This Tuscan lemon chicken recipe is easy and tasty. It doesn't have many ingredients and is a great dish for whenever you need an easy chicken recipe. It's perfect as an everyday meal but delicious enough to serve to guests too.
The recipe for this gorgeous Tuscan lemon chicken is all thanks to Kate at A Spoonful of Thyme as my Secret Recipe Club assignment for March. Kate has been cooking for many years, inspired by her family and friends and loves cooking for and entertaining them. Like the chicken recipe I chose, many of her recipes are simple but still really delicious. There was Five Spiced Glazed Salmon,Spicy Chipotle Turkey Chilli and many more recipes. She has such a range of recipes on her blog and as I love spicy food, there was certainly no shortage of recipes to inspire me.
I am currently training for a half marathon so finding time to go running as well as cook, eat, blog and all the other things I want to do in the evenings is hard work. I really appreciate simple recipes that don't need too much attention as they are cooking. This Tuscan lemon chicken is exactly that. As long as you make a really tasty lemony garlic marinade and give the chicken enough time to marinate then you can't go wrong. By the way, you might also like this baked Italian chicken recipe.
Make the Tuscan Chicken Marinade in Advance
If you are really organised you can make the marinade the day before and then the flavours have even more time to sink into the meat. I was not that organised but I did make it a few hours in advance and I couldn't complain.
I used chicken thighs with the skin on. The skin keeps the meat underneath really moist and I've recently discovered I do actually like crispy chicken skin. In the original recipe the chicken was cooked outside on the barbecue. However, there was no chance of that here in February so I baked the thighs in the oven instead. The chicken skin still went delightfully crispy and the meat underneath the skin was really tender and moist. I'd definitely cook the chicken like that again. Although I'd omitted the lemon zest from the original recipe, the chicken was still deliciously lemony and with the lemon squeezed over the top there was plenty of lemon for me.
Can you adapt this Tuscan Lemon chicken?
As this is such a simple chicken recipe you can't adapt it much before it becomes something else completely. You can vary the cooking method though. If it's barbecue weather then feel free to cook it outside on the bbq. If I do that I normally start it off in the oven for half an hour then just finish it off outside.
For an even more lemony chicken recipe then do add the lemon zest to the marinade as well.
Don't be tempted to remove the skin of the chicken before cooking or to buy skinless chicken thighs. They will dry out and won't be nearly as tasty. If you don't want to eat the skin then just remove it after the chicken thighs have cooked.
Recipe
Tuscan Lemon Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 Chicken thighs or a mixture of legs and thighs
- 1 lemon quartered
For the Marinade
- 4 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lemon juiced
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary or use about 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Mix together all the ingredients for the marinade. Coat the chicken in the marinade and leave in the fridge for at least 4 hours.
- Spray a little oil on a baking tray and place the chicken and the lemon quarters on the tray.
- Bake in the oven at 200C for 30-40 minutes. The chicken should be cooked through and the skin crisp. If you think your oven will burn the outside of the chicken then cover it in some foil and take it off halfway through the cooking time.
- Let the chicken rest for five minutes after taking it out of the oven.
Notes
Nutrition
Pin for Later
More Easy Chicken Recipes
I'm always on the lookout for easy recipe ideas for chicken. Here are a few of our favourite chicken recipes:
You might also like this recipe for chicken breasts in lemon and sage sauce.
Places I'm sharing this Tuscan Lemon Chicken
I am also linking to Tasty Tuesdays at Honest Mum
Honest Mum (@HonestMummy)
Oh wow, just my cup of tea/plate of chicken-love lemon with chicken! Thanks for linking up to #tastytuesdays
Corina
You're welcome! I love lemon and chicken together too and have made so many lemon and chicken recipes over the years.
Kate - gluten free alchemist
Sounds and looks amazing. I could eat a whole pile right now.... that skin looks so crispy and flavoursome! xx
Corina
Thank you! So glad you like it!
Eb Gargano
Yum! Sounds fabulously easy and totally delicious - my kind of recipe 🙂
Corina
Thanks Eb!
Mandy Mazliah
I love simple recipes! I find it so hard to cook a decent meal for my kids during the week as I always have a one-year-old trying to climb up my leg so quick meals are what it's all about at the moment. Thanks for linking with #CookBlogShare x
Corina
I have the same problem! I almost always go for quick and easy meals these days.
Martin @ The Why Chef
This looks gorgeous. I'm thinking of sous vide cooking the thighs for 12 hours in the marinade, then finishing them off under the grill. Love how simple the ingredients list is!
Corina
I haven'tried sous vide cooking but that sounds like the thighs would be delicious!
Julie
Lemon chicken is so good and thighs are a great choice.
Corina
Thank you!
Kathy Walker
I am happy that you enjoyed the chicken, Corina! And, thank you for reminding me of this recipe... I seem to have a never ending supply of lemons, once again. Great SRC selection. I am happy you enjoyed the blog. Thank you for the kind words.
Corina
I love how SRC often reminds me of recipes I haven't made in a while either.
reneeskitchenadventures
I'm a big fan of chicken thighs and always looking for new ways to enjoy them! Great choice for SRC!
Corina
Thank you. I used to always buy chicken breasts but these days I definitely prefer thighs too.
Kristy @ Southern In Law
Simple but full of flavour. That's my kind of recipe!
Corina
Thank you! We loved this and even though it's simple it tastes great