Lebanese Garlic Chicken and Potatoes was the first meal my Lebanese husband ever cooked for me and I was completely smitten by both him and the dish. Dark meat chicken rubbed in a bold Lebanese spice blend, baked over baby Yukon Gold potatoes, then drenched in a Lebanese garlic sauce that pools at the bottom of the pan into a savory sauce that you will be mopping up with Lebanese pita until the pan is completely clean!
A Quick Look at the Recipe
✅ Recipe Name: Lebanese Garlic Chicken & Potatoes
🕒 Ready In: ~90 minutes
👪 Serves: 6 servings
🍽 Calories: ~ 547 per serving (estimated)
🥣 Main Ingredients: Chicken, garlic, lemon, Yukon potatoes, olive oil
👌 Difficulty: Easy
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The zoum at the bottom of the pan is INCREDIBLE. As the chicken bakes in the garlic sauce for 50 minutes, it creates a deeply flavored pan sauce that is bright from the lemon, sharp from the raw garlic, and rich from the chicken drippings. Serve this with warm Lebanese pita and my Fattoush Salad in a Pita Bowl on the side, and you have a proper Lebanese family dinner on the table.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
The dish that made me fall in love with Lebanese cooking. My husband's recipe, made exactly the way he made it the first time he cooked for me.
Dark meat chicken stays incredibly juicy. Legs, drums, and flat wings have enough fat to develop deep color and flavor during the long bake without drying out.
That zoum at the bottom of the pan. Garlic, lemon, olive oil, and chicken drippings reduced into a sauce you will want to dip bread into until there is nothing left.
Lebanese Garlic Chicken & Potatoes Video
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Ingredient Notes
Dark Meat Chicken: Dark meat is best for this recipe. It has enough fat to stay juicy during a long oven bake while the garlic sauce reduces and develops that beautiful zoum at the bottom. Stick with dark meat cuts, and the result is deeply golden, falling-off-the-bone tender.
The Spice Blend: Paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, coriander, salt, and black pepper rubbed directly onto the chicken and tossed with the potatoes. If you want to learn more about Lebanese and Mediterranean spices, my Mediterranean herbs and spices guide covers everything you need.
Baby Yukon Gold Potatoes: Yukon Golds absorb the garlic sauce and chicken drippings beautifully as everything bakes together. Cut them into similar-sized pieces so some are not overdone before others are cooked through. The potatoes essentially braise in the zoum for the second half of the bake and every piece becomes deeply flavored all the way through.
The Garlic Sauce and Zoum: Ten garlic cloves blended into a paste with olive oil and salt, then blended with lemon juice and water into a bright, sharp, deeply garlicky sauce. As the chicken cooks, the sauce reduces with the chicken drippings into what is called zoum, the deeply flavorful pan sauce at the bottom of the dish that is the best part of the whole meal. Warm Lebanese pita is the only correct response to zoum haha.
Pro tip
The Secret to Perfect Chicken
Really rub the spice blend into the chicken skin. Do not just sprinkle it on top. Use your hands to work the seasoning into every crevice and under the skin where possible. That initial spice rub is what gives the chicken its color and its flavor base before the garlic sauce even goes on.
Substitutions & Variations
No baby Yukon Golds? Regular Yukon Golds cut into similar-sized chunks work perfectly.
Want to add more vegetables? Whole garlic cloves scattered around the pan go into the oven and roast beautifully in the garlic sauce. Lemon slices laid over the chicken add extra citrus fragrance during the bake.
No flat wings? This works with any combination of dark meat cuts. Bone-in skin-on thighs are the most widely available option and bake in the same time as the drums and legs.
FAQ
Yes! The fully baked chicken and potatoes reheat beautifully with the zoum. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat covered in the oven at 350F for 15 minutes, then uncover and broil for 3 minutes to bring the skin back to life. Add a small splash of water or chicken broth before reheating to loosen the zoum.
Boneless thighs work but reduce the second bake time to 30 to 35 minutes and check the internal temperature at 30 minutes. The zoum will still develop but will be slightly less rich without the bone contributing to the pan sauce.
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⭐️ Recipe
Lebanese Garlic Chicken and Potatoes
Equipment
Ingredients
Chicken and potatoes
- 3.5 lbs dark meat chicken legs, drums, and flat wings recommended
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lb baby Yukon Gold potatoes cut into even pieces
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- ½ tablespoon ground coriander
- 1.5 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Garlic sauce
- 10 garlic cloves
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup fresh lemon juice
- ½ cup water
- ½ teaspoon salt
For serving
- Fresh parsley chopped
- Warm Lebanese pita bread
- Fattoush Salad
Instructions
Season the chicken and potatoes
- Preheat your oven to 375F. In a small bowl combine the paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano, coriander, salt, and black pepper and mix until evenly blended.1 tbsp paprika, 1 tbsp garlic powder, 1 tbsp onion powder, 1 tbsp dried oregano, ½ tbsp ground coriander, 1.5 tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper
- Place the chicken pieces in a large baking dish. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle three quarters of the spice blend over the chicken. Use your hands to really work the seasoning all over the chicken and into every crevice including under the skin where possible. The more thoroughly you rub it in the more flavor penetrates the meat.3.5 lbs dark meat chicken, 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Add the cut baby Yukon Gold potatoes to the baking dish around the chicken. Sprinkle the remaining quarter of the spice blend over the potatoes and toss to coat evenly.1 lb baby Yukon Gold potatoes
First bake
- Place the baking dish in the preheated oven uncovered. Bake at 375F for 25 minutes until the chicken starts to develop color on the surface. This first uncovered bake builds the spice crust and starts the browning process before the liquid goes in.
Make the garlic sauce
- While the chicken bakes make the garlic sauce. Add the garlic cloves, a small drizzle of the olive oil, and the salt to a food processor. Blend until the garlic is broken down into a rough paste. Add the remaining olive oil, fresh lemon juice, and water. Blend until smooth and fully combined. Taste and adjust salt if needed. The sauce should be bright, sharply garlicky, and well seasoned.10 garlic cloves, ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil, ½ cup fresh lemon juice, ½ cup water, ½ tsp salt
Add the sauce and second bake
- Remove the baking dish from the oven. Pour the garlic sauce evenly over and around the chicken and potatoes making sure it reaches the bottom of the pan and covers the potatoes. Tilt the dish and spoon the sauce into every corner so the zoum can develop properly during the second bake.
- Return the baking dish to the oven and bake uncovered for another 50 minutes. During this time the garlic sauce reduces with the chicken drippings into the deeply flavored zoum at the bottom of the pan. The chicken should be cooked through to 165F and deeply golden.
- If the chicken needs more color after the 50 minutes, switch the oven to broil and broil for 5 minutes until the skin is as golden and caramelized as you want it. Watch it closely during those 5 minutes.
Serve
- Remove from the oven and scatter fresh chopped parsley generously over the top. Serve immediately directly from the baking dish with warm Lebanese pita alongside for dipping into the zoum at the bottom of the pan. Serve with my Fattoush Salad in a Pita Bowl on the side for a complete Lebanese dinner.Fresh parsley, Warm Lebanese pita bread, Fattoush Salad
Aditya says
Was really good. Great balance of flavors
Lola Jay says
Thank You! Happy to hear that!