Lemon Chicken Tray Bake

This lemon chicken tray bake is an easy weeknight dinner with only 8 minutes prep. Juicy chicken breasts and small yellow potatoes are drizzled with a delicious marinade and roasted in the oven for a satisfying one-pan meal.

Here’s a recipe for chicken drumsticks cooked in the instant pot if you like easy chicken dinners.

Is there anything better in the world than roasted chicken and potatoes on a baking tray? This herby chicken with a generous amount of olive oil, garlic and lemon is a cinch to make on a busy weeknight and oh so delicious.

I used horizontally sliced boneless chicken breasts to cut down on the roasting time, but you can also go for boneless chicken thighs if you’re a chicken thighs sorta person. Thigh meat is anyway more succulent but you will have to increase the time in the oven, that’s all.

Ingredients

Note: exact amounts are mentioned in the recipe card further down.

Instructions

• Slice each chicken breast horizontally so that you get two pieces out of one piece. This is to ensure faster cooking.
• Cut the potatoes into quarters. Small potatoes have thin skins so you don’t need to peel them.
• Make the marinade: Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, parsley, black pepper, and salt in a small bowl and whisk lightly.
• Arrange the chicken and potatoes on a baking tray and pour the marinade on, making sure to get all the pieces.
• Preheat your oven to 425 Fahrenheit and put the tray in the middle rack. Set the timer to 25 minutes.
• Once the timer beeps, take out the baking tray. The chicken and the potatoes should be cooked through and succulent. Squeeze half a lemon on top if you want some lemony flavor. Serve while the chicken and potatoes bake is still warm.

Top Tip: If you’re using frozen meat, slice it when it is semi-thawed. It’s easier to run a knife through it when it is still a bit hard than when it is fully defrosted.

Why this recipe works

• In case you didn’t notice, it is pretty darn easy! Even if you’re a beginner home cook, you can pull this off.
• It is so perfect for the times you are too busy to cook something elaborate and fancy. No sautéing or frying or any of the hard stuff. The dish literally makes itself in the oven.
• No extra dishes to wash. I like to take the baking tray straight from the oven to the dinner table so everyone can dig in while it is still hot.
• It is customizable. Switch out the breasts for boneless thighs or even drumsticks, sub the oregano and parsley with your choice of herbs, or throw in some carrots instead of potatoes for a change. Or add some red pepper flakes for some heat. It’s all good, as they say here in Canada:)

Top tips

• Don’t skimp on the olive oil. It keeps the chicken moist and adds a lot of flavor. On the same note, use good quality extra virgin olive oil always.
• Don’t overbake the chicken. Overcooked chicken, especially breasts, become dry and hard if cooked or baked for too long.
• In fact, use a meat thermometer to check on doneness. If the internal temperature reads between 165 to 175 Fahrenheit, they’re done!
• Don’t want to slice the chicken breasts? Increase the baking time by 10 minutes. Also, in this case, add the potatoes to the tray only after baking the chicken for 10 minutes initially to make sure the potatoes are not over done.
• If using thighs or drumsticks, again, increase the baking time by 10 minutes.

Serving suggestions

• Serve this lemon chicken and potatoes tray bake with a green salad.
• Or leave out the potatoes in this recipe and bake the chicken solo. Then serve the tray bake with mashed potatoes on the side.

More easy chicken recipes