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This Roasted Garlic Butter Chicken with Lemon Olive Dressing is a flavorful update to the classic roasted chicken. Herb and garlic-seasoned chicken, roasted with lemons, and served with a tangy and slightly salty olive dressing. This quick-cooking, easy sheet pan dinner comes together in just about an hour. It’s a touch buttery, colorful, healthy, and beyond delicious. Incorporate this into your weekly dinner rotation or serve it up at your next dinner party. Yes, it’s easy enough for a weeknight, but fancy enough to serve to guests.
Sharing yet another sheet pan dinner today that I’m so very excited about. I hesitated to share this recipe, solely for the fact that I don’t love the photos, but one of my goals for the year is to try and let go of having everything perfect…though in my eyes nothing is ever perfect…ever. The truth is, I can often overthink and over complicate things. And you know what I’m realizing? I just don’t have time for that and I have to stop. So much easier said than done, but I really am going to try.
This is one step in the right direction. Because even though I don’t love the photos of this chicken, I sure do love the recipe. I mean there’s absolutely nothing not to love about buttery roasted chicken with garlic and lemon. There’s even goat cheese, it’s insanely good.
I’ve had the idea for this chicken for a while now, but it took me a few weeks to fully develop the concept. I knew I really wanted to make roasted chicken, And I knew I wanted there to be garlic and roasted lemon. But I also knew I wanted it to feel fresh and new. There are A LOT of roasted chicken recipes out there. And many are very very similar. I didn’t want this to be just like all the others, so the recipe took a while to get right.
But I finally got it right, and I’m finally sharing my go-to chicken dinner. It’s all made simple on one sheet pan. My hope is that this will become a new staple dinner for you all.
Here are the details.
I want you guys to read this closely because while this is a simple recipe, it was a confusing one for me to write out.
Start with the chicken. First, I like to use a mix of chicken thighs and skinless chicken breasts. Most of the people I feed regularly prefer chicken breasts, but I like to toss in a couple boneless, skin-on, chicken thighs for added flavor. Use what you like best…all thighs, all breasts, or a mix.
Find yourself a good sheet pan and toss the chicken together with some olive oil, a couple of cloves of chopped garlic, parsley, and oregano.
Now, on that same sheet pan add the lemons (one should be cut in half and the other should be sliced) and a handful of whole garlic cloves. Place pats of butter on each piece of chicken. Roast in the oven until the chicken is fully cooked through and the lemons are charring. It’s important to keep an eye on the lemons and garlic towards the end of cooking to ensure neither is burning. If your lemons or your garlic cloves are on the smaller side, they may cook up faster than the chicken, so just keep an eye on things towards the end.
That’s part one….
The dressing.
this dressing is extra special. Its main two ingredients are the roasted lemon slices and roast garlic. You use not only the lemon juice, but the lemon rind as well. Yes, I’m about to tell you to chop up the WHOLE lemon, rind and all, and add it to your dressing. I know this seems odd, but roasting the lemon removes any bitterness and makes them extra sweet and tangy. Once the lemon is finely chopped and stirred together with olive oil, parsley, oregano, and basil it’s the perfect marriage of flavors. They make for a vibrant, but also incredibly rich dressing.
Next, add the garlic, which adds a subtle, sweet flavor. Then toss in salty olives, for a little bit of a bite.
Finally, a splash of fish sauce…only if you enjoy it. Many recipes will use anchovies in their dressing, but I find anchovies a little annoying to work with. Fish sauce works in a pinch (its only ingredients are anchovies, water, and salt).
Finishing it up…
Once the chicken is finished I simply leave it on the sheet pan, remove the lemons and garlic, finish up the dressing, and add chunks of creamy goat cheese to the warm chicken. The cheese will soften as it sits. It’s the perfect creamy ingredient that compliments all the flavors happening here so well.
Then spoon the dressing over the chicken and cheese, and serve. And that’s it. It’s not hard or even time consuming, but tricky to write out and explain. I hope this has all made sense!
I love serving this with a simple side of rice or creamy orzo pasta. Add a side salad plus crusty bread and dinner is complete. It’s fancy(ish), yet still simple. The chicken is perfectly buttery, herby, and garlicky, and the dressing adds freshness and tang. An all-around great meal and definitely not your average chicken dinner!
If you make this Roasted Garlic Butter Chicken with Lemon Olive Dressing, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Watch the How To Video:
Roasted Garlic Butter Chicken with Lemon Olive Dressing.
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 460 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 6 boneless chicken thighs and or breasts, skin on or off (choose similar sizes for even cooking)
- 1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 6 cloves garlic, 2 finely chopped + 4 whole cloves
- 1 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh oregano, chopped
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 2 lemons, 1 halved and 1 sliced
- 4 tablespoons salted butter, sliced into 6 pieces
- 1 cup fresh basil, chopped
- 1/2 cup green olives, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce (optional)
- 1/2-1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 4 ounces goat cheese broken into chunks
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. 2. On a rimmed baking sheet, combine the chicken, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 finely chopped garlic cloves, 1/4 cup chopped parsley, 2 tablespoons chopped oregano, and a large pinch each of salt and pepper. Toss well to evenly coat the chicken. Arrange the lemons and smashed garlic cloves around the chicken. Add 1 slice of butter to each piece of chicken. Transfer to the oven and roast for 35-45 minutes, cooking until the chicken is cooked through and the lemons are charred. Keep an eye on the lemon slices and garlic cloves to ensure they are not burning.3. To make the dressing. Combine the remaining 1/3 cup olive oil, 3/4 cup parsley, 2 tablespoons oregano, the basil, olives, vinegar, and fish sauce, if using. 4. Remove the charred lemon slices and garlic cloves from the baking sheet. Finely chop the lemon slices...rind and all, discarding any of the seeds. Add half of the chopped lemon to the dressing. Finely chop/mash the garlic into a paste, stir the garlic into the dressing. Season with crushed red pepper and salt. Taste adding more of the lemon as desired.5. Serve each piece of chicken with goat cheese and the dressing spooned over top.
Notes
Chicken: you can use thighs or breast, bone in or out. Just be sure to adjust the cooking time accordingly. Bone in chicken will need 10-15 minutes additional cooking time, depending on the size of the chicken.
Hi there – I love your recipes so much, but I am also trying to macro count. Do you ever add the fat, protein, carb content or has someone in the community done that? Thank you! When I meal plan, my family always asks for your recipes!
Hey Roberta,
So sorry, that is not something I have available at this time, just the estimated calorie count:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
What would you serve as a side dish?
I’d like you to leave suggestions on your dishes for sides, please. I know your ideas are lots better than mine
Hi Kathy,
My family would like potatoes and a salad with this recipe. Please let me know if you give it a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
This recipe is delicious! We served with rice. Fish sauce is wonderful and unnoticed in the end, just brings all the great flavours together.
To crisp the lemons during cooking, I moved them to the sides of the baking sheet and out of the juices. We used just used a small amount of them, delicious. One thing that really turned me onto this recipe is that you actually get to use the entire bunch of herbs that you purchase, I love that. 10/10 for me, gorgeous meal.
Hey Maja,
Happy Friday! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xTieghan
We tried this tonight and it was amazing! We used boneless chicken breasts and they weren’t the least bit dry. I seared them before switching them to oven. I used thyme rosemary and oregano along with parsley during the baking process only because we only had half a lemon and I wanted to make sure it was flavorful enough. We also used feta instead of goat cheese because it was what we had. Even with all the substitutions this was so flavorful and I’d totally serve this on a weekend to guests. Thanks for the recipe!
Hey Catherine,
Awesome! Thanks a lot for making this recipe. I love to hear that it was enjoyed! Happy Thursday❄️ xxT
Does the dressing require cilantro? It is not mentioned in the ingredient list, but it is part of the recipe in the video.
Hey Ellen,
I love this dressing because you can really use any fresh herbs that you enjoy, if you like cilantro I think it’s a great addition. Let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
Tried this tonight for only two servings bone in thighs. Sauce was wonderful and definitely making it again. Can’t wait to try the new bolognese pasta!!
Hey Kathleen,
Wonderful! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
This was fabulous. The dressing and the goat cheese really transformed a simple chicken breast. Will definitely be making again!
Hey Paige,
Thanks so much for trying this recipe out, I am thrilled to hear that it was enjoyed. Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Wow wow wow. Ok I made this for Large dinner party last night here’s my take on it and notes.
So I didn’t get to try chicken as im vegetarian but I did try the sauce which is the star of the show and it was fabulous.
Here are some dos and not dos.
I scaled recipe for 30 portions.
There was a lot of sauce. Because it was a lot of chicken, 3 trays in the oven at once(we have convection roast setting which helps to cook several things at once), I don’t think all of the lemon charred so then some was bitter. Not good. So we ended up having to take out the lemon rind which was a pain cause it was chopped. So really make sure u char it good as recipe notes say this Takes bitterness out
Overall all 14 ppl raved about the recipe and some asked for it.
If your scaling this up it does take a lot of time to prep so I would do that well in advance.
I served with mashed potatoes and roasted Asparagus and rainbow carrots.
Love the uniqueness in this recipe. I might sub chicken for portobello mushrooms next time
For anyone looking for dairy free alternative, Spero brand carries dairy free goat cheese its sorcery how amazing it is!!
Hey Jessica,
Happy Sunday! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! Thanks for sharing what worked best for you. xTieghan
This looks amazing but my daughter is dairy, GF and sugar free so I can’t do the goat cheese. And, ALL of your reviewers said it was what made it awesome. Any suggestions for an dairy free alternative?
I am gluten free and dairy free and I can tolerate goat cheese and every once in a while an aged Parmesan. You might want to give it a try. Also
There is a flour called einkorn wheat by jovial which barely has any gluten. And I’m okay using that periodically too. Am dying to try Tiegan’s flatbread. Hope this helps.
The goat cheese add so much flavour ! Thanks!
Hey there,
I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, I truly appreciate you giving it a try!!? xTieghan
This was easy to make though there’s a lot of ingredients. It felt like a lot of herbs for the dressing, if I make it again I’d probably halve it but honestly is probably just personal preference. I was skeptical of the olives but gave it a go and it was so good! I also subbed in chili crisp for red pepper flakes and loved the additional rich flavor that brought to the sauce. I taste-tested before I added the chili crisp and liked it after the addition more.
And goat cheese is a must. It’s good without the cheese (I tried it both ways) but adding it really complemented the flavors and textures.
Hey Lauren,
Awesome!! Love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a try! xTieghan
I was able to throw this together tonight when I didn’t want to go to the store and I had chicken breast. Amazing!! My entire family loved it including the kids. I served it over gluten-free tubetti and it made a great dish. The goat cheese made it extra special!
Hey Michelle,
I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try! xTieghan
husband’s favorite, he always requests it!
Hey Sandi,
Wonderful! I am so glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! xTieghan
This was AMAZING. Made it for my dad’s birthday dinner and everyone in my family equally loved it. I used some fresh herbs and some dried (didn’t have as much fresh as the recipe called for) but that didn’t seem to hurt the flavors. Recipe suggests watching the lemons as they roast so they don’t burn, and I did need to rearrange them part-way through so certain edges didn’t char. Do NOT skip the olive dressing or the goat cheese. No one in my family had ever tried goat cheese (or had previously and didn’t like it) but the way everything goes together in this dish is perfect!! Everyone liked the cheese and went back for seconds!
Hey Madeline,
I am thrilled that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! Happy 4th of July!?? xTieghan
Amazing!! Thank you Tieghan for this recipe. It was delicious!! Everyone in the family loved it.
Hey Jinny,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed! Have a wonderful weekend:) xTieghan