Lemon Chicken and Potatoes in Foil
The most amazingly moist and tender chicken breasts cooked in foil packets – so easy and packed with tons of flavor!
Foil pack dinners are the best. There’s minimum effort involved, and clean up is an absolute breeze. And you don’t even need serving plates here.
With individual foil packets, each chicken breast is cooked on a bed of baby red potatoes, seasoned with a flavor-packed mixture of Dijon mustard, lemon and herbs.
When ready to serve, each person has their own little packet of lemon goodness.
Now how easy was that?
Lemon Chicken and Potatoes in Foil
The most amazingly moist and tender chicken breasts cooked in foil packets - so easy and packed with tons of flavor!
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 16 ounces baby red potatoes, halved
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 lemon, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons olive oil, mustards, thyme, rosemary and lemon zest; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside.
- Cut four sheets of foil, about 12-inches long. Divide potatoes into 4 equal portions and add to the center of each foil in a single layer.
- Fold up all 4 sides of each foil packet. Drizzle with remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste; gently toss to combine.
- Top each packet with the chicken. Using your fingers or a brush, work the mustard mixture onto both sides of the chicken. Top with lemon slices.
- Fold the sides of the foil over the chicken, covering completely and sealing the packets closed. Place foil packets in a single layer on a baking sheet. Place into oven and bake until the chicken is cooked through and the potatoes are tender, about 25-30 minutes.*
- OPTIONAL: Preheat oven to broil. Open the packets and broil for 2-3 minutes, or until caramelized and slightly charred.
- Served immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.
Notes
*Cooking time will vary depending on the size and thickness of the chicken and/or potatoes.
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Love this recipe! I noticed some people thought it was bitter tasting with the lemon mustard combo. My mom hates mustard but LOVES this, and agrees with me that it’s not super vinegary or too tangy. It is just super light and fresh. Tonight I’m making it for the second time! I add about fifteen to twenty minutes to the cooking since my favorite chicken breast brand is usually pretty thick and my family likes the potatoes really tender.
My husband and I made this recipe a few months ago and we were not impressed with the mustard and lemon together. It was bitter and just…wrong.
In addition, we ignored the temp suggested and went with a higher temp that is in a similar recipe from our America’s Test Kitchen book. Chicken was perfectly cooked, potatoes needed a little help. We will try jump starting the potatoes in the microwave and omitting the mustard next time. Seriously, mustard and lemon do not work together.
Is there anything else you would recommend that would be a good substitute for the red potatoes?
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
Made this using quartered baby red potatoes and butterflied chicken breasts (so thinner already), and the cooking time/temp was not at all sufficient. After 30 minutes at 375 the outside of the chicken was somewhat cooked but 100% pink inside. Thankfully I read the comments at that point and turned it up to 425 for another ~20 minutes. Chicken was still very moist and potatoes were nice and soft. Tasty, but can’t put my finger on what the sauce needs! Would make it again, but really does need a longer cooking time and/or higher temp.
I failed this recipe- not the other way around. The cooking time was indeed way off but I thought the flavor was amazing, with a few tweaks. It was my own fault for not reading all the reviews. I did think it might be a bit bland and had added garlic salt to the mustard sauce. I also used Tuscan herb infused olive oil that I happened to have on hand for the sauce and on the potatoes. The lemon basil combo was fantastic. Like other reviewers my chicken needed much longer to cook even tho I had pounded it flatter to start. In cooking longer I went too far and it was too dry to eat. But the potatoes were great. I’d try this again with smaller chicken breasts and higher temp.
Epic Fail! Used 6 oz breasts and baby reds cut into 8ths. After 30 minutes at 375, potatoes were hard and chicken was raw. Put back into oven at 425 for 20 more minutes and still very pink without much improvement in potatoes. We all laughed, chucked it in the trash and ordered a pizza. I usually have great luck with the recipes here but not this one. After reading the comments of many other fails, I recommend being a lot more specific as to the weight and thickness of the chicken you used to test this.
This recipe is shit! Cut the baby reds in quarters and cut the breasts in half, length wise and everything was RAW! Dunno what u were thinking when only cooking for 30 minutes @ 375. Ridiculous! Complete waste of time!
Great flavor but my potatoes were not done.
Same issue, great flavor, chicken super moist but potatoes not done.
Sadly an epic fail! After 45 minutes of cooking the chicken is not even close to ready and I have a very hungry family approaching the kids bedtime. I had veggies in the oven at the same time which may have slowed it down the first 1/2 hour. I was so hoping this would be in the weekly rotation. This is my first time on this site but not giving up and will try something else.
I used thinly sliced chicken breasts for this recipe. I didn’t have baby potatoes, but small red potatoes than I cut into quarters. It turned out really good! I think it’s definitely something I’d make again. I really liked the flavor of the mustard in the chicken. Thank you for posting this!
i made this tonight and neither the chicken or the potatoes were done even in an hour. so frustrated trying to make meals on time for people to go to work 🙁
love your recipes but this time difference really turned me off. is there a time difference for a gas oven and an electric oven? was i supposed to up the temperature to meet the time mentioned?
Jess, I am so sorry that you are frustrated. I would be bummed too!
That being said, there should not be a time difference for a gas and an electric oven. However, the size of the potatoes will significantly impact cooking time. It is best to use the smallest-sized potatoes to ensure they are done in a timely manner.
If I were to make these ahead and bring camping omit the mustard would you this would work on campfire?
Yes, absolutely.
I tried this recipe tonight and although it looked appealing, the flavor was pretty bland; possibly watered down from the juices of the chicken? Should I have added more mixture towards the end to not lose its flavor?
I’m sorry that this recipe did not turn out the way you had imagined. Yes, you can try adding more of the mixture towards the end as needed.
I’m really sorry you have to keep apologizing to people who have no common sense. This recipe, temperature, timing, everything is perfect. If you know anything about cooking, you know potatoes take long in the oven. Cut them into quarters and don’t use huge chicken breasts. Cut your chicken breasts in half lengthwise and quarter the potatoes, they will be done at the same time and more flavorful chicken that way. Thanks for this delicious recipe, I use a lot of your recipes and they are wonderful!
This looks and sounds so good. The spices and lemon ~ yum. I do plan on making it but I’m wondering if there is anything I could substitute instead of the mustard. I detest mustard. Any thoughts?
I used to hate mustard too but now I can’t get enough!
Here is a great forum discussing possible substitutes – hope that helps.
Thanks Chungah. I got this from that site ~ “You can also experiment with combinations of turmeric, a mildly sweet and bright yellow spice, garlic salt, and chili peppers.” ~ which I think sounds great! They, also, mentioned horseradish but I can’t imagine anything, this side of death, that would make me eat horseradish. 😉
I do want to tell you that I think you, and your site, are amazing, Chungah. I am in my early 6os (yup, still learning new cooking skills) and I have never been so impressed with someone’s recipes. Your photography, the way you have the printed recipes set-up, your videos, just your entire presentation is top notch. I have tried dozens of your recipes and never a disappointment. You deserve an award! I don’t even bother with other new recipes, anymore, because I know my answer is at Damn Delicious. Thank you so very much. Wishing you the best, always.
For those who were complaining about it taking too long at 375: your chicken and potatoes were too large. I read through the reviews and thought I’d compensate by making everything smaller so I used baby red potatoes, quartered, and also halved and/or thinned 2 chicken breasts (they were big and thick) so I had half a chicken breast and 2 baby red potatoes per packet- cooked at 375 for 35 min + broiled it for 5 min and it was a tad too dry after that but turned out fine. Next time I’ll just keep it to one whole breast per packet and cook it for less than 35 min. I think the key is just knowing if your chicken breast is too thick or not and cutting it accordingly.
It was absolutely NOT enough time. I pounded my chicken fairly thin and cute my veggies in quarters and it was raw after 30 min at 375 and the veggies were hard. I put everything into a glass 9X13 dish and put the heat up to 400 to finish and cook through. The cooking time was COMPLETELY off…………….and I am seasoned cooker.
This was really good! I read the comments and altered the cooking time–425 for 30 min. I also used small yellow potatoes and cut them into quarters, and I used chicken thighs instead of breasts. Yummy!
Ditto on the cooking time….30-35 minutes at 375 wasn’t even close! Turned up to 425 and hoping for the best! Hope it tastes good!
Made this last night. Did not meet expectations. The flavor was very muted and it took twice as long to cook then described in the recipe. Would not make again.
I’m sorry that this recipe did not turn out the way you had imagined. I only post recipes that have been successfully tested in my own kitchen, and as you can see from the comments here, many of these readers have had great outcomes in the final dish as well. However, I understand that we all have different taste preferences, and I really appreciate your honest feedback.
I agree with the many other posters – in a normal oven at 375, 30 mins is not nearly enough. I guess I should have read these comments to start. I used a normal sized chicken breast and cut my baby red potatoes in half. The cooking time is closer to 30 min at 425 or 45 min at 400. It really should be updated in the recipe.
Carli, cooking time can vary quite a bit depending on the size and thickness of both the chicken and potatoes. The timing listed here is simply an estimation/guideline but as always, please use your best judgment to ensure that the chicken is completely cooked through.