Split chicken breasts were on sale at Whole Foods this past week, so I couldn’t resist the chance to make some more low and slow roasted chicken (because that Herb Roasted Chicken Breast that I made was SO good). This time, though, I wanted to try a different, yet classic, flavor combo. This Lemon Garlic Roasted Chicken is incredibly simple, but seriously scrumptious!
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Why Bake Chicken “Low and Slow”?
This low and slow oven roasting technique creates a deliciously tender meat, similar to what you get with a rotisserie chicken. It also creates a delicious pan juice that I like to spoon over the meat after slicing for even more flavor and moisture. It’s just to die for.
But be aware, this recipe is specifically for “split breasts” which means the breast has bones, skin, and rib meat intact. The only thing that has been done to this chicken breast is that it has been “split” into two pieces.
Can I Use Boneless Chicken Breast?
Boneless skinless breasts will not work the same way. You can potentially do other bone-in, skin on cuts of chicken, but the cooking time will be different because of the size of the pieces. I’ve only done this technique with split breasts so far, so that is the only cut that I can really provide correct cooking times and temperatures for.
How to Serve Lemon Garlic Roasted Chicken
Once this chicken is roasted, I like to carve the meat from the bone, place it in a container, spoon the juices over top, and keep it on hand to use like rotisserie chicken. I use it to snack on, make quick wraps, or to add to salads.
What to Serve with Roast Chicken
Roast chicken is such a classic meal, I suggest keeping the side dishes pretty simple and classic as well. Try serving your roast chicken with: Lemon Butter Green Beans, Garlic Herb Mashed Potatoes, or Roasted Asparagus and Tomatoes.
Lemon Garlic Roasted Chicken
Servings 4Ingredients
- 2 small or 1 large lemon ($0.30)
- 1/3 cup olive oil ($0.78)
- 6 cloves garlic ($0.48)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- Freshly cracked pepper ($0.05)
- 2 lbs split chicken breasts* ($4.77)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 275ºF. Squeeze about 3 Tbsp lemon juice from the lemon(s) and slice the remainder. Mince two cloves of the garlic, and peel the remaining 4. In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, minced garlic, salt, and pepper.
- Pat the chicken breasts dry with a paper towel. Place them in a glass or ceramic casserole dish. Pour the prepared lemon marinade over the chicken, using a spoon to redistribute the marinade and make sure the surface of the chicken is fully covered. Add the remaining cloves of peeled garlic and sliced lemon around the chicken. If you’re sensitive to bitter flavors, add the additional lemon slices after baking. Cover the dish tightly with foil.
- Roast the chicken in the preheated oven for 90 minutes. After 90 minutes, turn the oven up to 425ºF, remove the foil, and baste the chicken with the juices from the bottom of the dish. Return the chicken to the oven and roast for an additional 20 minutes without foil at 425ºF, or until the skin is golden brown and crispy.
- Let the chicken rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing. Serve warm with the pan drippings spooned over top.
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Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make Lemon Garlic Roast Chicken – Step by Step Photos
Begin by preheating the oven to 275ºF. Squeeze about 3 Tbsp of lemon juice from a small lemon or half of a large lemon, and slice the remaining lemon (I used two mini lemons, but you could use just one large lemon). Mince two cloves of garlic and peel four more, but leave them whole. In a small dish, whisk together the lemon juice, 1/3 cup olive oil, 2 minced cloves of garlic, 1/4 tsp salt, and some freshly cracked pepper.
Place two split chicken breasts (split chicken breasts are skin-on, bone-in, and rib meat attached) in a ceramic or glass casserole dish. Pat the skin dry with a paper towel, then pour the marinade over top. Spoon excess marinade from the bottom of the dish over the chicken to make sure the surface is fully covered.
Place the remaining four cloves of peeled garlic and lemon slices around the chicken. If you’re sensitive to bitter flavors, you may want to just add the lemon slices after cooking. The white pith can have a bitter flavor, which some people like, but others can not tolerate.
Cover the dish tightly with foil to hold in the moisture, and then roast for 90 minutes at 275ºF. After 90 minutes, turn the oven up to 425ºF, remove the foil, and baste the chicken with the juices from the bottom of the dish. (You can see how much moisture comes out of the chicken as it roasts. If the foil is not tightly covering the chicken, this juice will evaporate.)
Roast for an additional 20 minutes at 425ºF without foil, or until the skin is golden brown and crispy. Let the chicken rest for 5-10 minutes before serving. Make sure to spoon some of that delicious liquid over the meat, too!
I added a little chopped parsley to add color to the photos, but it’s not necessary for flavor.
That crispy brown skin is TO DIE FOR!
I have made this recipe multiple times and it turns out to be amazing every time. I followed the recipe exactly; didn’t tweak a thing. I froze the excess juice and used it another day for Greek Lemon Orzo chicken soup. Best soup ever!! And that was from the recipe on the bag of orzo – AMAZING!! Making the chicken dish for supper again tonight. Am going to add large prices of potatoes around the chicken to soak up all that lovely chicken-lemon-garlic juice. YUMMY!! Thank you for sharing your recipe.
I followed the recipe but let the chicken marinade in the sauce for about an hour before I popped it into the oven. Chicken came out well, one piece was a bit dry but I think it’s because my oven runs hot.
Family enjoyed this dish. I also roasted some vegetables (zucchini, sweet potatoes, red potatoes, and carrots) at the same time. I popped them in 15 mins before the 275 degrees cycle ended then cooked them at 425. A few pieces were burnt as I put them on my bottom rack since the chicken was on the middle rack.
I made this tonight, and we loved it. I doubled the recipe and let it marinade all day. Instead of slicing the lemon because I don’t like it, I used lemon zest. I added 1 tsp of crushed chillies. Since we have 2 huge bags of garlic, I used a full bulb plus 6 minced cloves. I didn’t have bone-in breasts so I used boneless skinless bulk box breasts (the tasteless ones). This led me to bake at 350 for an hour; again I had doubled the recipe.
Forgot to rate it.
Have now made this multiple times. Excellent every time! I use garlic paste instead of cloves. Super easy shortcut, less messy.
Thanks for the recipe!
Made this tonight – so yummy!
Instead of putting lemon slices in – because I do not like the bitterness of cooked pith – I sprinkled in about 1/2 tsp of Penzeys Minced Lemon Peel into the liquid. (I didn’t bother rehydrating it first – I figured the cooking process would take care of that.) Then I poured the sauce off into a deep 4-cup measuring cup, and used a twirl risk to mash up the chunks of lemon peel and the garlic cloves. It made a really lovely, complex sauce.
I make this often. Delicious!
Followed the receipe to the exact But added more garlic , also spooned under the skin , than poured on top and around four chicken breasts . Omitted the lemon rinds . Covered w aluminum foil . Uncovered as suggested . Family loved it . !!! Poured the juice into individual
Cups for dipping .
Delicious! I added more salt, pepper, and garlic to our liking (and a bit of fresh parsley at the end).
Terrible. Horrible. Underflavored. Dry. Overcooked at that length of time. A huge waste of time and ingredients. Followed recipe exactly.
If you followed the recipe “exactly” I don’t see why you wouldn’t have gotten the same outcome as everyone else that left a comment. No need to be so negative, change something up and try again, or don’t. But there’s not reason to be rude to someone who was kind enough to share there recipe with strangers.
Your oven might be hot more than it should be or the foil was not tight and leaked steam.
The Lemon Garlic Chicken is absolutely amazing! My sister and I used bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs. We browned the chicken in the skillet for extra flavor, and to make the skin crispy. Then, we finished baking the chicken in the oven for one hour at 375 degrees. We served it with steamed rice and green beans on the side. The recipe was very simple. Thank you so much, Beth.
This was so good! We had thighs so I used those in place of the breast, didn’t adjust the cooking time or temp at all, and it came out fabulously. My boyfriend has a knack for finding something wrong with everything I cook (sad but true) and even he commented on how tender the meat was. Yay for me! I think the only advice I would have is to not put lemon slices directly on top of the chicken pieces during the 425-degree stage; I did that to one of the pieces and – no surprise – it didn’t crisp up as well as the others. I should have known! Anyway, this was really good and utilized a lot of ingredients I already had lying around. I will definitely make again! (P.S. The sauce is so good! I would recommend making a side of rice or quinoa and drizzling some of it over. Delicious!
I’m a new mom and new to cooking, can I double the amount of split chicken breasts and ingedients and keep the cooking time and temperature the same?
Yes, as long as the the chicken pieces are basically the same size, they will get the same amount of heat exposure, regardless of how many there are. That being said, if you pack them into a small dish so that they’re all squished up against one another, that can reduce heat exposure and may affect the outcome.
Not worth the effort. Chicken does stay moist but no real flavor.
You could have seasoned the chicken to your liking.
We love your recipes! Question about this one….do you think if I threw it in the crockpot on high for 4 hours and then broiled it that I would get a similar result? (kind of how you instruct to cook your crockpot 5 spice chicken)
Yep, I do think that would give a similar effect! :)
I had a leftover chicken leg quarter in my freezer that I needed to use use and decided to try this recipe. This was delish! As another poster mentioned, it takes a little longer for the thigh and drumstick to brown. I had a small amount of red rice I needed to use up. The sauce was absolutely delicious over the red rice. Can’t wait to try this with a split chicken breast.