Balsamic Chicken and Grape Stuffed Potatoes
- Savory
- Oven
Roasted potato halves piled with balsamic-glazed chicken, sweet grapes and rosemary, then baked until the tops turn golden and crisp. A high-protein one-tray dinner with no stovetop needed.
- Total
- 80 min
- Prep 20 · Cook 55 · Rest 5
- Serves
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Roasting · Resting meat
Instructions
-
Heat the oven to 200°C. Scrub the potatoes and halve them lengthways. Scoop out the centres with a spoon, leaving a 1 cm wall, and roughly chop the scooped flesh.
~10 min
Leaving a 1 cm wall keeps the shells sturdy enough to hold the filling without collapsing during the second bake.
-
Toss the potato shells and chopped flesh with 1 tbsp olive oil and 0.5 tsp salt on a large baking tray. Roast cut side up for 20 minutes, until the shells start to soften and the edges colour.
~20 min
Roasting cut side up on a hot tray dries the cut surfaces so they crisp rather than steam, and par-cooking means the shells finish at the same time as the chicken.
Roast the potato shells cut side up on a preheated tray so the cut edges dry and crisp; a wet shell steams and turns soft before the filling goes in.
Roasting Roast cut side up on a hot tray with space between pieces so surfaces dry and brown instead of steaming; watch for edges turning golden, not pale and limp.
-
While step 2 cooks
While the potatoes roast, cut the chicken thighs into 2 cm pieces and the red onion into thin slices. Halve the grapes. Strip and finely chop 1 tbsp rosemary.
~8 min
-
While step 2 cooks
Mix the chicken, red onion, grapes, chopped rosemary, balsamic vinegar, remaining 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp salt and the black pepper in a bowl until everything is coated.
~5 min
Coating everything evenly in oil and vinegar seasons the chicken all over and lets the balsamic reduce into a glaze as it bakes.
-
Spoon the chicken mixture into the potato shells and scatter the roasted chopped potato flesh around them on the tray. Cover loosely with foil and bake for 20 minutes, until the chicken is nearly cooked through.
~20 min
The foil traps steam so the chicken cooks through gently and the grapes release their juice without the tops drying out first.
Keep the grape halves whole rather than crushing them. They hold their shape during the covered bake and release sweet juice that balances the balsamic vinegar.
-
Remove the foil, scatter the remaining 1 tbsp rosemary over the tops and bake uncovered for 15 minutes, until the filling is browned at the edges and the chicken reaches 74°C in the thickest piece.
~15 min
Uncovering lets moisture evaporate so the filling browns and the balsamic concentrates; the thermometer confirms the chicken is safely cooked.
Roasting Roast cut side up on a hot tray with space between pieces so surfaces dry and brown instead of steaming; watch for edges turning golden, not pale and limp.
-
Rest the tray for 5 minutes before serving, so the juices settle into the potatoes.
~5 min
Resting lets the chicken's juices redistribute so they stay in the meat and soak into the potato rather than running out onto the tray.
Resting meat Let the tray sit off the heat for a few minutes so juices redistribute into the chicken instead of spilling out when you cut it.
