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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.Â
Tieghan! Wow, I love your recipes. I’m wondering what you think about making this recipe but adding shrimp in addition to the chicken?
Hey Erin,
Sure, I think shrimp would be delicious here! Let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
Making this for the 500th time and loving it! Super tasty, a combination of all the best things. Thanks Tieghan!
Hey Dani,
Awesome!! Love to hear that you have been enjoying this recipe, thanks for making it so often and sharing your feedback!! 🙂
I was going to try to make this recipe, but the chicken I have defrosted is thighs with bone-in/skin. Good idea? or bad idea? If I do it, should I adjust heat and time? Thanks in advance for any advice!
Hey Maureen,
That will be just fine to use, just increase your bake time until your chicken reaches an internal temp of 160F. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xx
Okay so two things. One, I plan to make ten of your recipes before the book signing in Costa Mesa this month and I must say I am enjoying each recipe. And two I’ve been remodeling my kitchen for the last year and bake only recipes are a must for now. I LOVED this recipe. Honestly chicken is not my favorite to work with but everything put together, the dressing, the goat cheese, the charred lemon….delicious! I served it to friends tonight for the first time and everything was eaten and enjoyed. Thank you for sharing!
Hi Jessica,
Thanks so much for your kind message and purchasing tickets for the Costa Mesa event, can’t wait!! So glad you have enjoyed this recipe:) xTieghan
I had a couple of boneless skinless breasts I wanted to easily cook up. I cut them in half, put them in the marinade for 20 min and baked for 20 minutes and it was delicious. I didn’t have any of the other ingredients for the potatoes/bell peppers/dressing so just paired it with some fresh mozzarella and some Sciabica Sticky Balsamic and it was perfect. Can’t wait to try it again “properly.” (BTW I bought those same sheet pans and those are a game changer!!!!!)
Hey Andrea,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try!! Let me know how it turns out again! xx
OK, let me start by saying this recipe is to die for! I used boneless chicken breasts; they were crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside and the dressing was so flavorful! This is a MUST try!! HBH recipes have yet to disappoint!
Hey Candace,
Fantastic!! I am so glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it! xTieghan
This was absolutely amazing! The chicken was so flavorful and juicy. The flavors of the herb butter and lemon olive oil dressing were spectacular. I will definitely make it again!!
Hey Diona,
I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for giving it a try!! xxT
I’d like to make this recipe but always find that when I cook thighs and breasts at same time, the breasts always dry out. Can I start with just the thighs and then add the breasts in after a bit of cooking time? 425 degrees at 30 min for breasts seems a bit too high and too long
Hey Janice,
Sure, that will work well for you, please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
Love this recipe! I made it once before, but I’m making it again tomorrow for friends. They don’t eat butter, will not using butter drastically effect the chicken? Is there something else I can do to sub out the butter?
Thanks so much for all for all of these awesome recipes!
Hey Eryka,
Happy Friday!! I am thrilled to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for giving it a go! I would use a dairy free butter or ghee. xxT
I went skinless, boneless thighs, wound up sticking them under the broiler for a minute at end to brown them up(my oven runs low so did not get the crisp). Accidentally put the olives in the pan and delish! I like the Sicilian green olives and they were delish chopped and cooked. Used parsley and chives as that as what I had. Added a little pan juices to dressing. Whole dish was so yummy and will add this to my regulars! Thank you, my first recipe from your blog and I loved it, perfect marriage of flavors!
Hey Karen,
Fantastic! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xTieghan
Could you make and freeze do you think? Love this recipe so much
Hey Christina,
Sure, that should be fine for you to do. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Do You have a way to show us how to pare down your recipes for 2 servings? I always try and figure it our, but when it comes to the dressings and sauces I seem to make to much.
Thank you.
Mary
Hey Mary,
Where is says “6 servings” above the list of ingredients, you can adjust that to “2 servings” and all of the measurements will adjust for you. Please let me know if you give the recipe a try! xTieghan
The “dressing” is amazing in this, I would double or triple and put it on everything. Made it this week with salmon, rice and broccolini! Delicious.
Hi Ashley,
Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am thrilled to hear it was enjoyed. Thanks for sharing your comment! xTieghan
FYI you have cilantro in video but not on recipe
Hey Joe,
Thanks so much! You can really use any fresh herbs that you enjoy here. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Delicious! This dish had a lot of depth with it combination of flavors. I made it as written and it was enjoyed by everyone. I did put the lemons under the broiler for a minute to ensure they were cooked throughout and not bitter. You may want to make extra sauce to enjoy over pasta or rice as a leftover. We served with roasted asparagus and cauliflower rice. Yum!
Hi Patty,
I really appreciate you giving the recipe a try, so glad to hear that it was enjoyed! Have a great week! xxT