Sometimes, even I get tired of cooking. And I definitely get tired of washing up. But, this lemony Greek chicken stew will perk up even the weariest cook. The flavors are bright, fresh, and bring a little sunshine into dark winter days. I hadn’t heard of Greek chicken stew before seeing it in the NY Times, but I’ve been putting it into regular rotation lately. It’s great comfort food, and ideal for dreary weather.
My Greek chicken stew is a bit different from the original recipe (aside from being smaller). They used ground chicken. I never have that. Also, I think that using bone-in chicken makes the stew more flavorful, even if it does take a bit longer to cook. Do use Yukon gold potatoes though. The texture is better and the flavor is more buttery (no actual butter required).
Also, they suggested feta cheese and pita as toppings. I like the feta, but every packaged pita commercially available here is hard and unappealing. And I did not feel like making my own! So a bit more spinach instead.
Make a batch, and then have it for lunch or dinner, with some crusty bread on the side (instead of the pita).
And, as a bonus, it’s all cooked in one pot! Yes! Less cleanup is always a good thing!
Lemony Greek Chicken Stew

Notes
One pot Greek chicken stew. One or two servings depending on whether it's lunch or dinner (or how hungry you are).
Ingredients
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 yellow onion, finely chopped (about 2 T)
- 2 cloves of garlic (smashed and chopped)
- 1/3 tsp coarse kosher salt
- 1 chicken thigh, bone in
- 1 heaping teaspoon fresh rosemary (chopped roughly) roughly chopped fresh rosemary, or about 1/3 tsp dried
- 1/3 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
- Black pepper to taste
- About one large Yukon gold potato, cut up into small chunks (maybe 1/2 an inch)
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1 T lemon juice (fresh if you have it, if not the bottle is fine)
- Handful of spinach (about two ounces), both leaves and stems
- 1 T fresh dill (chopped up, roughly)
- 1 T or so crumbled feta (topping)
- Four or five extra spinach leaves (topping)
- More salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a two quart saucepan.
- Smash the garlic (this gets the peel off) and chop finely.
- Add the garlic, onion, and salt to the pot and cook on medium heat about 5 minutes or so. The garlic and onion should be softened, but not browned.
- Add chicken (skin side down), rosemary, oregano, red-pepper flakes and a grinding of black pepper.
- Cook the mixture for 5 minutes, then turn the chicken over, and cook another 5 minutes.
- Add the chunks of potato to the pot.
- Stir in 1/2 the lemon juice (1 1/2 tsp) and the chicken broth. Mix it all together and scrape any brown, caramelized bits off the bottom of the pan.
- Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil (covered).
- Then remove the cover and let the stew simmer for 20-25 minutes.
- Add the spinach and the dill and simmer another 5 minutes.
- Check to see if the potatoes are done.
- Remove the chicken and let it cool for a bit. Cut it up or shred with your fingers, and return to the soup. Save the bone for stock.
- Add more lemon juice and or salt and pepper to taste.
- Ladle into a bowl and serve with feta and the extra spinach leaves on top.
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