Greek Lemon Chicken
Greek Lemon Chicken can marinate all day while you’re at work; then simply roast the chicken for an easy low-carb dinner. This is delicious, your house will smell amazing, and Greek Lemon Chicken only has about 1 net carb per serving!
PIN Greek Lemon Chicken to make it later!
Today I’m reminding you about this delicious Greek Lemon Chicken that’s perfect for a special dinner on a week night, and this easy recipe will be a hit with everyone who likes chicken with lemon and Greek seasonings! I don’t know how many people still roast chicken at home, but not only is this chicken so, so delicious, the wonderful smell that fills your house while the chicken is roasting makes it worth the little bit of effort.
The Greek Lemon Chicken marinates all day in a Ziploc bag in a mixture of lemon juice, olive oil, and Greek spices, and in the evening you just pop it in the oven for an easy dinner that’s done in about an hour. And of course this is amazingly low in carbs, for people who are interested in that.
What ingredients do you need for this recipe?
(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- Olive Oil (affiliate link), preferably good quality Greek olive oil
- grated lemon zest (optional but recommended)
- fresh lemon juice, I used my fresh-frozen lemon juice for some of the juice
- Greek Seasoning (affiliate link)
- salt and fresh ground black pepper
What gives this lemon chicken the Greek flavors?
This roasted chicken uses the combination of olive oil, lemon zest and juice, and Greek oregano that is such a classic in Greek cooking.
Can you make Greek Lemon Chicken without Greek Seasoning?
Greek Seasoning is an herb and spice blend that’s available in most stores. But if you don’t want to buy it, is usually contains salt, garlic powder, Oregano (preferably Greek oregano), Marjoram, and dried lemon peel. Some brands also contain onion, parsley and black pepper. The most essential ingredient is Oregano; if you have that just add a pinch of the other ingredients you do have.
How low in carbs is Greek Lemon Chicken?
The Greek Lemon Chicken has only about 1 net carb and it’s very high in protein!
How to Make Greek Lemon Chicken:
(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- Mix the fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, Greek Seasoning (affiliate link), olive oil, salt, and pepper to make the marinade.
- Tying the chicken is optional, but I like to do it, and it keeps it together.
- Put the chicken in a plastic bag with the marinade and let it marinate all day in the fridge.
- I rig up a roasting pan by putting a rack inside a baking dish, which lets the hot air circulate under the chicken, but you can roast it just on a baking sheet as well.
- Start the chicken with breast side down and cook at 450F/220C for 25 minutes.
- Then turn the chicken over, lower the heat to 350F/180C and cook 35-45 minutes more. I use an Instant-Read Meat Thermometer
(affiliate link) to cook until the chicken reaches 170F. - You can broil the chicken for a couple of minutes if you’d like to brown the top a bit more, but even if you skip that step, this chicken is pretty photogenic!
(affiliate link) to cook until the chicken reaches 170F.
Make it a Low-Carb Meal:
Greek Lemon Chicken would taste great with Spicy Chopped Greek Salad with Peperoncini, Greek Cauliflower Rice Bake, Easy Grilled Greek Zucchini, Greek Style Zucchini Noodles, or Greek Cabbage Salad for an amazing meal with greek flavors!
More Low-Carb Chicken Dinners:
- Skillet Chicken with Lemon, Green Olives, and Capers
- Keto Crack Chicken Bake
- Salsa Verde Chicken Bake
Weekend Food Prep:
This Greek Lemon Chicken is great left over, so this recipe has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep where you’ll find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!
Greek Lemon Chicken
This Greek Lemon Chicken marinates all day while you’re at work and then roasts in about an hour for an amazing low-carb dinner. And everyone who likes chicken and Greek flavors is going to love this dinner idea!
Ingredients
- Whole chicken, about 5 pounds (I used a whole chicken from Costco for this photo)
Marinade Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup olive oil, good quality
- 1 tsp. grated lemon zest (optional but recommended)
- 1/4 cup lemon juice (see notes)
- 1 T Greek seasoning, see note below
- Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- I usually tie the chicken with string, but you don’t have to.
- Zest the skin of the lemon and then squeeze the juice. If you don't have a lemon zester (affiliate link), any type of microplane grater (affiliate link) or even a fine cheese grater will work.
- Mix marinade ingredients in measuring cup.
- Put chicken in large Ziploc bag, pour marinade over, then zip bag shut and mix well, until chicken is well coated. Put in fridge and let chicken marinate all day while you’re at work.
- After work, preheat oven to 450F/220C, drain marinade off and put chicken in glass or heavy metal roasting pan, breast side down. (I like to use a pan with a rack in it so the hot air circulates under the chicken, but any roasting pan or baking dish will work.)
- Roast about 25 minutes, then turn breast side up and baste with pan juices.
- Lower heat to 350 and roast about another 35-45 minutes, or until top is browned and Instant-Read Meat Thermometer (affiliate link) reads about 170. It takes about an hour and 15 minutes for a 5 pound chicken.
- Let rest 10 minutes before carving.
Notes
You could use fresh-frozen lemon juice for this recipe.
There are many good brands of Greek Seasoning (affiliate link). If you don’t have Greek Seasoning, I’d use 1 tsp each oregano, garlic powder and marjoram; or other spices you like on chicken.
Nutritional information for calories, fat, and protein is going to be much lower than shown for this recipe because of course you're not eating all the oil that's in the marinade and some of the 5 pounds of chicken is bones!
This recipe created by Kalyn.
Nutrition Information
Yield
8Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 1013Total Fat 63gSaturated Fat 16gUnsaturated Fat 41gCholesterol 333mgSodium 1169mgCarbohydrates 1gFiber ogSugar 0gProtein 103g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Greek Lemon Chicken would be a great dish for any low-carb or Keto eating plan, or for the original South Beach Diet. Those who are South Beach Dieters who are following the letter of the law should should let other family members have the legs and thighs and eat the breast meat, which has less saturated fat.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Oven Dinners to find more recipes like this one. Use the Recipes by Diet Type index pages to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe for marinated and baked Greek Lemon Chicken was first posted in 2006, probably without a single photo. I’ve made it many, many times since then, and the recipe was last updated with more information in 2024.
42 Comments on “Greek Lemon Chicken”
I purchased a bag of leg quarters yesterday and would rather use those. Can I do use those instead? If so how should I adjust the cooking time?
You can definitely use this marinade to cook chicken leg quarters. Unfortunately I haven’t ever made those in the oven so I wouldn’t be able to tell you exactly how much to adjust the cooking time. I think it will be shorter though; I would use an Instant Read Meat Thermometer and start to check after 30 minutes or so, cook until the chicken reaches 165F-170F.
Hey Kayln,
Tried this recipe and I loved it. I spatchedcocked the chicken, removed the backbone, broke he breast bone with my chef’s knife so that the chicken would lie flat (as-in butterflied). One, so that more skin area has a chance to crisp up and two, quicker cooking time. I shaved 15 minutes off the 45 minutes at 350. I used my own Greek seasoning as in I didn’t have specific Greek seasoning. I also used a fresh lemon and zest. Massively fragrant while cooking and potent flavor in eating. I love anything with lemon in it and this chicken is the bomb!
That sounds like a great method! So glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Trying this tonight! Ran out of marjoram. Used poultry seasoning instead. Love, love, love roast chicken! And the leftovers! Thanks so much! You do a wonderful job on your recipes, Kalyn!
Thanks so much! So glad you are enjoying the recipes!
Follow up comment… I made the chicken the other night and during dinner my hunny asked me to make “a couple for the game” on Sunday! I doubled the marinade and used the extra to marinate some quartered vidalia onions. I threw them in a separate bag to marinate as well. I put them on the bottom of the roasting pan I used and it made a great side addition to the dish. This chicken was so moist and delicious. Definitely a keeper and yes I will be making three on Sunday for his football buddies! P.S. Thanks about the name
Oh I absolutely LOVE that idea about the onions. So happy you guys enjoyed the recipe so much! I wish I could come to dinner at your house!
Your recipes are absolutely fabulous. I find myself lost for hours just looking at your delicious offerings. This one sounds so good I am going to go out tomorrow and buy a chicken just to make it. Just FYI, I buy penzeys greek seasoning and it is really awesome too. Thank goodness I have a brand new bottle to test on this recipe!
Thanks Licia. So glad you are enjoying the blog.
BTW, love your name!
I’m definitely going to make this recipe. We’ve always loved roast chicken. Even now that we’re empty nesters, one roast chicken gives us two meals. Thanks for the explanation of Greek seasoning. I personally don’t like to buy premixed herbs. I’d rather mix my own as needed.
Hope you enjoy Amy. When you mix your own, you definitely know what’s in it!
I love the idea of using feta in the chicken from the other commenter ! My question is how long do you think this would take in a slow cooker ? Would love to make it during the summer without heating up the house. I'm positively drooling over this recipe ! BB
I haven't cooked whole chicken in the slow cooker but I know you can do it; I would Google to see how long to cook it.
Fantastic job Kalyn! Here's a small tip from us (being native Greeks). You can slide in a thick stick of feta in the chicken's belly. It will roast along with the chicken and will taste amazing when served along side the meat.
Again, excellent work!
Panos and Mirella
I love that idea; thanks for sharing!
It looks amazing! really the only reason i grow rosemary is for moments like this one:)
Rachel, hope you enjoy!
I've honestly never marinated a whole chicken before! And I love lemon + chicken, so this is a sure thing for certain. Thanks for the inspiration!
~ Anne
Anne, hope you like it!
Marlene, I have been updating older photos for about 6 or 7 years now. It depends on what blogging platform you use, but on Blogger you can just update the original post and it doesn't break the link. (E-mail me if you're using Blogger and I can share the instructions.)
It did keep your original url?! I'll have to look into this. I don't have a clue how to do it with wordpress!
Hi Pam,
One reason I never wanted to leave Blogger is the way you can update a post without changing the original URL. I have no idea how that works on WordPress though.
Could you use chicken breasts in this marinade instead of the whole chicken – or would you need to make some adaptations? I love your site and use it all of the time.
Hi Susie, thanks for the nice feedback on the site. I do have a recipe where I marinate chicken breasts in something very similar to this and then grill it, but what is sometimes problematic with chicken breasts is the way they can dry out in the oven. What I would do (although it's a little unorthodox) is make the marinade, marinate the chicken in about 3/4 of it but save the rest. Then when it's time to cook, take the chicken out of the marinade, put in a baking pan, pour over the small amount of marinade you saved, and bake at about 400. Not sure how long it would take, you'd have to watch it.
And I've never thought of it before, but I'm thinking that chicken breasts with this marinade and cooked in a stove-top grill pan would be really good. Might have to experiment with an actual recipe for that!
I'd eat a large portion of this right now for an amazing breakfast if I could! Wow, Kalyn! The thing about store-bought rotisserie chickens for those of us who are gluten free is so often they are not gluten free. We'll be told they're gluten free and then have a reaction to only find out that they've been cooked under the gluten-full chickens (or have been "glutenated" in some other way). So finding an easy and fabulous recipe so we can make divine roast chicken at home is very important. Absolutely love this recipe, Kalyn! And I think it's perfect for dinner with a friend who'll be visiting next week. With salad and a vegetable dish, it will make for a very lovely meal.
Thanks, dear!
Shirley
Thanks Shirley. I've heard that about rotisserie chicken and I am so puzzled as t owhy they need to add something with gluten to roasted chicken. So wrong. Glad you like this recipe.
You're welcome, of course! I know on the gluten factor … so wrong and so crazy. I'll admit that at times I really miss the convenience of being able to pick up a rotisserie chicken for dinner. Costco has gluten-free rotisserie chicken, but Costco is a half hour away and not in a spot I visit. Admittedly the store-bought chickens never come close to a home-cooked chicken made from a recipe like this one though! Thanks again!
Wowza, this looks amazing!!
Thanks Cathleen. It is really good!
Lydia, I could eat just about anything with Greek seasoning on it.
I prepared this recipe last night and let me just tell you, between three people, that chicken got DEMOLISHED! Delicious, healthy, and from now on, a staple in our household. Great recipe!
Ohhh my goodness this chicken looks YUMMY and actually like something I can do too 😀 Always looking for good chicken recipes, thank you SO SO much, Carm
Kaylan,
This recipe took me back! My yia-yia (Greek grandma) used to make Greek chicken all the time when I was little and I used to think “Do we have to eat this all the time?”. Now I would love to eat it ALL THE TIME!
I love reading your blog, it’s like food porn.
I’ve been roasting my chickens just about like this for many years now. The first time I tried it with lemon and thyme and was just totally blown away with such incredible flavor! It was a stunning discovery.
This sounds delicious! The picture is making my mouth water – the chicken looks wonderful and crispy.
Historical update: Comments before this one are from the original post in early 2006. Fun to see some familiar names!
Hey, thanks to all my friends for their nice comments. Everyone, this is sooooo delicious, I do hope you will try it.
Great looking roast chicken. I will def try this recipe. I’ve bookmarked already…
Hi Kalyn,
It made me smile reading that you had to resist to baste the chicken with melted butter 😉 Because that’s what I learned from my grandma and as much as I try to cut back on excessive use of butter, I just love it too much to be successful in doing so…
Oh, I LOVE Greek Chicken! I make a slow cooker version and it is the only recipe I know that can make me salivate just from the aroma. YUM!
Hi Kaylan,
I’ve been visiting for a couple of weeks now and decided to let you know. Very nice site you have here. Beautiful photos, delicious looking recipes and great low-carb information. I had been thinking of going low-carb for a couple of months and finally started on Monday (Jan 9), so your site is really a great find.
I’m very new to food blogging (started in Oct ’05) and was wondering if “Weekend Herb Blogging” is open to all who are interested or if it is only for a particular group of food bloggers. It seems interesting and I was thinking I might like to try it.
Glad I found your site, though I don’t remember how I ran across it. Thanks for being here!