Today’s Mediterranean chicken features succulent chicken thighs, fresh black olives, red onion, and cherry tomatoes baked until fork-tender—defining the flavor and texture of Mediterranean cuisine.
Though this chicken goodness may take a bit more time to pull together, the finished product will be worth every minute and all your effort.
Is Mediterranean Chicken Healthy?
To all health-food fans out there, the nutrition profile of today’s Mediterranean chicken will steal your heart.
This main course is densely packed with lean protein, vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
With chicken thighs as one of the main ingredients, each serving of Mediterranean chicken will provide you with 27.3 g of lean complete protein, up to 55% of the recommended daily value.
Moreover, our chefs combine a wide range of vegetables—especially tomatoes and olives—for an extra energy boost throughout your day. While black olives/olive oil can aid in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, tomatoes help promote skin, bone, and heart health.
Overall, this meal has 500 calories, 7g of saturated fat, and around 575 mg of sodium, which is considered reasonable and diet appropriate.
Ingredients for Mediterranean Chicken
Take a look at some of the main ingredients you’ll need.
- Chicken: Chicken thighs are our personal-favorite cuts for three main reasons: they are jam-packed with flavor, super versatile, and forgiving to cook.
- Baby potatoes: When thinking about the perfect vegetable to pair with this Mediterranean chicken, baby potatoes was the first option to cross our mind. No one can resist the chewy outer skin, soft exterior, and buttery taste of baked baby potatoes.
- Cherry tomatoes: Tomatoes add a punch of umami flavor that complement the chicken.
- Red onion: Cooked red onion possesses a subtle caramelized flavor, acting as a natural sweetener for broths, soups, and stews.
- Black olives: Their complex flavor profile makes them an essential ingredient in most Mediterranean dishes—zesty, salty, with a mildly bitter aftertaste.
- Lemon juice: The acidity of citrus juice helps enhance and sharpen the taste of the chicken and vegetables.
- Chicken broth: We opted for unsalted chicken broth for more flavorings, but if you adore vegetable broth, you can use it as a substitute.
- Oregano: This herb brings an earthy, woodsy note to your Mediterranean chicken.
- Paprika: You can adjust the heat level by changing the amount of paprika used in this recipe—less for a mild kick and more for an intense back-of-the-tongue burn.
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
1. How to Store
Avoid leaving your leftovers uncovered in the open air as doing this may cause contamination.
To store your chicken dish, place it in an airtight container, label the date to keep track of the storing time, and keep it in the fridge. It will remain edible for up to 2 days if stored properly.
2. How to Reheat
To reheat, transfer your chicken and vegetables to a microwave-safe plate, add a tablespoon of olive oil to retain the moisture, cover up with the microwave lid, and microwave until hot.
What to Serve With Mediterranean Chicken
If you are seeking some accompaniments for your Mediterranean chicken, look no further as we have prepared some great ideas for you right below.
- Caprese Salad recipe
- Kale Salad recipe
- Spinach Salad recipe
- Burrata Salad recipe
- Healthy Watermelon Arugula Salad recipe
How to Make Mediterranean Chicken
Our go-to Mediterranean chicken dish with juicy chicken thighs, fresh vegetables, herbs, and spices offers exciting textures, intriguing flavors, and bright colors. Try out this recipe for a ten out of ten-dinner party!
- cook TIME 50 mins
- prep TIME 5 mins
- total TIME 55 mins
- COURSE Main Course
- CUISINE Mediterranean
- SERVINGS servings
- CALORIES 500 kcal
INGREDIENTS
- 30 ozskin-on bone-in chicken thighs
- 20 ozbaby potatoes (quartered)
- 6 ozcherry tomatoes
- 6 ozred onion (cut into quartered slices)
- 2.5 ozblack olives
- 1 tbspolive oil
- 1 tbsplemon juice
- 0.5 cupunsalted chicken broth
- 2 tsporegano
- 1 tbspgarlic (minced)
- 0.5 tspgarlic powder
- 0.5 tsppaprika
- 0.5 tspsalt
- 0.5 tsppepper
- 2 tbspparsley (chopped)
INSTRUCTIONS
Prep:
With a sharpened knife, make a few cuts into the flesh of the chicken thighs so the seasonings can absorb better.
Halve the baby potatoes lengthwise, then cut those halves in half again crosswise to quarter.
Halve the red onion lengthwise, trim two ends, and peel the skin. Lay the halved onion face down. Place the knife at a slight angle and make three lengthwise cuts into each half.
Slice off the root of each garlic clove. Use the side of a knife to press down and crush the cloves, then peel away the skin. Mince the peeled garlic.
Finely chop the parsley.
Cook:
Season the chicken thighs: On a large platter, add 30 oz chicken thighs, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp oregano, and 1/4 tsp salt. With your hands, massage the seasonings evenly onto both sides of the chicken thighs.
Pan-sear the well-seasoned chicken thighs: Place a large skillet over medium heat and add 1 tbsp olive oil. Pan-sear each side of the chicken thighs for 2 minutes (4 minutes in total). Remove from heat.
Sauté the garlic: Add 1 tbsp minced garlic to the same skillet. Sauté until fragrant about 30 seconds.
Add the baby potatoes and red onion: Add 20 oz quartered baby potatoes and 6 oz quartered slices of red onion to the skillet. Stir to cook for 1 minute.
Combine the rest of the ingredients: Add 2.5 oz black olives, 6 oz cherry tomatoes, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 tsp oregano, and 1/2 cup unsalted chicken broth to the skillet. Arrange the pan-seared chicken thighs on top of the vegetables.
Bake the Mediterranean chicken: Preheat the oven to 450°F. Place the skillet in the oven and bake at 450°F for 30 minutes.
Bake the vegetables: Take the chicken thighs out of the oven and continue to bake the vegetables at 480°F for another 15 minutes. Remove from the oven.
Garnish and serve: Transfer your desired portion onto a serving plate. Garnish with 2 tbsp chopped parsley. Enjoy!
NUTRITION
Luna Regina
Founder
Natalie Butler, RD, LD
Nutrition Reviewer