Easy Greek Chicken And Potatoes

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Greek chicken and potatoes is the best crowd pleasing Greek chicken recipe! Just throw chicken thighs and potatoes into a pan, pour over a lemon, olive oil and oregano marinade, and bake. Made with just 6 ingredients, it’s perfect for a midweek meal, but impressive enough for guests. Don’t forget a Greek salad on the side!

One pan roasted Greek chicken and potatoes with a Greek salad in the background

Why you’ll love it

Transport yourself to sunny Greece! One of the fastest ways to imagine yourself eating in Greece in a cute taverna with blue wooden chairs is to make this easy Greek chicken and potatoes.

It’s one of the simplest every day meals in Greece. If you’d grown up there, something like this would have appeared on the dinner table regularly (along with this similar Greek biftekia and potatoes!).

But while this is an authentic Greek recipe (which is what you can proudly tell your friends when they’re tucking into it!), It doesn’t have a fancy name. It’s just called roasted Greek chicken and potatoes!

In Greek it’s called ‘kotopoulo me patatas’ or Κοτόπουλο με Πατάτες in case you want to impress your friends!

You could say it’s the Greek aunt of this simple stove top chicken and rice.

This is one of the many reasons I love Greek food so much. It often doesn’t sound (or even look) anything special, but one bite and you’ll be blown away…

  • You only need about 10 minutes hands on time to make it.
  • It’s a 6-ingredient recipe made with everyday ingredients. Buy some chicken thighs and a lemon and you probably have everything else already.
  • It’s a crowd pleaser. Who wouldn’t enjoy juicy chicken thighs marinated in lemon and simple Greek flavours with yummy crispy potatoes? Even the pickiest eaters will love it.
  • It’s easy – but it’s impressive! Serve it as a super easy midweek meal for your family, or for guests with a Greek salad, crusty fresh bread and tzatziki sauce. It’ll look like a Greek feast!
  • You can prepare the potatoes and marinade ahead. All you have to do when you’re ready to eat is pop the potatoes in the oven for 20 minutes, nestle in the chicken, then pour over the marinade and bake.

Ingredients

This is all you need (I told you it was easy):

  • potatoes roughly sliced into chunky wedges: Leave the skins on, or peel them – your choice.
  • skinless boneless chicken thighs

For the Greek chicken marinade:

  • the juice and zest of a lemon
  • lots of olive oil (but it doesn’t taste oily)
  • dried oregano

And finally:

  • plenty of salt & pepper

Yep, just 6 ingredients!

Pro tip: Grind more salt over this dish than you would usually. Just trust me on this one!

How do you make Greek chicken and potatoes?

You only need to follow 5 simple steps to get this on your dinner table in about an hour (with only about 10 minutes hands-on time!)

A collage of 6 photos showing how to make roasted Greek chicken and potatoes

Step 1: Toss some potato wedges in olive oil, then roast in the oven for about 20 minutes. To give them a head start! (Photo 1)

Step 2: Make the easy Greek marinade. (Photo 2)

Step 3: Nestle chicken thighs in among the part cooked potatoes (Photo 3), then drizzle over the marinade. Mostly over the chicken, but it doesn’t matter if some goes over the potatoes too. (Photo 4)

Step 4: Drizzle the whole dish with the delicious Greek chicken marinade. (Photo 4)

Step 5: Tuck the used lemon halves into the pan as well, then sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Bake for about 45 minutes. (Photos 5 and 6)

Note about the marinade: As you make the marinade, you might be thinking it’s a lot of oil to use.

But again, trust me. As the chicken cooks, the juices run into the marinade and create the most delicious lemon oregano ‘sauce’ to mop up with your bread.

The oven does most of the work. And that’s where the magic happens. While the dish is baking, the juices from the chicken mix with the marinade to make the most incredible ‘sauce’. They also run into the potatoes and make them perfectly tasty, tender, and crispy.

What to serve with this meal

The best way to serve this amazing Greek lemon chicken dinner is with:

  • tsatziki sauce (or just Greek yogurt if you like – that’s what I usually serve!)

Don’t skip these amazing Greek side dishes. They turn a good meal into a fantastic meal – one you can just as equally enjoy as an easy midweek meal, or as a delicious Mediterranean feast to serve to guests.

On that note, if you’re having a Greek dinner party, check out this list of 15 easy Greek appetizers. You’re bound to find something you like there!

Someone eating Greek roast chicken and potatoes with a side of Greek salad

Make sure you have a bit of everything on your fork, including some feta from the salad and a bit of Greek yogurt or tzatziki. Then close your eyes and imagine yourself at a taverna at the foot of the Acropolis in Athens.

Helen’s top tips

  • After you’ve made this Greek chicken and lemon potatoes a couple of times, you could probably make it without the recipe. Have you added a little more or less of each ingredient? No problem!
  • You will find that the potatoes are half crispy and half soaked in the delicious lemon oregano ‘sauce’. This is exactly how they are supposed to be. Enjoy!
  • If you find your potatoes stick to the pan a bit (or a lot), no problem! In fact, all the better. Scrape up all those delicious crispy bits and the person who gets them will be one very happy diner!

Recipe FAQs

What kind of potatoes should I use for Greek chicken and potatoes?

Honestly? It really doesn’t matter. I’ve used every kind of potato imaginable, and they all work well. The best thing about this dish is that it’s super super easy. Which means you use whatever you already have or like!

What can I use instead of dried oregano?

Run out of oregano, or running short? No problem! You can use thyme, basil or marjoram instead. For more options, check out this list of 20 oregano substitutes.

What’s the best baking dish to use?

To be honest, I’ve used so many different kinds of dishes for this! The main thing is that you don’t want the chicken and potatoes to be too crowded. I find that the best size dish is a 9 x 11 inch baking dish or equivalent.

If you want to serve more people, simply double the ingredients and use either a huge baking dish or two dishes if you prefer.

Can I use bone in skin on chicken thighs instead?

Yes, actually you can! I usually use boneless chicken thighs but I find them easier to eat. But if you use bone in skin on thighs arguably your meal will be even more juicy and delicious!

The cooking time should be the same. Just check with a meat thermometer in the deepest part of the thigh that the temperature is at least 165F.

Can I prepare this meal ahead?

Absolutely! What I usually do is prepare the marinade and pop it in the fridge until I want to use it. Then I prepare the potatoes, put them in the baking dish and keep that covered in the fridge too.

Then all I have to do to finish off this amazing meal is pre-cook the potatoes, then tuck the chicken in with the potatoes, then pour the marinade over and roast!

This is what makes this such a great meal for entertaining!

How long does it keep in the fridge?

Another great thing about this meal is that it keeps really well once it’s cooked. It will keep for up to 4 days in the fridge. When you want to eat the leftovers, just reheat as described below! All you’ll have to do is make a fresh Greek salad!

Can I reheat the leftovers?

Surprisingly… yes! I usually just reheat the Greek potatoes and chicken slowly (on 50% power) in the microwave. There are fewer crispy bits, but it’s more intensely flavoured by the marinade by the second day.

FORGET THE CHICKEN, JUST FEED ME POTATOES! If you just need a potato side dish that’s easy but a little bit different, try these amazing crispy Greek potatoes. They truly are the best! Serve with chicken, fish, steak, anything…

A plate of Greek roasted chicken & potatoes with a Greek salad from above
Look – a complete Greek feast all on one plate!

More amazing Greek meals

Or if you’re just enjoying the whole Greek food vibe in this post, you might like to check out this list of 10 best easy Greek chicken recipes or my Greek recipes archives!

Last but not least: Need a quick and easy dessert to serve after this meal? Here are 11 really easy dessert recipes (6 ingredients or less).

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One pan Greek baked chicken and potatoes with a Greek salad in the background
4.79 from 19 votes

Easy Greek Chicken And Potatoes

I call this 6-ingredient Greek Chicken And Potatoes dinner 'amazingly delicious' for good reason! It's the simplest but one of the most popular everyday Greek chicken recipes. Millions of Greeks can't be wrong! Just bake chicken and potato wedges with a really easy olive oil, lemon and oregano marinade. Don't even think about skipping the Greek salad and tzatziki (or yogurt!) sides!
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 1 hour 5 minutes
Total: 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients 
 

  • pounds medium-sized potatoes, peeled & sliced into wedges
  • ¼ cup olive oil, plus a little extra
  • 2 pounds skinless boneless chicken thighs, (8-10 thighs)
  • 1 lemon, zest & juice
  • 1 large teaspoon dried oregano
  • salt & black pepper

Instructions 

  • Pre-heat the oven to 390F/200C.
  • Put the raw potato wedges into a large baking dish or roasting pan (in one layer if you can). Drizzle with a little olive oil, toss with your hands and bake for about 20 minutes.
  • Remove the potatoes from the oven and nestle the chicken thighs in amongst them in the dish. Add the squeezed lemon halves as well.
  • Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice & zest & oregano and drizzle all over the chicken and potatoes. Grind over plenty of salt and black pepper, then put the dish back in the oven and bake for 45 minutes or until the chicken juices run clear when you poke the meat with a knife and the whole dish is golden.
  • Serve with a big traditional Greek salad, Greek yogurt and crusty bread.

Video

Notes

To feed a crowd: Baked Greek chicken and potatoes can very easily be doubled or tripled for a larger number of people – just use a HUGE dish (or you could use 2 smaller ones of course).
Potatoes: Don’t worry if the potatoes are a bit (or a lot!) stuck to the baking dish after you’ve pre-baked them. Just loosen them and toss before adding in the chicken. This will just make the potatoes all the more crispy and delicious when you serve the final dish!
Best side dishes: Serve with a traditional Greek salad of tomatoes, cucumber, onions, green peppers, black olives and a big slab of feta cheese. Sprinkle the salad with oregano and plenty of olive oil just before serving. Don’t forget the tsatziki sauce!
Reheating the leftovers: We often reheat the leftovers the next day and eat them with a fresh Greek salad. I usually just reheat on 50% heat for a few minutes in the microwave until the chicken is piping hot. The potatoes are often a bit less crispy, but just as if not more delicious!
 

Nutrition

Calories: 512kcal, Carbohydrates: 27g, Protein: 49g, Fat: 23g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Cholesterol: 215mg, Sodium: 222mg, Potassium: 1412mg, Fiber: 5g, Vitamin A: 55IU, Vitamin C: 37mg, Calcium: 91mg, Iron: 8.6mg
Like this recipe? Rate and comment below!

Note: This post has been updated from its original version to include new photos, step-by-step cooking instructions, an FAQ, similar recipes, and a how-to video. I hope you like it!

About Helen Schofield

Don't expect to find anything fussy or complicated here. Just QUICK, EASY & (mostly!) HEALTHY recipes from the Mediterranean and beyond. ENJOY!

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92 Comments

  1. Thank you so much for the amazing giveaway, and omg! This dish sounds phenomenal!

  2. Sounds delicious. I am a food blogger too. I am glad I found your site. It seems we share the same passion for international foods.

    1. Hello, Analinda! So glad you found me as well – I’ll pop over and check out your site, too!

  3. I am a big fan of any kind of Greek food. I bet this has so much flavour in it. I have pinned and shared on Twitter too 🙂

    Great giveaway!

    1. Aw, thanks for pinning and sharing, Dannii … you’re a star! Really glad you like this, too. I love this because it’s got such great flavour and yet is so so simple it’s hardly a recipe. Hope you try it out some time. 🙂

  4. What a delicious dinner recipe, the whole family will love this! Also it must smell amazing!

  5. What a delicious dish, can’t wait to try it. I’m also very happy to be involved in the giveaway with a great group of bloggers.

    1. Glad you like it, Janette … and so happy I could take part in this giveaway with you all, too!

  6. LOVE the simplicity of this! Visited Greece this summer and this will bring back lovely memories for my family tonight! We all thank you! Off to the store now . . .

    1. Aw, Lori, I’m thrilled that you like this enough to give it a go tonight! I really hope you and your family enjoy it as much as we did!

  7. Awesome giveaway Helen! You ladies are wonderful!! I’ll have to check out the other blogs. And of course, another nice lightweight recipes. Need that right now after holiday after holiday indulgence. You’re lightening up my waist and wallet. Thanks! (well, if I win, the wallet part, but you know. )

    1. Ha! There’s nothing I’d like better than for someone as lovely as you to win, Laura! Please do check out the other blogs (going to add in their links to the post in just a moment) 🙂

  8. This sounds like my sort of dinner! I love Greek food, this recipe reminds me of the chicken herb bakes my Mum makes! The giveaway sounds SO amazing! 😀 Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe!

  9. So excited about our giveaway!!!
    This dish looks flavorful and delicious! I’ve told you I’m from the Southern part of Bulgaria, close to Greece and we make similar one pot chicken and potatoes. It is so easy to make, great for a light weeknight dinner. Pinned!

    1. Me too, Mira! I have a very good Bulgarian friend in Greece and a lot of the food was similar. Yum – I love it all! So glad you approve of this!

  10. YUM!!! Greek food is one of my favs – packed with a ton of flavor, but uncomplicated ingredients! I can’t wait to see the Greed Salad next!

    Great GIVEAWAY!

    1. Thanks, Kathleen! I’ve been wanting to post about the Greek salad for ages … now seems like the right time 😉