Recipe: Baked No-Butter Chicken

This one-tray-bake recipe is a dairy-free mild 'butter' style baked chicken that is great for babies and feeds the whole family. Yum.....

Check out the Baked No-Butter Chicken recipe below.

Facts

Don't be afraid to use spices and herbs when starting solids. Babies love flavourful food and they actually get exposed to different flavours through the amniotic fluid during pregnancy. Babies also love to eat the same as everyone else at the table, which means you are not preparing different meals. This recipe is a mild butter 'style' chicken that is free from added dairy. I have used chicken thighs in this recipe, but chicken and it can be modified after cooking to suit your baby's stage or mode of solids and development.

Ingredients

300g of pumpkin chopped in 2-3 cm cubes with skin removed

2 Zucchini (or 1 large) chopped in half lengthways and then sliced 2-3 cm thick

4-6 chicken thighs or 2 chicken breasts

2 teaspoons of garam masala

2 teaspoons of ground cumin

1 teaspoon of ground coriander seeds

1 teaspoon of ground paprika

1-2 cloves of garlic (optional) or 1 teaspoon of garlic powder

1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil

400g tin of chopped tomatoes

270 ml tin of full-fat coconut milk

Method

Place chopped pumpkin and zucchini, and whole cloves of garlic (with skin on) in a baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil and then sprinkle in the spices (ground cumin, ground coriander seed, ground paprika and garam masala) and rub to coat the vegetables.

Bake at 180 degrees for 15 minutes or until the vegetables have softened and the spices are aromatic.

Remove the tray from the oven, leaving the vegetables in the tray but removing the garlic cloves, discard the garlic skins, place the garlic in a bowl and mash with a fork. To the mashed garlic add the 400g tin of chopped tomatoes and 270 ml of coconut milk, then add the mix to the oven tray with the vegetables, stir in gently, and scrape the bottom of the tray to mix in the spices and all the flavour. Then add in the chicken thighs, these can be left whole or chopped into smaller pieces.

Return to the oven and bake for another 25 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. At the halfway point of baking, you may wish to check the consistency of the sauce, if it is looking a little thick you can add in 1/2 a cup of water.

Serve with rice, mashed potato or some sauteed greens.

You can adjust the texture of the dish to suit your baby's stage of development and mode of feeding, eg puree, mash, or baby-led weaning, being sure to avoid any cubes of chicken, which may be a choking risk. For more on how to safely serve a variety of whole foods and family meals to your baby, check out my starting solids guide.

Tips: