Herb Roasted Chicken Thighs with Charred Rosemary is a healthy baked chicken recipe that you make in one pan, for an easy weeknight dinner! Gluten free, low carb, paleo, and Whole30 compliant.
Ahh yes, it’s roasting season. Roast veggies, roast beef, roast nuts, and of course, roast chicken. This recipe is proof that you don’t need a lot of ingredients to make a flavor packed meal. This is all thanks to the power of FRESH HERBS.
Rosemary is one of my favorite fresh herbs to use when I want to add big, bold flavor without much effort.
It smells SO awesome when it’s cooking, too. It doesn’t take more than two minutes to strip the leaves off of the woody stem and fry them in a pan. Trust me, you will be SO happy you spent the time to do it.
Ingredients for herb roasted chicken
- Bone-in chicken thighs, with skin– If you prefer white meat, this recipe works fine using bone-in chicken breasts. Depending on their size, you may need to add a few minutes to the cooking time.
For the Greek herb dressing:
- fresh rosemary – Health Perk: Rosemary is actually rich in anti-inflammatory compounds, which are thought to boost the immune system and blood circulation. Real food medicine!
- olive oil, or any neutral flavor, high smoke point oil, like refined avocado oil.
- fresh lemons, for juice and slicing
- balsamic vinegar
- garlic cloves, or jarred minced garlic
- dried oregano
- shallots or substitute with slices of yellow onion
- fresh Italian (leaf) parsley
- sea or kosher salt and black pepper
How to make Greek roasted chicken thighs
- Set your oven to preheat and prep the chicken.
Do you know?
Contrary to popular belief, it is not necessary to rinse raw poultry before cooking it. As a matter of fact, when you run water over it, the bacteria moves from the bird right into your sink.
Save yourself an extra cleaning task and just use paper towels to dry off the chicken thighs!
While you’re waiting for the oven to preheat, set the chicken aside so that it can come to room temperature. If it’s too cold, it won’t brown well.
- Char the rosemary.
Place rosemary sprigs in dry skillet or cast iron pan over medium heat. Dry fry them in the pan until the leaves are fragrant and charred, about 3-4 minutes.
Why char/dry fry the herbs?
Dry frying fresh herbs is a great way to release the natural oils, which infuses more flavor into whatever it’s cooking with!
For this recipe, that infusion of flavor means you don’t have to marinate the chicken. Time saver for the busy weeknight win!
- Make the Greek dressing.
Strip rosemary leaves from stems and place in medium size mixing bowl. Add remaining dressing ingredients and whisk to combine.
- Sear the chicken thighs.
Be sure to leave some space between the pieces so that they brown rather than steam.
Tip – Don’t flip the chicken over until it releases itself naturally from the pan. This will happen when the skin releases enough fat into the pan
- Cover chicken with Greek dressing and bake.
Pour off the majority of the fat from the pan, but keep a tablespoon of it in the pan for moisture.
If you like extra crispy skin, you can, broil at 500°F. for the final 1-2 minutes. Internal temperature should reach 165°F. at the thickest part of the chicken thighs. Be sure to prevent the probe from touching any bones.
Let the meat rest 5-10 minutes before slicing. Garnish with fresh diced parsley.
Serving suggestions
Like most healthy baked chicken recipes, the Greek roasted chicken thighs are perfect with sides like steamed rice or quinoa, cauliflower rice salad, or oven roasted potatoes.
It’s also delicious with veggie sides like candied bacon and asparagus, broccoli, and peri peri carrot fries.
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Greek Herb Roasted Chicken with Charred Rosemary
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 5 servings 1x
Description
Herb Roasted Chicken Thighs with Charred Rosemary is a healthy baked chicken recipe that you make in one pan, for an easy dinner! Gluten free, low carb, paleo, and Whole30 compliant.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs bone-in chicken thighs with skin (approx. 5 – 6 thighs)
For the Greek dressing
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- ¼ cup olive oil, plus more for the pan
- ½ lemon, juiced
- 2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 3 garlic cloves (or 2 teaspoons minced)
- ½ teaspoon kosher or sea salt, plus additional pinch for seasoning chicken
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 chopped shallots or 1 medium yellow onion, sliced
- 1 lemon, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (for garnish)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Use paper towels to pat chicken dry, then set aside.
- Place rosemary sprigs in dry skillet or cast iron pan over medium heat. Dry fry in pan until leaves are fragrant and charred, about 3-4 minutes.
- Strip rosemary leaves from stems, then place leaves in medium size mixing bowl. Add remaining dressing ingredients; olive oil, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, garlic, salt, pepper, and oregano. Whisk to combine.
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in large, oven safe skillet over medium high heat. Rub chicken thighs with pinch of sea salt, then add to pan, skin side down. Cook on medium high (rearranging chicken thighs and rotating pan to evenly distribute heat) for about 10 minutes, or until skin is golden brown.* (See notes)
- Pour off majority of fat from pan, keeping about 1 tablespoon in the pan for moisture. Place chicken skin side up, then pour or brush the Greek dressing over chicken and onion . Add lemon slices to pan and place in oven at 400°F. for 25 minutes.
- For crispy skin (if desired), broil at 500°F. for the final 1-2 minutes. Internal temperature should reach 165°F. at the thickest part of the thighs. Be sure to prevent the thermometer probe from touching any bones.
- Tent the chicken with foil and let it rest on cutting board for 5-10 minutes before slicing. Garnish with fresh diced parsley.
Notes
- Tip – Don’t flip the chicken over until it’s released enough fat from the skin. This prevents the skin from sticking to the pan. Also, make sure the chicken isn’t too cold when adding to the pan.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 327
- Sugar: 2.1 g
- Sodium: 490.4 mg
- Fat: 17.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 4.5 g
- Fiber: 0.7 g
- Protein: 35.8 g
- Cholesterol: 162 mg
Keywords: herb roasted chicken, healthy baked chicken recipe, roasted chicken thighs, Greek baked chicken
Winner winner flavorful chicken dinner! This recipe is a keeper and perfect for any time of year. That, I promise.
Happy eating!
Cheers,
LC
Great recipe – everyone loved it. We used some rather large, bone-in breasts, I think the key is making sure the breast comes out around 160F and then letting it rest and complete heating up to 165F.
Great feedback! Thanks Tim
I just made this recipe last night (with skinless and boneless chicken thighs) and it was DELICIOUS!!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe =)
★★★★★
I’m so glad! Thanks for feedback perla
Could I do this with boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts? If so, would there be any modification to cooking time? Thanks!
I think so! It might take longer to cook in the oven though. I would check after 15 -20 minute in oven. Use a meat thermometer. You won’t need to broil since there is no skin
Great flavor! I have been jamming on mustard flavors lately, this was so delicious! We are going to make it again next week.
★★★★★
Yaaayy!! I’m so glad you enjoyed this Stephanie! Thanks for coming back to let me know!
Hi Lindsay,
This recipe looks delicious and I was drooling over your beautiful pan. What brand is it please 😍
It’s actually from etsy! An old cast iron. I”ll have to look at the brand name when I get back to my kitchen. 🙂
The seasonings and flavors here were perfect!
★★★★★
Yes, Ashley… I agree! I hope you enjoyed the meal!
Roasted chicken is always a go to for me. The Greek flavors of this recipe take it to a new level of yum, rosemary and chicken were totally made for each other!
★★★★★
This was a huge hit at my house! Everyone loved it!
★★★★★
I love all of these seasonings! My family will go crazy for them, thank you!
★★★★★