Oven baked lemon chicken: the best way to impress your dinner guests. Incredibly easy to make but I won't tell if you don't!
Oven baked lemon chicken is one of those recipes I've seen around for years, but was intimidated to take on. It looks too good to be easy to make. Fresh chicken infused by spices, caressed by fingerling potatoes that swim in its juice... Lemon squeezed to its last breath for the freshness it gives... How can this be simple? (Btw, something else that goes great with lemon is fish and other seafood.)
But somehow it is.
Recipe by Samir Hajdarević.
Oven Lemon Chicken (Pečena Piletina sa Limunom)
Ingredients
- 2 pounds fingerling potatoes
- 1 medium sized whole chicken without giblets
- 2 lemons
- 2-3 tablespoons seasoned salt
- 2-3 tablespoons parsley
- 2 tablespoons basil
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- Oil
Instructions
- Wash and peel potatoes. Cut in half or quarters depending on their size. Place in a bowl with 1 tablespoon seasoned salt, 1 tablespoon parsley, 1 tablespoon basil, and 2 minced garlic cloves. Add a tablespoon or two of oil, mix well and set aside.
- Wash the chicken really well. Pat dry and transfer to a cutting board. Cut in a few places along the breast and legs (see the photo). Take the remaining spices (seasoned salt, parsley and basil), and smear over it on all sides really well. Take the remaining cloves and place in the orifices you made earlier by cutting. Wash lemons really well leaving the skin on. Cut into eights. Place one cut lemon inside the chicken (as much as it will fit), and set the remaining one aside.
- Heat oven to 480F. Generously oil a 9X13 baking pan, place the chicken inside, and spread the potatoes around it evenly. Oil the chicken and potatoes. Add one cup of water into the pan. Take the last lemon, and squeeze all the juice evenly over the chicken and potatoes. Place the remains into the pan.
- Place the pan into the oven, and bring the temperature down to 395F. Bake for 55 minutes or so, turning the chicken around once or twice.
- Bring the temperature up to 450F again, and bake for 10-15 more minutes.
Notes
You may need a different sized pan - base it how on large your chicken is.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Ron @ fasthealthycooking.net says
Oh wow! This looks amazingly flavorful! Can’t wait to try it!
Aida says
Thanks for stopping by Ron. Yes, flavorful, and very easy to make. 🙂
AJ Paradis says
This looks so good! I have never baked a chicken. Well, not a whole chicken. I find it intimidating for some reason. But this does look deliciously easy. Perhaps I can conquer my fear.
Aida says
AJ, I was the same exact way until this chicken. It really is that easy.
Chep says
Great recipe. Do you cover the pan when baking?
Aida says
Thanks Chep! Depends on the oven. For this recipe I didn't. But if you notice the chicken blushing too fast, cover it with some foil and add a few minutes to baking. Then check if it's done. If you have a baking thermometer stick it into a juicy part of chicken away from the bone, and turn off the oven when the chicken reads about 165F (about 75C). If you don't have one, just check that the juice coming from the chicken is clear instead of pink.
Kay B. says
This was our Thanksgiving Dinner last year and it was a huge hit!
Aida says
Fantastic!
Brett Mann says
In the instructions, #3 includes, "Take the last lemon, and squeeze all the juice evenly over the chicken and tomatoes." What tomatoes???
Aida says
Potatoes not tomatoes.
Brett Mann says
Thanks for correcting the instructions. Thought I'd missed an ingredient somewhere in the process.
Aida says
Np, thanks for letting me know it was incorrect. Did you make it?