This Za’atar Spiced Roast Chicken with Potatoes comes together in one sheet pan (minimal cleanup) making it the perfect quick 30-minute family meal any day of the week. Juicy, fragrant chicken marinated in flavors of za’atar, sumac, lemon, garlic, and olive oil culminating in the most delicious flavor profile. A must try!
4 reasons why this Za’atar Spiced Roast Chicken with Potatoes should be in your weekly rotation:
- Minimal Cleanup: Za’atar Spiced Chicken with Potatoes comes together in one sheet pan making clean up a breeze.
- Quick Dinner: Cooks in about 30 min.
- Meal Prep: The meal can be prepared a day ahead, just pop it in your oven 30 min before mealtime.
- SO GOOD: It is fragrant, juicy, and has flavors that remind us all of home. Did we mention it had Za’atar?
This Za’atar Spiced Chicken with Potatoes was adapted from a recipe we found in Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley’s book “Falastin”.
What You Need to Make Za’atar Spiced Roast Chicken with Potatoes:
What is Za’atar?
Za’atar is a fragrant mixture of dried thyme, sesame seeds, and some spices. It is prevalent in the Arab region, with families making their own secret sacred mixes. Now (after its worldwide popularity) it is found in most supermarkets. There are different variations (Lebanese, Aleppo, Palestinian) but any form of za’atar works for this recipe. Za’atar applications are endless, use if for meat or chicken rubs, baked goods, sprinkled on hummus, or plain with some pita chips, labneh, and olive oil.
How to Make Za’atar Spiced Roast Chicken with Potatoes
This is super easy, literally just 3 steps
- Marinate your chicken overnight or a minimum of 2 hours.
- Cut and marinate your potatoes.
- Dump everything on a sheet pan and pop it into the oven to cook.
Marinating your Chicken
We used chicken thighs bone in for this recipe, however feel free to use any chicken parts you like.
Let’s start with our za’atar chicken marinade. Into a bowl add the zest and juice of one lemon, 2 lemons sliced into 1/2 rounds, za’atar, sumac, 2 heads of garlic cut in half, olive oil, dried thyme, salt, and pepper. Give it all a toss using your hands, cover with cling film, and pop in the fridge to marinate ideally overnight but for a minimum of two hours.
Make sure to remove your marinated za’atar chicken at least 30 minutes before cooking from the fridge, to allow it to come to room temperature.
Prepare Your Potatoes
While bringing your chicken to room temperature, preheat the oven to 200 °C (400 °F) and prepare your potatoes.
Wash and and dry (or peel depending on the potatoe type).
Cut your potatoes in halves or quarters depending on the size (no bigger then 3 cm, we want these to be on the smaller side so they cook through). Make sure all the potatoes are cut to a similar size to ensure even cooking. Coat your potatoes with with za’atar, lemon juice, salt, pepper, sumac, olive oil . Toss well.
Baking Za’atar Spiced Roast Chicken with Potatoes
Place your potatoes and chicken pieces in your baking tray leaving a bit of space between the ingredients. Add the rest of the marinade from the chicken and potatoes on top, then drizzle some olive oil on each chicken. Roast in the preheated oven for 30 minutes or until the internal heat of the chicken registers at 73°C (165 °F). Turn on the broiler for 5 minutes to crisp up the skin. If the potatoes are not fork-tender yet, remove the chicken and place the potatoes back into the oven for an extra 10 minutes.
The Za’atar Drizzle
While the za’atar chicken is cooking in the oven prepare your za’atar drizzle (an optional condiment to top your chicken).
In a small bowl mix za’atar + olive oil + lemon zest. Mix well. Set aside.
Serving Za’atar Spiced Roast Chicken with Potatoes
Once everything is nice and cooked through, sprinkle with feta cheese, pomegranate seeds, and fresh flat-leaf parsley.
Serve the za’atar drizzle on the side for an extra punch of za’atar flavor. ENJOY !
If you make this Za’atar Spiced Roast Chicken with Potatoes let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #thetablediaries on Instagram. We love seeing all the recipes you and your family enjoy.
Za’atar Spiced Roast Chicken with Potatoes
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 6-8 pieces chicken thigh bone-in
- 2 heads garlic cut in half
- 2 tbsp za'atar
- 2 tsp sumac
- 1½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 3 lemons 2 sliced into ½cm thick slices. 1 remove zest and reserve the juice
- 3 tbsp olive oil plus extra for drizzling before oven
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme removed from sprig
For the Potatoes
- 800 grams baby potatoes cut in half (no larger then 3cm)
- 1 tbsp zaatar
- juice of a lemon reserve zest for zaatar sauce
- 1 tsp sumac
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
For Garnish
- 100 grams feta cheese ½ cup
- 58 grams pomegranate ⅓cup
- 2 tbsp chopped parsley
For Zaatar Sauce
- 1 tsp zest of a lemon
- 2 tbsp zaatar
- 3 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
For the Chicken Marinade
- Place the chicken in a large bowl. Add za'atar + sumac + salt + pepper + sliced lemon + zest of a lemon + juice of a lemon + garlic + fresh thyme + olive oil.
- Using your hand's mix well, cover with cling film, and allow to marinate in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours or overnight.
- Remove the chicken from the fridge 30 min to an hour before cooking to allow it to come to room temperature.
For the Potatoes
- Into a bowl place your potatoes (cut no bigger then 3cm) with zaatar + lemon juice + salt + pepper + sumac + olive oil. Mix well. Set Aside
For Za'atar Sauce
- In a small bowl mix za'atar + olive oil + lemon zest. Mix well, set aside.
Roasting
- Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F)
- Place chicken and potatoes onto a baking sheet leaving a little bit of room between the ingredients. Pour on the rest of the marinade from the chicken and potatoes. Drizzle each piece of chicken with some olive oil.
- Place in the oven for 30-40 min or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the chicken reads 73°C (165°F). Turn on the broiler for 5 min to get the skin golden brown and crisp. Chicken doness can vary with the size of the chicken pieces and oven, so rely on a thethermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken. If you do not have a thermometer, using a knife, make an incision in the thickest part the juices should be running clear. If the potatoes are still not fork-tender, remove the chicken, and pop the potatoes back into the oven for 10 minutes or until fork-tender.
Serving
- Sprinkle with feta cheese, parsley, and pomegranates. Serve along with za'atar sauce.
