Curry Roasted Half Chicken and Peppers

By Genevieve Ko

Updated May 21, 2024

Curry Roasted Half Chicken and Peppers — Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich.

Total Time: 50 minutes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Rating: 5(143)
Notes: Read community notes

A half chicken, cut right between the breasts and back, is sold in most supermarkets and just what you want when cooking for one, offering both light and dark meat, and the juiciness that comes with all the bones. After it cooks — quickly, relative to a whole bird — it leaves you with two meals or one very hearty dinner. Here, this curry-rubbed chicken roasts over peppers and onion, which release their natural sweetness into the pan juices. It’s great over rice or with bread, and leftovers can be simmered with coconut milk for a stewed curry, or chopped and mixed with mayonnaise for a chicken salad sandwich.

Featured in: Cooking for One Can Be Fun, Easy and Delicious. Here’s How.

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Ingredients

Yield:1 to 2 servings

4tablespoons olive oil
2garlic cloves, very finely chopped
2tablespoons Madras or yellow curry powder
3sweet bell peppers (red, orange and yellow), diced
1large onion, diced
Salt and black pepper
1whole half chicken (about 1½ pounds), patted dry with paper towels
Lemon or lime wedges, for serving (optional)

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or foil for easy cleanup.
Step 2
In a small bowl, mix the oil, garlic and curry powder. Toss the peppers and onion with 2 tablespoons of the curry oil. Spread in an even layer and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Step 3
Set the chicken over the vegetables and rub the remaining curry oil all over the bird and under the breast skin. Sprinkle the chicken all over with salt and pepper.
Step 4
Roast until the chicken juices run clear when you stab the drumstick with a paring knife, about 35 minutes. If you’d like, squeeze lemon or lime juice all over before serving.

Ratings

5 out of 5

143 user ratings

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Boann1 day ago

My brother who is a very good cook said "cook this recipe, it's delicious and stupid simple". Used chicken thighs. Needed more than 35 minutes. Put onion/pepper mixture on rice noodles, surprisingly good. He was right "delicious and stupid simple".

ChrisB3 weeks ago

Prepared this yesterday and it was awesome and so easy. A party in your mouth!!! I actually used a whole chicken, split into two pieces. I did not increase the vegetables, but I did double the curry oil and the quantity of the oil ended up being perfect to season the chicken. I think an important part of this recipe is releasing the skin (both the breast and thigh & leg) and getting the curry oil onto the meat. 400 on convection roast took about 40 minutes. Very moist meat.

LBJ3 weeks ago

Delicious, easy recipe. I made this with chicken thighs because it was what I had on hand and served it over rice with lime zest and butter. The curry smell is not for the faint of heart - 2 days later and our home is still fragrant.

Joyce E3 weeks ago

Easy recipe. I followed it with the exception that I used thighs with bones. I removed all of the extra fat before baking the chicken and veggies and used brown rice as the side. Very tasty and definitely will make again.

mcalon3 weeks ago

My only hack was 2 bone in chicken breasts. Other than, I followed it exactly. I diced the veggies and was surprised they didn’t scorch but the veggies made a jammy kind of thing when I took it out of the oven. 28 minutes to 150F. This was easy, quick and wonderfully tasty. A thumbs up for sure!

Matthew3 weeks ago

Just the addition of a little thyme and crushed hot pepper gives this a nice Caribbean vibe.

Daisha S.3 weeks ago

Definitely going in my staple of recipes! A very quick and easy curry recipe that compares to my mom's curry chicken recipe!

Mark Lynn4 weeks ago

Doubled the recipe and served on coconut and lime rice. This is now a dinner party staple. It's delicious and easy on the cook.

Portland4 weeks ago

Delicious and definitely worth making. Used a whole spatchcocked chicken placed on top of the vegetables. Increased amount of curry oil by half. It was just enough to cover peppers and onions plus the chicken. I added 5-6 whole garlic cloves to peppers and they were wonderful to come across as we scooped the vegetables. Roasted on 375 in a convection oven for 50 minutes. Served on top of garlic naan bread.

Cyn in Den4 weeks ago

I followed the recipe exactly and this was still pretty meh.

Anne4 weeks ago

Those peppers sure don't look diced in the photo but rather chopped!

Emily B.4 weeks ago

I made this last night. I used two whole legs, extra fat trimmed, and only 3 tablespoons of oil. Came out beautifully. A sprinkling of cilantro and lime before serving was very nice. Excellent dish and my husband says it’s going in our regular rotation.

Madison1 month ago

Made this tonight and while it tasted fine, there was so much juice from the chicken that I felt like the peppers and onions were swimming in grease. The picture shows a dry pan. Not sure why?

Golem4 weeks ago

You need to cut off the concentration of fat from the end of the chicken. Although the vegetables cooked in the chicken fat is usually considered quite tasty.

Debra G1 month ago

Just cooked this - it may be my fav from NYT. Super easy and delicious just as written.

Bonnie1 month ago

Made with four thighs. A little greasy in the pan -- maybe more fat rendered from the thighs than would have from a half chicken. Otherwise, very good. Very curry-y. I loved the flavor!

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