Lemon-y, garlic-y, zesty and wine-y, this lemon garlic chicken is scrumptious and packs a lot of flavor. The ingredients work really well together and offer a bright, well-balanced taste.
Bone-in vs. boneless skin-on lemon garlic chicken
You can use both skin-on, bone-in and skinless, boneless chicken in this recipe. I find that bones protect the meat from drying out just as much as the skin does. Chicken breasts are especially good for this recipe. Skin-on chicken breasts are normally sold as split breasts, with rib bones attached. So, leave them on. I know, it's easier to eat a boneless breast but I'll a pick juicer meat over convenience any time.
Seasoning the chicken with salt and pepper
My tendency to be precise and sometimes even scientific while cooking went sharply against the 'sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper' recommendation in the original recipe. What does that even mean? Won't you end up with over-salted, over-peppered flesh? I think that 1/4 a teaspoon of kosher salt and 2-3 turns of black pepper per breast is right where it needs to be. This is for regular size chicken breasts, about 4-6 ounces each. For larger breasts, 6+ ounces, you should increase the amount of salt by about 1 1/2 to 2 times. These are guidelines and you should adjust them up or down to suit your taste.
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts (skin-on, bone-in)
- 1/4 cup olive oil (good quality)
- 3 Tbsp minced garlic (about 9 cloves)
- 1/3 cup dry white wine
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest (from about 2 lemons)
- 2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about ½ a lemon)
- 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp minced fresh thyme leaves (optional, see note below)
- 2 tsp kosher salt (1 tsp for the marinade plus 1/4 tsp per chicken breast. Add more if needed.)
- Freshly ground black pepper (2-3 turns per breast)
- 1 lemon (see my note below in step 4)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Warm the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute without allowing the garlic to turn brown. I suggest you test with a few grains of garlic first before adding the rest. You don’t want the oil to be too hot so that it browns the garlic. If too hot, remove from heat let cool down.
- Remove the saucepan off the heat, add the white wine, lemon zest, lemon juice, oregano, thyme, and 1 teaspoon salt. Pour into a baking dish or a baking pan.
- Pat the chicken breasts dry and place them skin side up over the sauce. Brush the chicken breasts with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cut the lemon into 8 wedges and place between chicken breasts.
- Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken breasts, until the internal temperature reaches 160F. By this time the skin should be slightly browned. If you want crispier skin and more browning, put the baking dish under the broiler for 2 minutes a few minutes before the chicken breasts are done.
- Remove from the oven and let the meat rest for 5 minutes. Serve hot with the pan juices.
Ashley says
So simple yet so much depth. Amazing flavor.
victor says
Enjoy!
Alan says
Hi Victor.
This dish was amazing and quite simple. If I'm having a dinner party, can I do steps 1-4 and wait a while to bake?
victor says
Glad to hear it. The acidity will affect the texture of the meat so I wouldn't keep it in the acidic sauce too long, a couple of hours maybe. You also want the sauce to be cool before adding chicken. If you need to wait longer, just keep them separate.
Laura U says
Victor, have you done this same recipe with chicken thighs? Are the results the same? Thanks!
victor says
Laura, I've done this recipe with a whole chicken cut into pieces and just chicken thighs. Worked great. I changed the baking time to 60-75 minutes, as in my mojo chicken recipe, no broiling was needed. I think I prefer it baked that way. Breasts may not be the best candidates for this longer bake but thighs and legs are fantastic. Nice natural browning and crisping.
Valerie Vanbergeijk says
This was sensational! I roasted some potatoes at the same time in a separate pan. The chicken was crispy and flavorful on the outside and moist inside.
Kayz says
This was delicious and juicy. I only use 2 boned in breast, the rest stays the same. Next time will use more salt and wine or add some broth. There were very little pan juice. Is it because I used foil and roast in convectional toaster oven? Will try your other recipes too. Thank you!