Pan Roasted Lemon Chicken
These chicken thighs are amazingly crisp and flavorful, and you won’t believe how easy this is to make!
As Jason and I are trying to stay away from red meat, we’ve been eating a lot of chicken, from this BBQ chicken salad to this easy lemon chicken. But as I still had a Costco-sized bag of lemons to use up, I decided to put them to good use in this pan roasted chicken. Now when I say “pan roasted“, I mean a 2-step process. But there’s no need to be alarmed – it’s unbelievably easy and foolproof!
A lemon rub is made first with a handful of pantry ingredients and of course, lots of lemon goodness. One that’s brushed onto the chicken, you’ll give it a nice sear in a hot pan to get that amazingly crisp skin. Then you’ll pop that right in the oven until it’s cooked through. Done and done.
I told you it was easy! And with that crusty skin and the juicy meat just oozing with lemon-herb goodness, this dish is sure to be a hit with the entire family.
Pan Roasted Lemon Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups chicken stock
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
For the lemon rub
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- To make the lemon rub, combine olive oil, mustard, lemon zest, oregano, thyme and salt in a small bowl. Using your fingers or a brush, work the lemon rub onto both sides of the chicken.
- In a large bowl, whisk together chicken stock, lemon juice and lemon zest; set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a large oven-proof skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken, skin-side down, and sear both sides until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side. Add chicken stock mixture.
- Place into oven and roast until completely cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, about 25-30 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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Like the other poster, I followed the directions exactly and ended up with cooked chicken thighs swimming in the broth mixture. I seared my chicken thighs just like you said, then placed the broth mixture on top of the seared chicken and placed it all in the oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes, but the 1 1/2 c of chicken broth mixture did not reduce in the oven. 🙁
Jan, the chicken broth is not really meant to be reduced in this recipe. The purpose of the broth is to let the flavors meld along with the chicken thighs in the oven.
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This looks amazing and will be cooking it this week! Just curious as to which sides would compliment this dish. I was thinking maybe some green beans and potatoes, but that sounds boring!
That sounds amazing! We served it with some rice and loved it!
I made this with skinless, boneless thighs, AWESOME. The next day I used pork tenderloin, it was just as awesome. I cooked it in my electric frying pan, didn’t want to heat up the house more in this 100 degree weather. It worked perfect.
I would like to make this for a family dinner on Sunday. Can the searing part be done before hand? Then pop it in the oven at a later time?
Unfortunately, I do not recommend searing beforehand as this may result in a soggy texture.
Made this tonight along with the Garlic Mushroom Quinoa. They were both super easy and the family loved the meal! Love your blog and look forward to trying more of your dishes!
I didn’t have whole grain mustard and subbed Dijon. DELISH!!!!! I did have some war wounds, burnt arm in frying the skin, but soo worth it!!
Tried this recipe yesterday and it was damn delicious!!!!!! Light and refreshing. Thank you
This is one of my new go to recipes! It is so full of flavor! My only addition was minced garlic into the chicken broth mixture (so it doesn’t burn in the browning process) great recipe!
I just made this for dinner tonight but the skin doesn’t seem to be that crunchy 🙁 I followed the recipe to a T!
Sharon, unfortunately it’s really difficult for me to help troubleshoot what went wrong since I was not in the kitchen with you. Perhaps the thighs weren’t seared appropriately or the oven temperature was off, causing the thighs to lose it’s crispness.
I made this for dinner yesterday and it was delicious! Easy for a weeknight meal, too. I’ll definitely add this to our “repeat” list.
I made this tonight and it was a delicious! The only change was adding a tablespoon of honey to the chicken stock.
making this tonight- can’t wait! I think i’m going to serve it on pan fried polenta wedges with a corn salad on the side. i’m missing summer!!
What can I use if I don’t have an oven-proof skillet?
You can transfer them to a baking dish.
I don’t have any skillets or pans that can go into the oven, would it be fine to sear the chicken then transfer it to a baking dish and pour the chicken stock in then?
Yes, absolutely.
I made this last night using boneless, skinless thighs. I managed to achieve the same color and it was very good!
I made this tonight for my husband and five year old along with steamed asparagus and penne pasta (for my husband). I couldn’t find the required mustard so wound up using the basic yellow variety and I hoped there would be a nice punch of flavor but ultimately it was quite average. I don’t know if the mustard makes that much of a difference. I probably won’t make it again but I liked the crispy skin and may use that method for future recipes.
Kristy, my recipes call for certain ingredients because those ingredients work best. Substituting various ingredients will result in a mediocre outcome.
The chicken is in the oven! Can’t wait to taste it.
I love chicken thighs, but have family members who don’t. Have you tried the recipe with breasts or drumsticks? Looking forward to making this, looks delicious!
JJ, I recommend using skin-on breasts or drumsticks. That crisp skin is the star of this dish!
Chicken thighs are my favorite part of the chicken! This recipe looks easy and so delicious! I love how crispy your chicken looks. I was wondering though, would adding the chicken stock before putting it in the oven make the chicken less crispy? I’ve roasted chicken thighs in the oven over a grill pan without any liquid and it turned out nice and crispy yet juicy. Would adding the chicken stock in the pan make the chicken less crispy? Thanks in advance for your help and keep up the lovely work! Your site is wonderful!
I would love to see a section on your favorite recipes too. There are so many yummy recipes that I want to try. It would be great to see what your favorites and start with those.
Eunyoung, feel free to add the chicken stock before or after placing it in the oven. I prefer to add it before to really let the flavors meld and to give the chicken thighs more moisture. As for a favorites section, I honestly love ALL of my recipes. I only add the ones that I TRULY love and enjoy.