Chicken Provençal

This Chicken Provençal is an easy and comforting chicken dinner recipe inspired by the classic dish from the South of France.

The recipe originates in Provence and is roast chicken with a cherry tomato, garlic, onion, and white wine sauce that’s seasoned with bright herbs like thyme, rosemary, and marjoram (also known as Herbs de Provence).

We love this Chicken Provencal recipe because it’s so simple to make yet very impressive. With just 10 minutes of prep time, you can have this delicious dinner in the oven ready to bake and serve on a weeknight, or to impress friends and family on the weekend.

When it comes to selecting the cut of chicken for our version of Chicken Provencal, we went with chicken thighs because that are fail-proof and so juicy. The best part is you can make this in a roasting pan or it’s also easy to make on a baking sheet – so clean-up is very minimal.

Let us know how you like this recipe, it’s one of our family’s favorite summer dishes that’s so simple yet full of flavor. If you love a great chicken dish, you definitely also want to try our Chicken Piccata Salad or Coconut Chicken Soup.

Why You’ll Love this Recipe

• 8 -ingredient chicken recipe. There is nothing special or fancy required here! All of the ingredients are easy to find in your local store and also affordable too.
• Simple recipe for entertaining. What we love about this recipe is it’s so easy to entertain a crowd with or also make on a busy weeknight. The prep time is minimal, about 10 minutes, and the oven does the rest of the work for you.
• Customize the flavors to your liking. We make chicken Provencal the classic way with tomatoes, onions, garlic, and olives, but you can add other vegetables too or swap out the herbs for other options you already have at home.

Ab’s Tip: We use bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs for this recipe, but you can also use bone-in breasts and drumsticks if desired. We like to cut the breasts in half crosswise so that the meat cooks in the same amount of time and doesn’t dry out.

Ingredients

• Bone-in chicken thighs: Our favorite cut of chicken for this recipe because it’s moist and juicy after roasting. It’s actually difficult to overcook a chicken thigh, making it the perfect cut of meat.
• All-purpose flour: We dredge the thighs lightly in this to help crisp the skin and also thicken the tomato white wine sauce.  
• Dried herbs: We like to use a mix of thyme and oregano. If you find herbs de Provence at your local store, this is also a great blend to use as well.
• Cherry tomatoes: Adds a burst of fresh tomato flavor.
• Green olives: We love castelvetrano olives here, but use whichever kind is easy to find at your store.
• Fresh herbs: We also add fresh herbs to add even more flavor. We love fresh thyme sprigs, marjoram sprigs, and rosemary sprigs. Together these herbs add so much warmth and bold flavor to the recipe.
• Lemons: Adds brightness in every bite. By adding a fresh acid like lemon juice, this helps all the other flavors in the dish shine as well.
• Garlic: We love a lot of garlic in this recipe, in fact you’ll need an entire head of it!  
• Vermouth or white wine: You can omit the vermouth, but we find it essential to chicken Provencal. If you do want to swap it for white wine, that also works.
• Olive oil: The cooking fat for the recipe, be sure it’s a good quality oil.

How to Make Chicken Provencal

1. Wash and pat dry your chicken. Coat in salt, pepper and dried herbs (if you’re using) and then dredge in flour.

2. In a roasting pan, add olive oil and spread around. Neatly position your chicken a few inches apart in the pan. Peel and quarter your shallots and cut your lemon into pieces. Peel garlic but leave in full clove form. Arrange lemon, shallots, olives, tomatoes, garlic and fresh herbs around your chicken. 

3. Season again with salt/pepper/ dried herbs and roast on 400ºF for about 10 min. Check and make sure your chicken is moist, and add a squeeze of lemon if it’s feeling dried out. Cook for another 12 min or until the internal temperature of the chicken is 165ºF. 

4. Remove, and enjoy with a few more squeezes of lemon!

Expert Tips

• Be sure to dredge your chicken lightly in flour before roasting. This helps to get a nice and crispy golden brown skin. Plus it also thickens the chicken drippings in the bottom of the roasting pan, making for the most delicious sauce.
• Roast the shallots, tomatoes, and garlic in “whole” form. You just want to quarter the shallots and peel the garlic but leave the cloves whole. We keep the cherry tomatoes whole as well. We are roasting this way so they get golden brown and caramelized on the outside and stay jammy on the inside.
• Be sure to add lots of herbs. We add both dried and fresh for maximum herb flavor. It compliments the vegetables and the chicken so nicely to make chicken Provencal the ultimate dish.
• You know when the chicken is done when it reaches 165ºF on meat thermometer. It should be golden brown on the skin and cooked through nicely. It’s actually difficult to overcook chicken thighs, so be sure to trust your meat thermometer and cook for a little longer if necessary.

Storage

Store any leftovers in an airtight container the fridge for up to 4 days. You can reheat this Provencal chicken very easily in the microwave or oven for a few minutes until warmed through.

It’s also easy to freeze the leftover chicken for up to 2 months. Then thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat. We often don’t recommend freezing the roasted vegetables though, because it can change their texture.

FAQs

More Delicious Chicken Recipes

• Crispy Chicken Caesar Sandwich
• Pickle-Brined Fried Chicken
• Mediterranean Chicken Bowls
• Crispy Chicken with Couscous