This One Pan Lemon Sage Baked Chicken with Green Olives is a quick healthy recipe to make over and over again. A zesty lemon sage marinade makes for a tender and juicy baked chicken dish! Plus the olives and onions give it a boost of nutrition and flavor! A paleo and whole 30 friendly recipes that’s great by itself or serve with extra veggies, rice, etc.
One Pan Lemon Sage Baked Chicken and Olives. Aka, the most flavorful juicy one pan baked chicken recipe you’ve ever laid eyes on. Or so I like to think. I wish I could just pass you a fork (virtually) so you could taste . One day we will be able to do that. But for now, I will do my best to describe every burst of flavor that saturates this paleo dish.
Let’s begin with an overhead snapshot. Mmmk?
You see, this baked chicken is one of the very few chicken recipes I actually like. If you know me, you know chicken is like the least favorite dishes for me to eat. Not make, to eat. I am picky. So when I DO make chicken, it has to be … what’s the word I am looking for? Um… EPIC. Or it has to be so stinkin’ flavorful that it doesn’t taste like dry bland chicken.
Here are my very picky chicken favorites. Yes, I am allowed to be bias 100%.
- Cranberry Balsamic Roasted Chicken
- Honey Cumin Roasted Chickpea and Chicken
- Drunken Chicken Zoodle Casserole
- Chili Lime Mango Baked Chicken Bowls
- Crock Pot Garlicky Green Chicken and Lentils
- Panko Paprika Crusted Chicken
And as you can see, every chicken recipe listed as some sort of marinade or topping to it. Yep, it’s all because of that saucy sauce (marinade). This One Pan Lemon Sage Baked Chicken and Olives is no different. That zesty lemon sage marinade is so heavenly and refreshing. It’s like Spring flavors “on fleek” and in a bowl. Well, almost spring that is. . so to speak.
Now, let’s dive deep into detail about this springy marinade.
First of all, it’s SOOOOOO easy to make; simple ingredients, paleo and whole 30 friendly without effort. Yea to making food simple and healthy.
Sage leaves, salt, pepper, paprika, onion, mustard (honey or dijon), olive oil, garlic, and lemon!
Blend it all together, pour over skinless chicken thighs or chicken breast, marinate for 15 minutes (or skip), and bake with green olives and extra onion slices! Then garnish with extra sage leaves, because they are so pretty.
Yep, that’s about it.
You’ll get a superfood dish that’s rich in healthy fats, protein, vitamin C, vitamin E, and rich in anti-inflammatory properties.
Fun Nerdy Fact about Sage, Sage tea, and Sage oil. Did you know that research has shown that this beauty of an herb can increase brain performance and concentration? It’s also great for soothing digestion and boosting immunity (source). Ya, all the things I need on a Monday. Would you agree?
- This marinade is quite tasty on many things! Pork, salmon, veggies, etc. Stay tuned for another lemon sage marinade recipe coming up!
- Serve this baked chicken with roasted veggies, gluten free pasta, spiralized veggie noodles, quinoa, rice, or even broccoli rice.
Okay my little Spring chickens, let’s get cooking. Your new favorite baked Chicken Recipe awaits. And so does my brain power!
Lemon Sage baked Chicken with Olives
- Total Time: 90 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
One Pan Lemon Sage baked Chicken with Olives is a flavorful paleo dinner ready in under 40 minutes.
Ingredients
For the Lemon Sage Sauce (Marinade)
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh sage (or 1/2 tsp ground sage)
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp minced garlic- 2 cloves
- 1/2 tsp onion powder or 1/4 c chopped onion
- 1/3 c – 1/2 c olive oil. If you are using fresh onion, use the 1/2 c oil to blend more evenly
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt or fine sea salt
- Crushed black pepper to taste
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard or honey mustard
- optional – lemon zest (1 tsp)
For the Pan:
- 1.15 lb skinless chicken thighs (see notes if using chicken breast)
- 30 grams (about 6–8 whole) pitted green olives
- 1/4 of onion, sliced
- Lemon slices to place on chicken
- Black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Prepare your lemon sage marinade. In blender or food processor, blend together sage, lemon juice, lemon zest, onion, garlic, olive oil, seasonings, and mustard. The marinade should be creamy and smooth (see notes if don’t have food processor).
- Place cleaned/trimmed skinless chicken in large bowl or casserole dish.
- Pour the marinade over the chicken thighs or chicken breast. Reserve a small amount of marinade for brushing chicken with marinade, once baked. (optional)
- Place chicken in fridge to marinate for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours. If you are using chicken breast, marinade for at least 1 hour in fridge first.
- After the chicken has marinated, preheat oven to 400 F.
- Place the marinated chicken and sliced onion in an oven safe skillet. Brown chicken and onion on medium high for 3 -5 minutes, flip chicken once while browning cooking. Remove from heat.
- Add the olives around the chicken and lemon slices on top of each piece of chicken.
- Season with pepper.
- Bake/Roast for 25 -30 minutes, checking internal temperature at 20 minutes to see progress. If you are using thick chicken breast, you might have to cook longer.
- Broil last 2-3 minutes to create a crispy outside on the chicken and lemon slices on top.
- Remove and let sit for 8-10 minutes before touching serving.
- Optional – Brush baked chicken with the reserved marinade
Notes
If you don’t have a food processor to make the marinade, replace the chopped onion with onion powder and whisk ingredients together in small bowl until combined. Adjust taste as needed.
If your chicken thighs are larger than the palm of your hand, you can double the marinade and use enough to coat chicken and more. Save the marinade for dressings, dips, etc.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4 ounces
- Calories: 250
- Sugar: 1g
- Fat: 13g
- Saturated Fat: 2g
- Carbohydrates: 2.5g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 25g
- Cholesterol: 80mg
Keywords: baked chicken, paleo, gluten free, low carb
Oh, final tid bits.
Research has shown that burning sage removes a whopping 94% of harmful bacteria in the air. It’s called smudging. Have you heard of this? Haha I dare not attempt it yet, but it does sound enticing for Spring Cleaning. Haha!
Favorite Chicken Marinade?
Cheers!
I was wondering if I could make this marinade ahead of time and freeze for future use. I have a ton of fresh sage from the garden and this recipe sound wonderful
I don’t see why not! Great idea!
Wow this was so good, I’ve literally never left a review in my entire life but I had to. Tysm!! Will be making again for my bf’s whole family, they’ll definitely be impressed.
★★★★★
I’m so glad! Thanks for feedback Kris!
Made this tonight and it was delicious! The recipe is very easy to follow and I love how little clean up there was after cooking.
I doubled the marinade quantities and used whole grain Dijon, fresh sage from the garden, and lots of lemon and garlic. Instead of olives, I used capers. The result was warm yet tangy, and reminded me a little of chicken piccata.
I paired the chicken with some roasted squash and home made eggless Caesar salad, with lots of lemon and capers. Can you tell I love lemon and capers??
Beautiful, flavourful, easy dinner that everyone loved! Thanks, will be making again! *Chefs kiss*
★★★★★
Wonderful! So glad you enjoyed it Nicole. That sauce is a favorite here too. Thanks for the feedback ❤️
I made this recipe last night. It turned out so amazingly well! My husband and I were very impressed by the combinations of flavours.
Will make again and will marinate for a longer period of time. Excellent recipe!!
★★★★★
Wonderful! Thanks for the feedback Jan! Keep me posted on when you make it again. 🙂
How much lemon zest? Says it’s in marinade but it’s not in recipe. Thanks
It’s optional. about 1 tsp. I added that back into recipe notes. Hope that helps! 🙂
Why would you preheat the oven (step #1) before you marinate the chicken for up to two hours (step #5)?
Sorry, that is only if you skip marinating. That is mistyped. Thank you for informing me!
This looks like a delivery recipe, however no mention of olives. What kind? How many?
★★★
The olives are mentioned in there. GReen olives. Is it not showing up?
Lovely recipe for a nice change, the olives and basil make it. Will certainly make again. Thank you
Wonderful! So glad. Thanks Jo!
You’re welcome! Thanks for letting me know!
Delicious. Used skinfree chicken thighs and baked with carrots and onions instead of olives. Used extra marinade and chicken stock to make pan gravy. Served with steamed peas and beans. Thanks for recipe will be one of my regular monthlies now. Will try your other recipes also. Cheers
★★★★
Thanks so much, Paul! So glad you loved it and that it will be on your rotation!
The marinade barely made enough to coat the chicken. I would double it to actually cover and have enough juice to cook any veggies you add.
Oh no, really? Did you use larger chicken thighs? You can totally double it if needed. I’ll make sure to add that in the recipe notes!
THanks!
6 small ones. 1.8lbs… it didn’t turn out very flavorful so I’m not sure what happened.
Hi Lindsay – by grated lemon, do you mean to zest the peel, or do you mean to literally grate a bit of the fruit?
Shanna
either really! I just grated the lemon peel to create a zest on top. Does that make sense?
This was delicious! Used some chicken breast tenderloins and bought a few fancy-pants from the grocery store olive bat. Even using breast meat, the chicken was tender and the entire dish was full of flavor. Thanks, Lindsay!
★★★★★
Oh I love it! Thanks for feedback Shanna!
Do u remove chicken from marinade before cooking- which is what you do when marinade something. If you do how can you serve marinade with the cooked chicken if it had raw chicken sitting in it??
This is my question as well. Do you add the marinade in with the chicken to cook, or reserve some that you didn’t use to marinate raw chicken?
Thanks
Marinated first. Then reserve some do cooking. Does that make sense? Either way can’t go wrong ?
I would love to use the marinade in my dish because there wasn’t enough to cover the chicken breast and reserve. You say “either way, can’t go wrong” so I am pouring some of the marinade on top to cook with the chicken and we will see how it turns out. Excited because it smells lovely!
★★★★★
Oh yaayy! Sounds perfect! Hope you enjoy!
Really simple recipe, came out great! I had to leave my chicken in a little longer because they were bone in chicken thighs.
★★★★★
Thanks for the feedback Fernanda!
The chicken is in the oven, and I’m sure it will be great, but the MARINADE! Oh my goodness, I am going to put this on everything! So sage-y and fragrant and awesome. Is there anything in the world that smells as good as lemon zest and sage?? Thank you so much!
Oh i know!! I love that marinade. It’s so good in pasta too!
I really enjoyed this recipe. I did make a few changes like omitting the olives and salt (a family member has kidney disease so I have to limit sodium). I also used lemon sage from my herb garden and a bit more lemon juice (because I love lemons).
I’d been looking for a recipe that I could use my lemon sage in and this one is a keeper. Thank you
I LOVE the extra lemon…lemon is the best! I’m glad it was a hit for you, thanks for the feedback:)
This turned out great. I like the olives. I used skinless chicken thighs. I served it with corn on the cob and green beans, and the corn was good dipped in the sauce. I will be making this again.
★★★★★
Oh yay! And I’m so glad you added the extra veggies! Sounds perfect bill ?
Flavor is op-ed better if you marinate longer. However, the loooong preamble to the actual recipe is absurd and I don’t think there could be want more ads. Are these really cooking instructions? “Blend it all together, pour over skinless chicken thighs or chicken breast, marinate for 15 minutes (or skip), and bake with green olives and extra onion slices! Then garnish with extra sage leaves, because they are so pretty”. Marinate, or skip??? Breast or thigh?? Those are almost different animals! Cook, or eat raw?
Absurd. Lazy. If you’re going to play foodie, respect your readers, this is just an ad page
★★
I’m sorry you feel that way Todd. I enjoy what I do and was conveying that message to my readers. It’s a simple recipe that many of them have made and enjoy. I respect your opinion but please do it tactfully.
Hi! Thanks for sharing.
★★★★
Hi! Thanks for sharing. Tastes and smells delicious, however, it took about 45 minutes to reach 160 degrees internal temp.
Good article and knowledge for me! I found a lot of information here! This article is really good for all newbie here. Thank you for sharing with us!
wow, the food is really good, i also want to try this, thank you for sharing.
Thanks for the information your article brings. I see the novelty of your writing, I will share it for everyone to read together. I look forward to reading many articles from you.
★★★★★
Thanks for your post! I think there are many other people who are interested in them just like me! How long does it take to complete this article? I have read through other blogs, but they are cumbersome and confusing. I hope you continue to have such quality articles to share!
I enjoyed cooking and experimenting with new recipes. I will try the way you suggested. It’s not like I do. thank you for sharing. It will be better than what I do.
Thanks for sharing.I hope you continue to have such quality articles to share with everyone! I believe there will be many people who share my views when they read this article from you!
★★★★★
Thank you for your sharing. Thanks to this article I can learn more things. Expand your knowledge and abilities. Actually the article is very practical. Thank you!
Such a perfect weeknight dinner!
What a stunning gorgeous dish, and the ingredients sound amazing!
I’m totally in love with this meal! Bright, colorful, and tasty!
May dis Valentine bless uz wid da cupid of love & warmth of romance.
Happy Valentines Day my dear!
Ryoma.
Thank you so much friend!
I have a mild obsession with olives, so gimme!!
Me too friend, me too!
This looks so incredible and tasty! I so love the addition of the green olives! what a great recipe 🙂
Thanks Albert! Definitely a must make dish!
This reminds me of the bean recipe you did, which we LOVED. Pinning to try… I actually pinned it to my new board “Recipes I’m Actually Going to Make.” Not kidding. 🙂
Which bean dip? Haha now I am curious! p.s send me your new address! Do you have one yet?
I’m always down for a one pan meal! This looks SO flavorful!
My kinda ingredients in here!! I love a good lemon chicken recipe.
me too friend!
This looks fantastic! I can’t wait to make it! 🙂
I’m loving the flavors of this dish Lindsay! On my list!
What a delicious dinner any night of the week!