Mediterranean Baked Chicken Dinner – this is a midweek chicken dinner idea that’s one of those “throw it all in a pan” recipes with high returns for minimal effort. With chicken, potatoes, onion and cherry tomatoes, you’ll love how everything sucks up the tasty lemon garlic sauce in this sheet pan dinner!
Mediterranean Baked Chicken Dinner
This is a chicken sheet pan dinner that ticks a lot of boxes for midweek cooking:
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complete meal – no need to bother with side salads
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low effort prep – no finely chopping anything, no fiddly assemble, just throw it all in a pan
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no need to watch over it – pop it in the oven, set the timer and walk away;
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no gourmet or hard to find ingredients – plus plenty of substitutions
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IT’S TOTALLY DELICIOUS!!! The tasty Mediterranean sauce is not only very, very tasty in its own right, it also keeps everything nice and moist while it’s in the oven (you will love how juicy the chicken is).
I especially love how the potatoes suck up the sauce as they bake. It reminds me of Greek Lemon Potatoes (but a lot less effort!).
What you need for this Chicken Dinner
Here’s what you need for this one pan Mediterranean Baked Chicken Dinner:
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Chicken – thighs and drumsticks (bone in, skin on = juicy flesh and golden skin!)
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Lemons, lots of garlic, paprika and oregano – to make the tasty Mediterranean sauce;
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Honey and mustard – to thicken/sweeten/flavour the sauce;
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Potatoes, onion and cherry tomatoes
Customise it!
I’ve used onions, potatoes and cherry tomatoes here but you could really use whatever vegetables you have.
Zucchini, pumpkin, sweet potato, corn cobs spring to mind as ideal substitutions. Rummage around in your fridge and see what you’ve got!
Also, in there spirit of Mediterranean food, I’ve used oregano and garlic here. Try it with rosemary or thyme instead, or give it a Middle Eastern spin by adding a touch of cumin and coriander!
How to make this One Pan Chicken Dinner
Obscenely simple: mix Sauce, toss in chicken, optional marinade, toss it all in a pan and bake.
OK, I skipped one step here. 😇 I add cherry tomatoes partway through the bake time so they don’t turn into unidentifiable mush. But if you’re ok with extremely squishy tomatoes, just add them right in at the beginning!
And here’s what you end up with in this one pan Mediterranean Chicken Dinner:
1. Very, very juicy chicken infused with Mediterranean flavours -the chicken isn’t submerged in sauce because we want the skin to go nice and golden. But the underside is partially in the sauce / steamed which keeps it ultra juicy.
2. Juicy pops of cherry tomatoes and potatoes that suck up the lemon garlic sauce:
Another nice thing about this chicken dinner is that marinating is optional. It definitely adds flavour if you can marinate overnight because then the chicken is flavoured all the way through.
However, there is plenty of sauce in this recipe – enough to mop and dunk and douse every bite you take. So it’s fine to make even without marinating! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Mediterranean Chicken Dinner
Ingredients
Marinade / Sauce
- 1kg / 2lb bone in, skin on chicken thighs and drumsticks (Note 1)
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) lemon juice
- 6 cloves garlic , minced
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard (Optional - Note 2)
- 2 tbsp honey or 1 tbsp sugar (or maple or other sweetener)
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1.5 tsp paprika
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp EACH salt and pepper
Bake
- 5 smallish potatoes (7.5cm/3" wide) , quartered (Note 3)
- 2 red onions , quartered
- 1 cup (250ml) chicken broth/stock , low sodium
- 250g/8oz cherry tomatoes (whole)
- 1/2 tsp EACH salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp Olive oil (or oil spray)
- Fresh oregano , for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Mix Marinade ingredients in a bowl, then add chicken and toss to coat. If time permits, marinate for 24 hours, otherwise proceed to next step.
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
- Place potatoes and onion in baking pan, top with chicken. Pour over the chicken stock then marinade from the bowl.
- Bake for 20 minutes, then remove from oven.
- Scatter over cherry tomatoes, drizzle everything with 1 tbsp olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for a further 30 - 35 minutes until chicken is golden and potatoes are cooked.
- Remove from oven, garnish with fresh oregano if using and serve!
Recipe Notes:
- Marinating - benefits from marinating but not critical. Sauce has so much flavour (and there's lots of it) it compensates;
- Pan size - ingredients should fit snugly. If they are too spaced out, too much of the liquid will evaporate while baking and you won't end up with much sauce.
Nutrition Information:
Originally published November 2015, updated March 2020 with new photos, new video and most importantly, Life of Dozer section added!
More Dinner in One Pot!
Life of Dozer
This is a 3 seater lounge – or one Dozer. 🙄
I’m going to make this tonight! Do you think it would be okay to use a dutch oven, or would the ingredients be too crammed in there?
Hi there Ellen! I think it will work fine 🙂 Just put the chicken on top and the potatoes underneath. The potatoes won’t brown as much but that’s ok! It is suck up all the juices of the sauce instead – delish! 🙂
Bone-in chicken breasts would probably work, no? I want to make this tonight! Looks scrummy!
It sure will! 🙂 Just have a read of my recipe notes, I’ve given cook time directions for breast. 🙂
Ok I made this last night and it was delicious! I used four fairly large bone-in chicken breasts and a large shallot (because that’s all I had). Took a bit longer to cook because of the size of the chicken, but it was juicy and delicious. The sauce itself is to die for. Thanks for this!
YAY YAY!!! I’m SO GLAD you enjoyed it Nancy!!! N x
This chicken looks GOOOOOOOOOD! Can’t wait to have this next week. I’m doing a one pan lemon chicken tonight (recipe by another blogger), so I’ll be able to compare. Although I have a very good feeling that yours will be better.
I have nothing but sympathy for you with your keys and phone. Whilst I’ve been fortunate enough to have never done that, my Big One has thrown my keys into the toilet. After he’d used the toilet. And before he’d flushed. I had to fish the keys out with a pair of tongs. The keys ended up in a big bucket of disinfectant, and the tongs went into the bin. I made sure he never did that again.
OMG. I actually paled at the thought of dealing with that. ? 😉
This was last night’s dinner. Yes, I changed my mind. 🙂
I had plans to cook another one pan lemon chicken dish, but after suffering through a sticky 40C day, I didn’t feel like pan frying anything on a hot stove. I had everything for your dish (well, I had chicken thigh cutlets instead of chicken drumsticks), except the cherry tomatoes, and I had heaps of asparagus which I added to the pan in the tomatoes’ place. I didn’t have time to marinade the chicken, and you were spot on about the chicken not needing the marinating – the sauce was amazing!!! I love that I didn’t have to do anything at all – just tossed everything into a baking tray, pop it into the oven and leave it to cook. Great dinner, one that I will be making over and over again!
J Daddy is slowly but surely coming around to the rest of the chicken being tasty and delicious – he admitted last night that the chicken thigh cutlets I used for your dish were very tender and juicy and tasty, and he even ate the skin. Oh so good!
https://www.instagram.com/p/-v55moqyel/
So honoured you changed your MIND!!! 🙂 Thank you so much for trying this and I’m so glad you enjoyed it! (We’ve gotta keep working on J Daddy….)
It sure doesn’t sound like your day started off so good. But it looks like it ended up just fine. This looks and sounds fabulous!
Just the sort of thing I do!! I am actually a real klutz. 🙂 Today I was whizzing around in my car with the window open, hair flying everywhere. Wound the window up and didn’t realise I got my hair caught until I turned my head to check the blindspot. Almost ripped half my hair out!!
This is on my menu for Thursday, gonna be a scorcher here in Perth, but I can put up with the oven on for a short time 🙂
Seriously, Sydney will give Perth a run for its money at the moment. 🙂 It was 40 degrees last week and 33C today!!! At least the heat is dry in WA. I can handle dry 40C heat (I spent almost a month in the Kimberlies a few years back!). I can’t cope in humidity!!!
Would like to add but like you I need to buy red onions as only have about a third on one left LOL
Bah! Forget the red onions!!! Or just plonk in some ordinary onions 🙂 N x
Hi Nagi,
Sorry the hear about your weird day.
Dumb question, what is a “Punnet” of cherry tomatoes?
I’ve never heard that expression before.
Thanks for the recipe and explanation.
Mary
Gosh Mary, I didn’t even think that it wasn’t a universal term! A punnet is a plastic container with cherry tomatoes and it is a standard size in Australia – 250g/8oz. 🙂 I’ll update the recipe!
Thanks for replying. I read later in the recipe about cherry tomatoes so I knew that I had the right ones.
Used thighs last night and the dish was wonderful, BUT, for some reason (cut too big?) the potatoes didn’t want to cook. Turned the heat up, left for a total of 2 hours. Then I took out and Micro’d the potatoes for 5 mins and they still were firm.
I cooked 6 banana breads and a gumdrop cake day before so I know my oven is okay, but never had potatoes do that before?????
I was soo good though, I’ll try cutting the potatoes lots smaller next time.
2 hours and potatoes were uncooked?? Oh my! They must have either been GIANT potatoes or….I can’t imagine what else!! Potatoes cut to size per the photo in the recipe definitely cooks in the prescribed time!! I’m so glad you enjoyed it still! N xx
Made this tonight and we all loved it!
i only had skinless and boneless chicken thighs in and they worked out perfectly. I always appreciate your notes as you always give substitute ideas, and cooking times for different cuts – thank you!
I made a lot more than was necessary but I ended up with NO leftovers as it was so popular. 🙂
Oh my gosh Sacha! That was QUICK! I’m grinning like a fool, that’s such a compliment that you made this so soon after I posted it!! Thank you very much for your wonderful feedback, I really truly appreciate that you take the time to share your thoughts on my recipe to help others decide if they want to make it. N x
Nagi, this is my kind of dish! One pot and all the best flavors. I’d love to make this for my family. Pinning for sure.
Thank you so much Andrea, you’re so sweet! N x
Hi Nagi! Love the ease of preparation! And oh my YES to the sauce! We have back to back birthdays! 🙂
Seriously Dorothy, I KNEW there was a reason we get along so well! The power of Sagittarius!!! N x
You never fail to deliver, Nagi… Good food each week that is. Pinned
Thank you Shobelyn! You’re so sweet!!! N x
Let’s be politically correct and call that what it was…dumpster diving 🙂 It’s actually a thing in the states you know that!? Oh want to know the best part? When you say “so good” I literally hear you saying it in your cute little Aussie accent 🙂 Love this recipe totally a Mila type dish! Next time chop up your red onion and stash it in the freezer 🙂 Hope you had an incredible birthday filled with loads of delicious food. Love ya! xoxo
You know what, I don’t deny that I’m a dumpster diver!!! Some of my BEST shooting surfaces and props are from the tip!!! But THIS rummaging was on a different level… Miss ya! N x
Oh heavens!! You poor thing. You weren’t kidding the other day when you said dumpster diving.Did you soak them in hand sanitizer?? Yuck! Your recipe does sound divine!! I love the one pot appeal and the sauce?? Whoa Nelly — I could just slurp that up. Great job, Nagi and great photos!!
I was honestly doing the jittery dance of ickiness for hours after that!! I washed my hands so many times they are STILL horribly dry!! Hope you had a great weekend! N x
Would the cooking time be the same if boneless chicken breasts were used? Thank you
Hi Beth! Have a look at the notes in the recipe – I’ve included cooking directions for boneless breast. Hope it helps! N x
I absolutely love your web site. The recipes are always so beautiful and tasty. Your an inspiration. Keep it up.
Thank you so much Beth! I’m glad you enjoy my site! N x
Ay, yi, yi! I’ve had to look for things in the garbage, too. No fun, even if it’s only the recycling bin. Love the post, though. I had a similar experience yesterday, minus the keys/phone in garbage, when making turkey soup. No bay leaf, no celery, still came out great. Hope the week ahead has no more pitfalls like that for you!
So you KNOW the pain!!! I had my nose wrinkled the whole time and I was prodding through it with the end of a rake…ew ew ew!!!
Oh you poor thing!!!!!! I just took rubbish out to my bin and moved it over to the sheds because it smells so much!!!! A weeks worth of garbage including the remains of some whole fish, chicken carcass, and a pot of rice that I removed from the outdoor freezer, placed on top to get something else out and then forgot about for a few days!!!
The thought of going through that is making me gag a little. You poor thing. I hope you had a glass of wine that night as you defo deserved it!!!!!!! xx
BA HA HA!!! I can just imagine how bad YOURS smelt!!!! Don’t throw your KEYS in there….
It is so the sort of thing I would do!!!!!
I realised I got so worried about you going through the bin, I forgot to comment on the actual recipe!!!!
Full of flavour oven baked chicken…..sounds my perfect recipe 🙂