This easy roasted cinnamon chicken is the perfect recipe if you want your house to smell like Thanksgiving day.
The combination of cinnamon with crispy chicken skin and buttery sweet potatoes is a real winner.
We sometimes cook this in the middle of summer just to feel like Christmas in July. All you need is a green salad with an acidic dressing to pair it with. And don't forget the warm crusty bread to dip in the sauce.
How to make cinnamon chicken
It is a super easy-no-fuss recipe that tastes delicious! You can also use Cornish hens instead of a whole chicken, one for each portion. Just season the poultry, add a generous portion of olive oil all over and sprinkle lots of cinnamon. Roast the chicken the way you usually do and voila! A really lovely meal that will wow everyone at your table without too much effort.
Here is what you need
- A whole chicken. You can use a whole cut up chicken, or just chicken breast or thighs for this recipe. Adjust baking time accordingly. For example, if you are using skinless, boneless chicken thighs most probably they will be done ahead of the sweet potatoes. Remove the chicken from the pan and continue roasting the sweet potatoes. Same goes if you are using breasts. Keep an eye on the chicken and don't over roast.
- Sweet potatoes. Substitute with garnet potatoes/finger yams. See recipe notes.
- Extra virgin olive oil.
- Cinnamon and cumin. You can substitute coriander for cumin or omit it from the recipe if not available.
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
How to make it
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Rub the outside of the chicken with half of the olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt. Season the chicken cavity with a little salt and freshly ground pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine.
Cut the sweet potatoes in half and quarter. Place them around the chicken. You need enough sweet potatoes to fit snuggly together around your chicken.
Pour the rest of the olive oil all over the sweet potatoes.
Abundantly sprinkle cinnamon all over sweet potatoes and chicken. The whole pan should be covered with a layer of cinnamon. Sprinkle 1 tsp ground cumin all over the potatoes and chicken.
Cover the pan with aluminum foil and place it in the oven.
Roast covered for 60 min, remove foil, and roast for another 45 min or until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear.
Serve next to a green salad with an acidic dressing.
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Cinnamon Chicken & Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1 whole roasting chicken
- 3-4 sweet potatoes Depending on the size. You need enough potatoes to fit snuggly around the chicken.
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- sea salt
- freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Rub the outside of the chicken with half of the olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt. Season the chcicken cavity with a little salt and freshly ground pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken.
- Cut the sweet potatoes in half and quartered. Place them around the chicken. You need enough sweet potatoes to fit snuggly together around your chicken.
- Pour the rest of the olive oil it all over the sweet potatoes.
- Abundantly sprinkle cinnamon all over sweet potatoes and chicken. The whole pan should be covered with a layer of cinnamon. Sprinkle 1 tsp ground cumin all over the potatoes and chicken.
- Cover the pan with aluminum foil and place it in the oven. Roast covered for 60 min, than remove foil and roast for 45 min of until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear. Skin should be nice and crisp and sweet potatoes soft and buttery.
Notes
- You can use a whole cut-up chicken, chicken breasts, or thighs for this recipe. Adjust baking time accordingly.
- For example, if you are using skinless, boneless chicken thighs most probably they will be done ahead of the sweet potatoes. Remove chicken from the pan and continue roasting the sweet potatoes. The same goes if you are using breasts. Keep an eye on the chicken and don't over roast.
- You can substitute coriander for cumin or omit it from the recipe together if not available.
- I don't use too much salt for this recipe. Just a very light salt seasoning for the chicken. I don't season the sweet potatoes apart from the cinnamon and the cumin. Feel free to tweak it to your liking.
- Sweet potatoes. Substitute with garnet potatoes/finger yams. Garnet potatoes are also called garnet sweet potatoes. They have a long, thin shape and orange flesh. Also, they are not as sweet as white sweet potatoes. Cooking time is similar.
