These oven baked chicken thighs with tomatoes and feta are an easy one-pan Mediterranean-inspired meal made with bone-in chicken thighs that are roasted with cherry tomatoes, garlic, lemon, olives, and herbs, then finished with feta cheese and parsley.
Adapted from Joy Howard | Tomato Love | Storey Publishing, 2022
Boneless chicken thighs are great, but bone-in ones are even better. Cooking them on the bone results in juicier and more flavorful meat—not to mention a cheaper grocery bill.
Rather than crisping the skin in a skillet before baking, this recipe relies on the broiler for the final step, which also gives the lemons and tomatoes a little char. It’s a bit of a daredevil move, so keep watch to make sure the skin gets crispy, not burnt to a crisp.–Joy Howard
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Baked Chicken Thigh FAQs
Can I use boneless, skinless breasts instead for this recipe?
You can, but you’ll miss out on some natural flavors and juices that come from the skin and bones. You’ll need to watch your bake time carefully, as boneless breasts tend to dry out fairly quickly in the oven.
You’ll need 3 large chicken breasts, butterflied or split in half completely to equal the six chicken thighs called for in this recipe. Use a meat thermometer and take your chicken out of the oven as soon as the internal temperature reaches 160°F (70°C), and skip the broil. Let the chicken sit, and the temperature will rise to the required 165°F (74°C).
How long will this dish keep after baking?
Properly stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, your leftovers will last 3 to 4 days.
What should I serve with these chicken thighs?
A loaf of crusty artisan bread would be fantastic to sop up all the pan juices, or some crispy roasted potatoes or buttery orzo would be nice along with the chicken bake. Crisp-tender green beans, grilled asparagus, or roasted Brussels sprouts would also work well here.
☞ Like chicken recipes? Try these:
- Air Fryer Pistachio-Crusted Chicken Cutlets
- Authentic General Tso’s Chicken
- Smoky Pulled Chicken Bucatini
- Ukrainian Chicken Dumpling Soup ~ Galushki
In this recipe
Oven Baked Chicken Thighs with Tomatoes and Feta
Ingredients
- 4 sprigs fresh oregano
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 6 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
- 3 cups cherry tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
- 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3/4 cup halved pitted Kalamata olives
- 4 garlic cloves smashed
- 1 lemon cut into wedges
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Remove the leaves from the oregano and thyme sprigs and finely chop. Toss the chopped herbs together in a small bowl and set aside.
- Place the chicken and tomatoes in a large roasting pan or a 9-by 13-inch (23-by 33-cm) baking dish. Drizzle with the oil and toss to coat. Arrange in a single layer with the chicken skin-side up, then season with the salt and pepper.
- Scatter in the olives and tuck the garlic and lemon wedges around the thighs and tomatoes. Sprinkle the chopped oregano and thyme over the chicken.
- Bake for 45 minutes. Baste the chicken with the pan juices, then bake until the chicken is cooked through to an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C), about 20 minutes more. Baste once more, then set the broiler to high and broil for 2 to 3 minutes, rotating the pan once, and keeping a close eye to prevent burning.
- Sprinkle on the feta and parsley and serve directly from the roasting pan, or transfer to a large serving platter and serve the pan juices alongside.
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Recipe Testers’ Reviews
Winner winner chicken dinner! This oven baked chicken dish not only resulted in extremely juicy, flavourful chicken, but it was so easy to make. With fewer than 10 minutes of prep (you literally just throw everything into a pan and then into the oven), you have an amazing chicken dish in just over an hour.
The Mediterranean flavours of the feta, tomatoes, and olives are so good, and there’s just the right amount of each, so it’s very balanced. The chicken skin got nice and crispy when broiled, and the juice is one of the best parts! After we devoured the dish we grabbed some bread to sop up the leftover juice in the pan.
I’m always on the lookout for easy, weeknight dinner options, and the flavor combination of tomatoes, olives, oregano, thyme, and feta (one of my favorites) in this chicken tomato bake drew me in. Quick and easy to prep earlier in the day, I just popped it in the oven, and out came a delicious dish about an hour later.
My original plan was to continue the Greek theme and serve the chicken and sauce over orzo, thinking I had some in the pantry, but I didn’t. So served it over egg noodles which were also a fine accompaniment to capture the delicious juices. Definitely a keeper!
These oven baked chicken thighs with tomatoes and feta are juicy and flavorful. The addition of broiling the chicken at the end to crisp the skin is such a great idea and doesn’t create additional dishes. Who doesn’t love fewer dishes!?
I loved that the cherry tomatoes are whole. They make for an easy prep plus they’re an additional vegetable with these baked chicken thighs. The colors of this dish are beautiful and stand out. The cherry tomatoes, with the sprinkle of feta and parsley, and lemon wedges just make you want to smile knowing you created a delicious dish!
Basting twice with the pan drippings accounts for the juiciness as well as the wonderful aroma during baking. Definitely, a make-again recipe that can impress family and friends and doesn’t involve a long prep.
What a fantastic weeknight dinner! Not only was it an easy dish to put together, but the oven baked chicken was perfectly cooked, and the classic Mediterranean flavors were divine.
What really amped up this dish and made it irresistible was the broiling time at the end. This step really made the chicken thighs crispy and the tomatoes brûléed; broiling the dish at the end is a must! Baked chicken doesn’t get much better than this.
I served my oven baked chicken thighs with some creamy mashed potatoes and some green beans with caramelized onions.
This roasted chicken meal requires minimal chopping and dicing and only one pan. So it’s an ideal dinner idea if you’re away from home, say at a vacation rental with a kitchen, and you want to make something that tastes like a lot of work went into it!
In my case, the oven I was using didn’t have a working broiler, so I had to improvise and pre-brown the chicken, skin-side down on the stovetop for about 8 minutes. The tomato, lemon, and herbs create a wonderful marinade in the oven that flavors the chicken thoroughly. Served this with oven-roasted potato wedges. i’ll definitely be making it again soon.
Love this easy-baked chicken recipe–crispy skin without all the fuss of pre-cooking the chicken in a pan. Loads of flavour and very few dishes to clean up? Sign me up!
He asked for seconds! Right there, you know it’s going to be a great chicken dish. The chicken was moist and flavorful, tomatoes made it saucy, olives and cheese were salty and briny, and herbs and lemon brightened it all up. Plus, it all came together in fewer than 15 minutes.
Although the tomatoes made it saucy enough, I did squeeze the roasted lemons atop the finished dish, which added some zing.
During prep, I chopped the oregano and thyme after placing the other ingredients in the roasting pan, then sprinkled them over top, before placing the dish in the oven. This saved dirtying an extra bowl.
Since it’s only the two of us, I purchased a smaller package of chicken thighs (2.25 lbs, which was 4 thighs.) Served it with mashed potatoes, green peas, and homemade scallion cheese bread. A delicious meal. I would make this again.
Originally published September 7, 2022
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If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #LeitesCulinaria. We'd love to see your creations on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
This was a HUGE hit at our house! The thighs were succulent and flavorful! The tomatoes from my garden and what a wonderful way to use them! I loved the roasted olives! All the Mediterranean flavors were perfect for a late summer dinner! YUM!
Thanks, 510Donna! We’re delighted that you all loved it so much.