Packed with zesty flavors, these Greek Chicken and Potatoes are a family favorite! The potatoes and chicken are impossibly tender with all of the herby, garlicky, lemony flavors you’d expect to find in this Greek dish. Best of all, everything roasts in the oven in one pan to make the most fabulous weeknight meal that takes no time to prepare.
When I’m in the mood for a meal that is big on flavor and low on effort, this is the one-pan dish I turn to time and again. Chicken thighs and peeled potatoes roast together at a high temperature bathed in a Greek-inspired marinade made with lemon juice, dried oregano, garlic and olive oil.
It requires about 15 minutes to throw together, and bakes for about an hour. The result? The dreamiest potatoes with creamy insides and crispy-skinned, fall-off-the-bone tender chicken.
With bold flavors that are intoxicatingly delicious, this is an easy, comforting dish to keep up your sleeve. Especially for the cold weekends to come.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- EASY, YET PACKED WITH FLAVOR – For the amount of work involved, the depth of flavour of this Greek dish is remarkable. Plus, most of the work for this flavorful dish happens in the oven, so you can rest or multitask as it cooks.
- SAUCY!!! – The best part of this dish is the lemony-garlicky sauce. Nothing better than a dish with loads of delicious sauce to pour over everything.
- ONE-PAN DISH = EASY CLEANUP – Once you throw everything into the pan, you can make a quick salad and have everything ready and cleaned up as it cooks. Perfect dish for busy weeknights.
- LEFTOVERS ARE DELICIOUS – The potatoes and chicken reheat beautifully so any leftovers will be great to use for next-day lunches.
- BUDGET FRIENDLY – Chicken thighs and potatoes are filling and satisfying and relatively inexpensive even if you’re feeding a crowd.
Ingredients And Notes
This Greek lemon chicken and potatoes recipe is pantry-friendly and requires few and simple ingredients. Here’s the key ingredients you will need:
- Chicken: For best results, you will want to use bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs for this recipe. Even with the longer bake time, chicken thighs will not dry out. You can also use chicken legs (thighs with the drumstick attached) or a whole chicken cut up.
- Potatoes: I like to use Yukon Gold potatoes which are super creamy and roast beautifully. You can use Russet potatoes if you prefer but they may not hold up as well. As for cutting the potatoes, potato wedges are more classic but I like to cut the potatoes pieces smaller so they don’t take too long to cook.
- Marinade: For this Greek-style potato and chicken marinade, we use a lot of fresh lemon juice, a lot of garlic, and a lot of dried oregano. I find dried thyme can be a bit strong here so we use just a little. If you don’t love dried thyme you can definitely leave it out. Yellow mustard gives it a unique flavor that I find is key for color and depth of flaovr. A good amount of extra-virgin olive oil ensures everything cooks up super moist and flavorful. The marinade also calls for a good amount salt and pepper since both the potatoes and chicken love a lot of seasoning.
- Chicken broth: For years the secret to perfectly creamy on the inside, slightly golden on the outside Greek potatoes I had at restaurants eluded me. Then I figured out it was cooking them in a little more liquid. I drizzle them with about 1/3 cup of chicken broth and that does the trick. If you don’t have chicken broth you can use water but chicken broth will add a lot more flavor.
Additions And Substitutions
Add lemon zest. This recipe calls for quite a bit of lemon juice so it doesn’t really need the addition of lemon zest. That said, if you love a strong lemon flavor, go ahead and add the zest of the lemon you are juicing.
Veggies. Potatoes are the classic vegetable to use in this Greek dish, but artichokes, parsnip or carrots can also be used.
Add onions. If you love onions, add 1 yellow or red onion sliced into thick wedges.
Add Kalamata olives and feta. For more Greek flavors, you can garnish the finished dish with Kalamata olives and crumbled feta cheese.
How To Make Greek Chicken And Potatoes
Here is a quick overview of the recipe. Full instructions and measurements can be found in the printable recipe card below.
Make the marinade: In a small bowl, stir together lemon juice, garlic, oregano, mustard, salt, and pepper.
Marinate the chicken: Add the chicken thighs to a large bowl and pour half of the marinade on top. Leave to marinate while you prepare the potatoes and preheat the oven, or cover and refrigerate for up to 8 hours.
Add potatoes and chicken to casserole dish. Place potatoes in a 9×13 baking dish, or shallow roasting pan, and pour remaining marinade on top. Place chicken pieces on top of potatoes, drizzling any leftover marinade over the top of the chicken.
Bake chicken and potatoes. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, until the potatoes are very tender and chicken is fully cooked and registers 175°F-180ºF on an instant-read thermometer. If you’d like the potatoes to get a little crispy, transfer chicken to a plate and place the potatoes under the broiler for 2-3 minutes.
Serve. Garnish with chopped fresh oregano and fresh lemon slices, if desired.
Helpful Recipe Tips
- Use fresh lemon juice. This recipe will not work well with bottled (fake) lemon juice. The bright flavors from fresh lemon juice are essential for achieving the best bright flavors of this Greek dish.
- Don’t skimp on the garlic. This delicious recipe calls for quite a bit of fresh garlic but remember it’s flavouring both the potatoes and chicken so it won’t overwhelm the dish.
- If possible, allow chicken to marinate at least 30 minutes. The marinade is so flavorful you don’t really need to marinate the chicken. However, if you have the time, the chicken does get infused with a little more flavor if marinated for at least 30 minutes.
- Broil the potatoes. If you’d like your potatoes to have a more golden hue and slightly crisper texture, remove the chicken to a plate and place them under the broiler for 2-3 minutes.
- Double recipe to serve a crowd. This a great dish to serve a crowd. Simply double the ingredients and divide equally into two baking dishes. Leftovers are wonderful for days, too.
Storage and Reheating Tips
- To store: Cool the leftovers completely then store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Freezing: Greek chicken and potatoes will freeze well but it is best to freeze them spread out on a tray first. Lay the potatoes and chicken on a small sheet pan lined with baking parchment and freeze. Once frozen, the potatoes and chicken can be transferred to a freezer-safe bag or container for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.
- Reheating: To reheat, place the chicken and potatoes in a baking dish and bake in a preheated oven (350ºF) until warmed. Alternatively, reheat on the stovetop with a splash of water or chicken stock to make it more saucy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Peeled potatoes will absorb more juices and flavor but feel free to leave the peel on if you wish.
For a more complete meal, I usually serve this dish with a simple Greek-ish salad made with chopped Romaine lettuce, Kalamata olives and cucumbers, red wine vinegar and olive oil. If I’m not too busy with other things, I will make a side of sautéed fresh green beans with chopped shallots. We also love this dish with a side of tzatziki sauce for dipping – yum!
You can use boneless chicken thighs if you wish, but they will take a lot less time to cook. Let the potatoes cook for 30 minutes, then add the chicken. Ditto for chicken breast.
You can use a whole chicken but it will of course need more time to cook. Cut your potato pieces much larger so they don’t overcook and bake until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165ºF-170ºF.
Yes, but because they will not be peeled, I feel like they might not get as tender or absorb as much flavor.
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I hope you love this Greek Chicken and Potato recipe. If you make it, please leave a comment and star rating at the bottom of the page so I know how you liked it. Thank you!
Greek Chicken and Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 4 garlic gloves grated or minced
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme optional
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 8 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
- 5-6 medium Yukon Gold potatoes peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1/4 cup chicken broth or water
- fresh oregano and lemon slices for garnish optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425ºF.
- Make the marinade: In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, mustard, thyme (if using), salt, and pepper.
- Place chicken thighs in a large bowl and pour half of the marinade on top. Leave to marinate while you prepare the potatoes and preheat the oven, or cover and refrigerate for up to 8 hours.
- Place potatoes in a 9×13 baking dish and pour remaining marinade on top. Toss to thoroughly coat. Pour chicken broth into the sides of the pan, trying not to drizzle any over the potatoes.
- Place chicken pieces on top of potatoes. Transfer pan to the oven and bake for 55 to 60 minutes, until the potatoes are very tender and chicken is fully cooked. See notes below for chicken.
- If you’d like your potatoes to have a more golden hue and slightly crisper texture, remove the chicken to a plate and place them under the broiler for 2-3 minutes.
- Garnish with chopped fresh oregano and fresh lemon slices, if desired.
Sharon
What temp oven?
Sandra Valvassori
So sorry about that – 425ºF. Fixed now! Thank you for letting me know.
Lee
Can you substitute bone in chicken breast?
Sandra Valvassori
Hi Lee, absolutely! They may take a little less time to cook so if you have an instant read thermometer, remove them from the oven when they have reached 165ºF, or after about 35-40 minutes depending on their size. Keep them covered with foil while the potatoes continue to cook until really tender. Hope this helps and let me know if you have any other questions.
Lee
Awesome! I figured I could switch them out, but wanted to double check. Looking forward to making this recipe!
Sandra Valvassori
That’s great, Lee! Would love to hear how it turns out ☺️
L
I made this for an easy gluten and dairy-free meal prep. I’ve made something similar to it before, but that recipe didn’t include yellow mustard. I really like that addition! The kitchen smells AMAZING right now 😀 I ended up using mini golden potatoes since my store didn’t have Yukon gold, and I left the skin on. I also used skinless chicken thigh fillets. Love this recipe!
Sandra Valvassori
Wow, thank you so much for this wonderful feedback, L! Love to hear you made some adaptations and that they turned out great! I really appreciate you taking the time to write such a kind review 😊
Chris
Fantastic! I made it exactly as written. The chicken was flavorful, juicy, and tender. The potatoes were great too. Even kid approved!
Sandra Valvassori
So happy to hear this, Chris! Kid approved is always a great bonus! Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a kind review 😊
Rina
Nice and easy recipe. Ingredients are readily available.
Sandra Valvassori
So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe, Rina! Thank you so much for taking the time to write a review!
Donna
About to make this for Shabbat dinner tonight. I will marinate chicken for for 8 hours. Can I marinate the cut yukons as well? Or, should I pour the marinade over the potatoes right before serving?
Sandra Valvassori
Hi Donna, I don’t recommend marinating the potatoes ahead of time or they could oxidize, even when covered with marinade. If you wish to prepare them ahead, you can peel and cut them and place them in a large bowl, then cover them completely with cold water. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge for up to 6 hours (or so). Hope this helps and that your dinner turns out fabulous!
Teresa G
I used boneless skinless Chicken thighs and I used 1/2 rutabaga and 1/2
potatoes and it was delicious. One thing I learned is that I will boil the rutabaga before putting it in with the potatoes! This time I removed the chicken, covered the potatoes and rutabaga and popped it back in the oven for 30-40 minutes and it was delicious! This will be a staple in my monthly rotation 😃
Sandra Valvassori
Oh wow I love that you also used rutabaga, I will definitely have to give it a try. Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a kind review and to share your modifications. This is always so helpful to me and other readers!
Tanya Tiwari
Do I cover the chicken and potatoes while cooking?
Sandra Valvassori
Hi Tanya, no you do not cover the chicken and potatoes. This way everything gets nice and golden brown. Hope you love it! 😊
Karen
One of the best chicken recipes I have ever made and oh so easy!
Sandra Valvassori
Yay! So happy to hear this, Karen! Thank you for taking the time to rate and review the recipe ☺️
Pat
Absolutely delicious!! I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs- it’s what I had. Otherwise, followed the recipe as printed. Added 1 can of green olives. We loved it! Could not stop eating!!
Sandra Valvassori
So happy to hear this, Pat! Love that you added olives – yum – and thank you so much for your review!
Judy A
Fantastic recipe as written. Serving dish was empty ! It’s a keeper .
Thank you for a great addition to my recipe box.
Sandra Valvassori
I am so happy to hear that, Judy! Thank you so much for your review!
Doreen
Hi, Can I make this with Chicken breasts? Do I need to change the cooking time?
Sandra Valvassori
Hi Doreen, yes you can use chicken breasts. I’m assuming you’d like to use boneless chicken breast? If yes, you will want to cook the potatoes on their own for 30 minutes, then add the chicken breasts and cook everything for another 25 – 30 minutes, or until internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165ºF. Hope this helps and please reach out if you have any other questions!