We’ve got a delicious tavuk güveç for you in this article; a delicious restaurant-style Turkish chicken casserole recipe.
And what comes with it is a bit of (perhaps regional) clarification.
An absolute stalwart of the menus of Turkish restaurants around Fethiye – and around many parts of the rest of the country for that matter – is the always-delicious Turkish chicken casserole.
Tender chicken pieces bubbling in the rich flavours of the juices and vegetables in a güveç (clay pot).
In fact, when we did a readers’ poll about their favourite dishes in Turkish cuisine, chicken güveç was right up there.
We know when our friends come over on holiday, it’s a dish that is often ordered in restaurants.
And we love it, too!
Turkish Chicken Casserole Variations
Depending on the restaurant you order it at, your chicken casserole might be made with chopped tomatoes.
Or it might simply be a sauce with a base of diluted salça (tomato paste) with lots of olive oil.
Or sometimes, you can get a kremalı tavuk güveç – we’re moving away from the world of healthy meals here – because the sauce of this Turkish chicken casserole recipe is made with cream!
It’s delightful!
How Do You Eat Yours?
And then you have the big choice… To cheese or not to cheese?
Most people we know love oodles of melted cheese on top of their güveç dishes.
When we did our vegetable güveç recipe, (a vegan and vegetarian version of this dish) we made two individual ones – one with cheese and one without. Because Barry just does not do cheese-topped casseroles.
I’m actually not a massive fan of cheese-topped güveç dishes, either. So please bear with us here, dear reader.
We’re going to be doing a lovely, rich tomatoey bubbling Turkish chicken güveç. And as we make it in one earthenware güveç pot between the two of us…no cheese!
Feel free to grate some cheese over yours when you make it. Just let it melt in the oven for a couple of minutes.
A Güveç By Any Other Name
The Turkish word, güveç, is a word used for stew, casserole and the traditional earthenware pot that it is cooked in.
But if we were being picky, here, when you’re served a chicken güveç in a restaurant (at least in the Fethiye area), more often than not, you’re actually being served kiremitte tavuk.
A kiremit is a clay tile. And the word is used for the shallow, oval-shaped earthen pot that your meal is usually served in.
Naturally, it’s going to cook a lot quicker than the slow, long time cooking of a deep pan stew.
Whatever you choose to call it, though, this chicken güveç recipe is definitely a great crowd pleaser!
Our Turkish Chicken Güveç Ingredients – A Few Notes
When we make our restaurant-style Turkish chicken casserole, it is a few simple ingredients that we like to prep first.
The Chicken
Whilst we love the meat from chicken thighs, whenever you order a chicken casserole in a Turkish restaurant, it has usually been made with chicken breast.
So that’s what we use in our recipe.
When cooking cubed chicken breast, it can sometimes be a bit dry and bland. That’s the last thing we want for our güveç.
Even if you don’t serve it with any accompaniments, Turkish chicken casserole should be a hearty dish with tender chicken pieces that are packed with flavour.
So, after cutting two breasts into bite-sized chunks, we marinate them for a couple of hours.
If you have a homemade all-purpose Turkish spice blend, you can use that. We also sometimes use a mixed ‘chicken spice’ that we buy from the spice stalls at Fethiye fish market.
Alternatively, you can use cajun spice mix, too.
We also add a splash of freshly squeezed lemon juice. Then a good drizzle of olive oil, before mixing it all to make sure the chicken pieces are covered.
The Casserole Vegetables
Unlike our veggie güveç where we play around with various seasonal vegetables, the chicken güveç generally has staple vegetables of:
- onion
- tomato
- red & green pepper
You’ll sometimes see mushroom, too.
And, as we always have some mushrooms in the fridge, they’re always part of our casserole; button mushrooms or even seasonal Saffron Milk Caps.
And a good Turkish chicken casserole needs LOTS of lovely fresh garlic, too! This will soften as it cooks and the flavour will be subtle.
The Final Result?
It’s up to you how much juice you want in your casserole.
Whichever restaurant you go to, some will have a mere suggestion, whilst others will have lots of delicious juices of the güveç for enjoying.
There’s no right or wrong. And we’re a bit betwixt and between.
A lovely sauce made richer with a knob of butter and a cup of diluted salça in hot water for adding as-and-when.
If you want accompaniments, use separate bowls to serve some of the famous Turkish rice or potato wedges (elma dilim patates) and a salad like shepherd’s salad.
Obviously, some bread for dipping always works well, too!
Our Turkish Chicken Casserole Recipe – Tavuk Güveç
Okay, let’s get cooking…
And if you love the idea of this chicken güveç, check out another of our meaty güveç recipes. The slow-cooked güveçte sucuk.
Turkish Chicken Casserole Recipe (Tavuk Güveç)
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- 450 grams chicken breast (chopped into bite-sized chunks)
- 2 medium tomatoes (peeled & roughly chopped)
- 5 cloves garlic (peeled & roughly chopped)
- 1 medium onion (peeled & halved from top to bottom and sliced into half moons)
- 1 medium red bell pepper (deseeded & chopped into small pieces)
- 1 medium long green pepper (left whole or chopped into large chunks)
- 150 grams button mushrooms (roughly chopped into small chunks)
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme (dried thyme or oregano)
- 2 teaspoons tomato paste
- 20 grams butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt (or to season to taste)
For The Chicken Marinade
- 2 teaspoons Turkish chicken spice mix (or cajun spices)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon chilli flakes
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ lemon (juice of)
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First of all, add your chicken pieces to a bowl along with all of the marinade ingredients. Mix them all together to ensure all the chicken pieces are coated and then leave to one side for a couple of hours.
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When you are ready to make your chicken güveç, add your butter, olive oil, one of your chopped tomatoes and kekik to your clay pot and place in the centre of your oven.
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Turn the heat to
200 °C so that your dish starts to heat up along with the ingredients. -
Meanwhile, fry your marinated chicken pieces on a high heat for three or four minutes until it is coloured on the outside.
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Now remove your clay pot from the oven, add your chicken pieces and salt and give everything a stir.
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Also pour in 3 tablespoons of your diluted salça mix and place back in the centre of the oven for 15 minutes.
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Meanwhile, in the same pan you used for your chicken, add your onion, red pepper, mushroom and garlic to the frying pan and fry over a high heat for approximately 5 minutes until they have coloured and softened (add more oil if necessary) before adding your second chopped tomato.
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Give all of that a stir for a few seconds before removing from the heat.
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After 15 minutes, remove your clay pot chicken from the oven and scatter the fried vegetables and tomato over the top before gently pushing them down into the juices.
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At this stage, you can add more of the diluted salça if you like.
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Now place your fresh green pepper over the top and return the chicken casserole to the oven for a further 10 minutes or until our green pepper has started to colour and soften.
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Remove from the oven and serve immediately.
- As with all of our recipes, our Turkish chicken casserole nutritional values are calculated by a 3rd party API and are meant as a rough guide only. Please do your own due diligence if you have any special dietary requirements.
- Turkish markets sell long, pointed green peppers (sivri biber). If you can’t get these, a green bell pepper is fine.
- Some people like to have melted kaşar cheese over the top of your chicken güveç. If you want to add cheese, grate it over the top after cooking and pop it back in the oven for a minute or two until it has melted. Choose a cheese that melts easily.
- We have said in the recipe that you can serve your chicken güveç immediately. In Turkish restaurants, this meal is often brought to your table still bubbling hot, straight from the kitchen.
- This style of Turkish chicken casserole is often served with separate sides of rice pilaf and a salad.
Calories: 578kcalCarbohydrates: 27gProtein: 55gFat: 30gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 166mgSodium: 1574mgPotassium: 1903mgFiber: 8gSugar: 13gVitamin A: 5345IUVitamin C: 161mgCalcium: 109mgIron: 5mg
You will be able to find our Turkish chicken casserole recipe in the Stews & Casseroles section of our Turkish recipes collection.
Afiyet Olsun!