Sheet Pan Lemon Chicken

How to Cook Sheet Pan Lemon Chicken

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1. Mix the juice of 2 lemons with the oil, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper. Coat the chicken and marinate for at least 30 minutes.

   Mark done

2. Heat the oven to 210°C / 410°F. Slice the third lemon thinly.

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3. Spread the potatoes and onion on a large tray. Place the chicken skin side up on top with the lemon slices. Pour over the marinade.

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4. Roast for 35 minutes, turning the potatoes once, until the chicken skin is crisp and a thermometer reads 80°C / 176°F.

   Mark done Start 35 min timer

5. Rest for 5 minutes, scatter with the parsley and serve with the roasted lemon slices.

   Mark done Start 5 min timer

Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.

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What Can Go Wrong

1. Marinate for at least 30 minutes.
2. Turn the potatoes halfway for even browning.
3. Squeeze the roasted lemon over the chicken.

Swaps and Variations

• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.
• Fresh herbs work in place of the dried oregano at roughly three times the quantity — a teaspoon of dried is about a tablespoon of fresh, chopped.

The Short Version

This is what to make in late spring, when the evenings are long enough to eat at the table and the oven is the only thing you want to switch on. Lemon, garlic and oregano is the flavour of Greek roast chicken, and on a single tray it makes a dinner with almost no washing up.

The lemon plays two roles. The juice goes into the marinade, where it tenderises the chicken and carries the garlic and oregano into the meat. The sliced lemon goes on the tray, where it caramelises at the edges, softens and turns sweet. A roasted slice can be squeezed over everything at the table for a mellower flavour than raw juice.

Marinate for at least 30 minutes. The acid does its work quickly on thigh meat, and a longer soak of up to 4 hours gives deeper flavour. Leave it longer, though, and the surface of the meat begins to go soft.

Roast the chicken skin side up, with the potatoes and red onion wedges around it, so the fat renders over the vegetables. Turn the vegetables once halfway. The finished tray should have crisp chicken skin, golden potatoes and soft, sticky lemon.

To Go With It

Greek salad · Tzatziki · Pitta bread · Green beans

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Creamy Coleslaw, Philadelphia Soft Pretzels, Boston Baked Beans.

Leftovers

Keeps for 3 days in the fridge. Reheat in a 190°C / 375°F oven for 12 minutes.

Common Questions

Sheet Pan Lemon Chicken Nutrition

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.

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