Greek Lemon Chicken and Potatoes

5 from 2 votes

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OPAAAA! My Roasted Greek Lemon Chicken and Potatoes are out 👏 of 👏 this 👏 world, and so easy to make. Little back story: When I was teeny tiny, my family migrated to Greece and lived on the Island of Crete for 5 years. My Dad was an athlete who competed in the Olympics for Water Polo. Well, his athleticism led us to Heraklion 🇬🇷, as he trained some of the boys on the Greek team. As the men trained, the moms would get together and teach my mom how to cook authentic traditional food. Ever since then, we have been making Greek staples which were passed down through them.

Why You’ll Love Greek Lemon Chicken and Potatoes

This savory and satisfying one-pot dish is bursting with flavor. Chicken, potatoes, and unpeeled garlic are roasted with lemon juice 🍋, creating a meal that will have your taste buds dancing. As it bakes with water and is covered in foil, a natural pan sauce forms—dip a crusty piece of bread into it, and you’ll be in shambles 🤤.

How to Prepare Greek Lemon Chicken and Potatoes

Simply combine all the ingredients in a baking dish, cover in foil, and place in the oven for the recipe to work its magic.

Nonna’s Tip

The cooking time for this dish will highly depend on your oven, so please keep an eye on it. 

A white ceramic baking dish filled with roasted chicken legs, thighs, and halved potatoes, garnished with fresh herbs. The chicken and potatoes are golden-brown, suggesting they are perfectly cooked. A small bowl of pepper and a cloth napkin are visible in the background.

Variations and Substitutions for Greek Lemon Chicken and Potatoes

  1. You can use fresh oregano instead of dried. 
  2. If you don’t like the taste of oregano, you can use dried or fresh chopped parsley 🌿. 
  3. For extra veggies, you can add some large chunks of cauliflower to the dish, along with the potatoes. 

Best Served With

More Greek Recipes

Common Questions

What kind of potatoes should I use?

This recipe is best made with waxy yellow potatoes, such as Yukons, but baby or fingerling potatoes will also work.

Why do you leave the garlic peels on?

Leaving the peels on prevents the garlic from burning, therefore leaving you with sweet garlic that you can squeeze right out of the skin and spread on bread.

A rectangular baking dish filled with roasted chicken drumsticks and thighs, golden-brown potato chunks, and caramelized onions, garnished with fresh herbs. The dish is set on a white surface with a small bowl of ground black pepper and lemon wedges nearby.

Greek Lemon Chicken and Potatoes

This dish is so savory, satisfying, and bursting with flavor. In this one-pot dish, chicken, potatoes, and seasoning are roasted with lemon juice and water so that everything comes out super tender and moist.
5 from 2 votes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Greek, Mediterranean
Makes: 4
Author: The Modern Nonna
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes

Ingredients 

  • 4 chicken thighs
  • 5 chicken drumsticks
  • 5 yellow potatoes, quartered and peeled
  • 6 garlic cloves, unpeeled
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • salt, to taste
  • pepper, to taste
  • 2 teaspoons dry oregano
  • 1 lemon, quartered and juiced
  • ¾ cup water, or broth

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 400F (200C). In a baking dish add the chicken, olive oil, potatoes, seasoning, and the unpeeled garlic cloves.
  • Massage it all together, squeeze in the lemon juice, and throw in the squeezed lemon wedges inside too.
  • Push the potatoes and chicken inwards from one of the corners of the dish with a spoon, add the water. You don’t want to wash off the marinade by pouring the water on top, so please add it to the side of the dish.
  • Cover it with foil and bake it covered for 45 minutes, uncover it and bake for another 40 or until the internal temperature is at least 165F.
  • Feel free to brown the top of the chicken by putting it on BROIL (top broiler only) for the last 5 minutes making sure to watch it carefully.
  • Enjoy it with my no knead bread or my homemade Tzatziki on the side!

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 808kcal, Carbohydrates: 52g, Protein: 46g, Fat: 47g, Saturated Fat: 11g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g, Monounsaturated Fat: 23g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 229mg, Sodium: 230mg, Potassium: 1696mg, Fiber: 7g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 185IU, Vitamin C: 68mg, Calcium: 86mg, Iron: 4mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Greek, Mediterranean
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Hi! I'm Sneji. Nice to meet you!

I am more commonly known as “The Modern Nonna” on social media where I create easy home cooked meals with a modern twist. I was born and raised in Sofia, Bulgaria and learned how to cook at the best culinary school in the world – my grandma’s kitchen. I lived in Greece on the Island of Crete with my parents for a while and then moved to Toronto, Canada when I was in grade 5. I started to really cook and experiment with food 11 years ago when I was 21 years old. Everything I currently know is a reflection of some part of my life…

Keep up to date with me on social media! Follow @themodernnonna

5 from 2 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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6 Comments

  1. Another great hit with the Family!. So much so that they thought it was store bought from a Greek restaurant. Super tasty!