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A free spirited approach towards Mediterranean diet recipes

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Greek Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs And Vegetables

March 30, 2022 by Elizabeth Murray | Affiliate Disclaimer
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This greek sheet pan chicken thighs and vegetables recipe is a quick, healthy and delicious dinner option for people who want to enjoy mediterranean flavors at home. The chicken thighs and vegetables are marinated in an olive oil, thyme, lemon and garlic marinade before being baked in the oven. Tangy feta cheese gets crumbled over the top for a super tasty and easy dinner that will have you begging for more!

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Greek sheet pan chicken thighs and vegetables, with charred lemon rinds, sprinkled feta cheese and thyme sprigs.

Why Serve Greek Sheet Pan Chicken thighs?

Well if ‘quick, healthy and delicious‘ didn’t convince you, how about the fact that you can use whatever vegetables that you have on hand? Or that you can serve a large family or group all on one sheet pan? Sheet pan greek chicken is a very versatile recipe, and can be easily adapted for any home cook.

I personally love this recipe because it takes minimal effort while yielding spectacular results! I mean, who doesn’t love a zesty mediterranean diet chicken recipe?!

A white plate filled with lemon garlic greek chicken and oven roasted vegetables, roasted lemon rinds, sprinkled feta cheese and thyme.

What Makes This Healthy?

This is an easy mediterranean diet dinner recipe, that can also be enjoyed by anyone who wants to eat healthy without sacrificing flavor! Check out the benefits of these ingredients!

Extra-Virgin Olive OilExtra-virgin olive oil is rich in the monounsaturated fat ‘oleic acid’ which may reduce inflammation in the body and may even have beneficial effects on genes linked to cancer. It also contains many antioxidants which fight inflammation in the body and may decrease the risk of heart disease.
Lemon JuiceLemon juice contains a fair amount of vitamin C, which is important for immune health. Vitamin C  improves the absorption of non-heme iron, the type of iron found in plant foods.
VinegarVinegar allows the body to be able to absorb more calcium, potassium and vitamins from food. It also contains a good amount of acetic acid, which boots digestive health. It also may help lower blood sugar levels.
Chicken Thighs Iron and zinc are present in much higher volumes in dark meat than in white meat, and are both important for a healthy immune system. One typical sized chicken thigh without the skin will have around 28 grams of protein.
ThymeThyme has been studied for it’s anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antioxidant effects on the human body. Thyme contains thymol (a plant-based phenol) that is known to neutralize certain bacterial, viral, and fungal infections.
GarlicGarlic is part of the allium family, along with onions. Similarly to onions, garlic contains antioxidants that improve oxidative damage from free radicals and may help reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
A bowl filled with a lemon, garlic and thyme olive oil marinade for chicken and vegetables.

Chicken In Red Wine Sauce

coq au vin

Chicken In Red Wine Sauce Recipe

Chicken in red wine sauce recipe is a delicious dish where hearty chicken is braised with wine, and a variety of vegetables and aromatics are added to the pot to enhance the flavor. The chicken is slow cooked on the stove top until the meat falls off the bone. It is similar to a traditional …

Read moreChicken In Red Wine Sauce Recipe

What Are Some Ingredient Substitutions For This Recipe?

I’m glad you asked! You all know me, I love giving you the freedom to use what you’ve got on hand. My recipes are merely the ‘muse‘ to your creative kitchen endeavors, so use what you’ve got and let me know in the comments how it turned out!

Ingredient Substitutions

Chicken ThighsChicken Breasts. I will mention, though, that chicken thighs are less likely to dry out, so you don’t have to worry too much about over cooking them. Which can be beneficial if you are cooking veggies that take longer to cook.
Celery, ZucchiniAny vegetables that do well when roasted in the oven, such as yellow squash, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, cubed eggplant, cauliflower, parsnips, carrots, bell pepper.
PotatoesSweet potatoes, cubed butternut squash
Feta CheeseGoat cheese, parmesan, mozzarella
OnionRed onion, shallots
Close up image of sheet pan greek chicken with roasted potatoes, vegetables and bright yellow lemon rinds with charred edges.

Searing The Chicken Before Baking

In this recipe, there is an added step of searing the chicken prior to adding it to the baking sheet and finishing it in the oven. The reason why we do this is to briefly expose the chicken thighs to high heat in order to brown their surface, creating a tasty crust on the outside.  Once that flavor is developed and we have transferred the chicken to the baking sheet, we deglaze the pan with some chicken broth.

All of that rich flavor that is held in the brown bits that are stuck to the pan releases, and you are left with a SUPER flavorful broth/sauce that tastes delicious when poured over the finished recipe.

Trust me, you DO NOT want to skip this part. (But if you HAVE to, you can technically just add the chicken to the baking sheet. I won’t tell. Just make sure to adjust the cooking time accordingly.)

A skillet with pan seared chicken thighs that are browning.
A skillet that was deglazed and now has a brown chicken pan sauce.

Make sure you don’t use a non-stick pan when searing the chicken! I recommend using a stainless steel pan or a cast iron dutch oven to do the trick. This is the one I use!

All-Clad D3 Stainless Cookware, 12-Inch Fry Pan with Lid, Tri-Ply Stainless Steel, Professional Grade

A baking sheet filled with mediterranean chicken thighs and roasted potatoes and vegetables, sprinkled with feta cheese and thyme
A plate filled with lemon garlic chicken thigh and roasted vegetables

Greek Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs And Vegetables

Greek sheet pan chicken thighs and vegetables is a quick, healthy and delicious dinner option for people who want to enjoy a healthy mediterranean dinner at home.
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Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 40 mins
Course Dinner
Cuisine greek, Mediterranean
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 4 large boneless skinless chicken thighs
  • 1 tsp olive oil to coat the pan
  • 2 stalks celery, chopped
  • 4 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes any variety of potato is fine
  • 1 large zucchini, stem removed and chopped into cubes
  • 1 large yellow onion, chopped
  • handful of feta cheese, crumbled
  • thyme for garnish
  • 3/4 cup chicken broth (water can also work, but will be less flavorful)

Ingredients For Marinade

  • 6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice, rinds reserved
  • 1 tbsp red or white wine vinegar
  • 5 cloves peeled garlic, minced or pressed through garlic presser
  • 1 tbsp fresh thyme, stems removed and minced
  • 1 tsp italian seasoning or dried oregano
  • 1/4 tsp table salt or pink Himalayan salt
  • fresh cracked pepper

Instructions
 

Make The Marinade

  • Pour the olive oil into a medium sized bowl. Add the fresh squeezed lemon juice, wine vinegar, garlic, thyme, Italian seasoning and salt/pepper. Mix well.
  • Save the lemon rinds from juicing for the baking sheet.

Marinade The Chicken

  • Place the chicken thighs into a resealable bag. Pour over half of the marinade, reserving the other half. Close the bag and work the marinade into the chicken. Allow the chicken to marinade in the refrigerator for at least half an hour, or overnight.

Cook:

  • Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees F. Heat a large stainless-steel skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tsp of olive oil (just enough to coat the pan) and move it around so it coats the entire bottom of the pan. Using tongs, add the marinaded chicken thighs to the hot pan. Allow them to cook on each side until beginning to turn golden brown, about 4 minutes per side.
  • Transfer the chicken to a parchment lined baking sheet. Immediately pour the chicken broth into the hot pan and turn the heat off. Using a wooden spoon, scrape off all of the brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Set the pan sauce aside.
  • Toss the cubed potatoes, zucchini, onions and celery with the remaining olive oil marinade. Pour them onto the baking sheet around the chicken thighs. Add the reserved lemon rinds to the baking sheet.
  • Cook until the chicken thighs are 165 degrees F, and the potatoes are cooked through, typically 35-40 minutes. When done, sprinkle the feta cheese over everything and garnish with thyme (optional).
  • Plate the chicken and veggies, then pour the reserved pan sauce over the top. Enjoy!

Notes

TIP:
  • Don’t use a non-stick pan to sear the chicken.  We want bits of the chicken to stick to the pan to flavor it before we de-glaze it with chicken broth for the most flavor possible!  A stainless-steel pan or a cast iron dutch oven is the best option for this step.
Keyword celery, Chicken, chicken thighs, feta, garlic, greek, lemon, potatoes, roasted, sheet pan, thyme, vegetables, zucchini
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Category: Chicken Recipes, Dinner Recipes, Healthy Recipes, Mediterranean Diet Recipes
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My posts may contain affiliate links. Every one of the affiliate companies is a company that I stand by and believe in. If you choose to purchase something through their link on my website, you won’t pay a penny more, but I will receive a small commission. It helps me to continue to create great content for you! Thanks!

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Hey, I’m Liz!

I am SO thrilled to meet you!

I’m a Physical Therapy Assistant turned food blogger, and love merging my intrigue for the human body with my passion for all things food! I’m here to show you that enjoying a Mediterranean diet doesn’t mean that you can only eat Mediterranean food! I can’t wait to show you how rewarding the MedDiet lifestyle can be!

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About Me

Hello! I am the recipe hippie, and I am here to give you a free spirited approach towards home cooking. When it comes to the ingredients you have available, I challenge you to reject your conventional notions around recipes and think outside of the box. Substitutions are encouraged! So open up your pantry, get creative and have fun. Some of the greatest things in life originated through improvisation!

Hello! I am the recipe hippie, and I am here to give you a free spirited approach towards home cooking!

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