One- pan, Roasted Chicken Thighs with Lemon, Thyme and Crispy Potatoes. An easy, flavorful sheet pan dinner with just 10 minutes of prep time, before baking in the oven.
Here’s a simple dinner idea- Roasted Chicken Thighs with lemon and thyme, baked over a bed of sliced potatoes. A sheet pan dinner with just 10 minutes of prep, before the oven, takes care of the rest.
Slices of lemon, onion, rough-chopped garlic and fresh thyme infuse the chicken and potatoes with savory and tangy goodness. As the chicken cooks, the potato slices get crispy around the edges. Right before it’s done, steam some broccoli to mop up all the flavorful pan juices.
When it comes down to it, my husband loves a “proper dinner.” To him, the perfect plate consists of meat, starch, and a vegetable.
When I’ve been feeling particularly neglectful in the wife department, I shower him with proper dinners. But often, proper dinners often take more time than I’ve allotted and more pots and pans than I have time to wash. There are days we all need shortcuts, don’t we?
Hence, this simple Sheet Pan Dinner. With easy prep and easier clean up…everyone is happy!
How to make Roasted Chicken Thighs with Lemon & Thyme
- Preheat the oven to 400 F.
- Brush or spray a sheet pan with olive oil. Use parchment to prevent sticking.
- Using a mandolin, thinly slice potatoes and lay them down on the sheet pan, overlapping just slightly.
- Brush or spray the tops lightly with olive oil. Salt and pepper them.
- Scatter whole garlic cloves ( or sliced onion if you like), lemon slices (don’t skip) and fresh thyme.
- Then place the salted chicken thighs (bone-in, skin-on) over top.
- Bake!
Here I’m using a couple of russet potatoes, skin on. It really doesn’t have to be perfect as you can see.
The important thing is to use bone-in, skin-on chicken, which will take the same amount of time to cook as the potatoes. The skin will lock in the moisture.
Put the chicken in a 400 F oven for 40-50 minutes.
Broil for extra crispy.
During the last 15 minutes, make this 15-Minute Broccoli!
Spoon a little of the pan juices over the chicken and potatoes, and if you want a little more color, continue baking for 5 minutes or broil for just a few minutes.
I love how the lemon slices get tender and caramelized and infuse flavor into the dish. I actually eat them too, rind and all!
I love how simple and flavorful this meal is.
You may also like:
- Chicken Cacciatore
- One Skillet Creamy Orzo Chicken
- Gorgonzola Chicken with Mushrooms & Sage
- Chicken Marsala
- Sheet-Pan Szechuan Chicken and Brussels Sprouts
Happy week. xo
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Roasted Chicken Thighs with Potatoes, Lemon & Thyme
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Total Time: 55 mins
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Pacific Northwest
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
A simple delicious recipe for Roasted Chicken and Crispy Potatoes with lemon, garlic and thyme.
Ingredients
- 4–6 chicken thighs, bone-in, skin on
- salt and pepper to taste (3/4 – 1 teaspoon of salt per pound of chicken)
- 4 medium potatoes (russets, Yukon)- or enough to cover a baking sheet or larger size baking dish in a slightly overlapping single layer, )
- olive oil, or olive oil spray
- 1 lemon, thinly sliced- Meyer Lemon is nice here.
- 8–10 garlic cloves, leave whole
- 1/2 an onion, sliced (optional)
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, plus sprigs for garnish
Serve with 15-minute broccoli
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 400 F.
- Pat dry the chicken well, and season both sides with salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Line an extra-large baking dish or sheet pan with parchment and spray or brush liberally with olive oil.
- Using a mandolin, slice potatoes into rounds, leaving skins on. If cutting with a knife, remember thinner is better, about ⅛ inch.
- Lay the potatoes down on the greased sheet pan, just slightly overlapping. Spray or brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Scatter the lemon slices around, then the garlic, optional onion and thyme.
- Place the seasoned chicken over the potatoes.
- Place in the middle of the oven for 40 minutes, checking for doneness. Continue cooking 5-10 more minutes until deeply golden, and the internal temp is 170F. Broil for extra crispy.
- Spoon the flavorful pan juices over the chicken and potatoes. Garnish with thyme sprigs.
- Serve with the 15-min broccoli if you like!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: One chicken thigh with ¼ th of the potatoes
- Calories: 375
- Sugar: 3.6 g
- Sodium: 767.4 mg
- Fat: 9.9 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 37.8 g
- Fiber: 5.7 g
- Protein: 33.5 g
- Cholesterol: 140.1 mg
Keywords: Roasted Chicken Thighs, Lemon Thyme Chicken, Baked chicken with Lemon and Thyme, Roasted Chicken with Lemon and Thyme
I have had so much success with your recipes, I was tempted to serve this dish for guests without a “preview preparation” for just husband and myself. I read the entire recipe through (the “how-to” says to spray or lightly brush tops of potatoes before adding salt & pepper but this step was left out in the actual recipe). Preparation was quick, including slicing potatoes thin with mandoline, and spreading them on well-oiled sheet pan slightly overlapping. Added salt, pepper, lemon slices, thyme, garlic, and chicken thighs. Smelled great in the oven and looked just like photo when it came out. But the potatoes stuck to the pan horribly and the garlic was burned. We ended up eating just the chicken and had to soak the pan with all those wasted potatoes overnight. (:
★★★
Oh shoot Joyce, I’m sorry about that, how frustrating, and thanks for letting me know. This is an older recipe that needs updating. Did you happen to grease the pan first by chance? Will get this updated.
So easy and soooo good! I add thinly sliced onions with the potatoes. The house smells amazing too!
★★★★★
Thanks so much Debbie, glad you enjoyed this!
Great recipe! The potatoes are SOOOO good!
★★★★★
This recipe was super simple and fantastic! I added rosemary and onion powder to the potatoes and paprika to both the chicken and potatoes. Also garnished the plated potatoes with freshly shredded Romano cheese. I have to admit, I was skeptical about the lemon slices, but wow! They were a pleasant surprise! I will be making this again…
★★★★★
Great to hear!
I made this and loved it – am wondering if I can use chicken drumsticks instead of the thighs – will the timing be the same?
★★★★★
I think that would be fine! Great question about the timing and I’m not sure! Use a thermometer to be safe. 170 F
I love so many of your recipes, however I found that some of the ingredients I am not going to use again and I do not have in my cupboard. So I am modifying some of them or not doing them all together. I love the miso chicken recipe, however I did not like the idea of having to purchase something extra, so I am using a substitute.
Gottcha. So you would like recipes with more simple accessible ingredients?
can I use chicken breasts instead?
The breasts will cook much faster than the potatoes- resulting in undercooked potatoes. are you using bone-in? or Boneless Skinless?
Hi Sylvia! I recently discovered your blog and have LOVED every single recipe of yours that I’ve tried. I’m in the process of finding meals to take to a family going through a crisis – things that can be fully assembled and that they can just bake off at their house. Could I prep this all up in advance, so they could just pop it in the oven? If so, how long do you think it would last before needing to be baked? Any other suggestions for recipes of yours that I could either fully make ahead or fully prep would also be appreciated! Thanks! 🙂
Hi Julie- I love that you are doing this. I think this would work prepped ahead, but I worry the potatoes may discolor? Other than that, i think up to 3 days before baking. Other Ideas are casserole type things- enchiladas, lasaga etc.
Thank you so much for the feedback!
A great way to keep potatoes from discoloring once peeled or cut is to put them in the fridge in a bowl full of water. They will last WEEKS like this! It’s been a game changer for me when I want to prepare ahead of time.
I felt 1/8th was too thin for the potatoes, next time I’ll go with 1/4. Fantastic flavors and super tasty dish.
★★★★★
Wow. I’d like to start by saying that my daughter doesn’t eat skin or fat, nor does she like potatoes that aren’t in the form of fries. She is cleaning her plate, including the lemon skins and pith. I used foil to line the pan, so the potatoes didn’t come out quite as expected. More olive oil and maybe some parchment paper next time. Also, because of a previous unfortunate mishap with a mandolin slicer, we no longer have one, and sliced everything by hand. My feeling is that it would’ve made all the difference in an already delicious meal. THANK YOU! 10/10 will make again.
★★★★★
This is a lovely dish, and the lemons are wonderful, adding so much flavor!
★★★★★
This is soooo good! It was so simple I was afraid that it would turn out bland. Far from it! The lemon gets perfectly infused throughout. I didn’t have russet potatoes so used baby red potatoes instead. They worked out fine. Some crispy, some tender. My son is home from school for the summer so I’m making this again tonight for him.
★★★★★
Im so glad you liked it…I really love this too- so easy and full of flavor!
I’ve never cooked lemons and eaten the rind. It’s not sour or bitter?
if you cut them thin, and they are roasted, they are actually really tasty!
This looks simple and delicious, like something those of us who get overwhelmed with cooking can actually do. Thank you for the great recipe.