Bone-in chicken thighs roasted with lemon, garlic, olive oil, oregano, and golden potatoes. A one-pan Greek classic with caramelized lemons and pan juices for spooning.
Ingredients
Marinade
- ⅓ cupextra-virgin olive oil, Greek preferred
- ¼ cuplemon juice, from 2 large lemons
- 6garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbspdried Greek oregano
- 1 tspkosher salt
- ½ tspblack pepper
Roast
- 8bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
- 1½ lbYukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1.5-inch chunks
- 2lemons, halved
- 1head of garlic, top sliced off, kept whole
- ½ cupkalamata olives
- ½ cupchicken stock
- fresh oregano sprigs, for serving
- 1
Whisk together all the marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Add the chicken thighs and toss to coat thoroughly. Marinate at room temperature for 1 hour, or refrigerate for up to 4 hours.
- 2
Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Place a heavy roasting pan or large oven-safe skillet in the oven to heat for 5 minutes.
- 3
Toss the potato chunks in the bowl with the chicken to pick up the residual marinade.
- 4
Carefully remove the hot pan from the oven. Arrange the chicken thighs skin-side up in a single layer. Scatter the potatoes around the chicken — try to keep them in direct contact with the pan bottom. Tuck the halved lemons cut-side down between the chicken pieces. Add the whole head of garlic and the olives. Pour the chicken stock and any remaining marinade over everything.
- 5
Roast at 425°F for 25 minutes, until the skin is golden brown.
- 6
Reduce the oven to 375°F (190°C). Continue roasting for 25–30 more minutes, until the chicken registers 175°F at the thickest part of the thigh and the potatoes are crisp and tender.
- 7
Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes. Tear fresh oregano sprigs over the top.
- 8
Serve directly from the pan, spooning the pan juices and squeezing the caramelized lemon halves over each plate.
Nutrition
Per serving · estimated
- Protein38 g26%
- Carbs32 g22%
- Fat35 g52%
More detail
- Fiber4 g
- Sugar3 g
- Saturated fat9 g
- Cholesterol165 mg
- Sodium820 mg
Nutrition values are estimates based on standard ingredient databases. Actual values may vary depending on brands, substitutions, and serving sizes.
Kotopoulo lemonato is the Greek answer to roast chicken — bone-in pieces, lots of lemon, golden potatoes, oregano, olive oil, and patience. It is a Sunday dinner all over Greece, and once you make it once, you will understand why.
The dish has a few non-negotiables: bone-in skin-on chicken (thighs are best), enough olive oil that the cookbook author would tell you it is too much (use it anyway), real Greek dried oregano, and lemons squeezed AND laid in the pan to caramelize alongside the chicken. Each of these things matters.
The fat ratio
Olive oil in this recipe is a flavor, not a cooking medium. Use enough that the chicken sits in a half-inch of oil-and-juice at the bottom of the pan. The potatoes will absorb most of it as they cook, becoming buttery and crisp at the edges. Anything less and the dish is dry.
Use real extra-virgin olive oil — Greek if you can get it. The flavor of the oil ends up in every bite.
The lemons
Two roles. Squeeze enough juice into the pan that it pools at the bottom. Then halve more lemons and lay them cut-side down in the pan. As the dish cooks, the cut lemons caramelize and slightly char, becoming sweeter and more concentrated. Squeeze them at the table over each plate.
If you can get good lemons (heavy for their size, glossy skin, organic if possible), the difference is real. Older softer lemons are fine but less aromatic.
The potato cut
Yukon Gold or any waxy yellow potato. Cut into chunks the size of golf balls — too small and they fall apart, too big and they do not crisp. Toss them with some of the marinade so they are coated before they go in the pan.
The potatoes need direct contact with the bottom of the pan to caramelize, so do not pile them on top of the chicken. Spread them in a single layer around the chicken pieces.
The technique
The cooking is mostly hands-off. Marinate the chicken for an hour. Spread everything in a heavy roasting pan. High oven for 25 minutes to brown the skin. Lower the heat for 30 more minutes to finish through. Rest. Eat.
The pan juices that pool at the bottom are gold — spoon them over each plate.
What to serve with it
A simple Greek salad — cucumber, tomato, red onion, kalamata olives, a generous block of feta, olive oil, oregano. Pita bread. A glass of crisp white wine, ideally something Greek (Assyrtiko if you can find it).