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Chicken Marbella has roasted chicken with olives and prunes in a fantastic sweet and sour Mediterranean-inspired sauce.
What is Chicken Marbella?
Chicken Marbella is a recipe from one of my long-standing favorite cookbooks, The Silver Palate Cookbook – featuring recipes from that once-popular food shop in New York City. In the cookbook, the intro to this recipe explains that Chicken Marbella was the first main-course dish to be offered at the shop – and it was popular with Silver Palate customers for many years!
To make it, pieces of chicken are marinated in a combination of garlic, oregano, red wine vinegar, prunes, olives, capers and bay leaves. This combination of flavors is quite eclectic – but the finished dish is simply fantastic!
Chicken Marbella cooks up moist and tender with a crispy skin thanks to a sprinkle of brown sugar that is added to the top of the chicken before roasting. Additionally, the marinade cooks into a wonderful sweet and sour sauce with Mediterranean-inspired flavors that is so delicious!
The name, Chicken Marbella, is likely inspired by Marbella, Spain – a Mediterranean city and resort on the coast of Costa del Sol in the Andalusia region of southern Spain. Outside of the coastal tourist and commercial areas, the terrain in Marbella is much more rugged, with very little vegetation except for olive trees that thrive in the warm and sunny climate.
Why You’ll Love Chicken Marbella
- The combination of flavors is savory and sweet and you’ll be craving this dish once you try it!
- It’s gorgeous to look at with the deep caramelized chicken skin against the bright green of the olives.
- This impressive dish is a perfect choice for a special dinner party. But, it’s a snap to make so you can easily make this for a weeknight dinner as well.
Reader Review
“I have been repeatedly making this for one year. I also looking for savory and exotic new dinner recipes and this completely fulfilled that. My husband and I absolutely love this and it’s perfect for a weekday dinner or special event!! I can’t give this recipe enough praise!” -Catie
Key Ingredients & Substitutions
- Chicken – Buy a whole chicken and cut it into pieces, or buy a variety of skin-on chicken pieces including breasts, thighs, legs, and wings.
- Fresh Garlic
- Seasonings – Including dry oregano, kosher salt, and freshly-ground black pepper.
- Red Wine Vinegar
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Whole Pitted Prunes
- Green Spanish Olives – Pitted and left whole. You can used stuffed or unstuffed olives.
- Capers
- Bay Leaves
- White Wine
- Fresh Parsley
Special Tools You’ll Need
- Cutting Board and Sharp Knife
- Various Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Gallon Zipper Seal Bag
- Small Bowl
- Whisk
- Baking Dish (9×13-inches)
- Instant-Read Probe Thermometer
- Serving Platter
- Gravy Separator
- Gravy Boat
How Do I Make Chicken Marbella?
- Cut the chicken into pieces, leaving the skin on.
- Place the chicken pieces in a zipper seal bag.
- Mix the marinade, then pour it over the chicken.
- Seal the bag and marinate the chicken overnight in the refrigerator.
- The next day, bring marinated chicken back to room temperature and preheat the oven.
- Place chicken pieces in a shallow baking dish. Pour the marinade and solids over the chicken.
- Sprinkle brown sugar over the chicken pieces.
- Pour white wine around the outside of the chicken.
- Bake the chicken, basting every 15 to 20 minutes or so, until the largest pieces are done. (Use the probe thermometer to test the internal temperature; remove chicken from the oven when it reaches 155 F.)
- Turn the oven to broil and put back in oven just long enough to caramelize and slightly brown the skin.
- Remove chicken pieces to a serving platter and spoon the olives, prunes, and capers around the platter. Garnish with some chopped fresh parsley.
- Pour the cooking liquid into a gravy separator to remove any excess fat from the juices.
- Serve with the juice on the side.
Cooking Tips & Tricks
- The original recipe did not include broiling the chicken after it is done roasting. We preferred a more caramelized and crispy skin for this dish so added the broiling step (plus we think it looks more appetizing). You can skip broiling the chicken if you prefer.
- The original recipe also suggests that this recipe can be adapted using wingettes and drumettes, and serving it as an appetizer. This Chicken Marbella is also delicious served hot or cold!
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I make Chicken Marbella ahead of time? Yes. You’ll marinate the chicken overnight so plan for that. Also, this dish can be cooked ahead of time and reheated or served chilled.
- How do I store leftovers? Store chicken and sauce in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
- How do I reheat leftovers? You can warm individual portions in the microwave, or place chicken and sauce in a skillet and reheat on the stove.
This Chicken Marbella recipe originally appeared on A Family Feast in September 2014. We’ve updated the post and added new photos, but the delicious recipe remains the same. Here are the original recipe photos – back then, we left the wings attached to the breast.
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Chicken Marbella
Chicken Marbella has roasted chicken with olives and prunes in a fantastic sweet and sour Mediterranean-inspired sauce.
Ingredients
1 whole chicken, 5 pounds in weight, or purchase 3 1/2 pounds of already cut chicken pieces (3 1/2 pounds after trimming off backbone, neck, gizzards, etc)
1 1/2 tablespoons garlic that has been passed through a garlic press (or finely minced)
1 1/2 tablespoons dry oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup pitted prunes, left whole
1/2 cup green Spanish olives, pitted and left whole (stuffed or not doesn’t matter)
1/4 cup capers with a little liquid
4 bay leaves
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white wine
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Remove the backbone, wing tips, neck and keel bone from the chicken and freeze for stock. Cut the chicken into into thighs, drumsticks, wings and cut each breast half in half again to yield ten total chicken pieces, then place in a zip lock gallon size bag. (Alternatively, you could leave the wing attached to the breast, and the thigh attached to the drum stick for larger pieces)
- In a small bowl mix garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, red wine vinegar, olive oil, prunes, olives, capers, and bay leaves. Mix together and pour over chicken. Seal the bag and marinate overnight.
- The next day, bring marinated chicken to room temperature, then preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Place the chicken pieces in a shallow baking pan (ours was a 10×14-inch oval dish but a deep 9×13-inch casserole dish would work), and pour marinade over chicken and let solids fall around the chicken pieces.
- Sprinkle the brown sugar over the chicken pieces and pour the white wine around the outside of the chicken.
- Bake uncovered for 50 minutes, basting every 15-20 minutes. Remove when the internal temperature of the largest piece is at 155 degrees F., about 50 minutes.
- Place under the broiler to crisp the skin.
- Remove to a platter and spoon prunes, olives and capers over each piece. Then sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve the remaining liquid on the side.
- Pour the liquid into a gravy separator to remove the fat and pour into a gravy boat. The liquid is quite tasty actually and was good for dipping the chicken pieces in as we ate.
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Notes
Note: The original recipe from The Silver Palate Cookbook uses four 2½ pound chickens – which serves a large crowd. We cut the amount of chicken back to one 5 pound chicken (3 1/2 pounds after trimming) but left the solids the same since the finished dish seemed like it could use more of the fruit and olives. Our version is a loose adaptation of the original recipe. In preparing this dish, make sure you leave enough time to marinate overnight.
I am planning to prepare this dish for a dinner party of 8. What sides do you suggest?
Hi Becky – This dish has a lot of flavor and really is the star – so I’d choose sides that will complement rather than try to steal the show. A simple side of rice or potatoes are a good option, a simple mixed greens salad (we have a Favorite Vinaigrette recipe on our site that is also from the Silver Palate), green beans or asparagus. Hope that gives you some ideas!
This recipe looks delicious. I’m serving it over a busy weekend with house guests. My question is, could I make the marinade up two days before and add the chicken the night before I plan to prepare the meal? Thanks, Margo
Hi Margo – I don’t see any reason why the marinade can’t be mixed up ahead of time. Enjoy the recipe!
I just wanted to check, it might seem like a silly question, but all ? are important!
when making this meal, does the prunes cause any issues with loose bowels. Just
wondering bc of the 1 cup of prunes?
Thanks so much
Hi Amy – We didn’t have any issues with the prunes. The recipe makes 4-6 portions so that one cup is spread across all of the servings. But if you’re worried about it, we’d still make the dish with the prunes for flavor and feel free to skip eating them. Hope that helps!
I’ve made the original Silver Palate recipe several times and think it is too rich. If i make it again I’ll reduce the amount of brown sugar and maybe even use fewer prunes. It’s just too sweet as it is.
Thanks for letting us know Julie!
I ate this at a friend’s home and was blown away. It was the best thing I had ever eaten. She also added dried cranberries to her dish-DELISH! Since then I have made this more times than I know, but it is a winner every time.
What a great idea Mary Beth! (I can’t wait to make this again – adding dried cranberries!) So glad you are enjoying the recipe.
I made this for diner tonight. I used skinless, boneless chicken thighs because my family likes them. I was delighted and a bit surprised how the flavors all come together to create such a wonderful feast. I served if with a rice blend of Texmati, White, Brown, Wild & Red. The sauce was too good not to use, and we enjoyed it over the rice. This would be a wonderful dinner for guests since all you really need to do is bake it on the day of. I will be enjoying this recipe for many years to come. Many thanks…
Sounds like a great dinner Susan! We’re very glad you enjoyed this recipe as much as we do!
I made this tonight, it turned out great. The flavors meld so well together. I used boneless thighs and breast and came out very moist. I served this with a brocolli and kale salad and pearl coucous. Had pleanty of leftovers and i bet the flavors will be even better.
Thanks Lee! So glad you enjoyed the recipe – and bonus – you’ve got leftovers to enjoy today! Thanks for writing to us!
I had this amazing dish this past weekend that I dear friend of mine made. I forgot to ask her for the recipe so I’m trilled to have found it. Thank You!!!
Thanks Debbie! Enjoy!
This was every bit as delicious and the picture is beautiful! I used a package of 4 thighs and also 2 large breasts. I did turn the heat up toward the end to give it a charred look and crisp it a little!
Thanks Molly! Agree – its best with a little caramelizing at the end of the cooking time!
WOW! this looks so good. I am not even a fan of green olives or capers, so the fact that I’m still hoping to make this soon says something 🙂 Beautiful photos!
Thanks Karen! The flavors really mellow during the baking process – I predict we’ll make a olives & capers lover out of you yet! Thanks for taking the time to write to us tonight! Martha
What do you think about dried apricots instead of prunes?
Hi Christie – It will add a sweeter taste and the texture of the fruit won’t be as tender, but you can certainly try it.