Turmeric Braised Chicken with Golden Beets and Leeks is a flavorful dish layered with vegetables and spices, covered with wine and baked in a casserole dish. What emerges from the oven once it’s done is the most incredible tasting chicken dish. A rich, golden broth with the perfect balance of flavors that will make you want to lick the bottom of the dish. It’s THAT good!
Golden beets, turmeric – I just love the colors in this dish! And the flavors were balanced and so flavorful, I made this two nights in a row! This dish is from Phoebe Lapine, book author of the Wellness Project, a book that chronicles her journey to heal her autoimmune disease (Hashimoto’s thyroiditis) while finding a balance to make a series of lifestyle changes. Her book has practical advice on fitness, sleep, relaxation, hormones, as well as cooking advice. There’s even 22 inflammation-fighting recipes for better digestion, clearer skin and a thriving thyroid, including this one.
I enjoyed this recipe as is. But if you want to swap the beets for another vegetable, I think potatoes would also work great. You can easily modify this to be Whole30 by swapping the wine for chicken broth.
Turmeric Braised Chicken with Golden Beets and Leeks
Ingredients
- 2 leeks, white and light green parts only
- 1 bunch, 4 golden beets with their greens, scrubbed
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons ground turmeric, divided
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 skinless chicken drumsticks, on the bone
- 4 skinless chicken thighs, on the bone
- 1/2 cup white wine, swap for chicken broth for whole30/paleo
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Slice the leeks in half lengthwise. Rinse them, fanning out the outer layers to wash away any grit. Slice the cleaned leeks into thin half-moons.
- Remove the greens from the beets. Rinse them and coarsely chop. Halve the beets and cut each section into four wedges.
- In a large mixing bowl, toss the leeks, beets, and beet greens together with the garlic, 1 teaspoon of turmeric, ginger, salt, lemon juice, and olive oil until thoroughly combined. Spoon the mixture into a 9 x 13-inch baking dish or casserole pan and arrange in an even layer.
- Add the chicken and the other teaspoon of turmeric to the mixing bowl and toss to coat in the remaining turmeric mixture. Transfer the chicken legs to the baking dish and nestle in the beet mixture.
- Drizzle any of the remaining marinade over the top of the chicken and pour the wine around the sides of the dish.
- Roast, uncovered, until the chicken is fork-tender and the beets are soft, about 1 hour.
Last Step:
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Wow. Followed the recipe exactly as written. Delicious! So much flavor.
I made this tonight and it came out amazing ! My friend wasn’t thrilled when she found out what I was making. Once she tried it she loved it ! Will definitely be making this again
What is the value of using the bone-in chicken?
Flavor
One of my favourite dishes yet. I couldn’t find golden beets/greens so just went with red. And I don’t care for leeks so I left them out. My boyfriend and I both loved this recipe and it was very simple to make. We had it alongside the spinach gratin and the combo was amazing.
I put this dish together before I left for work this morning. My husband put it in the oven later in the day and it was excellent. Fabulous flavors!!
Enjoyed this recipe will definitely make again, but i think I am missing part. Recipe identifies a marinade but I did not see any instructions for marinating the chucken. Is there a marinade I am missing that should be incorporated other than just the turmeric.
I missed this too because I dumped the mixture of beet greens, leeks and beets into the 13X9 pan. If you only spoon out the mixture you will be left with the lemon juice and olive oil marinade with the spices. That is what you are to pour over at the end.
Tried this tonight and it was a great one pan meal! Another successful Skinnnytaste dinner!
This was amazing. We went with red beets and I think it made it even more beautiful. Do not replace the beets with potatoes! The beets, leeks and turmeric are a fantastic combination!
Wonderful dish. Â I made it by the recipe except I used boneless chicken breast. Â To keep them from drying out I cooked the veggies for 30 minutes and the added the chicken. Â I kept the chicken marinating until I added it to the dish. Â Will be making this again !
deliriously delish!!!!! everyone in the family enjoyed your most wonderful tasty Turmeric Braised Chicken………Thank you Gina! BTW, I left the skins on the beets & dinner was a smash, yet, wondering once beets are roasted until tender, should beets be peeled and then served?
No they don’t have to be
I would like to use fresh tumeric root and fresh ginger as I have both at home, would you use less of each due to the stronger flavor or would you stick with the ground version of each?
I would use less, its hard for me to say how much without testing.
Usually, dried herbs and spices are MORE intense than fresh, and the typical recommendation is to use three times as much fresh as dried. Google “dry vs. fresh herbs and spices” (without quotes) for extensive discussion.
I saw some golden beets and thought of this recipe, which I had not done in awhile, and forgot how much we love it. Used all chicken legs and used kale as my beets had no greens attached. 5 beets useed, would be good to know weight of beets that you are shooting for in this recipe as sizes vary a lot. . Love the flavor of this recipe. It is a surprise how good it is if you have not tried it. A favorite with many healthy ingredients. If beets bigger would recommend slices or do in smaller chunks so they cook in an hour.
I was making this dish on autopilot, as it’s one of my very favorites, when I’m on whole 30 and every other day! I accidentally made it with cumin instead of tumeric (don’t ask, I was exhausted). It’s not quite as good to me, but my husband like it even better! So, if you make this a lot, as I do, change things up and try it with cumin sometime! You’ll like it. 🙂
I made this for Passover and it was delicious. Everyone loved it!
Trying the Keto diet and I love this recipe so I made this low carb by substituting the beets with cauliflower and substituted the greens with spinach. It was delicious and very low carb!