Devilled Chicken

Name: Devilled Chicken
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 24 min
Total time: 39 min
Ingredients: 4 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless); 100 g fresh chicken stock (or stock cube dissolved in 100ml boiling water); 60 g tamari; 60 g tomato ketchup; 40 g clear runny honey; 1 tablespoon Worcester sauce; 2 garlic cloves (crushed); 3 tablespoons cornflour (cornstarch); 1 teaspoon sweet paprika; 1 teaspoon chilli flakes; ½ teaspoon mustard powder; ½ teaspoon ground coriander; ½ teaspoon salt; ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper; 1 tablespoon olive oil

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Devilled Chicken is a quick and simple mid-week dinner perfect for the whole family. Oven baked in a rich sweetly savoury sauce with umami vibes this Devilled Chicken is mildly spiced with as much heat as you please.

Devilled Chicken on a plate with new potatoes and green beans.

Table of Contents

My husband and I grew up miles away from each other but we both used to have a family dinner called Devilled Chicken which is a traditionally British style recipe. Not to be confused with the Sri Lankan spicy stir-fry with the same name. The ‘devilled’ description of the dish originates in 18-19^th century British cookery meaning spicy or fiery. It was often in reference to dishes flavoured with Worcester sauce, mustard and cayenne pepper. The fact that the sauce is a deep red due to the ketchup and paprika adds to the devilish glamour. Although originally this dish, I assume, was quite spicy, this is a milder family friendly version but you can pump up the heat as far as you like.

Chicken breasts are dusted with a paprika, mustard and chilli spiced flour rub and pan fried briefly before being oven baked in a gorgeously umami rich sweet smoky sauce, made with tomato ketchup, Worcester sauce, garlic and tamari (or soy sauce).

This is such an easy dinner to whip up mid-week, just 30-40 minutes from start to finish (depending on how long it takes you to get your stuff out of the larder) and relies on kitchen pantry basics so can be a real last-minute dinner as long as you have the chicken in.

Devilled Chicken baked in ovenproof dish.

Why You’ll Love Devilled Chicken

Quick and easy for mid-week meals.
A huge hit with the whole family. My little kids love it – they are especially enamoured by the fact it has ketchup in it.
You can push the heat as much as you like or make it lovely and mild. It’s delicious either way.
Freezer-friendly so you can make it as part of a batch meal prep.
Made with ever-present larder ingredients so perfect if you have chicken in and don’t know what to cook for dinner.
Budget friendly dinner. Again, this is made with larder basics, your only expense will be the chicken.
Naturally gluten-free. As long as you use a gluten-free based Worcester sauce (not Lea and Perrins) and tamari (instead of soy sauce).

Ingredients Needed

Chicken breasts. I like to use skinless but actually you can keep the skin on if you prefer. You can also make it with chicken thighs but they will take about 30 minutes to cook in the oven.

Chicken stock. If you have fresh chicken stock in then great but more often than not I use a whole stock cube dissolved in boiling water. If you are using fresh stock you may need to add a little more salt.

Tamari. This is a gluten-free soy sauce. If you don’t need it to be gluten-free you can use actual soy sauce

Tomato ketchup. It’s traditionally ketchup that’s used here and store bought works perfectly. Although I have previously switched in out for my homemade BBQ sauce or this green tomato ketchup. Slightly different flavour profiles but all delicious.

Honey. You need clear runny honey, the fancy stuff is not needed – just supermarket own works fine.

Worcestershire sauce. It adds a lovely base of flavour. However, you need to be careful if you are following a gluten-free or vegan diet as the popular Lea & Perrins brand is not compliant with either. I like to use Biona Organic Vegan Worcester Sauce which has a lovely flavour.

Garlic cloves. My garlic crusher is broken so I used chopped garlic for these photos, although crushed is preferable. Fresh plump garlic please.

Cornflour (cornstarch). This is a naturally gluten-free flour which is perfect for crisping up our chicken when we pan fry it and also helps thicken the sauce in the oven. You can switch out for tapioca flour.

Chilli flakes. 1 teaspoon sounds like it might be a lot for kids but actually the end result is still pretty mild. To kick up the heat you can add more and also a teaspoon of cayenne pepper for a layer or heat.

Sweet smoky paprika. You can buy all kinds of paprika. You could switch for hot paprika if you want to boost the heat.

Mustard powder. English mustard powder is a stalwart of the spice drawer and perfect for flavouring our chicken.

Ground coriander. This just rounds out the flavours and gives it a gentle background note.

Seasoning. Just a dash of salt and pepper needed. Taste for seasoning though as different stocks and indeed different tamaris have varied salt levels.

Olive oil. This is needed for pan-frying our chicken. You can use coconut oil, avocado oil or even vegetable oil.

How To Make Devilled Chicken

For full recipe instructions go to the recipe card at the end of this post.

Devil Sauce: Whisk together the chicken stock, tamari, tomato ketchup, honey, Worcester sauce and garlic.

Devil Rub: Whisk together the cornflour and the spices and seasonings in a medium sized shallow bowl.

Devil Chicken sauce mixed together. Flour rub ingredients in a shallow bowl then mixed together.

Use a meat mallet to flatten the chicken to an even thickness, about 3cm (1½ inches). Drag the chicken through the flour mix, make sure each breast is well coated.

Chicken breasts pounded with mallet until even thickness. Dragged through flour rub.

Pan-fry the chicken for 2-3 minutes each side until golden.

Chicken breasts pan frying in spiced flour rub.

Once the chicken has been pan fried, place in an oven proof dish so they are all pretty much in an even layer. Pour over the sauce and bake for 15-18 minutes. Halfway through cooking, remove from the oven and baste the chicken with the sauce.

Devilled Chicken sauce pouring over chicken breasts. In an ovenproof dish before and after baking.

Expert Tips

This is the perfect level of heat if you are serving for small children but if your family can handle more heat then add another teaspoon of chilli flakes and ½ - 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper.

Depending on the size of the pan you may need to pan fry the chicken in batches.

Basting the chicken with the sauce halfway through cooking helps to keep the chicken breasts juicy and also helps to thicken the sauce.

The chicken is fully cooked after its time in the oven when the internal temp of chicken is 75°C (167°F) in the thickest part.

This meal can also be fancy enough for a dinner party. If I’m serving it to just adults I also add in a couple of tablespoons of brandy to the sauce before pouring over the chicken. This does glam up the dish a bit.

FAQs

Is Devilled Chicken mild enough for toddlers?

Yes, I served this to my toddlers when they were little but if you want to be ultra sure then you can remove the chilli flakes entirely.

What’s the best chicken cut for Devilled Chicken?

Our family prefer chicken breast as it’s the quickest to cook. However, chicken thighs can be a more juicy dish with richer flavour. You need to increase the oven time to 30 minutes if you are making it with boneless chicken thighs. 40 minutes if they have the bone.

Can you make it ahead of time?

Yes, you can make the whole meal from start to finish up to 2 days before serving. Cover the dish with plastic wrap (cling film) and keep chilled in the refrigerator.

What’s the best way to re-heat?

Place in an oven pre-heated to 200°C / 180°C fan assisted / gas mark 6 / 400°F, cover with aluminium foil, and bake for 15-20 minutes until the internal temperature of the chicken is 75°C (167°F) in the thickest part. Let it stand for 2-3 minutes before serving.

Can you freeze Devilled Chicken?

Yes, cook the whole dish and allow to cool completely. You can freeze in individual portions in airtight containers for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge then re-heat either in the microwave for 4 minutes or in the oven (as above).

Serving Suggestions

Devilled Chicken is delicious served with all sorts of sides:

Potatoes: Mashed potatoes, buttered new potatoes or roast potatoes are all splendid choices.
Rice. The rice is absolutely delicious at soaking up the sauce. It's my personal favourite.
Vegetables. Buttered greens like fine green beans, broccoli or savoy cabbage are excellent choices. Personally I have to have mine with baby carrots too!
Salad. Lovely with a crunchy chopped salad or a leafy green salad. The choice is yours.

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