Baked Italian Lemon Chicken Thighs
Bone-in chicken thighs marinate in fresh lemon, garlic, and rosemary, then bake until the skin turns golden and the meat stays juicy all the way through. This baked Italian lemon chicken comes together with simple ingredients and delivers restaurant-style flavor without any fuss. Weeknight effort, dinner-party result.
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 702kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 package bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
- Kosher salt
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoon lemon zest grated, about 2 lemons
- ⅓ cup lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves minced
- ground black pepper
- 1 lemon sliced
Instructions
Chicken Marinade
- Combine the olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, rosemary and 1 teaspoon of ground black pepper in a bowl.
- Place the chicken into either a plastic bag or a ceramic or glass casserole dish large enough to hold the chicken.
- Add the marinade to the chicken and turn to coat. If using a ceramic or glass dish, cover the dish.
- Place the chicken into the refrigerator for 4-24 hours turning occasionally to coat the chicken.
Baking
- Preheat the oven to 375℉.
- Take the chicken out of the marinade. Place into a 9x13 casserole dish or baking pan.
- Pat the skin dry.
- For extra crispy skin, brush a touch of olive oil on the skin. (optional)
- Sprinkle the skin with kosher salt.
- Bake until a meat thermometer placed in the chicken thigh registers an internal temperature of 165° and the skin is golden brown.
- Serve.
Notes
Use the freshest lemon and rosemary you can find. I tested this with bottled lemon juice once and the marinade came out flat instead of bright, fresh is what makes this dish. Dried rosemary works in a pinch, but fresh gives noticeably better flavor.
Pat the chicken completely dry before it goes into the marinade, and again before it goes into the oven. Any surface moisture steams the skin instead of crisping it.
Don't skip the bits of rosemary and garlic left in the marinade. Scrape them onto the chicken before baking. That's where a lot of the flavor ends up.
Use a good extra virgin olive oil here. It's not simmered down into a sauce, so a flavorless oil makes the whole dish taste thin.
Bake until the internal temperature reaches 165°F at the thickest part of the thigh, away from the bone. Pull it right at 165°F rather than past it.
If you prefer to grill or air fry instead of bake, this marinade works well with either method. You can also take the leftover marinade and simmer it down into a tangy lemon sauce to spoon over the chicken, or over Mediterranean rice, orzo, or cauliflower rice.
Storage: refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Reheating: warm gently in the microwave, or in a low oven if you want to bring some crispness back to the skin.
Freezing: the marinated, uncooked chicken freezes well for up to 2 months.
Nutrition
Calories: 702kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 40g | Fat: 58g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 10g | Monounsaturated Fat: 30g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 236mg | Sodium: 187mg | Potassium: 564mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 210IU | Vitamin C: 24mg | Calcium: 34mg | Iron: 2mg
