The lemon wedges are the part nobody expects. They roast in the pan until they go soft and almost sweet, and you eat them whole with the chicken. Martha Stewart’s Braised Chicken with Potatoes, Olives, and Lemon is a one-pot dinner where bone-in thighs, fingerling potatoes, green olives, and garlic all cook together at 450 degrees in chicken stock for 30 minutes.
I make this Martha Stewart chicken thighs recipe on weeknights when I want something that feels Mediterranean and warm but I only have 40 minutes. Everything goes in one skillet. No separate sides, no extra pans. The braised chicken comes out with crispy skin on top and the potatoes soak up all the lemony olive-y stock underneath.
Try More Chicken Recipes:
Why You Will Love This Braised Chicken:
- Dinner is in the skillet: Chicken, potatoes, olives, lemon, garlic, thyme. One pan, stovetop to oven. I do not even set the table until it is almost done because there is genuinely nothing else to prepare.
- The stock turns into a sauce on its own: A little cornstarch at the end thickens the braising liquid into something you will want to spoon over everything. The olives and lemon give it this salty, bright flavor that I have tried to recreate in other recipes and never quite matched.
Braised Chicken Potatoes Olives And Lemon Ingredients
- 2 1/4 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- Coarse salt
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 1/4 cups chicken stock
- 12 ounces baby fingerling potatoes or halved small potatoes
- 5 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
- 1/2 cup green olives, such as Cerignola, pitted if desired
- 1 small lemon, washed well, cut into wedges
- 6 thyme sprigs
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
How To Make Martha Stewart Braised Chicken Potatoes Olives And Lemon
- Brown the chicken: Set the oven to 450 degrees. Season the thighs with salt. Heat a large heavy ovenproof skillet, cast iron if you have one, over medium-high heat and swirl in the olive oil. Put the chicken skin-side down and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Flip and push the chicken to one side of the pan.
- Add the stock and potatoes: Pour in 1 cup of the chicken stock and add half a teaspoon of salt. Add the potatoes to the liquid.
- Add the rest: Drop in the garlic, olives, lemon wedges, and thyme sprigs. Bring it all to a boil.
- Roast: Move the skillet to the oven and roast for about 30 minutes, stirring the potatoes once halfway through, until the potatoes are tender and the chicken is cooked through.
- Thicken the sauce: Put the skillet back on the stove. Mix the cornstarch with the remaining quarter cup of stock and stir it into the pan. Bring to a boil so the sauce thickens. Serve right away.
Recipe Tips
- Use a cast iron skillet: It goes from stovetop to oven without thinking about it and holds heat better than anything else. If you do not have one, any heavy ovenproof pan works. Just make sure the handle can take 450 degrees.
- Slice the lemon thin if you want to eat it: Martha cuts wedges but I started slicing mine paper thin on a mandoline. They roast down into these soft citrus bites that you actually want to eat with every forkful instead of squeezing and tossing.
- Try different olives: Cerignola are mild and buttery but Castelvetrano are my favorite because they are meatier and a little sweeter. Use whatever green olives you like, just not the canned ones with no flavor.
You Can Skip The Cornstarch
A few people I talked to who make this skip the cornstarch entirely and the sauce is thinner but still good. Honestly it depends on what you are serving it with. If you have bread on the table to soak up a thinner broth, skip it. If you want a sauce that clings to rice or polenta, stir the cornstarch in.
The other thing I tried is broiling for 2 to 3 minutes at the very end after the braising is done. It crisps the chicken skin back up after it has been sitting in liquid for 30 minutes. Small step, big difference in texture.
What Goes Well With This Braised Chicken
The potatoes are already in the pan so you do not need a starch. I tear up some crusty bread or warm a quiche I made earlier in the week and call it done.
When I want something green I toss a quick vinaigrette over arugula and put the bowl on the table. That peppery salad next to the salty olives and bright lemon is one of my favorite combinations.
How To Store Leftovers
Everything stays in the same container, sauce and all. Fridge for 4 days. The potatoes absorb more stock overnight and get even better the next day, almost creamy.
Reheat in the skillet on medium so the skin can crisp again on the bottom, or eat it cold over greens with a little extra lemon squeezed on top. The olives and lemon hold up perfectly cold.
FAQs
- Can I use boneless skinless thighs? A couple people have made it that way and said it worked. You lose the crispy skin and the sauce will not be as rich but the flavors are still there. Just check for doneness earlier since boneless cooks faster.
- Do I have to pit the olives? Martha says pitted if desired. I leave the pits in because pitted olives fall apart during braising. Just warn people at the table so nobody cracks a tooth.
- Can I prep this ahead for a dinner party? Yes. Brown the chicken and boil the potatoes slightly during the afternoon. When guests arrive, assemble everything in the skillet and roast for 30 minutes. It comes out of the oven looking like you worked all day.
More Chicken Recipes:
Nutrition Facts
(1 serving, serves 4)
- Calories: 460
- Total Fat: 24g
- Saturated Fat: 6g
- Cholesterol: 145mg
- Sodium: 680mg
- Total Carbohydrates: 22g
- Protein: 36g
Martha Stewart Braised Chicken Potatoes Olives And Lemon Recipe
Description
The lemon wedges are the part nobody expects. They roast in the pan until they go soft and almost sweet, and you eat them whole with the chicken. Martha Stewart’s Braised Chicken with Potatoes, Olives, and Lemon is a one-pot dinner where bone-in thighs, fingerling potatoes, green olives, and garlic all cook together at 450 degrees in chicken stock for 30 minutes.
I make this Martha Stewart chicken thighs recipe on weeknights when I want something that feels Mediterranean and warm but I only have 40 minutes. Everything goes in one skillet. No separate sides, no extra pans. The braised chicken comes out with crispy skin on top and the potatoes soak up all the lemony olive-y stock underneath.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Brown the chicken: Set the oven to 450 degrees. Season the thighs with salt. Heat a large heavy ovenproof skillet, cast iron if you have one, over medium-high heat and swirl in the olive oil. Put the chicken skin-side down and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Flip and push the chicken to one side of the pan.
- Add the stock and potatoes: Pour in 1 cup of the chicken stock and add half a teaspoon of salt. Add the potatoes to the liquid.
- Add the rest: Drop in the garlic, olives, lemon wedges, and thyme sprigs. Bring it all to a boil.
- Roast: Move the skillet to the oven and roast for about 30 minutes, stirring the potatoes once halfway through, until the potatoes are tender and the chicken is cooked through.
- Thicken the sauce: Put the skillet back on the stove. Mix the cornstarch with the remaining quarter cup of stock and stir it into the pan. Bring to a boil so the sauce thickens. Serve right away.
Notes
- Use a cast iron skillet: It goes from stovetop to oven without thinking about it and holds heat better than anything else.
- Slice the lemon thin if you want to eat it: Martha cuts wedges but slicing paper thin on a mandoline makes them roast down into soft citrus bites you actually want to eat.
- Try different olives: Castelvetrano are meatier and a little sweeter than Cerignola. Use whatever green olives you like, just not the canned ones with no flavor.