Greek Lemon Chicken

Age suitable:

6 months +

Servings:

3-4 adults

Gluten Free, Iron rich, Nut free, Protein rich

5 stars

About the recipe

This easy Greek lemon butterfly chicken is marinated in lemon, garlic, oregano and olive oil and roasted until golden and juicy. Serve it as a family-style Greek feast with crispy lemon potatoes, homemade tzatziki and a fresh Greek salad. A nourishing family dinner that can easily be adapted for babies from 6 months+.

This is our kind of family dinner - lots of delicious things piled onto the table and everyone helping themselves.

The hero is a whole butterflied chicken covered in a really simple Greek-inspired marinade of lemon, garlic, oregano and olive oil. Butterflying (or spatchcocking) the chicken might sound fancy, but it really isn't. You simply remove the backbone and flatten the chicken out. It helps the chicken cook more quickly and evenly, gives you lots of beautiful golden skin, and means a whole roast chicken can be on the table in under an hour. And don't throw away that backbone - pop it in the freezer for your next batch of bone broth!

I like to turn this into a full Greek feast with lemony roasted potatoes, a big crunchy Greek salad and homemade tzatziki. You could absolutely stop at the chicken, though, and serve it with whatever you have - rice, flatbreads, steamed vegetables or even tucked into wraps the next day.

It's also such an easy family meal to share with a baby. Chicken is naturally soft and easy to adapt to different stages. For babies, I particularly love offering some of the dark thigh meat, which is generally softer and contains more iron than breast meat. Just remove the skin and any bones and shred or cut it appropriately for your baby's stage.

How to butterfly a chicken

Place the chicken breast-side down on a chopping board with the legs facing towards you.

Using sharp kitchen scissors or a sharp knife, cut along one side of the backbone from the tail towards the neck. Repeat on the other side and remove the backbone completely. Keep it for making bone broth.

Turn the chicken over so it is breast-side up. Press firmly down through the centre of the breastbone with the heel of your hand until the chicken flattens out.

Turn it into a Greek feast

This is one of those meals we love putting straight into the middle of the table and letting everyone build their own plate. Alongside the chicken, potatoes, salad and tzatziki, you could add warm pita bread or yoghurt flatbreads, rice or lemony bone broth rice, hummus, olives, avocado, grilled vegetables or some extra feta.

It's also brilliant for leftovers. Shred any remaining chicken and turn it into wraps or pita pockets the next day with tzatziki and salad.

Serving for babies

This meal can be adapted from around 6 months, once your baby is developmentally ready for solids.

For baby-led weaning, offer soft, moist pieces of chicken - the thigh meat is particularly lovely for babies because it stays tender and is a good source of iron.

You could serve it alongside a soft piece of potato, a cucumber spear and some tzatziki once dairy has been introduced. For spoon feeding, blend or finely shred the chicken with potato and a little water, broth or yoghurt to reach your desired consistency.

Allergen note

This meal contains dairy through the yoghurt and feta. If dairy is new to your baby, introduce it separately first rather than using a mixed meal to test a new allergen.

Honey should not be served to babies under 12 months, so leave the dressing off for this one!

Ingredient swaps

For a dairy-free feast, the chicken and potatoes are already dairy-free. Use a thick unsweetened coconut yoghurt for the tzatziki and leave the feta off the salad.

You can swap dried oregano for fresh oregano - I'd use around 2-3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh oregano in the chicken marinade.

No potatoes? Serve the chicken with rice, quinoa, flatbreads or roasted sweet potato instead.

Storage

Chicken: Refrigerate cooked chicken in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Leftover shredded chicken can also be frozen for up to 3 months.

Potatoes: Refrigerate for up to 3 days and reheat in the oven or air fryer to bring back some crispness.

Tzatziki: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days. It may release a little liquid as it sits - simply stir before serving.

Greek salad: Best eaten fresh, but leftovers can be refrigerated until the following day. If you're meal prepping, keep the dressing separate until serving.

Ingredients

Chicken

1 whole chicken, approximately 1.8–2 kg
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp dried oregano
2–3 garlic cloves, finely grated
1 tsp salt, or to taste
¼ cup water

Greek Potatoes

1 kg baby or roasting potatoes
Reserved Greek lemon marinade
Extra drizzle of olive oil, if needed
Salt to taste

Greek Salad

3 Lebanese cucumbers, roughly chopped
250 g cherry tomatoes, halved or 2–3 ripe tomatoes, chopped
¼ red onion, very thinly sliced
¼ cup crumbled feta
1 tsp dried oregano

Greek Salad Dressing

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1½ tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp honey or maple syrup
½ tsp dried oregano
1 small garlic clove, finely grated
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper, to taste

Tzatziki

2 Lebanese cucumbers
1½ cups thick Greek yoghurt
Zest of 1 lemon
1–2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh mint or fresh dill
1 small garlic clove, finely grated (optional)
Salt to taste

Method

Chicken:

Preheat the oven to 180°C fan-forced.
To make the marinade, combine the olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, oregano, garlic and salt in a small bowl.
Reserve approximately one-third of the marinade for your potatoes before it comes into contact with the raw chicken.
Place the butterflied chicken breast-side up in a large roasting tray. Rub the remaining marinade all over the chicken, getting it into all the little nooks and crannies.
Pour ¼ cup water into the bottom of the roasting dish. This helps prevent the delicious pan juices from catching while the chicken cooks.
Roast for approximately 45-55 minutes, depending on the size of your chicken, or until cooked through. For food safety, the thickest part should reach 75°C on a meat thermometer, without the thermometer touching bone.
Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before carving.

Greek Lemon Potatoes:

Cut the potatoes into fries or if you prefer, into halves or similar-sized chunks.
Add to a saucepan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Par-boil until they're just fork-tender but not falling apart, then drain well.
Transfer to a roasting tray and toss with the reserved lemon and oregano marinade.
Place in the oven alongside the chicken for approximately 30–40 minutes, turning once, until beautifully golden and crispy around the edges.

TIP: Give the drained potatoes a little shake in the saucepan before transferring them to the tray. Roughing up those edges gives you extra crispy bits.

Greek Salad:

Add the cucumber, tomatoes and red onion to a large serving bowl.
Whisk the dressing ingredients together, pour over the salad and toss gently.
Finish with the crumbled feta and oregano.

Tzatziki:

Cut the cucumbers lengthways and scoop out the watery centre and seeds.
Coarsely grate the cucumber, then place in a clean tea towel or muslin cloth and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Don't skip this bit - watery cucumber = watery tzatziki!
Combine the cucumber with the Greek yoghurt, lemon zest, lemon juice and mint or dill.
Add the garlic, if using, and season to taste.