When life gives you lemons, grab the tequila. ― Ben Fox (lemon quote)
If you love lemons and garlic, then you will love this recipe. It is quite easy to make and, when done in the Dutch oven or French oven , the chicken comes out ultra tender. However, you can make this in any baking dish or roasting pan. You start out with some chicken breasts, garlic, red potatoes, and green beans. These are all tossed with olive oil and salt and pepper in a bowl.
Next, layer the bottom of your pan with sliced lemons. One or two lemons will do it. UPDATE: Many people are finding this too lemony. I suggest now using thin slices and sticking to half to one lemon.
From there, it goes in the oven and roasts. One thing I noted was that the green beans got quite roasted. I like that, but if you don’t want your green beans crunchy, put the chicken on top. If you like barely cooked green beans, add them later in the process.
The final result is a quite juicy and very healthy roasted chicken meal. All in one pot and all in around an hour.
UPDATE: A few people have had issues with the potatoes getting fully cooked. I have never had that problem using baby reds cut in half in my Le Creuset. If using an alternate baking dish, you might need a bit longer.
UPDATE TWO: One reader had very good results baking this at 350 for 2 hours. I do like the idea of longer at a lower temp.
- 4 chicken breasts
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 lemons (1 will be sliced and 1 juiced)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¾ pound trimmed green beans
- 8 red potatoes, cubed
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Coat a dutch oven, cast-iron skillet, or baking dish with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Slice one lemon and arrange lemon the slices in a single layer in the bottom of the dish
- In a large bowl, combine the rest of the oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper
- Add the chicken, green beans and potatoes and toss to coat.
- Pour the mix into the roasting pan.
- Roast for 50 minutes or until cooked completely
Kate says
Could this be done in a slow cooker? how long would you cook it for?
confused says
This looks great however there was some confusion about the lemon. In the directions (step 2) it says the lemon is to be placed in “the dish”. Step 5 says to pour mix into the roasting pan. Thank goodness for the pictures as it was our only help in assuming the dish and the roasting pan were the same thing. Changing the wording might help a bit;)
Natasha says
I tried this recipe but I don’t think I would cook it again. The chicken was really good but the potatoes and green beans were not. The Green beans were horrible! I think it would be a great recipe just using chicken. It also took a lot longer than 50 mins for the potatoes to cook.
Holly says
This cooked well and was very juicy; however it was overwhelmingly lemony. I would take the lemon slices out of the bottom because it makes the whole dish bitter and difficult to eat.
Melissa says
Well this was the 1st and last time making this. I LOVE lemon but even this was too lemony for me. I cut my red skins pretty small and they still weren’t done when the chicken was. Overall not very good all you taste is lemon
amandalyng@gmail.com says
Personally I put the oven on 350 and roasted for 2 hrs, I thought 400 was to high and 50 minutes was not enough cooking time…i cook chicken in my Dutch oven all the time at the 350 temp for 2 hrs. It comes out so moist and delicious..I added onion also, for me onion and garlic need to be together at all times….lol
Carleen says
I’m an onion fan too. Will have to try this again with it added!
amandalyng@gmail.com says
Ok…the verdict is in…cook this at 350 for 2 hrs ….the potatoes were done to perfection… the green beans were done, not al dente, they were done but not mushy…I also added onion which gave it a more flavorful broth…and the chicken was moist and delicious…I used 2 skinless breasts, 8 chicken legs, which gave me a little fat but not to much, and 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs…all the chicken was amazing and tasted amazing…I seasoned it all with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder…not to much I eyeball my spices…if you try this recipe the way I have told you please let me know if it worked for you…I followed all her basic directions, just tweaked a few things…
Carleen says
Thanks! I added your information to an update in the post. In fact, I’ll try remaking it that way myself!
amandalyng@gmail.com says
Oh and btw….I used 1 and a half lemon on the bottom of the DO but did not over power the dish at all…I did not use any lemon juice…
Marie N says
Did u put the lid on your DO?
Carleen says
Yes, I used the lid.
Ten. says
I made this last night and I followed everything you said to do (no updated steps) and it came out perfect!!! Loved it!!! Not too “lemony” and the chicken was very juicy… THANX!
Stephanie Allestad says
Has anyone tried asparagus instead of green beans?