It’s healthy, easy and nutritious. This roasted mediterranean chicken dinner is made up of roasted marinated chicken and lemon potatoes served with a salad. It's a great weeknight dinner idea that you can enjoy with your family.
The holidays are over many of us have started our new years resolutions. The most common goals are to eat cleaner, go to the gym more, and lose weight. This recipe is perfect for meeting those goals. It’s simple but doesn’t skimp on flavor. This is a great dinner because it hits all the food groups, you’ve got your protein, vegetable, and carbs.
Maximizing Flavor
There are a few ways to ensure you have a lot of flavor. Following these tips will take this roasted mediterranean dinner from bland to delicious.
- Marinate the chicken overnight - When you marinate chicken overnight you allow the chicken to absorb the flavor throughout instead of seasoning only the outside. You can even poke small holes in the chicken with a fork to help the dressing penetrate the chicken even more.
- Use real lemon juice - Using real and fresh lemon juice makes all of the difference. Supermarkets sell lemon juice in a bottle to provide a more convenient option but it does not compare to the flavor of real lemon.
- Choose a good greek dressing - There are so many to choose from. Some greek dressings are creamy, vinegar based, some are vegan, and others have a lot of cheese. Be mindful that the dressing is used two different ways. The first way is to marinate the chicken and the other is to top your salad with it.
Prepping the lemon potatoes
One of my favorite parts about this healthy mediterranean dinner is the lemon potatoes. Prepping these are pretty easy. I like to buy the small yellow potatoes because they taste great and I don’t worry about peeling them. Instead, I just quarter them and begin the pre-cooking process.
I start the cooking process ahead of time for the potatoes. I do this by boiling them ahead of time for around 5 minutes before baking. You could skip this part and cook them completely in the oven but I find that the cook time takes longer than the chicken especially if the chicken you’re cooking is smaller and boneless.
To season the potatoes we first need to mix the oil, lemon juice, crushed chicken bouillon cube, dried oregano, and salt. Stir in the cooked potatoes and stir until they’re coated well. This will be on the bottom of the roasting dish along with the chopped onions. They’ll also receive more flavor from the chicken as it bakes.
Prep Ahead and Cook Later
This chicken dinner could be a great weeknight dinner idea. It’s easy to prep this on a weekend and simply place in the oven on a weeknight. When I prep this ahead of time, I like to prep everything the same way I would if I was making the whole recipe but I would hold off on baking it. Instead, cover the roasting pan with foil or plastic wrap and store in your refrigerator for a day or two then proceed to cook.
You can also prep your salad ahead of time and store it in a big serving bowl but hold off on the dressing until you serve it. Otherwise, it will wilt your lettuce and not taste so great.
Meal Prep It
If you’re into meal prepping this may be a good option for you as I have meal prepped this many times before. After I cook this on a weekend, I will combine the chicken, potatoes, and onion in a dish to be heated and pack the salad and dressing in separate containers. I like to slice the chicken ahead of time into bite sized pieces to keep from having to do so on your lunch break.
I hope you enjoy this healthy meal as much as I do. It’s a family favorite in our home and it also saves us time during the week when we don’t feel like cooking. I can’t wait for you to try this delicious mediterranean meal.
Roasted Mediterranean Chicken Dinner
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1/2 cup greek dressing
- 1 lb mini yellow potatoes
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 lemon juiced
- 1 chicken bouillon cube crushed or 2 teaspoons of better than chicken bouillon mixture
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 onion sliced
- 1 head romaine lettuce chopped
- 1 8 oz container of cherry tomatoes
- 1 15 oz can chickpeas rinsed and drained
- Additional greek dressing for salad
Instructions
- Place the chicken breasts and dressing in a ziplock bag and marinate over night
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
- Bring a pot of water to boil and place the potatoes to boil for 5 minutes and drain
- In a bowl combine the potatoes, oil, lemon juice, chicken bouillon, oregano, and salt and pepper. Once mixed, place in a baking dish and add the sliced onion over top
- Place the marinated chicken breasts over top of the potatoes and onions bake for 20 minutes then flip the chicken breasts and stir the potatoes. Bake for an additional 20 minutes
- Prepare the salad by mixing the lettuce, cherry tomatoes, and chickpeas. Toss with dressing upon serving