Roasted Lemon Rosemary Chicken Thighs with Potatoes

Impress your guests with this roasted lemon rosemary chicken thighs with potatoes. This dish requires minimal effort, yet the results are truly divine. The chicken is roasted until tender and juicy with hearty potatoes and a beautifully bright lemon rosemary sauce that makes this dish sing with flavor!

This lemon rosemary chicken is one of my favorite chicken recipes on the blog! The chicken thighs are roasted until tender and juicy, along with hearty potatoes, and both are cooked in a luscious lemon & rosemary sauce that sets this dish apart from so many other chicken recipes that I’ve had!

The best part is that this is such an easy dinner to prepare, yet the taste and presentation are so elevated. I have made this dish for many years, and it truly is loved by my family and relatives. Whether it’s for a simpler Sunday dinner or a weeknight meal for just Drew and me, it never disappoints.

Key Ingredients

The ingredients for this dish are simple, and each one is intentionally used to layer as much flavor as possible into the chicken. Find the ingredient list below!

Use the recipe card below for the complete ingredient list and exact measurements.

Chicken thighs – boneless + skinless chicken thighs are my preferred cut to use in this dish. They are super tender and moist when roasted and easily absorb the sauce flavors.
Potatoes – it’s best to use a small potato for this recipe so it cooks faster. I like baby or fingerling potatoes! You can also cut larger yellow potatoes into smaller pieces too.
Lemon – the juice and the zest are used to add brightness to the sauce.
Rosemary – to add herbaceous flavor to the sauce. You can use dried or fresh rosemary, although I think fresh rosemary adds a brighter flavor!
Chicken broth – I prefer to use broth as the base for the lemon sauce. You can also swap this for white cooking wine.
Olive oil – adds richness to the sauce and helps brown the chicken and potatoes.
Honey – or maple syrup can be used to sweeten the sauce and help balance the acidic lemon juice.
Garlic – adds depth of flavor to the lemon sauce!

Recipe Highlights

Once you try this lemon rosemary chicken, you’ll find that it is…

BRIGHT & LEMONY. The brightness of the sauce is what sets this recipe apart. The sauce sings with fresh flavor From using fresh lemon zest and lemon juice!

LIGHT BUT COMFORTING. One of the reasons I make this recipe often is because it’s lighter and fresh, while also being a really comforting dish. It warms the soul while also nourishing the body!

PERFECT FOR HOSTING. This dish is ideal for hosting a dinner party because it’s no fuss. You can have a beautiful, elegant meal on the table without being tied to the kitchen with tons of work. Serve it with a few simple side dishes, and the meal is set!

How to Make Roasted Lemon Rosemary Chicken – Step-by-Step

Recipe Variations

Add different herbs – instead of rosemary, you can also use fresh thyme, lemon thyme, or fresh sage!

Add a splash of wine for more flavor – the original recipe of this for years has always been chicken broth to keep things really simple. However, over the years I’ve tested this dish with a splash of dry white wine in the sauce (either Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc) and it added a beautiful flavor to the sauce. This is completely optional!

Instead of chicken thighs – you can swap them for chicken breast, cutlets, or even drumsticks.

Tips for Success 

Browning the chicken is optional. I have made this dish often, both with and without browning the chicken. Browning the chicken gives a better texture and skin, but if you want to save time, you can skip it and bake it slightly longer in the oven. Both methods work and yield delicious results!

Make sure the potatoes are small enough. The last thing you want is the chicken to be done and raw potatoes in the pan that need more time. If using baby potatoes or fingerlings, I still like to slice them in half or even quarter, depending on their size. If you want to use russet or yellow potatoes, cut them into small cubes to ensure they cook through. It’s better to air on the side of caution by cutting the potatoes smaller.

The best pans to use—Over the years, I have made this recipe many times in cast iron skillets and found that they radiated too much heat, and the sauce was absorbed by the time the recipe finished baking. So, I no longer recommend cast iron pans but would recommend using stainless or glass baking dishes instead. If you use a cast iron pan, I recommend doubling the sauce.

If you like more sauce – many readers have shared that they love the sauce in this recipe and have doubled it when they make the recipe. So, if you’d prefer a lot of sauce, you can double the lemon sauce ingredients to have extra.

What to Serve with It

This lemon chicken is delicious all by itself! But to complete the meal, we love to serve it with…

Rice/grains. Because of the vibrant lemon sauce, this chicken sings when paired with rice or your preferred grain. The rice soaks up the sauce and is an excellent pairing with the juicy chicken.

Roasted vegetables. On the side, we always love to serve this with a roasted vegetable such as a medley of seasonal vegetables, roasted asparagus, broccolini, or butternut squash.

Salad. We always pair this with a salad that is seasonal! We love it with our pear and gorgonzola salad, our Greek chickpea salad, or this Tuscan artichoke salad.

More Chicken Recipes to Try

If you loved this chicken recipe, you might enjoy our honey dijon grilled chicken thighs, 15-minute lemon chicken piccata, or my mom’s chicken cacciatore!