The BEST Weeknight Meal: Lemon Roast Chicken Dinner!
Comfort food is a language. I consider myself fluent in its art. That’s because I grew up in a family where its language was considered as important as English. A dinner filled with warmth and love speaks volumes, even when healthy.
Lemon Roast Chicken Ingredients
This recipe doesn’t require a lot of ingredients which is awesome! In fact, some of the ingredients you can play along with because this recipe is seriously FOOLPROOF!
The key ingredients are the following:
- Fresh Chicken
- Lemons
- Onions
- Potatoes
- Olive Oil
- Seasonings
That’s pretty much it! For the chicken, I personally like to use a variety of pieces. Some people in my family love dark meat but I prefer white meat so I put a mix in the pan. You can stick to one and that is totally your preference.
Tip: You must use raw chicken, don’t bake from frozen!
If you are using frozen chicken, it must be thawed out first before you begin baking this recipe. Next the lemons are key for this recipe. Lemons add that incredible citrus taste throughout the dish. Not only will you sprinkle on top but you will also add to the pan to bake along with the chicken.
Onions and potatoes are next. I usually use baking potatoes that I’ve thinly sliced along with onions. I add them to the bottom of my pan, and like magic, they bake up perfectly soft and tender with onions after mixing with the juices of the chicken, lemon juice and olive oil. They are sensational!!
Finally the spices here are what truly make this chicken special! I add a mix of salt, pepper and lemon pepper to really heighten the citrus flavor. I also add garlic powder and paprika. This chicken is highly seasoned and the seasonings also go on the potatoes making this super special!
How to Make Lemon Roast Chicken
This recipe bakes in about an hour because it doesn’t use a whole chicken but chicken pieces cutting down on time. Even covered, the chicken will brown. If you want to make chicken a bit browner, you can broil a little longer uncovered to get a super golden color but keep it short since you don’t want to dry out the chicken.
What to Serve with Roast Chicken
I have served this Lemon Roast Chicken dish using a whole chicken for company and for a mid-weeknight dinner using pieces. The results are the same, and the feedback is the same. The comfort and love is always felt.
You can serve this chicken with any of the following sides and dishes:
- Southern Cornbread
- Garlic Bread
- Collard Greens
- Yellow Squash
- Jollof Rice
- Succotash
- Strawberry Spinach Salad
- Roasted Butternut Squash
Lemon Roast Chicken Dinner and Potatoes
Ingredients
- 6 medium potatoes peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 large onion chopped
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Salt, pepper and lemon pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 pound chicken pieces
- 2 small lemons sliced in half
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Add potato slices and onions to the bottom of the dutch oven.
- Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt, pepper and lemon pepper to taste.
- Season with half of garlic powder and paprika.
- Season both sides of chicken pieces with salt, pepper and lemon pepper.
- Place chicken facing up on top of potatoes and onions.
- Season with remaining garlic powder and paprika.
- Sprinkle with lemon juice then add lemon slices to pan.
- Cover dutch oven and bake for 1 hour or until chicken is cooked through and potatoes and onions are tender and caramelized. If you want to brown the top of the dish further and add more color, place under a broiler for a few minutes until it reaches the color you prefer.
- Cool for 10-15 minutes and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
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This came out so good! Super easy and those potatoes cooked in the chicken drippings….*chef’s kiss* I made this recipe with drumsticks only and yukon gold potatoes. The drums were all I had on hand but next time I think I’ll do a thigh/drumstick mix. I transferred the chicken to a small baking sheet to get them crisped up quickly under the broiler without drying out the chicken. Fantastic!
I love this dish. I used chicken thighs and browned them in the Dutch oven first, removed them to a plate, then placed the potatoes with the chicken on top. I serve this with fresh steamed broccoli. Yum!
This is a very versatile dish as some of the commentators suggested with their ideas.
Very good and easy!
This was absolutely fantastic! There are so many lemon chicken recipes on the net, but I singled out yours to try first–and I was NOT disappointed! My whole family loved it, even the kiddo who hates dealing with chicken bones (sensory issue). He said the taste made it worthwhile, which is a first for him.
I love how flexible this technique is, and how much flavor permeated the chicken. I’m going to stick with the onions and potatoes in the bottom, but try a variety of other flavor combinations, making sure to include a little acid in place of the lemon. Next up: tomatoes, Italian seasoning and a little balsamic. After that, I’ll try salsa and some beans in place of the potatoes.
Thanks again for a keeper recipe that we’ll enjoy frequently!
thanks. will try the recipe. sounds delicious!!!! and easy
Can you use a cast iron dutch oven?
We are going camping in September. I would like to adapt this recipe to cook over coals and using skinless, boneless breasts. Can you help me?
I wanted to make this dish but I only had chicken breasts on hand. I put the dutch oven on my stovetop, seasoned the breasts and browned them. I removed them and then followed the remainder of the recipe. This dish was delicious. Thank you for a wonderful recipe! I love being able to substitute and improvise with what I have on hand!
Did you use russet potatoes or Yukon gold potatoes?