Chicken traybake with tomato & basil lentils

Chicken traybake with tomato & basil lentils

Ready-to-use lentils are a brilliant home-cooking hack. In this one-tray wonder they soak up a Provençal sauce of shallots and tomatoes perked up with lemon zest, capers, garlic, herbs and sun-dried toms (thanks to our quick and clever pastes). In go plump chicken breasts to roast then grill and… ta-dah! Next-level supper, sorted.

SWK: High protein Plants 4 SWK: High fibre one tray newBadge

Serving size

Cook time: 45 mins
Cuisine: French
Food group: Poultry

Cooking Instructions

The protein cooking time listed in this recipe has been updated.

As of December 2025, we’ve revised cooking times for all our proteins to reflect improved food safety guidance.

Check out the latest recommended times in our Cooking Guidelines.

Before you start

  • 1x large baking dish

Start prepping

  • Heat your oven to 240ºC/fan 220ºC/gas 9.
  • Peel and thinly slice the shallots. Finely chop the parsley, thinly slice half the basil leaves, and zest the lemon.
  • Dissolve the stock powder in 150ml boiled water (200ml for 4 portions).

Ready, steady... bake!

  • Put the shallots, parsley, sliced basil and zest into a large ovenproof dish. Add the tomatoes, capers, both pastes and the passata.
  • Tip in the lentils and their water, pour in the stock and squeeze in the juice from half the lemon (to taste). Cut the remaining lemon into wedges.
  • Stir well and add the chicken breasts, half-submerging them in the sauce, then bake for 20 mins until bubbling and slightly reduced.

Grill the chicken

  • Heat your grill to high, move the dish to a higher shelf if needed, and grill for 10-15 mins, until the chicken is cooked through and well browned on top.

Add your final flourishes

  • Divide the chicken and lentils between bowls, then scatter over the remaining basil leaves and add the lemon wedges for squeezing.

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