This recipe for Roasted Lemon Chicken Thighs with Potatoes is a one-pan dinner that you can prepare in 5 minutes with only 7 ingredients, throw in the oven, and then relax while it cooks––perfect for those weeknights when you stumble into your apartment and immediately run downstairs to don a pair of sweatpants. Unless that’s just me.
It’s deceptively simple, but the combination of lemon, olive oil, herbs, chicken, and potatoes is hard to beat. If you’re into using lemons for roast chicken in general, you’ll love this. The great thing about using chicken thighs––as opposed to a whole bird––is that they’re a bit easier to handle and cook. Plus, the potatoes absorb the chicken-y flavor from being roasted in the same pan.
I like serving this dish with a simple salad to round out the meal. I just make a really easy lemon vinaigrette with honey, olive oil, dijon mustard, and salt and pepper. Easy peasy.
Roasted Lemon Chicken: Recipe Instructions
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F, and season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a roasting pan set over two burners at medium high heat.
Sear the chicken skin-side down in the roasting pan.
After the chicken thighs have been searing for about 5-7 minutes, flip them over. Add the potatoes and stir them in the oil. Add the lemon slices and garlic cloves, tossing everything together so the potatoes and garlic are well-coated in olive oil.
Transfer the chicken to the oven and cook for another 30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the potatoes are tender. Remove from the oven and stir in the herbs. Serve.
If you prefer using boneless chicken thighs, see our post on How to debone skin-on chicken thighs and adjust/reduce cooking times accordingly.
Roasted Lemon Chicken Thighs with Potatoes
Ingredients
- 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 1/2 pounds Eastern or Yukon Gold potatoes (680g, scrubbed and cut into 1-inch chunks)
- 1 lemon (sliced)
- 10 cloves garlic (peeled)
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro or parsley leaves
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F, and season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a roasting pan set over two burners at medium high heat.
- Sear the chicken skin-side down in the roasting pan. After the chicken thighs have been searing for about 5-7 minutes, flip them over. Add the potatoes and stir them in the oil. Add the lemon slices and garlic cloves, tossing everything together so the potatoes and garlic are well-coated in olive oil.
- Transfer the chicken to the oven and cook for another 30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the potatoes are tender. Remove from the oven and stir in the herbs. Serve.
Delicious. Family favorite. The fat from the chicken makes the potatoes taste so good. I made it as written the first time and the potatoes took too long to cook. Next time I made them smaller and the timing was better.
Thank you, Dennis! Good tip about the potatoes, cutting them smaller definitely reduces the cooking time.
Is the nutritional information per serving or total?
Per serving, Brett!
I would love to try making this, but I don’t have an oven. How can this be modified for the chicken to be cooked in an Instant Pot instead? :)
Hi Aika, I’ve never tried roasting anything in the Instant Pot—to my knowledge, it’s mostly for steaming or stewing/braising. I could suggest a different chicken recipe to make in the Instant Pot: https://thewoksoflife.com/instant-pot-soy-sauce-chicken/
Thank you so much, Sarah! :)
This was easy and so good! It ended up being a last minute contribution to my son and his family. There was nothing left. I did get a quick request to make it again.
Amazing, Pam! Thank you so much!
Wow, this was easy and delish!
Thanks Jen!
Yum! I threw on some asparagus for the last 10 minutes. My husband loved it too. I’m adding it to the rotation.
So happy to hear you both enjoyed it, Nancy! Adding asparagus for extra veg sounds great!
Quick and easy! Tastes fantastic!
Thanks Amy!
Hi! I want to try out this recipe but my family prefers Chicken Breast. Is it possible doing it with breast instead of thighs? Would it dry out? Do I have to adjust the baking time?