and faster to cook that way than constantly having to scroll back and forth to read yet another complicated step. I wish everyone did their recipes that way!
Made this tonight. It’s a keeper. The method was simple, and everything came out tasty and tender.
BUT, I did do quite a bit differently:
4 tbs sugar????? I used about 2 TEAspoons; it was just right.
Ketchup and rice wine – I didn’t have either. Used about 2 tbsp tomato paste, a pinch of cloves, and a generous splash of cider vinegar + water to make the 2tbsp. Worked fine.
No salt or oil (I might have used oil if using chicken breast as the recipe said, but i had leg fillets, and they have enough fat already). Salt was definitely not needed – loads of flavour.
No chilli and only a couple of grinds of pepper as I was making it for someone who can’t eat spicy.
I only needed to feed two people, so only used one leg fillet and had leftovers. I also had some sliced watermelon rind in the freezer, so added about a cup of that. Would have put in some cauli florets, which I reckon would match perfectly, but someone had disappeared my cauli! Never mind – next time.
Took about 35 minutes to cook.
I was confused when I saw it was classed as “British” – then I ate it, and realised it’s pretty much what we called sweet-and-sour chicken in the 80s. So similar I felt I should have added a can of pineapple 😀 Def not Chinese Chinese – I get it! But it was easy to make, easy to eat, and delish.
I’ll be coming back to this method over and over, I expect. I never thought of putting a sauce over a traybake, and it works superbly. I see a chicken adobo coming up…..
Thank you very much for posting.
I legitimately do not understand how this recipe would be able to be prepped in 5 minutes. I am quick in the kitchen, and when I read the recipe I knew it would be impossible, so I set a stopwatch. It took me just over 30 minutes to go from starting the recipe to putting it in the oven. Like, what benefit is there to say this takes 5 minutes? Are you omitting all of the chopping and measuring and assuming all of the mis en place is ready to go? If so, why? This is absolutely insane to me.
Hi Tim,
I start with the chopped chicken (you can buy the chicken chopped from the supermarket). So it’s just 1 onion and 1 pepper that needs chopping as prep.
For the spices, I start with having everything out. I, of course, don’t include the time people spend looking through cupboards for their spices.
So easy to make, it tasted amazing, this was my second recipe I’ve tried on here and my husband is over the moon!! Every time I hear him on the phone with his friends- he tells them I’ve been making him really scrumptious meals!! Result I’d say, thanks for the easy and super tasty recipes 🥰
Simple, straightforward and delicious. Thank you for this.
Quick, easy and very tasty, I did add cashew nut to add a little extra crunch. I served with noodles
Made this evening for a quick mid week meal. Extremely tasty, slightly on the hot side for us, but definitely going to make again. As Nicky said, easy to prepare, quick to cook. Served with rice, delicious!
That’s my perfect supper. Thank you so much for the recipe.
Wow what a delicious dish but not for the faint-hearted! I underestimated the spiciness of the Birds Eye chilli flakes! I added more to serve and it was incredibly hot – my husband is used to eating vindaloo curry and even he struggled with the heat! I would definitely cook again as it was so easy and tasty. Another great meal – thank you Nicky!