Sheet Pan Lemon Garlic Chicken Thighs

Lemon Garlic Chicken is “5 stars!” “easy and delicious!,” blushing with vibrant citrus, zesty, garlic and aromatic herbs. The super juicy, flavorful chicken can be grilled, cooked in a skillet, or baked with buttery, golden baby potatoes and crisp-tender broccoli for a complete meal-in-one! Top it all of with guilt free Parmesan Yogurt Herb Dip which readers call “a must!” and “so, so good!” This Lemon Garlic Chicken is the ultimate easy weeknight dinner with just minutes of hands-on prep and 20 minutes of marinating time! With a quick dunk in the lemon, garlic, herb bath, the chicken emerges crazy juicy and layered with complex flavor. You can just cook the chicken (grill or skillet) or I highly suggest baking it with buttery, golden baby potatoes and crisp-tender broccoli spiked with lemon garlic goodness for easy cleanup and a complete meal-in-one! No matter how you serve this easy Lemon Garlic Chicken recipe, everyone will be singing your praises, and licking their plates.

Ingredients:
Chicken and Veggies:
1½ – 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs (see notes for breasts)
1 pound baby Dutch potatoes, quartered, halved if super small
3 cups broccoli florets

Lemon Garlic Marinade:
⅓ cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tsp of EACH: salt, pepper, dried basil, dried oregano, onion powder
½ tsp of EACH: paprika, ground cumin, dried thyme, sugar

Parmesan Yogurt Herb Sauce (Optional, recommended):
1 cup Greek yogurt or sour cream
¼ cup finely, freshly grated Parmesan
¼ cup chopped parsley
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped chives (optional)
1 tablespoon minced dill (optional)
¼ tsp of EACH: salt, ground cumin
⅛ teaspoon pepper

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400F. Combine the Lemon Garlic Marinade ingredients in a gallon size seal-able freezer bag. Remove 2 tablespoons to use later for the veggies. Add the chicken to the bag, seal, and turn to coat. Let the chicken marinate at room temperature for 20 minutes while you cook the potatoes or up to 4 hours in the refrigerator. Line a large sheet pan with sides (15×21 inches) with foil and spray with cooking spray for easy cleanup. Add the potatoes, 1 tablespoon reserved marinade (never touched by the chicken) and ¼ teaspoon salt. Toss until evenly combined then spread into an even layer. Bake potatoes at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, remove the sheet pan from the oven. Push the potatoes to one side of the pan. Add the broccoli and toss with 1 tablespoon of the reserved marinade. Push next to the potatoes in a single layer. Add the chicken in a single layer. Bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 17-22 minutes or until your chicken thighs reach 170-175 degrees F or chicken cutlets reach 165 degrees F on an instant read thermometer.
Meanwhile, whip up the Yogurt Parmesan Herb Sauce by whisking all of the ingredients together. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Grilled lemon garlic chicken:
Heat, clean and grease grill to 400 degrees F.
Grill chicken over direct heat undisturbed for 4-6 minutes per side, or until chicken is cooked through (An inserted thermometer should read 165 degrees F for chicken breasts, 170-175 degrees for thighs).
Let chicken rest 5 minutes before chopping or slicing.

Skillet Lemon Garlic Chicken:
Heat 1 ½ tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. You will likely need to work in batches.
Once very hot, add chicken and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until deeply golden on one side.
Flip the chicken over, cover, and reduce heat to medium. Cook for approximately 5-7 additional minutes (depending on thickness), or until chicken is cooked through.

Tips & Notes:
– Use chicken thighs. For the juiciest, most flavorful chicken with greater caramelization, use chicken thighs.
– To use chicken breasts: use 3 chicken breasts sliced through the equator to create six cutlets or 6 small chicken breasts, roughly 5-7 ounces each. Pound the chicken to a uniform thickness so it’s super tender, can seep in more of the marinade and will cook more evenly and in the allotted cooking time.
– Use uniform potatoes. Try and select your own potatoes of similar size instead of grabbing a bag which will often have varying sizes. Quarter all of the potatoes so they are about 1-inch and only halve potatoes that are super tiny. You can cut the potatoes larger if you wish, just bake them longer before you add the chicken and broccoli.
– Don’t forget the spray. Even the marinade has olive oil, the veggies aren’t swimming in it, so it’s important that you grease the foil with nonstick cooking spray otherwise your veggies will stick.
– Bring the chicken to room temperature. If you are making this recipe right away, then the chicken will come to room temperature as it marinates and you bake the potatoes. If you are making this recipe after the chicken has been marinating in the refrigerator, make sure to let the chicken rest on the counter for 20 minutes before cooking.
– Don’t skip the sauce! The yogurt sauce is a key component in this recipe. Its creamy consistency marries all of the ingredients together. Greek yogurt will be tangier and give you more of a Greek vibe and sour cream will be more of a steakhouse dip vibe. If you don’t have all of the herbs for the sauce, just use what you do have. You can also use homemade or store-bought tzatziki.
– Meal prep: Easily turn these Lemon Garlic Chicken Thighs into meal prep by dividing the chicken and veggies into seal-able containers so they’re ready for on-the go.

Please follow & like us: