Greek Chicken
with Potatoes and Carrots
Garlicky and herby with a burst of citrus, this Greek Chicken is tender and full of flavor. I love the easy prep, but this meal does take some planning ahead – allow time to marinate the chicken (at least 1 hour). Once marinated, this dish takes about 45 minutes of cooking time.
MAY 17, 2020 (updated 10/3/20)
This is easily one of my favorite recipes. It’s foolproof, I always get the same results, and it is well-loved in our household. We just don’t get tired of it. If you’re looking for something easy and delicious, but you’re not in a rush, this is your meal.
The idea for this came from a basic recipe for herby chicken skewers. I didn’t have skewers on hand and realized I never make time to marinate chicken. Why not try out some Greek yogurt and a bunch of spices for a different flavor combination? When I was thinking up a side dish, I remembered my dad’s wintry roast chicken with root vegetables, all cooked in one big pan. It sounded comforting and easy so I tried adding those right in after pre-cooking the chicken. Needless to say, it worked. I hope you enjoy my rendition of Greek Chicken!
How to Make It
Marinate the chicken
First, marinate the chicken in the super flavorful yogurt-based marinade. I’m usually in a hurry and don’t marinate the chicken until about an hour before cooking. But if you plan ahead, you could even start this the day before!
Combine plain Greek yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, garlic and all the spices in a bowl. Use any combination of spices you prefer, but I used dried oregano, dried rosemary, cayenne pepper, black pepper and salt.
Nestle in your chicken thighs or chicken breast — make sure they are covered completely by the marinade. Cover and refrigerate until you’re ready to start cooking (at least one hour, or up to overnight).
I threw in the squeezed lemon slices I used because 1. they are pretty and 2. it added an extra pop of tangy lemon. You’ll have to fish them out before cooking, so this step is optional.
Chop the Vegetables
After the chicken has marinated for the desired amount of time, chop up all the vegetables. I did thick chunks of potatoes, carrots, and onions — about 1 inch pieces. You don’t want pieces that are too small, or they might shrivel up in the oven.
Pre-cook the chicken and vegetables
Preheat your oven to 375° and heat a drizzle of olive oil in a Dutch oven or large skillet. Shake off any excess marinade from the chicken, but do not discard. Brown the chicken in the hot pan.
Meanwhile, pour the remaining marinade over the chopped vegetables and set aside while you’re browning the chicken.
The chicken should only need about 4 minutes per side, but you can always leave it for a bit longer if you want a crispier skin. This time, I used boneless, skinless thighs – so I didn’t get a lot of color.
Remove the chicken and set aside, and begin pre-cooking your vegetable mixture, for about 5 minutes. They’ll start to cook down, and will collect those delicious flavors from browning the chicken.
The browned bits will also start to loosen on the bottom of the pan. With a silicone tool (if using an enamel or nonstick pan), make sure to scrape up all those goodies. They make the sauce even more amazing, and you’ll have an easier time cleaning your pan later!
Once the vegetables are to your liking, nestle back in the chicken. I put my chicken on the bottom this time and covered them up with the vegetables
Time to Bake!
Cover and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and potatoes are fork-tender.
While it bakes, you can opt for making the tzatziki — a fun bonus that my husband loves for dipping! It’s a simple mixture of Greek yogurt, cucumber, lemon juice and zest, garlic, and spices.
Modifications
Greek Chicken lends itself well to modifications.
- Serve it as is, with or without a side of tzatziki, and a green vegetable side
- Serve it over rice to soak up the sauce
- Leave out the vegetables, or double the chicken
- Shred or slice the chicken after cooking, and serve it on a sourdough pita (from Baking Sense) with tzatziki, onions, and tomatoes (below!)
Greek Chicken with Potatoes and Carrots
Equipment
- Dutch oven or large oven-safe skillet
Ingredients
Chicken:
- 1 1/2- 2 lb chicken thighs or breasts
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/2 fresh lemon, juiced
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 3-4 cloves garlic, or ~1 tbsp minced garlic
- 2 tbsp dried oregano
- 2 tbsp fresh rosemary, or 1 tbsp dried
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- salt and pepper, to taste
Vegetables:
- 1 lb baby red potatoes, cut into 1 inch chunks
- 5 large carrots, cut into 1 inch chunks
- 1 small onion, cut into thick slices
Tzatziki (optional):
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 3/4 cup finely diced cucumber, peeled and seeded
- 1/2 tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Combine all marinade ingredients and toss with the chicken. Cover and marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour, or up to overnight.
- Preheat oven to 375°. Heat a Dutch oven or large skillet on medium high with a drizzle of oil. When the pan is hot, shake off excess marinade, but do not discard. Brown chicken, skin side down first, on both sides. Cook app. 4 minutes per side. Set aside chicken.
- Pour extra marinade over the vegetables, and pre-cook them in the same pan for about 5 minutes, or until they cook down slightly. After the liquid has loosened all the brown crispy bits from the chicken, make sure to scrape them up and incorporate into the sauce. Stir occasionally to avoid burning, but let the vegetables get slightly browned on the bottom.
- Transfer browned chicken back to Dutch oven and cover with the vegetable mixture. Make a space on the bottom of the pan and covered them up, or just nestle them in the vegetables.
- Bake at 375° for 30 minutes, or until vegetables are cooked and chicken reaches 165°.
- Combine all ingredients for the tzatziki, and serve on the side for dipping (optional).
Notes
- Calorie count is for 6 servings using 1 1/2 lbs chicken thighs, plus the tzatziki.