Greek Roast Chicken Recipe

This Greek roast chicken has juicy, tender meat and the crispiest, golden brown skin. It combines traditional Greek flavors of oregano, garlic, and lemon and savory roasted potatoes for a delightful meal that's easy enough for a weeknight but sophisticated enough for a special occasion.

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Why You'll Love This Greek Lemon Chicken

A whole roast chicken is one of the simplest and most elegant recipes you can prepare. It's perfect for weeknights and for special occasions. This easy Greek-style roasted chicken and potatoes is one of my favorites.

It's simply seasoned with traditional Mediterranean flavors of oregano, lemon, and garlic. 

It's versatile. You can serve the chicken with a simple salad, add extra veggies to the roasting pan, or play with different herbs and spices.

You can make it for meal prep and serve it in lunches and dinners throughout the week. I like eating the thighs right away while they are crispy and serving the chicken breasts in work and school lunches.

And most importantly, it's delicious. With juicy chicken meat, crisp, golden skin, zesty lemon, garlic, fragrant oregano, and savory roast potatoes, this whole roast chicken recipe is out of this world.

The chicken has crisp skin. It's seasoned to perfection. The meat is juicy and tender. 

With just a handful of ingredients, you'll have an amazing chicken dinner ideal for a weeknight meal, a dinner party, or a holiday, this is the best chicken to serve!

What You'll Need for Roasted Greek Chicken

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• Chicken This recipe calls for a 4-pound whole chicken. If your chicken comes with giblets, you can either discard them or save them for another recipe.
• Olive Oil You can also use a neutral oil like grapeseed or avocado oil. Be sure the chicken is coated well for extra crispy skin.
• Salt I recommend using Diamond Crystal kosher salt. It coats food evenly and it's harder to oversalt your food because it is less salty by volume than other varieties of salt.
• Pepper Freshly ground black pepper adds a little kick to this recipe. These peppercorns are the ones I use most often.
• Oregano I prefer to use dried oregano in this recipe, as fresh oregano has a tendency to burn when roasted.
• Fresh Lemon You'll use both the zest and the juice of the lemons. For a slightly sweeter final product, try using Meyer lemons.
• Fingerling Potatoes You can also use another baby potato for this recipe, like baby gold potatoes or baby purple potatoes.
• Garlic Roasting garlic in the pan alongside the chicken is one of my favorite tricks. I like to spread the roasted garlic on the chicken and potatoes once everything is ready. Plus, it makes the house smell amazing. I don't recommend subbing in garlic powder.

Optional

• Fresh Herbs You can add fresh herbs like rosemary or thyme to the cavity of the bird for even more flavor. 

How to Make Greek Roasted Chicken

Step One: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels.

Step Two: Put the chicken in a roasting pan, baking dish, large Dutch oven, enameled cast iron pan, or on a sturdy sheet tray. Add the potatoes and halved head of garlic to the pan surrounding the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the fresh herbs, if you are using them. Optional: truss the chicken legs with kitchen twine.

Step Three: Create the marinade. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, oregano, salt, and pepper to a bowl and stir well to combine.

Step Four: Brush the mixture all over the chicken and potatoes. Brush the cut side of the garlic with olive oil.

Step Five: Roast the chicken for 30 minutes. Remove it from the oven. Spoon the pan juices over the chicken. Depending on the size of the chicken, it may be done. If so, remove the chicken from the oven and set on a cutting board to rest.

Step Six: Return the chicken to the oven and let cook for an additional 15 to 30 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken thigh shows an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Rest for 10 minutes, then serve!

Recommended Equipment

Cutting Board

Large Roasting Pan

Meat Thermometer

Kitchen Knife

Boning Knife - optional, to carve the chicken

Variations

Chicken Thighs: You can make this recipe with just chicken thighs instead of the whole bird. Roast at 400 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes.

Sweet Potatoes: Try swapping the fingerling potatoes for sweet potatoes.

Roasted Vegetables: Try adding a few hearty roasting vegetables to this dish, like carrots, broccoli, or cauliflower.

Feta Cheese: Sprinkle a little feta cheese over this Greek chicken recipe for a salty, tangy twist.

Kalamata Olives: Like the feta above, you can chop and sprinkle some kalamata olives over the finished dish.

Storage and Reheating

Fridge: Store leftover roast chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.

Freezer: I recommend picking the meat from the bones if freezing your chicken. Freeze for up to 2 months. 

Reheating: If you're short on time, you can reheat your chicken in the microwave at 30-second intervals until heated through. Place the chicken in a pan over medium-high heat with a bit of oil to get the skin a bit crispy.

You can also reheat the chicken in the air fryer. Place whole chicken pieces in the air fryer basket and cook at 390 degrees for about 6 minutes or until it has reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit and the skin is crisp.

How to Serve Greek-Style Roast Chicken

Looking for a side dish? I love serving this Greek roast chicken with:

Salad A simple Greek salad is delicious, or you can try this light arugula caprese side salad or cucumber and beet salad.

You can also use this wonderful lemon herb vinaigrette to use leftovers in a chicken salad.

Thanksgiving Sides If you're making this chicken for a holiday, try some sides like sage and bacon stuffing and Thanksgiving fruit salad.

Sauteed Cruciferous Veg This garlicky cruciferous crunch is a blend of cabbage, kale, and Brussels sprouts that I love making with roast chicken.

Rice Try roasting the chicken on its own and serving it over rice. This delicious chimichurri rice is a great option, as is the Lebanese rice.

Having this for a holiday? Try serving it with this pecan pie without corn syrup, chai tiramisu, or some delicious and easy peppermint bark.

Frequently Asked Questions

Expert Tips

• Use only enameled cast iron. If you use cast iron of any kind, whether a pan or a Dutch oven, be sure only to use enameled cast iron. Traditional cast iron can affect the taste of recipes with acidic ingredients.
• Make sure the skin is dry. You'll want to pat the chicken all over with paper towels to ensure it is dry before adding the olive oil for the crispiest skin. The importance of dry skin can't be underestimated when you roast chicken.
• Looking for an even more decadent dish? Loosen the skin of the chicken, then rub a few tablespoons of butter under the skin for a richer flavor.

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More Easy Chicken Recipes

📖 Recipe

Greek Roast Chicken

This Greek roast chicken has juicy, tender meat and the crispiest, golden brown skin. It combines traditional Greek flavors of oregano, garlic, and lemon and savory roasted potatoes for a delightful meal that's easy enough for a weeknight but sophisticated enough for a special occasion.

5 from 6 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Greek

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour

Resting Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 743kcal

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Equipment

• Roasting Pan or Large Sheet Tray
• Kitchen Knife
• Meat Thermometer
• Carving Knife

Ingredients

• 1 (4-lb) whole chicken giblets removed
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 lemon zested and juiced
• ½ tablespoon dried oregano
• ½ tablespoon kosher salt or more to taste, see note 1
• freshly ground black pepper see note 2
• 1 ½ lbs fingerling potatoes
• 1 head garlic

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel.
• Put the chicken in a roasting pan, baking dish, large Dutch oven, enameled cast iron pan, or on a sturdy sheet tray. Add the potatoes to the pan surrounding the chicken.
• Stuff the cavity with the fresh herbs, if you are using them. Optional: truss the chicken legs with kitchen twine.
• Add the olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, oregano, salt, and pepper to a bowl and stir well to combine.
• Halve a head of garlic and add to the pan. Brush the lemon and oregano mixture all over the chicken and potatoes. Brush the cut side of the garlic with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
• Roast the chicken for 30 minutes. Remove it from the oven. Remove the garlic from the pan. Spoon the pan juices over the chicken. Depending on the size of the chicken, it may be done. If so, remove the chicken from the oven and set on a cutting board to rest.
• If not done, return the chicken to the oven and let cook for an additional 15 to 30 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken thigh shows an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Let the chicken rest for about 10 minutes. Taste for seasoning, then carve and serve!

Notes

General 

1. If you are using table salt or sea salt, reduce this amount by at least half and taste the chicken for seasoning after it has been cooked.
2. Use as much or as little pepper as you like. I use about 3 generous twists of the pepper mill.
3. If you decide to use a cast iron skillet for this recipe, be sure it is an enameled cast iron pan. I don't recommend cooking acidic ingredients in a cast iron pan as it can affect the flavor of the food.

Storage & Reheating

1. Fridge: Store leftover roast chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.
2. Freezer: I recommend picking the meat from the bones if freezing your chicken. Freeze for up to 2 months. 
3. Reheating: If you're short on time, you can reheat your chicken in the microwave at 30-second intervals until heated through. You can also place the chicken in a pan over medium-high heat with a bit of oil to get the skin a bit crispy again.
4. You can also reheat the chicken in the air fryer. Place whole chicken pieces in the air fryer basket and cook at 390 degrees for about 6 minutes or until it has reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit and the skin is crisp.

Nutrition

Calories: 743kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 45g | Fat: 47g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 24g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 163mg | Sodium: 1037mg | Potassium: 1201mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 325IU | Vitamin C: 54mg | Calcium: 75mg | Iron: 4mg