This lemon rosemary chicken recipe can be prepared for two people. It’s perfect for date night!

Everyone should have a great chicken dinner recipe up his/her sleeve. And this is mine: lemon rosemary chicken. It’s easy, quick and no-fail.
For perfectly moist and flavorful meat, we’re looking for bone-in skin-on chicken thighs. We’re going to marinate the meat briefly, quick-sear on the stove top, and finish in the oven.
Brown these gorgeous thighs skin side down first, and then flip them for even browning. It’s perfectly okay to leave the lemon slices on after marinating.
A quick marinade of olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon, and rosemary. That’s really all you need! Marinating chicken before cooking adds so much flavor, and the olive oil helps the flavors stick with the meat, and not the pan you cook it in.

Yes, I know, we’re using chicken thighs here. These aren’t boring boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
I think chicken thighs get a bad rap, to be honest. The extra fattiness gives so much extra flavor to any chicken dish, that you should overlook any of the bad qualities. (And you can always discard the chicken skin if you’re picky, anyway!)
In fact, using chicken thighs is exactly why this recipe is so easy and doesn’t require more ingredients. All you need to do is rely on the classics to put it all together.
You can always use a different dried herb in place of the rosemary, if you like. But I do recommend you try it this way first!
Pair it with a great vegetable side dish, such as the spring asparagus in the markets right now, and you’ve got a winner-winner-chicken-dinner. I also like to serve it alongside some risotto and then finish off the whole night with chocolate pudding.
This recipe makes for a perfect dinner for two, but it is easily doubled or even tripled to feed a large family, or to have some cooked chicken on hand for the rest of the week.
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Lemon Rosemary Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 large Chicken Thigh bone-in, skin-on
- 3 tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 tablespoon Dried Rosemary dried
- 1 Lemon sliced
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Black Pepper
Instructions
- Place the chicken thighs in a dish. Drizzle over the olive oil, rosemary, lemon slices, salt and pepper. Cover and let marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. This can be done up to 4 hours in advance.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and have a small 8×8-inch baking dish ready. Preheat a cast-iron pan over medium high heat. When hot, drain each chicken breast of excess oil, and place in chicken thigh in the pan, skin side down. It’s fine to sear the lemon slices with the chicken.
- Once the chicken is golden brown (4-5 minutes), flip it and sear it on the other side. Once both sides are brown, move the chicken thighs to the baking dish.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Test the temperature in the deepest part of the thigh with a food thermometer – it should be 165°F. If it isn’t, return it to the oven for 3 minutes intervals, and re-test.
- Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.