5-Ingredient Pesto Chicken Thighs with Lemony Potatoes

Everyone needs a roast chicken recipe in their back pocket. But cooking a whole chicken isn’t always in the cards for a weeknight — chicken thighs offer the solution. For a delicious take on classic roasted chicken and potatoes, this 5–ingredient, 1–pan, ready in 1 hour meal has it all, and there’s no shortage of flavor here! By using a few kitchen tricks, you get an efficient and streamlined recipe that sacrifices nothing — except maybe time on dish–duty. 

There are so many reasons that this recipe is a dinner–time hero. Bone–in skin–on chicken thighs are easier to work with, cook faster and brown in the pan before going in the oven. Pesto brings fully formed, irresistible flavor to the recipe, while allowing you to work with only 5 ingredients! Roasting the potatoes under the chicken thighs means the potatoes catch all of the drippings from the chicken and not a drop of flavor is wasted. Finally, finishing the potatoes with lemon juice and zest brings a brightness that balances the rich chicken thighs and complements the fresh, herbal flavors of the pesto. All together you get dinner on the table in an hour that tastes like a Sunday roast. 

Why This Recipe Works

Chicken can sometimes get a bad rap, with stereotypes that it’s bland or dry or boring. Sure, if you have underseasoned, overcooked chicken, it will taste boring. Like any food the trick is cooking it properly, and with this recipe, we use all the tricks for fool–proof, succulent flavor with only 5 ingredients, in only 1 hour. 

The Chicken

First and most importantly, using bone–in skin–on chicken thighs offers several benefits. The difference between the dark meat in chicken thighs and the white meat in chicken breasts is that dark meat is primarily slow twitch muscle fibers and white meat is primarily fast twitch muscle. Slow twitch muscle contains more capillaries, carrying more blood through the tissue, and has longer, less tightly wound fibers. These longer fibers don’t contract as much when cooked, leaving more space to retain moisture. Increased blood flow in dark meat also carries more flavor–bearing proteins and compounds, resulting in more intense meaty flavor. Higher fat content in dark meat also contributes to juicier and more flavorful meat. 

All of that reliable flavor and tenderness means that you can count on delicious results without the need for a marinade or brine. Since dark meat from chicken retains more moisture and flavor than white meat, it is also more forgiving while cooking. It is much harder to overcook a chicken thigh than a chicken breast, which allows you greater flexibility and peace of mind. 

Using individual chicken thighs rather than roasting a whole chicken requires less cooking time in the oven, avoids any time needed to carve a whole chicken, and allows you to brown the skin in a skillet. Individual chicken thighs are a more approachable cut of meat for most home cooks, widely available and affordable. With a recipe that’s ready in under an hour, these pesto chicken thighs easily fit the mold of weeknight meal or dinner party centerpiece. 

Golden brown skin is a hallmark of roasted chicken and packed with deeply savory flavor from the maillard reaction — the interaction of proteins, sugars and heat resulting in browning and complex roasted flavor. Browning the chicken skin in the skillet before it even goes in the oven offers a head start on cooking as well as boosting flavor. It also ensures that you lock in all of that flavor from the maillard reaction in a manner that you can easily control and monitor. The skin also insulates the thigh meat, locking in its juices and basting the meat in natural fats. 

The Pesto

Pesto is the secret weapon of this recipe. The reason you can use only 5 ingredients is that pesto already has so many ingredients (and so much flavor!) of its own. Basil, garlic, parmigiano cheese, pine nuts and olive oil lend their respective herbal, sharp, tangy, nutty, rich flavors to the profile. It’s well–rounded, aromatic and crowd–pleasing — who doesn’t love pesto?

Of course feel free to make your own basil pesto to use in this recipe. However, since the idea here is for an efficient recipe that you can make in an hour on a weeknight, I recommend you just pick up a jar at the grocery store. For more musings about pesto, look to this recipe for Parmesan Crêpes with Pesto, Sun–Dried Tomato, Mozzarella and Prosciutto. 

The Potatoes

Roasting the potatoes under the chicken thighs is the final trick up this recipe’s sleeve. Using the same pan provides the obvious benefit of reducing the number of dirty dishes. The appeal of one pan recipes is no secret — simplified cooking and speedy cleanup are enticing attributes. But the best part is that the chicken drippings cook right into the potatoes, adding rich depth of flavor. A final addition of bright lemon juice and zest balances the savory chicken.

If you’d like an additional side dish for your pesto chicken thighs and lemony potatoes, there are plenty of easy options. A simple side salad would taste great, and you can even make a lemon pesto vinaigrette to match the flavors of the recipe. Roasted vegetables would also work seamlessly with the process and flavor of the recipe — vegetables such as brussels sprouts, fennel, broccoli, peppers or carrots could be roasted on a separate pan at the same time as the chicken thighs and potatoes. 

The Process

A streamlined process and consolidated cooking time gets this meal on the table in under an hour with full roasted flavor. 

Enjoy your pesto roasted chicken with lemony potatoes!

What You’ll Need

The key tools for this recipe are essentials that I believe every kitchen should have. A cast iron skillet is reliable, versatile and virtually indestructible. It is a great option for browning meats and for preparations that go from the stovetop to the oven. I’m not a cast iron purist; I don’t consider my cast iron pan a prized possession or treat it like a baby. If the cleaning and maintenance feels daunting, don’t overthink it. Wash your cast iron skillet with lightly soapy water, just enough to remove all food particles, but not so much that it no longer feels greasy. Dry the pan thoroughly and wipe the inside with a thin coat of neutral oil. Then you’re ready to tackle the next cooking adventure.

A rasp–style grater may not seem essential to some, but once you’ve used one, you won’t want to go back. I use it nearly every day, most often for citrus zest, parmesan cheese, or fresh ginger, but you can even use it to shave chocolate, whole nutmeg, or garlic. It takes up little space and can replace multiple other kitchen implements, which makes it an invaluable addition.

The absolute best way to ensure that you’re never responsible for serving dry overcooked meat is a meat thermometer. The chicken thighs in this recipe are at little risk of drying out, but you’ll still be most confident that you haven’t overcooked (or undercooked) your chicken when you have an accurate internal temperature. Plus that thermometer will go to good use anytime you’re cooking chicken breasts, steaks, burgers, pork roasts, caramel, and even sourdough.

You may also find that a splatter guard is helpful to reduce any mess while browning the chicken.

Wine Pairings

Reds

• Côtes du Rhône: For its medium body and red fruit flavors
• Barbera: For its high acidity and dried herb finish

Whites

• Pinot Grigio: For its high acidity and lemon zest flavors
• Viura: For its full body and hints of nuts

Notes

You can use chicken breasts if preferred. Bone–in, skin–on breasts will remain juicier and provide more flavor. Remove from oven when chicken reaches 160 °F, 20-30 min.

There is no need to peel the potatoes. Yukon gold potatoes have thin skins that roast well. However, if you prefer to peel the potatoes, it will not affect the recipe. 

This recipe was developed using genovese–style basil pesto, but any variety of pesto should work well. 

For a vegetable accompaniment, roast your vegetable of choice on a separate pan at the same time as the chicken and potatoes; serve with a side salad; or try this Brussels Sprouts Slaw Recipe. 

The recipe uses only 5 ingredients in addition to the pantry staples: olive oil, vegetable oil and salt. 

Recommended Recipes

• Parmesan Crêpes with Pesto, Sun–Dried Tomato, Mozzarella and Prosciutto
• Maple–Dijon Brussels Sprout Slaw
• Salmon Orecchiette with Brussels Sprouts and Taleggio
• Balsamic Reduction