This Greek Roast Chicken is so simple and requires just a handful of ingredients but results in a juicy, flavourful chicken. It’s a fuss free family friendly dish that just happens to be Paleo, Keto and Whole30.
I absolutely love the simplicity of this recipe. It requires just 5 ingredients and results in a juicy roast chicken with a fresh lemon and garlicky flavour. During quarantine I have been making this regularly on Sunday nights and serving it with tzatziki and “couscous” Greek salad. It’s a light and fresh easy dinner that makes more than enough leftovers to enjoy throughout the week. This is a perfect quarantine recipe because all you need is a few ingredients which you likely already have in your pantry.
All you need is:
- Oregano (I used dried but fresh also works)
- Lemons
- Garlic
- Extra virgin olive oil
- A whole chicken (or you could use bone in skin on chicken thighs or breasts)
WHY YOU ARE GOING TO LOVE THIS GREEK ROAST CHICKEN:
- The ingredients couldn’t be any more simple: this recipe uses the winning Greek combination of oregano, olive oil, lemon and lots of garlic. It’s simple but garlicky with a lovely freshness from lemon.
- It’s fuss free! This is a no muss no fuss recipe that is practically foolproof. While I love spatchcocking a whole chicken to allow it to cook quick and evenly, you can also skip that step and simply roast it whole.
- Prepare it in advance: spatchcock the chicken and leave it to marinate the day before, then you just need to put it on a tray to roast an hour before serving.
- Marinating the chicken: While marinating the chicken isn’t completely necessary, I highly recommend doing it for a minimum of 4 hours but ideally overnight to result in incredibly flavourful meat
- Prepare it in advance: spatchcock the chicken and leave it to marinate the day before, then you just need to put it on a tray to roast an hour before serving.
- Cook once, enjoy it many times: leftover chicken can be tossed into a salad, soup or even a dip! Plus save the chicken bones so that they can be used to make chicken broth later.
What to serve with this Greek Roast Chicken:
- Dairy Free Tzatziki
- “Couscous” Greek Salad
- Garlic & Herb Grilled Eggplant
- Roasted Fennel with Garlic & Herbs
- Lemon Roasted Green Beans with Almonds & Shallots
If you make this recipe let me know in the comment section below, I would love to hear what you think or take a photo and tag me (@everylastbite_) on Instagram, I love seeing your photos!
Greek Roast Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 lbs whole chicken
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
Instructions
- To spatchcock the chicken, place the whole bird breast side down on a cutting board and use your fingers to locate the backbone which should run all the way down from neck to tail. Use kitchen scissors or a sharp knife to cut along the right side of the backbone, and then cut all the way along the left side of it so that the backbone can be removed. Now flip the bird over and press down firmly on the breasts to flatten the bird. Rinse the inside of the chicken out.
- Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper in a bowl and whisk together until well combined. Place the chicken in a large baking dish or alternatively, I like to put it inside a very large zip loc bag, and then pour the marinade overtop. Leave to marinate for a minimum of 8 hours but ideally 24 hours (and up to 48 hours).
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit (220 degrees celsius). Place the chicken on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and pour any excess marinade overtop. Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes, spooning some of liquid from the tray over the chicken approx half way through cooking. The chicken is done when a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers 160º Fahrenheit.
- Allow the chicken to rest for 10 minutes before carving. Spoon any of the excess sauce from the tray over the chicken before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Tried This Recipe?
Leave a comment below and let us know how it was!
Tried this and loved it, plan to try over hot coals
Yummers, Lemony chicken perfect for a cool nite in So Cal
Little mistake in step 4…..rest for how long (day?)
Where is the mistake? It says 10mins resting; this is after cooking. The marinating time is before cooking and is 24 hours.
Can I use boneless breasts? If so, what temperature and for how long?
How much olive oil? Did u mean 1/2 cup?
That’s exactly what the recipe says.
I did the recipe exactly is listed I put the chicken in the refrigerator last night when I woke up this morning the oil kind of solidified and turned into like a butter type of consistency. Is that normal?