Roast Chicken with Potatoes, Onions and Raisins, your typical roast chicken casserole but with a delicious and unexpected, sweet little twist: raisins! Who doesn't enjoy a delicious roast chicken dinner? Like most families who are rushing to get dinner on the table, we sometimes resort to picking up a grocery store rotisserie chicken and make some side dishes to go along with it. But honestly, a roast chicken dinner can be so easy and effortless.
Roast Chicken with Potatoes, Onions and Raisins is one of those dishes. It's perfect for a weekday family dinner or weekend entertaining. It does take an hour to bake, but it can easily be prepared the night before and reheated for the next night's dinner.
The secret ingredient is......raisins!
The key ingredients that flavor this dish are the raisins, bay leaves and white wine. The raisins become plump as they absorb the juices and wine while roasting. The unexpected sweetness when you bite into a raisin perfectly compliments the other ingredients. It's a wonderful balance of sweet and savory all in one dish.
So what's up with the raisins in a chicken dish? Raisins are incorporated in several savory Sicilian dishes. Here are a few other Sicilian recipes with raisins added that I've shard with you:
So, as you can see it's definitely a Sicilian thing!
And in case you're thinking that your kids will never eat chicken with raisins in it, no worries. The raisins blend into the cooking juices at the bottom of the roasting pan and you can barely tell that they are there. You'll occasionally bite into a little something sweet that simply enhances the whole dish!
Step by Step Instructions:
The following are step by step instructions with images to guide you through this recipe. Scroll down to the end of this post for a detailed printable recipe card!
Prepare your bed of vegetables in a roasting pan:
Thinly slice 2 onions; peel and slice into wedges 2 pounds of potatoes (5-6 potatoes) and place in a large rectangular roasting pan. I prefer Russet potatoes in this dish. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Stir in raisins.
Brown your chicken:
I used 6 chicken legs with thighs attached, skin on and bone in. In a small bowl, combine paprika, salt and pepper. Sprinkle evenly over the chicken pieces.
Brown both sides of the chicken pieces in a hot pan in a bit of olive oil, about 3 minutes per side. Don't overcrowd your pan, it's best to brown the chicken in batches.
Place the browned chicken over the onions, potatoes and raisins. Top with bay leaves and pour white wine around the edges of the pan, not directly over the chicken. Bake in a preheated 375F for one hour or until your thermometer registers 180F.
For extra crispy skin, broil the chicken for 2-3 minutes at the end of cooking.
Serve hot along with the tasty pan juices.
Tips and suggestions:
- Don't skip the browning of the chicken in a skillet step before roasting! This adds extra color and flavor to your chicken
- I prefer using chicken legs with the thighs attached since I'm partial to dark meat but you can use chicken breasts if you prefer, just stick to bone-in and skin-on pieces.
- Don't forget to pour those delicious juices that accumulate at the bottom of the pan over the chicken when serving. That's where all the flavor is, as well as those tasty raisins!
- Leftovers are equally delicious reheated the following day!
If you try out this recipe, don't forget to tag me with @mangiabedda on Instagram so I can see your lovely dishes. Feel free to Pin the recipe for later. Buon appetito!

Ingredients
- 2 large onions thinly sliced
- 2 lbs potatoes (5-6 potatoes) peeled and cut into wedges
- salt and pepper to taste
- ⅓ cup raisins
- 2 tbsp. olive oil divided
- 6 pieces chicken legs with thighs skin-on and bone-in
- 1 ½ teaspoon sweet paprika
- 2 teaspoon salt
- pepper to taste
- 6 bay leaves
- 1 cup white wine
Instructions
- Place sliced onions and potatoes in a roasting pan and toss with 1 tbsp. olive oil, salt and pepper. Stir in the raisins.
- Preheat oven to 375F. Combine paprika, salt and pepper and sprinkle evenly over both sides of the chicken pieces.
- Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in a large skillet and brown the chicken 3-4 minutes on each side. Place in the prepared roasting pan over the vegetables. Add the bay leaves. Pour the white wine around the edges of the pan, not over the chicken.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour, flipping the chicken halfway, or until a thermometer registers 180F. For extra colour, broil for 2 minutes, flip the chicken and broil the other side for 2-3 minutes. Serve hot with the pan juices.
Notes
- Don't skip the browning of the chicken in a skillet step before roasting! You want to get that crisp, golden skin for extra flavor before baking.
- I prefer using chicken legs with the thighs attached since I'm partial to dark meat but you can use chicken breasts if you prefer, just stick to bone-in and skin-on pieces.
- Don't forget to pour those delicious juices that accumulate at the bottom of the pan over the chicken when serving. That's where all the flavor is, as well as those tasty raisins!
- Leftovers are equally delicious reheated the following day!
- Please note that the nutritional information provided is approximate and may vary according to exact portion size.
Nutrition
Nadia Fazio
This chicken recipe is great for Sunday dinners. Do try adding the raisins, as odd as it may seem to you! The occasional bite of a little something sweet is perfect in this recipe. The addition of raisins to a savory dish is very much Sicilian!