When you don’t want to spend ages in the kitchen, try this easy turmeric chicken recipe with fennel, orange, and warming spices!
This turmeric chicken recipe is a no-fail situation that takes just 15 minutes of hands on time–the oven does the rest! It’s loaded with flavor from the savory, warming spice mix, and an easy marinade of olive oil, white wine, and citrus. Everything cooks in one pan!
While it roasts, you’ll have plenty of time to make a quick side of basmati rice or bulgur, throw together a side salad, or simply relax with a glass of wine. After about 40 minutes, the chicken turns golden and crisp, and the fennel and citrus become deliciously caramelized. The result is a comforting, flavorful dinner with just the right balance of sweet, earthy, and bright.
Turmeric Chicken Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this turmeric chicken recipe:
- Marinade: Extra virgin olive oil, white wine, orange juice, lime juice, yellow mustard, brown sugar, salt, and pepper.
- Spice rub: This is where the star of the show, turmeric, comes in. It’s combined with garlic powder, coriander, paprika, kosher salt, and pepper.
- Chicken: I used whole chicken legs (the thigh and drumstick), but you could also use breasts, a combination of the two, or a whole chicken cut into 6 or 8 pieces.
- Vegetables and more: Fresh fennel has a strong anise kick when raw, but this transforms into a delightful sweetness when it’s roasted. I also add some sweet onion and unpeeled sliced oranges.
How to Make Turmeric Chicken
One of my favorite things about turmeric chicken is that it is so dang easy. You only spend about 15 minutes of hands-on time! After that, your refrigerator and oven do most of the heavy lifting. Here’s how to make it:
- Make the marinade. In a large mixing bowl, mix together 1/2 cup each olive oil, white wine, and orange juice. Juice in 1 lime and season with 2 tablespoons yellow mustard and 3 tablespoons brown sugar.
- Make the spice mix. In a separate small bowl, mix together the 2 teaspoons garlic powder, 1 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric, 1 teaspoon ground coriander, 1 teaspoon sweet paprika, and salt and pepper to taste.
- Season the chicken. Mix about half of the spice mix into the marinade. Pat the chicken dry and generously cover with the remainder of the spice mix, lifting the skin and applying some of the spices underneath.
- Marinate the chicken. Add the seasoned chicken to marinade, along with 1 sliced fennel bulb, 1 large sliced onion, 2 sliced oranges, and 1 sliced lime (optional). Toss to coat, then cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours. (If you don’t have time, skip the marinating and let sit at room temperature while your oven heats.)
- Roast the turmeric chicken. Preheat your oven to 475°F. Transfer the entire contents of the marinade bowl to a large baking pan so that everything is comfortably arranged in one layer. Be sure the chicken’s skin is facing up. Sprinkle with a dash of salt and more brown sugar, if you like. Roast or until the chicken is cooked through (165°F) and the skin has nicely browned, 40-45 minutes.
What to Serve with Turmeric Chicken
The sauce is the real money-maker here, you’ll want something to soak it up. Simple basmati rice comes to mind, or pita bread for dipping. Start with something crisp and fresh, like cucumber salad.
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Ingredients
- 6 pieces bone-in, skin-on chicken (whole legs, breasts, or a combination), pat dry
- 1 large fennel bulb, cored and sliced
- 1 large sweet onion, sliced into half moons
- 2 oranges, sliced whole with the peel
- 1 lime, thinly sliced
For the Marinade
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1 lime, juiced
- 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar, plus more for sprinkling
For the Spice Mix
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
Instructions
- Season the chicken. Mix the Marinade ingredients in a large mixing bowl. In a separate small bowl, mix together the Spice Mix, including salt and pepper to taste. Mix about half of the spice mix into the marinade. Pat the chicken dry and generously cover with the remainder of the spice mix, lifting the skin and applying some of the spices underneath.
- Marinate the chicken. Add the seasoned chicken to marinade, along with the fennel, onion, oranges, and lime (if using). Toss to coat, then cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours. (If you don’t have time, skip the marinating and let sit at room temperature while your oven heats.)
- Roast the chicken. Preheat your oven to 475°F. Transfer the entire contents of the marinade bowl to a large baking pan so that everything is comfortably arranged in one layer. Be sure the chicken’s skin is facing up. Sprinkle with a dash of salt and more brown sugar, if you like. Roast or until the chicken is cooked through (165°F) and the skin has nicely browned, 40-45 minutes.
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Notes
- Shop this recipe: Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients, including the olive oil and spices used in this recipe.
- To use boneless chicken: You’d need to tweak the recipe so the chicken stays moist—especially if you use breasts, which are much less forgiving:
- Pound the chicken so it is more or less uniform in thickness. This will promote even cooking.
- Set the oven to 425°F instead of 475.
- Cover the chicken in foil for the first 10 minutes of roasting. This allows steam to cook the chicken from the inside out.
- The chicken should be cooked in about 18 minutes.
Nutrition
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This makes too much for just my husband and myself. Can I cut all the ingredients in half or are there some I shouldn’t?
Helen, yes you can cut the ingredients down (I think our recipe card has that capability now to calculate down or up)
I made this tonight and it was delicious. I served it with jasmine rice.
Can the chicken be marinated overnight?
It’s not necessary. If you do, I would make sure you refrigerate in a non reactive container with tight lid. Glass is best. I would not marinate this for longer than 1 night.
Can this dish be frozen?
Sure, Joy. You can freeze leftovers. Thaw in the fridge and heat in a medium-heated oven, covered, and with a little bit of liquid added.
Yum? easy peasy and really tasty. I made the marinade this morning, popped it into a baking pan with remainder of ingredients 45 minutes later “viola” served with rice and beans
thanks for sharing, Amanda! Love the prepare-ahead
This looks good! I was wondering though if anyone has tried to use fresh tumeric in this recipe. Our local asian market has it fresh most of the time. I’ll try it , perhaps both ways, and see how it compares. Pureeing the fresh might be best.
Stephen, great question! I have not tried fresh turmeric myself here. I found out in a quick research that 1-inch piece of fresh turmeric would approximately equal 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder, as far as substituting. But I find that turmeric powder will be easier to use in spicing the chicken. Would be eager to hear what you find out!
Thanks for sharing Natalie! I am so glad you enjoyed it!
I love this recipe! I’m cooking this again today but this time I’m not adding any salt and brown sugar due to some of my guests’ diets. I’ve marinated it overnight to really get those flavors in. Wish me luck but I’m sure it will be delicious! Thanks!
Hope you all loved it, Ingrid!
I am out of limes but could I use the juice of a lemon?
Sure, Tiffany! That would work!
Could I use boneless skinless chicken for this recipe?
Yes, absolutely! You’ll just need to adjust the cooking time here as boneless chicken cooks faster. Enjoy!
Made this recipe last night and the family loved it. They yellow mustard, was it supposed to be dry mustard or liquid yellow hot dog mustard? We decided it was dried mustard.
That’s wonderful, Renee! This is a winner at my house as well. It’s actually liquid mustard (the condiment you buy in bottles). Sorry about the confusion. It sounds like dry mustard works just as well here! Thanks for sharing.
Hi Suzy,
Love the sound of this dish. I am making this tonight. I want know if you have marinated this longer?
I am so excited to try this. I have made many of your dishes and they are wonderful.
Thank you for the great recipes.
Hi Mark! Thanks so much for the kind comment. If you do not have the time to marinate the chicken, you do not have to in this recipe! Enjoy!
Can I subsittute the white wine for chicken broth? This chicken looks delicious and I want to make it for my husband.
Thank you 😉
Hello, Lariza. Yes, I think you can make this substitution. You’ll get a slightly different result, but it will still be great!
I am totally in love with the color of your dish – not to mention the flavors that smell good until my house or almost. I need to make it soon. I will let you know 🙂
You have packed in such incredible flavors into this chicken. This looks absolutely perfect!!!
Dear Suzy,
I want to let you know how happy I am that I found your site. I was looking for Mediterranean food recipes because my husband was recently diagnosed with kidney and bladder stones and I read that a Mediterranean diet was beneficial in reducing those stones. And it also helped that I have had a long standing love affair with Mediterranean food. And after finding your web site I was amazed at the variety of recipes you provide and the ones I have tried have all been truly delicious. This is a dietary change we have not minded making. We miss nothing and are eating much healthier because of you and your delicious recipes. Thank you!
Oh, Mike. Thank you! Your kind comment truly means a lot. I am ever so humbled to know that I can help in some small way. And I’m excited to hear that you’ve enjoyed the recipes you tried so far. Please feel free to come back and report on progress! Love hearing from you. And all the best re fighting back those kidney issues!