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:
complete meal – no need to bother with side salads
low effort prep – no finely chopping anything, no fiddly assemble, just throw it all in a pan
no need to watch over it – pop it in the oven, set the timer and walk away;
no gourmet or hard to find ingredients – plus plenty of substitutions
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:
Chicken – thighs and drumsticks (bone in, skin on = juicy flesh and golden skin!)
Lemons, lots of garlic, paprika and oregano – to make the tasty Mediterranean sauce;
Honey and mustard – to thicken/sweeten/flavour the sauce;
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. 🙄
Non-starchy potatoes take much longer to cook than standard idahoan potatoes which are best for mash.
Use 3/4 cup broth and add a little butter. If still a little liquidy, you could always stir in a dash of flour to make it more gravy-like but may not be the same intended outcome.
In an effort to tighten our family bonding, we agreed Thursday night would be dinner night with mandatory attendance. Since this was my idea, I was chosen to cook the initial meal which is very ironic, because although I CANNOT cook, I CAN follow directions. My objective was to create a meal that would impress my family, satisfy their appetite, and most importantly, “WOW” them. This dish was PERFECT and I exceeded my goal. With the help of YouTube to learn what garlic clove is or how to peal an onion, success was in my grasp. Since I was cooking for two (I am vegan and couldn’t participate) and prepared four drumsticks, I used half of the recipe ingredients. I will prepare the dish again on Sunday and accompany with a roasted garlic lemon broccoli (I bought “six garlic heads” before watching YouTube”) ;o)
Made it today with bone-in chicken thighs, forgot to sprinkle paprika halfway through but delicious nonetheless! Planned to eat 1 thigh, ended up eating 2! Oh and I put 400ml of stock, became like a thin sauce, yummy!
Thank you, will be trying your other recipes!
I love hearing that Jessica!! Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed it! N x
THIS IS AMAZING! First time making it for guests this evening and it was a hit for both adults and children. So simple! Made it with thighs/legs, added a bit of extra time and doubled it for two pans. Served with rice as an option and Parmesan cauliflower. A hit!
I love hearing that Erin!! Thanks for letting me know – N x ❤️
Have just finished devouring this fantastic dish. Made exactly to recipe using skinless thigh fillets and it was delicious to say the least. The sauce is so good and my chicken so tender. And so quick and easy. I served with steamed Broccolini and crusty garlic bread…it was so yum ! This recipe is going on my favs list for sure.
Quick question…. I was wondering if I dusted the chicken pieces in a little flour before marinating if the sauce would come out slightly thicker ?
What a wonderful idea Jenny! I have been meaning to update this recipe with a video and new photos so will try that out! N xx
Made this beaut on the weekend, gotta love the one pan recipes.
The lemon and herby sauce perfectly complimented the chicken. Once again, all ingredients were in the pantry (except the chicken of course).
I find myself buying 3 punnets of cherry toms each week as they add a lovely flavour to so many dishes especially when they’re cooked in the oven and pop out their juice.
A really simplistic and satisfying meal. I served up with peas mixed through rice, delish. Thanks Nagi.
Glad to hear that Barb! Thanks for letting me know! N x ❤️
We loved this recipe!!! I made it with chicken breast as I’m not such a fan of drum sticks and it worked perfectly. And indeed the sauce is delicious.
I’m so pleased to hear that Yves! Thanks for letting me know! N xx ❤️
Hi there, this looks divine!! Do you think this would work well if I doubled it? Any adjustments to heat/time you’d recommend? (I’d normally just go for it, but will be feeding the extended family and I don’t want to make a shambles of it!) thanks 😊
Hi Tara! Yup, double will be find, can you fit two pans on the same shelf?? If so, just add an extra 10 minutes 🙂 Go by colour!
Made this for dinner awhile ago & it was so good! Instead of 8 drumsticks, I just use 4 so the sauce was really runny which is what we like because we paired this with rice & really taste good together. Will definitely keep this recipe. Thanks!
I’m so pleased to hear you enjoyed this Kaj! Thanks for letting me know! N x ❤️
Hi Nagi!
A keeper. For sure. My 3 year old son had 3 pieces and still wanted more. He didn’t even have the other food on the table! While my husband ate in silence. (Always to mean he is totally loving it!)
6 stars!! Thank you. Fast, easy, delicious 🙂
A few questions one on this:
1. Do the cherry tomatoes do anything for the dish? I made this with a few regular tomatoes cause its all I had. The sauce was a bit watery (but extremely delicious) so I thought it could be the tomatoes? Could I leave them out altogether? Or any advise for the runny sauce?
2. Can I cut the onions into rings instead of quarters without altering the flavors?
Thanks again!
Hi Sarah! Yes you can definitely leave tomatoes out, I find cherry tomatoes works quite well because it holds in most of the water better than chopped normal tomatoes 🙂 And yes you can definitely cut the onions as you please! N xx
I made this last night it was fantastic, made with chicken drumsticks. Flavours are great massive hit! This one is definitely on the list. Thanks 😊
I’m so pleased you like this Caz! Thank you for taking the time to come back and let me know – N x
OMG this is the most amazing recipe! Thank you for that! I have just had dinner and my husband, daughter and I and we were so amazed by how perfect the meal was. I took the potatoes that were underdone and nuked them for awhile and will make adjustments but no problem. I used honey, skin on, bone in thighs, only used one large red onion, I am glad I used the Dijon mustard (you were spot on) and poured on some olive oil on the chicken cause I couldn’t spray them and didn’t broil them but the recipe was still awesome. The chicken was nicely browned. What else can I say? Perfection! I am an experienced cook! Thanks again!
Hi Sheshe, thank you for that feedback! I’m sorry the potatoes were underdone, I have heard that feedback before and will come back to retest and reshoot the recipe. I’m glad you enjoyed the flavour though, thank you for letting me know!!! N xx
I had the same issue as other people in that my potatoes weren’t cooked. But, part of that was that I don’t think I had it in a big enough pan. Well worth the wait though and looking forward to leftovers tonight!
I’m sorry to hear that Karen! I did revisit the recipe and 45 – 55 min should be long enough to cook the potatoes 🙂 Glad you enjoyed it though, thanks for letting me know! N xx
I must be blind, can’t see anywhere instructions for adding lemon pieces or the quantity to use? However this is what we’ll be having for dinner tonight. Can’t wait!
Hi Viviene! Sorry for the delay responding 🙂 In the notes I mention that I added them just for photo purposes, they don’t affect the flavour at all! N xx
What can I serve with this at a dinner party?
Thanks
Hi Maggie! Suggest browsing through my salads! Just check the recipe index 🙂
Delicious recipe Nagi. Thank you very much! I usually dont eat drumsticks, but they were very YUM!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Lariza, thank you for letting me know! N x
Thankyou! For the first time in a very long time dinner went without any complaints. Since finding out my kids have food intolerances (son gluten and daughter lactose) I really struggle to find recipes that they enjoy and don’t cost an arm and a leg. I had everything on hand and their plates were empty. ?
I’m so glad Lisa!! Did you see my Gluten Free collection? A good friend of mine has the same – a daughter that is both gluten AND lactose intolerant. 🙂
Could you make this in a slow cooker?
Marinated for 1hr. Used chicken bone in thighs and was not even being close to done after following all directions, and cooking for a total of 1hr. And 1/2. Like the idea but will tweak it my way.
Hi Karen – that’s really strange!!! 1 1/2 hours in the oven and the chicken wasn’t cooked????
Awesum recipe!
Thanks so much Roy! 🙂