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People holding oven roasted tandoori chicken

Easy Oven Baked Tandoori Chicken Recipe

Safiya
Tandoori chicken is a popular Indian dish and one of my favorites. I often make it at home and it's always a hit. Try this east Tandoori chicken marinated in yogurt, spices, and herbs with Indian cilantro sauce.
5 from 3 votes
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Course Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine American, Indian
Servings 6
Calories 225 kcal

Ingredients 

Tandoori Chicken

  • 3 pounds bone-in skin removed chicken drumsticks (see notes for boneless chicken) , or chicken thighs or leg quarters
  • 1 packet tandoori masala , or 4 tablespoons or less for mildly spiced chicken
  • ¼ cup lemon juice
  • ½ cup strained yogurt
  • ¼ cup oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt (do not add if tandoori masala contains salt) , or to taste

Cilantro Sauce

  • 1 small bunch of cilantro , cleaned and washed
  • ½ small green bell pepper , washed and chopped
  • ½ jalapeno , optional
  • 2 small garlic cloves
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cumin , optional
  • juice of half lemon
  • ½ teaspoon pink Himalayan salt , or to taste

Garnish

  • 1 Tablespoon chopped cilantro

Instructions 

  • Clean and pat dry chicken with a paper towel and transfer it to a large prep bowl. Set them aside. (see blog notes for cleaning chicken drumsticks)

Marinade the Chicken

  • Whisk strained yogurt with a fork in a medium prep bowl until smooth. Add tandoori masala, lemon juice, and oil to the yogurt and mix until well combined.
  • Massage the yogurt marinade on the chicken really well. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 15-30 minutes. For the best taste, marinate the chicken for 12 to 24 hours in the refrigerator.

Bake the Tandoori Chicken

  • Preheat the oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper. If you have a grill rack place it over a lined baking sheet.
  • Place marinated chicken over the rack or lined baking sheet. Leave about half an inch of space between each chicken piece, it will help all sides of bone-in chicken cook evenly.
  • Bake tandoori chicken for 30 minutes then turn the chicken pieces over. Brush it with oil or any leftover marinade you have in a bowl. Bake for another 10 minutes.

Indian Cilantro Sauce for Tandoori Chicken

  • Combine all the listed cilantro sauce ingredients in a blender or a chopper. Blend until your desired consistency for a sauce.

Garnish and Serve

  • Transfer baked chicken to a serving platter. Garnish with chopped cilantro. Serve it warm with Indian cilantro chutney and a generous squeeze of lemon with basmati rice, naan, or salad.

Notes

Boneless Tandoori Chicken

  • Use 2-pound boneless chicken breast or tenders instead of 3-pound bone-in chicken.
  • Follow the same cleaning and marinating the tandoori chicken instruction from the recipe card.
  • Bake the boneless chicken for 10 minutes at 400 F then turn over the chicken and bake for an additional 10 to 12 minutes. 

Nutrition Information

Serving: 6g ,Calories: 225kcal ,Carbohydrates: 0.9g ,Protein: 22.8g ,Fat: 13.9g ,Saturated Fat: 2.6g ,Cholesterol: 68mg ,Sodium: 553mg ,Potassium: 189mg ,Sugar: 0.9g ,Calcium: 26mg ,Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is sourced from a third-party application and should be considered as approximate figures for reference purposes only.

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