Greek Chicken and Potatoes
If I could choose my last meal- there is a definite chance that this would be it. There is something so special about this chicken and potatoes that it is hard to describe. While being very sentimental personally, (this was a dish that was instrumental to me getting back on my feet after each birth) it is a dish that no one could deny is deeply comforting.
The ingredients, while common, produce the most intense flavors. And while I have tried to imitate this chicken before, it was watching the process that made me understand what I had done differently in other recipes- the quantity of the seasonings was boggling. The garlic in particular. 11 cloves is serious. However because the chicken is slow roasted at a medium temperature for so long, it really takes the bite out of it and winds up nutty and almost a little sweet.
But it is the sourness of the lemon in combination with the roasted garlic pieces that creates the magic. Oh- the entire cup of olive oil that crisps up the chicken and potatoes doesn’t hurt either!
One more beautiful thing about this dish: It takes about 10 minutes to prepare, and then you have an entire dinner. Delicious.
Greek Chicken and Potatoes
1 whole chicken
2 lemons
11 garlic c loves, minced
2 Tbs dried greek oregano
1 cup olive oil
6 medium Yukon gold potatoes
Kosher salt and pepper
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Trim the tips of the chicken wings and any extra fat. Split the chicken in half with a sharp chefs knife, and place both halves, bones down, on a sheet pan.
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Squeeze all of the juice of one lemon on the chicken. Rub the halves on both sides of the chicken. Pour ¼ cup of olive oil.
Generously season the chicken with salt and pepper and half of the oregano. Add about 5 cloves of the garlic to the chicken.
Peel the potatoes and cut them into quarters. Place in a bowl.
Add the remaining olive oil, oregano, lemon juice and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and toss the potatoes with everything until well coated.
Pour the potatoes out onto the sheet pan with the chicken and all of the sauce.
Roast the chicken at 350 degrees for about an hour and fifteen minutes or until the chicken and potatoes are golden and crispy.
Serve the chicken and potatoes with the extra sauce poured over, and fresh lemon wedges. (Be sure to scrape up all of the browned up bits- those are the very best parts!)
This looks lovely. I am so happy you’re doing greek week!
Eeek “last meal” – so funny 🙂
I bet the flavors of this with the lemon and oregano are wonderful. I will be making your last supper delight soon.
This is definitely what I’m making the next time I have company.
An Irish gal cooks for her Greek hubby-chicken is in the oven! Will let you know how it works out. Already smells decadent!!!
YES!!! I bet you it reminds him of when he was growing up (assuming his mother was Greek!) Let me know how it turns out!
Even my kids loved this meal!!! Initially I was a bit intimidated by the “splitting ” of the chicken- flash to Jessica Seinfeld’s friend that never cooks (not sure if you saw the series). Regardless, it was a raging success!!! Thank you for the nudge!!!!
this makes me SO happy!
Divine!
This looks so fabulous, especially those crispy potatoes!
Those potatoes look absolutely incredible!
When you say to add the 5 cloves of garlic to the chicken, should I slide it under the skin of the chicken?
rub it on the chicken!
This was Sunday dinner last night – it was fabulous! The flavors of all the seasonings on the chicken and potatoes were soooo good – big hit!
great! your picture was fantastic- i need to post it!
Yay! I have become a Greek Chickenista!
🙂
Gorgeous chicken and a great combination of seasonings. Going to try this asap!
Made this tonight with split chicken breasts.
So delish!
Whole family loved it
This was delicious! I did cut the olive oil down to 1/4 cup. My husband loved it! Thanks.
I just made this for our Dinner tonight and it was fabulous! I couldn’t stop eating it and the flavors infused it wonderfully. Thanks for sharing this with all of us. It’s definately a repeater for us 🙂
Delicious and simple. Both very important! I can’t wait to try more recipes from your site. Thank you for a permanent addition to our menu rotation.
that is great! truly one of my favorites! Thank you for visiting- hope to see you here often 🙂
My family has been going to a local mom and pop Greek restaurant to have Oregano chicken for decades. It has changed hands and unfortunately it is no longer good. I desperately wanted to figure out how to make that chicken. I made this recipe tonight and it was absolutely wonderful! I will work to tweak it a but I was thrilled and so was my daughter. Thanks for a great recipe… 🙂
that makes me so happy! I hope this recipe leads you to your perfect rendition. If it does, please share it!
Making this tonight for the second time. It is the best chicken recipe I have ever come across! I have passed it on to many friends and family who have now added it to their “favorites” list too. Thank you!!
Lynne-That is like music to my ears! I will be sure to pass on the compliment to my mother-in-law 🙂
Silly queston. After squeezing the lemon on is and rubbing the halves it says to pour 1/4 oil. Is that also over the chicken? Think so – just checking. Do you have to use that much oil, one reader didn’t.
Yes! Also over the chicken. Of course you can always cut back! But I will tell you something- I tried to recreate this for years, and could never figure out why mine didn’t taste like my mother-in-laws. Than I saw her make it. I was totally freaked out by how much oil and garlic she used, but the taste is out of this world!!
I would LOVE to make this for my boyfriend! We both love chicken dishes, and this seems simple enough for me to be able to make on school nights (oh the never-ending college years). Any chance I could use boneless/skinless chicken breasts, or is the skin too important for the over all taste? Thank you!
You can always substitute, but you just can’t beat the flavor that the skin and bones impart into the chicken meat!
Oh wow! Just made this for dinner. The sauce that forms on the bottom of the pan is where it’s at, beyond description…wish I could bottle it, but for now I’ll just slurp up the sauce and drench the chicken and potatoes in it 🙂
Just had this for dinner…absolutely fabulous. The chicken is so moist and flavorful, the potatoes are perfect, the garlic beyond yummy, and then there is the sauce to cover it all or soak up with any kind of bread..yum.
My husband has been craving greek potatoes. Your recipe came up when I googled it, so I think I will go all out and try this! Am also planning a nice salad with feta cheese and greek olives to round out the meal!
sounds delicious!! These are SO GOOD!!!
Approximately how big is the whole chicken in pounds or kilograms? p.s. Thanks so much for sharing your MIL’s recipe!
oh! Maybe like 4-6 lbs? depending?
Made this tonight with chicken breast – amazing!!! Thanks for sharing!!!
This was DELICIOUS! Found it on Pinterest and made it tonight…a definite keeper!! Thanks for sharing!!
It was all you said it would be! We loved it but I should have put on more potatoes for the grandkids:)
Thanks for this keeper
Loved this recipe. Thank you. It is definitely a keeper
I made it for dinner tonight and it was great!!! My family loved it- will make it often. It was sooo easy!!!
My wife used to make this, which she learned from a Greek friend of hers, and I have missed it since losing her. Tonight, I’ll try the recipe for the rest of the family!
This sounds wonderful. I’d prefer to use chx breasts, but would the potatoes cook in the same length of time as the breasts? (I’m assuming breasts don’t take as long as halves.)
I would still cook them for an hour, and definitely use bone on-skin-on chicken!
Great recipe and super yummy. I will definitely make this one again. I don’t have any cooking training and no real talent for cooking, so for me it took about 30 minutes for prep. Recipes often give prep time, but the clean up is usually the killer. I lined my rimmed cookie sheet with foil which made that part of clean up easy. The cutting the chicken clean up was time consuming. Next time I’ll buy cut chicken, or ask a nice butcher to cut the chicken in half for me.
I didn’t put this in a big enough dish, make sure your chicken & potatoes all touch the bottom and aren’t piled on top of each other. My picky husband ate the leftovers to the last drop so it saved me a lot of time and money! DO NOT tinker with the ingredients either, you need a lot of everything just like the recipe says.
I love Greek chicken in restaurants and always wanted to duplicate it. This recipe is better than any one I ever tasted. Yum! The leftovers taste good, too!
What do u suggest for a veggie side?
I love a big green salad, but brussels sprouts is my favorite side dish! Here are a bunch to choose from! http://www.heatherchristo.com/cooks/category/recipes/brussels-sprouts/
Is any basting done during the cooking process?
nope! no basting necessary!
I worked for a Greek couple when I lived in Indiana 7 years ago. As a treat, George would make this for us once a month. Oh how I missed it. Thank you so much for the recipe!
Of course Jenny- it is the best recipe 🙂
This looks like a fantastic recipe. I will give it a try. I just have not been able to cut a chicken in half yet……other than that, I feel that this recipe will be wonderful. Thank you
Fantastic recipe. Thank you. Might I only suggest adding a dash of ground cloves and cinnamon?
I am not able to print this recipe. Is there a reason?
THIS RECIPE IS TOP SHELF
Thank you so much for this recipe, I am making it right now. I couldn’t print the recipe so I signed up, now, how do I get the recipe in my inbox? I can’t wait to taste it!!!
When I was 7, my father who was in the military, got stationed in Athens, Greece. I made friends with the children of a Greek family that lived across the street. I was invited to dinner at my friend’s house one evening and her mother made roasted chicken and potatoes. . This recipe reminds me so much of how my friend’s mother made hers. Thank you so much for bringing back such wonderful memories for me.
just made this chicken for dinner tonight. DELICIOUS. Thank you
Yay Barbara!!! so happy that you liked it- it’s my favorite 🙂
May I inquire please, Is there a dish where you can just use boneless chicken breast along with the potatoes and other vegies Greek style. I am single man and wish to cook a meal that can have left overs that I can reheat for several meals. I love the Greek Meals and Salads and these are the recipes that I am looking for.
Thank you,
Jeff
We don’t like to eat the skin on chicken…could I do this with boneless, skinless chicken breasts?!
Cover with foil maybe?..,
I have never split a chicken in half–am very intimidated to do so…I tried to watch some videos on youtube to see how to do it. (silly, right?) Some people take out the backbone first, and some don’t. How did you do it? It looks like you just literally cut it in half?
Thank you!
Hi Jennifer- I just hack through it or just to the side of it with a big sharp knife!
I made this, and I loved it! So did my husband and son. Thanks!