These chicken thighs roast to a golden brown perfection atop fennel, apple, red onion and sweet potato. What’s even better than that is it only uses one pan to get the job done. Exotic in aroma and warm to the senses, Chinese Five Spice is a rich spice blend that’s used in a basting sauce for this Five Spice Roasted Chicken.
The warm spices in the blend are perfect to switch up the usual fare and I thought a Chinese influence on delicious roasted chicken thighs was perfect.
What’s in Chinese Five Spice?
The spices in the blend are star anise, clove, cinnamon, Sichuan pepper (Szechuan) and fennel seeds. Most of these are used in the typical Fall and Winter baking so they are not that big of a surprise.
To make this complete I roasted the chicken on a bed of vegetables, namely fennel, apples, red onion and sweet potatoes. I add a pinch of red pepper flakes, but feel free to omit if you like.
I love a one pan meal. This one has a bit of a twist with the wonderful Chinese Five spice blend.
Roasted vegetables, apple and chicken are perfect for that busy week night dinner.
The vegetables get savory, caramelized and reach a nice sweetness. Paired with the delicious chicken it’s a wonderful dinner. I use bone-in skin on chicken thighs. I think they have a richer flavor than a chicken breast, but by all means use a chicken breast. I love them, too!
I keep the skin on when roasting chicken because the skin renders it’s fat and bastes the chicken, keeping it moist. When serving I take the skin off and dig in!
Halfway through roasting I baste again with the chicken broth, butter, honey and Five Spice mixture to ensure a flavorful and golden brown texture. Enjoy!
Five Spice Roasted Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 fennel bulb with feathery stalks
- 1 in large sweet potato peeled and cut into 1/4-. slices
- 1 in medium red onion cut lengthwise into 1/3-.-wide slices
- 2 large Honey Crisp apples (See Note 1)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- pinch red pepper flakes
- 4 in bone-skin-on chicken thighs (1.5 lbs total)
- Basting sauce:
- 1/4 cup chicken stock
- 2 tbsp butter melted
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 1/2 tsp Chinese Five Spice powder
- 1/4 tsp soy sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Cut off fennel stalks and set aside feathery leaves. Trim base of bulb and tough outer layers. Halve bulb lengthwise, cut out core in a V, and cut bulb lengthwise into slim wedges.
- Brush olive oil on a large rimmed baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and arrange fennel, sweet potatoes, onion and apples in a single layer. Sprinkle with salt, black and red pepper flakes.
- Arrange chicken on top, skin side up. In a small bowl, combine chicken stock, butter, honey, Chinese Five Spice powder, soy sauce. Brush half of sauce onto chicken.
- Roast 15 minutes, then baste again with sauce and any pan juices (use a bulb baster or wide spoon). Continue to roast until chicken is nicely browned and no longer pink at bone (cut to test or 165°F), 15 to 20 minutes more. Baste everything again and scatter reserved fennel leaves on top.
Notes
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist's advice.
Nutrition
Great recipe! My family of 4 loved it and I’ll be preparing it again.
Thank you for sharing! I am so glad you enjoyed it!
My husband loved the basting sauce. I made the Chinese five spices from scratch using dill weed instead of fennel seeds. I add a bit more to aniseed. Also, I used the basting sauce as stir fry. It is delicious! Thank you for sharing the recipe.
The dill seed is an interesting substitute of yours, so happy you enjoyed this one Judy. Appreciate you coming back to let me know. Cheers!
Just made this dish last weekend for friends/grandchildren. The group definitely included some picky eaters, but this was a huge success, not to mention easy for the cook to prepare, despite working around some last minute schedule changes – meaning it sat in the oven with the heat turned off after being basted halfway through…the sign of a very forgiving recipe! The crispy skin was enjoyed by some, pulled to the side by others. One of the group who is pretty much a non-vegetable eater loved the roast vegetables. I added some butternut squash leftover from another recipe. And…I made… Read more »
Julie! So happy you guys enjoyed this one. I love a well seasoned dish and this delivers. It was great seeing all of you recently and your new home is amazing. I could sit and read in that back yard for hours. 🙂 Love you guys.
I just made the Five Spice Roasted Chicken Thighs! Omg Kevin, this is delicious! I didn’t add the fennel since my Husband is not a fan. Added carrots! This will be a frequent recipe for sure. Thank you! I love your recipes!
Reading comments like this make my morning. Thanks so much for letting me know Ellen! 🙂
I made a big batch of my own 5-spice powder recently and have been looking for ideas on where to sprinkle it! GREG
I love a cook who makes their own spice blends, way to go Greg! Roast on buddy! 🙂
This chicken sounds (and looks!) amazing, Kevin! I love the use of Five Spice here. And the honey! And the fact that you double baste this bad boy while it’s cooking. I would be all about this one for dinner! I know it doesn’t get *that* cold out in San Diego, so if you need me to bottle up some cold weather and send it over then I’m happy to do that. They’re calling for 5-7″ of snow this coming weekend. Time to go find my snow shovel and get the snow blower ready!
Thanks Dave, appreciate it. It’s funny how just a little basting can take a dish to another level. That flavor roasts in and coats it beautifully. 5-7″ of snow… good grief, time to bust out the blower and build Robbie that snowman!
This sounds wonderful, Kevin! Five-spice seasoning is one that I love, but often forget about. It and the other warming spices must just sing in this and I love that it’s simple enough to whip up on a weeknight. We’d eat the leftovers cold from the fridge the next day too.
The Chinese Five Spice blend goes so well with this veggie and apple medley. Gotta love quick, tasty and no hassle clean up! Thanks Marissa. 🙂
Perfect meal for the chilly weather here too Kevin! I bet those thighs are so nice and juicy!! And I love all the delicious veggies and apples underneath! Can’t wait to try!
Juicy indeed, and you could just take the skin off after if you don’t like it, right? I rather it be moist first and the spice mix with the veggies are really fantastic. Thanks Mary Ann!
It’s been cool here in the Bay too. It’s funny how quickly you get used to a more temperate climate – back east a late November day in the upper 50s/low 60s would be like an Indian summer. Now I have to bundle up to go outside, lol! Roast chicken is always a favorite and I’m loving the warm 5-spice you’ve used in this dish – what a wonderful touch! Paired with the sweet potatoes and apples and you’ve got one incredible dish!
Hi Kathleen! I remember growing up in San Francisco (the Sunset district) and the fog, wind and cold. I almost died when I came here to San Diego and the warm weather. This roast chicken would easily warm things up and the the addition of the apples is so good! Stay warm. 🙂
Hey Kevin, I love a good chicken tray bake. Also, good call on using bone-in chicken, much better flavour. Plus, the colour on the chicken is brilliant, perfect on a cold night for sure!
I figure the minor trouble to deal with bone and skin you need not eat after roasting makes it worth it. So much flavor and keeps things moist. Thanks Matt!
Hey Kevin! I’m all for roasting vegs and meats together! And, of course, only one pan to wash! With the holidays coming and so much to do this is a great way to be a little less stressed and still enjoy a wonderful meal! Glad you and Dave were able to get away for a few days!
Yes Dorothy! I so agree and this is a tasty one, but it’s the aroma that gets me! I love a meal that tastes as good as it smells. 😉
I’m definitely contemplating the weeks ahead and planning what I’m going to make (and eat). We are having a get together at our place in a couple of weeks and the menu planning is under way. It’s always great to have one pan dishes to make things a lot easier. Lots of times I tend to overthink things and some of the best meals (or things in general) are often ones that happen quickly. Love the combo here with the chicken, five spice and veg. So perfect ’cause it’s super cold around here. Snow in the forecast and this recipe… Read more »
Yeah, getting back into the swing of things after being gone a week today I need ot hit the notebook for meal planning and then shop. No snow her , but we’ve had rain and it’s so needed and nice to hear. 😉 Thanks Dawn and have a great Monday!