Baked Lemon Chicken with Potatoes & Sage

I got this recipe from Tara, when I participated in a recent "recipe exchange." I was excited because I don't usually get any recipes from these sorts of things, and because this recipe sounds fabulous.

Be sure to have everything ready before you start handling the chicken (plus a little extra), or you're going to be washing your hands a lot. Put the salt, pepper, olive oil in small bowls, juice your lemons, cut your potatoes, just get everything ready to go.

My sage plant has not fared well in the house this winter, but I managed to get about a dozen leaves. I ended up doubling the chicken and throwing in a couple extra potatoes so we'd have leftovers. I am very optimistic about this recipe! (I didn't use the artichoke hearts this time)

I assembled the dish ahead of time, covered with foil and put it in the refrigerator. After we get home from school today, I will be able to throw it in the oven (thereby saving loads of prep time and having dinner on time on a school night!)

The chicken is tangy and flavorful; we will definitely be making it again. The sauce was a little strong, the leftovers are delicious too. The boys didn't like the chicken that first night (too sour), but did enjoy a chicken leg heated in foil on our Christmas Eve campfire.

I do have a few notes about the dish:
- prepping ahead caused some of the potatoes to have brown spots, so don't make this ahead too far.
- Next time I will only use about 3 lemons--it went beyond tangy to sour. And I'm excited to try the artichoke addition!
- Leftovers MUST be reheated to mellow out that sauce.

All in all, I'd label it a success. And it's easy too! Thanks, Tara!!

Lemony Chicken & Potatoes
(ignore the brown spots; I assembled the dish too early!)

Baked Lemon Chicken with Potatoes & Sage

Tara says, "I love this dish, and it is really simple. I'm going to try and recite it from memory."


chicken thighs and drumsticks (6 of each?) with the skin is fine, and probably best for flavor *(I used two packages each thighs and drumsticks, and a huge roasting pan!)
plenty of olive oil
5 large lemons *(I will only use 3 lemons next time)
fresh sage
kosher salt
fresh ground pepper
6 large Yukon Gold potatoes



1.) preheat the oven (bake at 375 or so)

2.) rinse all the raw chicken, then hand rub each piece with olive oil, salt, pepper, and lemon juice squeezed from the lemons.

3.) Do the same thing with the potatoes, after you cut the potatoes in fourths. hand-rubbing them really makes a difference.

4.) Place the saturated potatoes and chicken pieces in a large rectangular pyrex baking dish.

5.) squeeze any remaining lemon juice from the lemons over the dish, and then cut them up and tuck between potatoes and chicken.

6.) take fresh sage leaves and dip in juices and place within the dish between the pieces of potatoes and chicken.

7.) lightly salt and pepper the surface of the contents of the dish.

8.) for extra flavor, add a jar of marinated artichoke hearts and pour the juice from the jar into the pyrex with the rest.

Bake this dish (covered with foil) in the oven for an hour to an hour and a half, until chicken is cooked and potatoes are soft. sometimes it is nice to let the dish cook for a little bit with the foil off at the end, to crisp the edges of everything. If you think the chicken will be overcooked, skip this step.

When done, you should have tangy flavorful potatoes and tender lemony chicken! This dish is especially wonderful on the second day as leftovers, when the potatoes have absorbed the juices.