Fresh oregano and thyme, plus garlic, lemon, and pepper chicken thighs. . .
These lemon pepper chicken thighs with celery root are very easy to make and absolutely delicious. You can make this recipe either with a full chicken, or with just thighs. Either way, the celery root cooks in a combination of chicken fat, tangy lemon, and fresh oregano. The dish works well as a stand-alone meal for the whole family. To include something green, I usually steam spinach and toss it in some of the sauce from the cooked chicken which makes for delicious lemony spinach. I sometimes also serve it with a Greek salad on the side. You just need about 15 minutes to prep and preheat the oven, 45 minutes of inactive time while the chicken thighs cook, and 10 minutes for it to rest.
The Sorry Tale of the Disappeared Lemon Pepper Chicken
We have many variations of lemon chicken recipes in rotation in our home for a reason.
When I was growing up, we would drive to Colorado several times a year to visit a small town where my father went to boarding school for high school. (He was a bit of a troublemaker back in the day.) The grocery store there was probably nothing special, but I still remember it today because it had an amazing Lemon Pepper Chicken.
I really loved that chicken. After the 30 hour drive out to Colorado, going to the grocery store was the first thing I would ask about, repeatedly, as soon as we arrived. My parents must have been thrilled.
So I was absolutely miserable when the grocery store was sold. The new management no longer carried the lemon pepper chicken! (??!!!) And so the chicken now is only accessible in my memory. Years later, whenever I’d visit the town, I would still go back to that grocery store, just to double check they haven’t brought it back. I still would check, if I visited today.
Returning to Lemon Pepper Chicken as an Adult
Adults are just big children, so obviously the first thing I did when I got my own kitchen was try to recreate the lemon pepper chicken of my childhood dreams. Again and again. Frankly, I haven’t quite found the mythical lemon pepper chicken of my childhood dreams yet. But I have found many good lemon pepper chicken recipes in the process.
This one is very good and very easy, so I’m sharing it.
Whole Chicken or Thighs?
You can absolutely cook this recipe with a whole chicken. The only difference in the recipe is that I typically use a large cast iron skillet, preheat it while the oven preheats, and then plop the celery root / potatoes on top, drizzle 70% of the sauce over them, plop the chicken on top, salt it, pour the rest of the sauce on it, spray everything down with olive oil again, and then pop it in the oven for about 60 minutes.
I started with a delicious recipe for Greek Skillet Roast Chicken from one of a great food blog, Olive & Mango. I loved the concept, but I honestly don’t like potatoes all that much, and I wanted more sauce and more vegetables. So I started modifying the recipe a bit. Our kids also do really well with chicken thighs, so I’ve re-purposed it to work with what they like best.
So here is the recipe for sheet pan lemon pepper chicken thighs. It is super simple and cooks a bit faster than the whole chicken. The hardest bit about it is squeezing the lemons.
Low Calorie Option
Chicken thighs do have quite a bit of fat (why they are great over the vegetables), and therefore calories. For this reason, sometimes I will throw a chicken breast into the mix as well just for me if I’m trying to do a meal that cuts down on the calories.
Everything else about the recipe stays the same, but the breast can take a bit longer if it is a big one. Fortunately, chicken thighs hold up to being cooked to well over 165 quite well due to their fat content, so the whole sheet tray can stay in for the extra five minutes or so needed to finish the breast.
Vegetables
The original lemon pepper chicken in a skillet recipe calls for potatoes under the chicken, but I prefer to use celery root (also called celeriac) instead. It has a slightly chewier texture than potatoes and a subtle celery flavor. When crisped in chicken fat and lemon, it is absolutely divine to eat. I personally prefer it to boring potatoes, which is great because celery root is also quite a bit healthier than potatoes. Lower calorie, higher fiber, and lots of other good health benefits.
That said, when our kids are eating dinner with us (i.e., pretty much always), I’ve started doing potatoes on one side of the chicken, and celery root on the other side. Sometimes they prefer the potatoes, and this way we make sure they’re eating potatoes and slowly foisting the celery root on them.
To make this a very simple meal that includes a green, I’ve started steaming spinach alongside the lemon pepper chicken thighs, because the spinach tastes great tossed with the sauce. The spinach is done in about a minute, and when it’s tossed in the sauce, the kids are happy to eat it.
Now, on to the recipe!
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Lemon Pepper Chicken Thighs with Celery Root
These lemon pepper chicken thighs with celery root are very easy to make and absolutely delicious. They work well as one of our stand-alone meals for the whole family. To include something green, I usually steam spinach and toss it in some of the extra sauce from the cooked chicken which makes for delicious lemony spinach.
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
Lemon Pepper Sauce
Chicken & Vegetables
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 425F.
2. Prepare celery root and potatoes (if using).
Wash the celery root (and potatoes), and cut away any gnarly bits of skin / root. I usually do not peel the skin off, but you can if you’d prefer. Slice the celery root (and potatoes) about 1/8 of an inch thick.
Line a baking sheet pan with parchment paper. I prefer to use a baking sheet with higher sides for this recipe. Arrange the celery root (and potatoes) in the lined baking sheet.
3. Add lemon slices and oregano.
Wash the lemons and oregano sprigs thoroughly. Thinly slice 1/2 of a lemon. Intersperse sliced lemon among the arranged celery root (and potatoes). Try keep most of the oregano sprig tucked under the celery root (and potatoes) to ensure it doesn’t burn during baking.
Pour 3/4 cup of chicken broth over the celery root (and potatoes).
4. Prepare the lemon pepper sauce.
Mix the zest of 2 lemons with juice from 2 1/2 lemons. You should have about 3/4 cup of lemon juice. I usually juice the lemons over a strainer to ensure I get no seeds in my sauce. Add the crushed garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Whisk the sauce to ensure it is mixed well.
5. Add the chicken to the mix.
Toss the chicken thighs in the sauce. You have two ways of doing this depending on your laziness level.
High laziness: Put the chicken directly on top of the vegetables and pour the sauce all over everything, chicken and vegetables.
Medium laziness: Open the container that the chicken thighs came in and make certain to remove any absorbative paper/padding that is sometimes in there. Pour some of the lemon sauce into the container. Use tongs to roll the chicken around in the sauce. Then place the chicken onto the vegetables and make sure to pour any of the leftover sauce back over the vegetables. This approach makes sure your chicken is very well coated in sauce.
6. Spray everything down well with olive oil.
Spray down the chicken and vegetables thoroughly with about 2 tbsp olive oil. If you don’t have a sprayer, you can alternatively drizzle the olive oil, but spraying will do a much better job. With my beloved olive oil sprayer, 2 tablespoons means about 36 sprays.
Then throw the chicken tray into the oven at 425F.
7. Bake for 45-55 minutes at 425F.
I use convection to speed up the bake time to about 45 minutes. The chicken thigh/breast is ready when a thermometer inserted into a thigh reads 160F. Just give it about 5-10 minutes to rest. If you don’t want to wait, you can just cook it straight to 165F (overcooked chicken thighs don’t dry out like chicken breast).
8. While the chicken rests, wilt some spinach.
I usually wilt my spinach by adding about 1/2 inch of water into a saucepan or frying pan, bringing it to a boil, and then placing the spinach on top and slowly stirring it. Once it is wilted, drain off the water. I usually spoon some of the sauce from the chicken directly over the spinach to mix it in and get delicious lemony spinach.
9. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 45 min
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Bake
