This easy baked Greek chicken and potatoes is a family favorite! The secret is in the lemon-garlic sauce which doubles up as a marinade. Whether you choose to marinate the chicken for a couple of hours (I usually don't) or cook it right away, the flavors will surprise you in the best way possible.
Greek chicken makes an appearance on my dinner table pretty frequently. In many forms. From tender Souvlaki skewers to Greek chicken gyro or a quick skillet chicken covered in a tasty yogurt chicken marinade.
Ah, but if it's a special, comforting meal we need, Greek chicken and potatoes it is!
This easy Greek chicken recipe hits all the right flavor notes, thanks to a couple of Greek spices and a tasty lemon-garlic sauce that can also double as a marinade (although, luckily, you don't have to marinate this chicken for hours, it can go right in the oven)!
Ingredients for this Greek Chicken Recipe
- Chicken- 3 pounds of chicken. For best flavor, use bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces. You can also portion a whole small chicken into pieces to use in this recipe.
- Potatoes- 4 gold potatoes scrubbed clean and cut into wedges (Greek-style roasted potatoes are typically cut into wedges).
- Onion- 1 medium yellow onion, halved and cut into wedges to mimic the look of the potatoes
- Lemon-Garlic Sauce- This is where all the glorious flavor in this Greek chicken recipe comes from. The sauce is made of Greek extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, loads of garlic (anywhere from 8 to 12 garlic cloves, minced), 1 ½ tablespoons dry rosemary (or dry oregano), and a pinch of nutmeg. Tip: this can also act as your Greek chicken marinade, if you want to work ahead and marinate the chicken in the fridge for a few hours.
- Chicken broth- anywhere from ½ cup to 1 cup chicken broth poured in the pan helps cook the potatoes to tender perfect and it also keeps the chicken tender and juicy while baking.
- Lemon slices- Can't have enough lemons in a Greek chicken dinner! Lemon slices act as a pretty garnish but as they bake over the chicken, they also impart great flavor.
- Garnish- fresh parsley and a few pitted kalamata olives two optional ingredients that add a good pop of color and some more Greek flavor are
How to Make Greek Chicken: Step-by-Step
Time needed: 1 hour and 15 minutes
How to make Greek chicken (print-friendly recipe with exact measurements below)
- Heat oven and season the chicken
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Arrange a rack right in the middle.
Season the chicken with kosher salt on all sides. Tip: for best flavor, make sure to lift up the chicken skins and season underneath.
- Arrange potatoes and onions in baking dish
Slice the potatoes and onions into wedges. Arrange them in your baking dish. Season with kosher salt and black pepper
- Make the lemon garlic sauce
In a bowl or a measuring cup, add extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, minced garlic, dried rosemary and nutmeg (you can also use a bit of dried oregano instead of rosemary).
- Add chicken, sauce, and broth to the baking pan
Arrange the chicken pieces in the baking dish or pan. Pour the lemon garlic sauce evenly all over the chicken and potatoes. Arrange lemon slices on top. From one side of the pan, add in about 1 cup chicken broth (but do not pour over the chicken)
- Bake!
Bake in heated oven uncovered for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the chicken and potatoes are tender. (Chicken's internal temperature should register at 165 degrees F). NOTE: If the potatoes are not fully done at this point, you can raise the oven temperature to 425°F and cook for another 15 to 20 minutes (make sure to remove the chicken breast pieces that are fully cooked so they don't get dry). To get more color on the chicken, place the pan under the broiler briefly to allow the chicken skins to gain more color (watch carefully).If you like, place the pan under the broiler briefly to allow the chicken skins to gain more color (watch carefully).
Greek Chicken Marinade Option
Like I said earlier, in this recipe, you do not need to marinate the chicken for hours in advance. But if you like, you can apply the lemon garlic sauce to the chicken a few hours before you are ready to bake it and keep it in the fridge. Marinade ingredients (same as lemon-garlic sauce ingredients used here):
- ¼ cup Greek extra virgin olive oil (I used Private Reserve Greek extra virgin olive oil)
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- 8 to 12 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 ½ tablespoons dried rosemary or dried oregano (or if you like, a bit of each)
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
To marinate the chicken, mix all the above together and pour it over the chicken (lift chicken skins up to get some goodness underneath). Cover and leave in the fridge for a couple hours or so.
When ready, add the chicken to the potatoes and onions and follow the recipe for baking instructions.
What to Serve with Greek Chicken?
This baked chicken and potatoes doesn't require much to turn into a fun Greek feast. Serve it with a side of Greek salad and Tzatziki sauce. If you like, add some warm pita bread. That's it!
Watch the video for this Greek chicken recipe:
More chicken recipes you might like: grilled whole chicken, and baked cornish game hen.
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Greek Chicken and Potatoes Recipe
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: Serves up to 6
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This easy Greek chicken and potatoes recipe is a family favorite. The secret is in the lemon-garlic sauce, which doubles up as a marinade. Whether you choose to marinate the chicken for a couple of hours (I usually don't) or cook it right away, the flavors will surprise you in the best way possible.
Ingredients
For Chicken and Potatoes
- 3 lb chicken pieces, bone in and skin on (I used 2 smaller breasts and 3 legs)
- Salt
- 4 gold potatoes (about 2 lb), scrubbed clean, cut into thin wedges
- 1 medium yellow onion, halved then sliced
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 lemon, sliced
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 6 to 12 pitted quality kalamata olives, optional
- Fresh parsley, for garnish
For the Lemon-Garlic Sauce (can also be used as marinade)
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil (I used Private Reserve Greek extra virgin olive oil)
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 12 fresh garlic cloves, minced
- 1 ½ tbsp dried rosemary (or dried oregano)
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
Sides (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Pat chicken dry and season generously with salt (lift the skins and apply salt underneath as well). (see optional step in notes)
- Arrange potato wedges and onions in the bottom of a baking dish or pan. Season with salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Add the chicken pieces (see optional step in notes).
- Make the lemon-garlic sauce. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil with lemon juice, minced garlic, rosemary, and nutmeg. Pour evenly over the chicken and potatoes.
- Arrange lemon slices on top. Pour chicken broth into the pan from one side (do not pour broth over the chicken).
- Bake in heated oven uncovered for 45 to 1 hour or until chicken and potatoes are tender. NOTE: If the potatoes are not fully done at this point, you can raise the oven temperature to 425°F and cook for another 15 to 20 minutes (make sure to remove the chicken breast pieces that are fully cooked so they don't get dry). To get more color on the chicken, place the pan under the broiler briefly to allow the chicken skins to gain more color (watch carefully).
- Remove from heat and add kalamata olives, if you like. Garnish with a little bit of fresh parsley.
- Serve with Greek salad Taztaziki sauce and a side of pita bread, if you like. Enjoy!
Notes
- Optional Step: If you'd like to get even more crisp and color on the chicken pieces, sear the chicken pieces in a bit of extra virgin olive oil before adding them to the potato pan (do this step before step #4). To do this, simply heat about 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken skin-side down to brown (about 5 t0 7 minutes,) then flip over and sear briefly, another 3 minutes or so. Transfer from skillet to the prepared pan with the potatoes. This step is not necessary if you plan to broil the chicken briefly at the end.
- To marinate the chicken in advance: if you have the time and want to use the lemon-garlic sauce as a marinade for the Greek chicken, you can. Simply add the lemon-garlic sauce it to the chicken a couple hours in advance, cover and refrigerate. When you're ready to bake, add the marinated chicken to the potatoes and onions and follow the recipe from there.
- Visit Our Online Shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients including olive oils and spices used in this recipe.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Greek
This post originally appeared on The Mediterranean Dish in 2017 and has been recently updated with new information and media for readers benefit. Enjoy!
This, and all your recipes, look amazing. I have yet to try them, but am excited to do so as I have recently started a Mediterranean Lifestyle (a/k/a Diet). One question: When using the lemon garlic sauce as a marinade for the chicken, do you add salt and pepper (and how much?) to the marinade itself or do you salt and pepper the chicken before marinating it? Thank you for sharing your recipes and knowledge!
Hope you enjoy it! As stated in step #2 of the recipe, the chicken is first patted dry and then a bit of salt is added directly to it. Enjoy
I was not a huge fan of this recipe. The potatoes were not fully cooked, even though I cut them in smaller pieces than quarters. They also did not have much flavor. There was also too much rosemary; it even overpowered the garlic. Maybe use half of the rosemary called for in the recipe and make up the other half with oregano? Also the nutmeg was completely lost with all of the other flavors.
Thank you for sharing. If you're not a big fan of rosemary, you can sure use all oregano or mix a bit of oregano and rosemary. However, cooking time varies from one oven to another; we have not had this issue with the potatoes being un-dercooked in the many times the recipe was tested.
Was just stopping by to share how much the family LOVED this chicken dinner! The flavors were everything we wanted.
amazing flavours! Such an easy meal and hit in my family. Thank you
That's great to hear! Thanks so much!
I will try this recipe tonight. Thank you Suzy for sharing this recipe. You are beautiful!
Aww! Thank you, Cristina! That is very sweet! Hope you enjoy the recipe!
Doing this tonight!
Hope you enjoy!
I made this tonight, but didn’t add the olives. The flavors were there but I had an issue. After cooking for 45 min. I covered and out back in for another 15 min. I cooked it for an hour and the chicken was done but potatoes and onions were not cooked. What went wrong?
Hi Janet, thanks for sharing. In this recipe, the chicken and potatoes are baked uncovered for the full 45 minutes to 1 hour. That usually works out for me producing both really tender chicken and well cooked potatoes and onions. I am not sure what might have been the issue to be honest...but ovens do vary. One thing would be to cut the potatoes smaller, that might help.
Hi Suzy
I cooked Greek Lemon Chicken with potatoes and and it was sooooo good ? I will definitely cook it again. I love your recipes.
Thank you for sharing ?
My pleasure! So glad you enjoyed it!
Suzy, I have made this for over 30 years, got the recipe from a Greek woman who had a small restaurant. Your recipe is spot on. I do add artichoke hearts to my dish as well. And lots of crusty bread to soak up the incredible juices.
YUM!! Thank you so much, Nancy!
Oh boy, this was so good! Had lamb chops to use instead. The potatoes turned out beautifully! Decided to grill the chops rather than do them with the potatoes.
But will definitely be making this again, with chicken.
Also, made the tzatziki and the pita recipes for tonight's dinner. It was a good meal!!!
Thanks so much!!
That sounds wonderful! Thanks for sharing, Sandra!
This is a DO OVER! We love the recipe! Question: We don't eat the skin. Can we used boneless, skinless chicken and just add a bit more chicken broth to the pan? I accidentally bought fresh mint at the store, instead of parsley, but it was good too. The whole house smelled so good while baking!!!!!!!!
Sure, Christina! That works, too! 🙂
this is the first recipe I tried from you website and I am sold. Love Love!! thank you for making it easy to follow and simple but delicous ingredients. I made some slight changes, I used skinless chicken breast and fingerling potatoes cut in half. We had leftovers , which the next day I warmed the potatoes chicken mixture and put it on top of a greek salad for lunch.
I am so so glad! Thanks for giving it a try!
Thanks Suzy,
We just made this dish last night. Love it!
Gregorio
I am so glad! Thanks for sharing
So freaking good! I just loved the flavor of this meal. Thanks!
Thanks, Stephanie! So glad you enjoyed it!
The flavors in this meal come together so perfectly. We love it.
Thank you, Laura!
Yummy! This is a standard favorite. LOVE this for dinner and then the leftovers for lunch the next day. So so good.
Can this be used with boneless skin on chicken thighs? If yes what would the cooking time be?
Absolutely! It's hard to give you an exact cooking time here. Just keep in mind that the boneless thighs will cook faster. They are finished once they have an internal temp of 165 degrees F.