Lemon Pepper Chicken with Parmesan Thyme Potatoes

Lemon Pepper Chicken with Parmesan Thyme Potatoes

December 3, 2019

Servings: 4

Prep: 10 min

Cook: 30 min

Total: 40 min

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Rustic, delicious, and yes <em>simple</em>! You will thank us for this one-pan weeknight dish!

By: A Wholesome New World

Ingredients

• 6-8 Chicken thighs (or substitute the chicken of your choice, see below)
• 2 TBSP Olive Oil
• Trader Joe's lemon pepper seasoning blend and kosher salt, to taste
• 1 pound small red new potatoes, halved
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan
• 3 garlic gloves, minced
• 1 TBSP fresh thyme
• The juice and zest of 1 lemon

Directions

• Step 1 Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Place potatoes in a sauce pan, cover with water and sprinkle with salt. Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes until potatoes are softened.
• Step 2 In the meantime, heat olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken thighs generously with lemon pepper and kosher salt
• Step 3 my opinion is you can never overseason! Place thighs, skin side down, onto the cast iron skillet and allow the skin to crisp up, for about 8-10 minutes, until your potatoes are done.
• Step 4 Drain potatoes and place in a bowl. Toss with parmesan, garlic and thyme and season with salt and pepper blend.
• Step 5 Flip your chicken thighs skin side up and nestle the potatoes in around the chicken. Drizzle with lemon juice and sprinkle with zest. You can also top with more twigs of thyme and thin slices of lemon while it’s roasting too for some extra aromatics.
• Step 6 Roast in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until the internal temp of the chicken reaches 165 degrees. Serve with any vegetable of your choosing. I served mine with a side green salad and roasted beets.

Is there anything cozier than a roasted chicken in a cast-iron skillet? Especially on a snowy weeknight (first snow of the season folks!) – this recipe is perfection. I am a big fan of the one-pan/one-pot dinner trend and this is most definitely going down in that chapter. The foundation of this recipe is the same almost every time: pick your protein (chicken or pork chops work particularly well), sear first in the pan, nestle some roasting vegetables (potatoes or root vegetables are perfect) around the pan, then season and roast. You could serve a different version of this dish every week and I bet no one would even realize it was based on the same recipe! Your oven really does most of the work, so that’s a huge plus.

I am a big fan of chicken thighs (we serve them almost once a week) because I like bone-in proteins and love dark meat. They also cook quickly, which is another bonus. And if you crisp up the skin in the pan first, I’m telling you – it makes chicken thighs irresistible. But you can totally substitute chicken breast or even skinless, boneless chicken too, depending on what you and your family prefer, just update the cooking time as necessary. Bone-in breasts will cook longer, boneless ones will cook a little less. And if you need some tips or suggestions for making this dish your own, just reach out to me.

Even my toddler (former world champion pickiest eater) loves a good chicken thigh. I just cut the meat off the bone for him and he gobbles it up by the handful. Roasting the chicken this way results in meat that is tender and juicy, and the lemon and thyme add a nice subtle flavor without being two overwhelming for a LO. Last night he ate not one but two chicken thighs himself – a Mom/chef’s dream! And he left the bones for me, so it’s a win-win for everyone 🙂

As rustic and beautiful as this dish is, I couldn’t resist adding a pop of color to the plate, so I served it with a simple green salad topped with a leftover beet salad I made the other day. It definitely makes you look twice! But if I hadn’t gone that route, I probably would have had worked in some green beans or steamed spinach. Not necessary, but I always think it’s nice to have a little green on the plate. But what you do is totally up to you! Comment below and let us know what you think!