This Chicken Vesuvio recipe is truly the best roasted chicken recipe in existence. It’s loaded with crispy, golden, bone-in chicken thighs, tender, perfectly-cooked potato wedges, and bright green peas, all cooked in the most flavorful lemon, garlic, butter, white wine sauce.
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This recipe is…
Picture this: crispy, skin on chicken thighs seared in butter until golden brown, then nestled alongside tender potato wedges, topped with the most delicious garlicky, buttery, white wine and lemon sauce, then baked with more garlic and green peas …YUM!
This classic Italian-American dish hails from Chicago, though exactly when and at which restaurant seems to be up for debate. We’re just glad it made it far enough to don the likes of our kitchen!
If you’re looking for more chicken thigh recipes, we’ve got you. These lemon garlic chicken thighs are marinated in the most delicious, simple blend of garlic, lemon, red pepper flakes, and chives, these peanut butter chicken thighs are so easy and flavorful, and this sheet pan chicken and veggies dinner is just about as easy as a weeknight dinner gets.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s easy – considering the impressive nature of this dish, it’s incredibly easy to pull off. You’ll start by roasting the potato wedges, searing the chicken thighs in butter, making the white wine sauce, and then combine all of the components for one final roast in the oven.
- It’s impressive – this dish deserves all of the dinner guests and special occasions you can think of! It’s a back-pocket recipe that will serve you well any time you host.
Chicken Vesuvio Recipe Ingredients
While the ingredient list may look simple, don’t underestimate the big flavors that each component brings to the table. Find ingredient notes (including substitutions and swaps) below.
- Chicken thighs – bone-in, skin-on thighs are essential for this recipe. The skin allows the chicken to get nice and crispy with tons of flavor while also protecting the actual meat from drying out.
- Potatoes – we used small white potatoes here, but any potato you love will work. Large Yukon gold potatoes (not the teeny tiny ones) or russet potatoes are great choices.
- White wine – use any white wine you have on hand for this recipe. If you’re worried about cooking with wine, feel free to use chicken broth in its place.
- Peas – no reason to get fancy here – frozen peas work great!
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Recipe Variations and Modifications
- Skip the wine – though it definitely adds a delicious richness to the sauce, if cooking with wine is something you like to steer clear of, feel free to use an equal amount of chicken broth instead (so 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth, total).
- Use boneless, skinless thighs – as mentioned above, the bone-in, skin-on thighs really do take this recipe to the next level. That said, if you already have boneless, skinless thighs on hand, they’ll work too. Because thighs are a fattier cut of chicken, it’s really hard to dry them out, so you should be okay without modifying the recipe at all.
How to Make Chicken Vesuvio
This recipe is incredibly easy to make! See below for the full how-to.
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Toss the potato wedges with olive oil and salt, and spread out on the prepared sheet pan. Place in the oven and roast for 30 minutes.
Step 2: Heat 4 tablespoons of butter in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over high heat. Season the chicken thighs liberally with salt. Once hot, work in batches to sear the chicken skin side-down for 5 minutes, until golden. Remove the chicken thighs and set aside.
Step 3: Add the rest of the butter (4 tablespoons) and the sliced garlic to the pot. Simmer until the garlic is golden brown (30 seconds to a minute), then add the lemon zest to the pot. Add the white wine and broth and bring to a simmer. Continue to simmer for 5 minutes, until reduced slightly. Add the fresh oregano to the sauce, then pour the sauce into a separate bowl and set aside.
Step 4: Add the potato wedges to the skillet and top with the chicken, skin side up. Top with slices of lemon, and then drizzle half of the sauce over top. Bake at 375°F for 35 minutes.
Step 5: Pull the dish out of the oven. Sprinkle the frozen peas into the dish, top with sliced garlic, and then add the juice of 2 lemons to the remaining sauce sauce, stir to combine, and pour over the top of the chicken dish.
Step 6: Bake at 375°F for 5 more minutes. Then let cool slightly, serve, and enjoy!
Recipe Tips
If you aren’t a fan of peas, feel free to either swap them with green beans or asparagus, or omit the green veggie component altogether.
How to Serve
Serve the Chicken Vesuvio as a complete meal all on its own, or if you’re looking for a delicious side dish pairing, try a crusty, cheesy garlic bread or simple arugula salad.
How to Store and Reheat
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
To reheat your leftovers, simply heat them in a skillet over medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes or place in an oven-safe dish and reheat in a 350°F oven for 15-20 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Chicken Vesuvio has bold, delicious flavors of garlic, butter, lemon, and white wine. It’s decadent, while also being very, very simple.
From all of the research we’ve found, chicken Vesuvio can be clearly traced to Chicago. The exact restaurant and year are a little bit fuzzier, though.
More Favorite Chicken Thigh Recipes
If you tried this Chicken Vesuvio or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
Chicken Vesuvio Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 2 pounds white or Yukon gold potatoes, cut into wedges
- ½ pound butter (1 stick)
- 4 cloves garlic, slivered
- 1 cup white wine
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 2 cups frozen green peas
- 2 tablespoons fresh oregano, finely chopped
- 3 lemons, zest and juice
- 2 lemons, thinly sliced into rounds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Toss the potato wedges with olive oil and salt, and spread out on the prepared sheet pan. Place in the oven and roast for 30 minutes.
- While the potatoes roast, heat 4 tablespoons of butter in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over high heat. Season the chicken thighs liberally with salt. Once hot, work in batches to sear the chicken skin side-down for 5 minutes, until golden. Remove the chicken thighs and set aside.
- Add the rest of the butter (4 tablespoons) and the sliced garlic to the pot. Simmer until the garlic is golden brown (30 seconds to a minute), then add the lemon zest to the pot. Add the white wine and broth and bring to a simmer. Continue to simmer for 5 minutes, until reduced slightly. Add the fresh oregano, stir, and pour the sauce into a separate bowl and set aside.
- Add the potato wedges to the skillet and top with the chicken, skin side up. Top with slices of lemon, and then drizzle half of the sauce over top. Bake at 375°F for 35 minutes.
- Pull the dish out of the oven. Sprinkle the frozen peas into the dish, top with sliced garlic, and then add the juice of 2 lemons to the remaining sauce sauce, stir to combine, and pour over the top of the chicken dish.
- Bake at 375°F for 5 more minutes. Then let cool slightly, serve, and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- Skip the wine – though it definitely adds a delicious richness to the sauce, if cooking with wine is something you like to steer clear of, feel free to use an equal amount of chicken broth instead (so 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth, total).
- Use boneless, skinless thighs – as mentioned above, the bone-in, skin-on thighs really do take this recipe to the next level. That said, if you already have boneless, skinless thighs on hand, they’ll work too. Because thighs are a fattier cut of chicken, it’s really hard to dry them out, so you should be okay without modifying the recipe at all.
Not good. I usually love the recipes on this site but this one was a flop. So much lemon that the whole dish was bitter and the cook times were off so the potatoes turned to mush.
This dish ultimately turned out well, but with a few difficulties along the way.
1. Searing the chicken on high heat immediately caused my butter to burn and splatter. I would skip that step next time.
2. Unclear amount of butter. 1 stick is 1/4 pound, not half a pound. I went by the pound measurement and used 2 sticks. I think this was double what I needed because my potatoes were drowning in sauce by the end.
3. It took me about 2 hours to prepare this dish. As others have said, it’s a lot of work for what it is.
I also zested and juiced 2 lemons instead of 3, which was plenty!
Sadly, this dish took more time than it was worth… The garlic and lemon normally would be great with a roasted chicken, but the flavors were too strong for chicken thighs and really didn’t mix that well. My whole family struggled to eat it… I’ll skip this one every time.
Ah man! We are so sorry you had a bad experience, Katie!
Hi! A couple questions.
Do I split the oregano or do I use double, once for potatoes once for sauce?
Do I take the garlic out of the sauce to then add back on the chicken near the end?
Is it 2 lemons juiced or 3?
Regardless, I made my best guesses and have this in the oven right now. It smells delicious! Can’t wait to try it. Thanks for all your recipes!
Ditto the questions previously asked! Thanks!
this dish is supposed to be quite spicy with the addition of crushed red pepper