Chutney and mayonnaise may sound like strange ingredients to add to a chicken bake, but once you've tasted this mouthwatering chutney and mayonnaise chicken bake you'll be making it again and again.
This chutney and mayonnaise chicken bake with rice is a firm South African favourite recipe. I've been making it for years! It's one of those tried and trusted South African recipes (such as this chicken curry) that South African housewives turn to whenever they're looking for a tasty and nutritious meal to feed the family.
It's a simple dish to make, with only a few ingredients. Chicken and rice are the main ones along with fruit chutney and mayonnaise plus a few pantry staples for seasoning. And the taste is out of this world. The rice bakes to perfection in the oven, absorbing all the lovely flavours, while the chicken is mouthwateringly tender.
You might think that the combination of chutney and mayonnaise is quite a strange one, but once you've tasted it, you'll realise how well these ingredients work together. The fruit chutney adds a slight sweetness, which is tempered somewhat by the addition of Worcestershire sauce. The mayonnaise adds a delicious creamy tang to the dish but you don't taste the mayonnaise flavour at all.
The original recipe (as made in South Africa) calls for a packet of dried onion soup mix which is reconstituted in water before being added with the other ingredients into the dish. For some reason, I can't seem to find dried onion soup mix in the shops in the UK, so I've substituted this with lightly fried chopped onion. To be honest, I think that the fresh onions make this dish taste even better.
Of course, being a South African recipe, the recommended chutney is Mrs Balls. No self-respecting housewife would be without a bottle. You can buy it on Amazon and also in the larger Sainsbury's outlets, and if you'd like to make your own Mrs Balls chutney I've got a recipe for it. It doesn't really matter though, any fruity chutney will work well.
Another favourite that I've been making since my time in Africa is this amazing French onion chicken casserole. You might like to try that too.
So without further ado, grab your chutney and mayonnaise and let's get on with the recipe.
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What you will need
Equipment
To make the dish you will need an oven-proof casserole dish large enough to hold both the rice and the chicken. The dish needs to be able to be used both on the hob (for browning the onions) and then in the oven (for cooking the casserole). If you don't have one you can brown the onions in a frying pan and then transfer them to a casserole dish with a tightly-fitting lid.
Ingredients
This chutney mayonnaise chicken recipe will easily feed 4 people.
These are the ingredients you will need for this chicken and rice bake.
- chicken pieces - you can use drumsticks, thighs or a combination of the two. I used a whole medium-sized chicken which I jointed. I would recommend leaving the skin on the chicken as the dish is browned in the oven after it has cooked. Leaving the skin on not only results in crispy skin, but also prevents the chicken from drying out.
- fruit chutney - as I mentioned earlier, Mrs Balls is the chutney of choice, but any fruity chutney will do. In addition to my Mrs Balls recipe, you might also like to try this recipe for pear and onion chutney.
- mayonnaise - use a good quality mayonnaise. If you've run out of mayonnaise, here's a recipe for one-minute mayonnaise.
- Worcestershire sauce - the saltiness of the Worcestershsire sauce helps prevent the dish from being too sweet.
- tomato puree - you may know this as tomato paste, which is highly concentrated tomatoes - not to be confused with tomato sauce or ketchup.
- rice - I prefer basmati, but any long-grained rice will work well. I haven't tried to use brown rice in this recipe as it takes longer to cook than basmati and may not cook completely in the time this recipe takes.
- chicken stockpot - I dissolved this in 1 and a half cups of water. If you have fresh chicken stock by all means use this instead.
- onion - the onion should be peeled and diced. It will be softened in a little oil before being added to the other ingredients.
- You will also need salt for seasoning and sunflower oil for frying the onion.
**See the printable recipe card at the end of this post for exact quantities**
What to do
Heat the oil in your casserole dish and fry the onions on moderate heat until they are just starting to turn translucent.
Remove the pan from the heat. Add the uncooked rice to the onions and stir until the rice is well coated with the oil.
Tip - if your casserole dish is unsuitable for the hob, fry the onions in a frying pan then transfer them to a casserole dish and continue from the second step.
Mix in the stock, Worcestershire sauce and tomato paste. Add a teaspoon of salt (or to your own taste).
Stir in the chutney and the mayonnaise.
Nestle the chicken pieces into the pan.
Cover with a lid and bake in a preheated oven (180C / 360F) for one hour.
Tip - if your casserole dish doesn't have a lid, cover the dish tightly with a layer of tinfoil.
Remove the lid and continue to bake for a further 10 minutes until the chicken is lightly browned and the skin has started to crisp.
Serving suggestions
Because there is already a starch in this recipe in the form of rice, you probably won't want to serve this dish with potatoes.
However, fresh vegetables make a nice accompaniment. Here are a few of my favourites:
Variations
There are quite a few ways in which you could vary this dish:
- Spicy - add chilli pepper flakes along with the onions to add a touch of heat.
- Garlic - this goes well with chicken so you could fry up a couple of cloves of crushed garlic with the onions.
- Vegetables - try adding a chopped red pepper, either in addition to or instead of the onions.
Storage
I wouldn't freeze this dish. Because the rice absorbs a lot of liquid as it cooks it would become stodgy once frozen and reheated.
Leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and reheated either in the microwave or in a pan on the stove.
FAQ
If you would like to make this dish without the rice you can leave it out. In this case, you should also leave out the chicken stock. There will be a lot of delicious chutney and mayonnaise-flavoured sauce if you leave out the rice, so I would suggest serving it with mashed potatoes.
Save for later
If you would like to make this easy chutney mayonnaise chicken why not save the recipe to one of your Pinterest boards so you can find it easily? Just click on the image below.
Alternatively, you can save the recipe by clicking on the floating heart icon on the right-hand side of the screen.
Related
Perhaps you'd like to try some of my other easy chicken recipes:
You can find these and other delicious ideas for chicken meals on my chicken and poultry recipes page.
📋The recipe
Chutney and mayonnaise chicken bake
(Click the stars to rate this recipe)
Equipment
- Dutch oven
- Frying Pan optional
Ingredients
- 2 pounds / 900 grams bone-in chicken pieces with skin (thighs and/or drumsticks)
- ¾ cup / 180 ml fruit chutney
- ¾ cup / 180 ml mayonnaise
- 1 large onion peeled and diced
- 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons tomato puree / tomato paste
- 1 cup / 200 grams uncooked white basmati rice
- 1 chicken stockpot mixed with 1½ cups boiling water OR 1½ cups chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 to 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C / 360°F
- Peel the onion and cut it into ½-inch dice1 large onion
- Heat the oil in your casserole dish and fry the onions on moderate heat until they are just starting to turn translucent.1 to 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
- Remove the pan from the heat. Add the uncooked rice to the onions and stir until the rice is well coated with the oil.1 cup / 200 grams uncooked white basmati rice
- Mix in the stock, Worcestershire sauce and tomato paste. Add a teaspoon of salt (or to your own taste).3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, 2 tablespoons tomato puree / tomato paste, 1 chicken stockpot mixed with 1½ cups boiling water, 1 teaspoon salt
- Stir in the chutney and the mayonnaise.¾ cup / 180 ml fruit chutney, ¾ cup / 180 ml mayonnaise
- Nestle the chicken pieces into the pan.2 pounds / 900 grams bone-in chicken pieces with skin
- Cover with a lid and bake in a preheated oven (180C / 360F) for one hour.
- Remove the lid and continue to bake for a further 10 minutes until the chicken is lightly browned and the skin has started to crisp.
- Serve hot with fresh vegetables.
Notes
- Spicy - add chilli pepper flakes along with the onions to add a touch of heat.
- Garlic - this goes well with chicken so you could fry up a couple of cloves of crushed garlic with the onions.
- Vegetables - try adding a chopped red pepper, either in addition to or instead of the onions.
- I wouldn't freeze this dish. Because the rice absorbs a lot of liquid as it cooks it would become stodgy once frozen and reheated.
- Leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and reheated either in the microwave or in a pan on the stove.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.
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