Sauté

Greek Chicken Thighs With White Beans

by:
April 11, 2021
4.5
11 Ratings
Greek Chicken Thighs With White Beans
Photo by Ty Mecham
  • Prep time 10 minutes
  • Cook time 40 minutes
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

This Greek-style one-pot dinner finishes crispy-skinned chicken thighs on a bed of white beans, artichokes, feta, and lemon slices that make a built-in side dish. The beans gain a soft, mashed consistency that’s infused with the flavors of the seared chicken and melted feta, and mixing in slices of lemon adds brightness and acid. You can eat the softened rinds as part of the dish, or skip them if you find them too bitter. Make sure to push out any lemon seeds before adding to the pan.

If you buy artichokes in water, press them with a paper towel to remove any excess liquid before cooking. You can do the same with oil-packed ones, but the oil can be a nice addition. Keep some crusty bread handy to soak up anything left on the bottom of the pan—it's wonderfully flavorful. —yasminfahr

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 2 1/2 pounds skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs (about 6-8 thighs)
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 3 cloves garlic, grated or minced
  • 1 lemon, zested and cut into thin rounds
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 14-ounce can artichokes hearts, quartered, and drained well
  • 2 15-ounce can white beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 cup low-sodium broth or water
  • 1/2 cup crumbled feta
  • 1/2 cup fresh parsley or mint leaves and tender stems, roughly chopped
Directions
  1. Pat the chicken dry, trim excess fat and season generously with salt, pepper, oregano, garlic, and lemon zest.
  2. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or a heavy-weight 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the chicken, skin-side down, and cook without moving until they easily release from the bottom and are browned and crispy, 8 to 10 minutes. It’s okay if they are snug, they will shrink while cooking.
  3. Turn over and cook until the bottom is lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes more. Remove and set aside on a plate.
  4. Reduce the heat to medium, then add the artichokes, white beans, and lemon slices to the pan, seasoning with salt and red pepper flakes, cook, stirring occasionally, until the canned taste cooks off, 2 to 3 minutes.
  5. Pour in 1/2 cup broth, using a wooden spoon to scrape up anything on the bottom. Stir in half the feta, then nestle the chicken on top, skin side up, pouring in any pan juices and reducing the heat if the bottom mixture starts to bubble excessively (small bubbles are fine), until the chicken is cooked through, about 10 to 12 minutes more.
  6. Remove from heat, sprinkle with the remaining feta and herbs, and serve.
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See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Alix Augustine
    Alix Augustine
  • Taliah
    Taliah
  • Jaxmccaff
    Jaxmccaff
  • Eugenie Anderson
    Eugenie Anderson
  • tesstraylor
    tesstraylor
yasminfahr
Yasmin is a recipe developer and cookbook author. Her first book, Keeping it Simple, is full of easy, weeknight one-pot recipes. Say hi to her online @yasminfahr!

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10 Reviews

Alix A.
Alix A. March 23, 2023
As other reviews stated, I needed way more time than needed. Perhaps if the chicken had sat out for an hour, that time would work but I probably needed 15 mins to brown at the beginning and another 18-20 mins at the end. That said DELICIOUS and so healthy.
 
Taliah
Taliah March 18, 2023
This was very good, I also had to cook it longer. Added spinach at the end.
 
Jaxmccaff
Jaxmccaff March 17, 2023
Great weeknight recipe. Quick and simple to make. I roasted broccolini as a side for a little more veg.
 
Eugenie A.
Eugenie A. March 13, 2023
Followed the recipe exactly, and cooked for the longest recommended times. Thighs needed much longer to cook. Ended up eating it, praying we didn’t get salmonella. Next time, will cook on the skinless side 10-12 minutes. Agree with the recommendations of increasing the stock and adding a generous splash of white wine or vermouth. Really didn’t have the extra fluid to sop up with bread. Cooking off the alcohol would give additional cooking time, as well. And more crushed red pepper flakes!!
 
tesstraylor
tesstraylor March 13, 2023
Our thighs ended up medium rare at the suggested times. Instead of canned beans, I put dried beans on early in the day. I always do that. I like the flavor better and I think that added to the liquid. Affirming I wasn’t the only one with less than fully cooked thighs.
 
tesstraylor
tesstraylor March 13, 2023
Seasoning the thighs with the garlic/lemon/oregano before searing left bitter burned bits and my thighs required more than even 15 minutes to finish so the beans broke down more than I wanted. Next time I’ll sear the second side a little longer, add the beans, artichokes, lemon slices, oregano, garlic, zest, feta, plus quartered shallots, replace the broth with white wine and maybe a tablespoon of Ouzo and finish for a longer time in the oven, serve with mint, feta, add dill.
 
Meats2012
Meats2012 April 6, 2024
For me too! The first time my mom made this for us, it was so good and no bitterness. When I tried making it at home, it was so bitter and almost inedible. I was trying to figure out what was causing it. I will try this for next time!
 
Tbird
Tbird March 6, 2023
So good! My change... I used TWO cans of artichokes (big fans here) - and also added a full cup, if not more, of chicken stock because things were getting a little drier than I wanted. Really great flavor!
 
borntobeworn
borntobeworn April 14, 2021
Very good! I used skinless, boneless chicken. This will definitely go into our dinner rotation.
 
plainhomecook
plainhomecook March 20, 2021
The flavor is really nice. I didn't think it would cook in 10 minutes plus the browning, so once the pan was deglazed (I added a splash of vermouth and used just one can of beans) and all the ingredients were in, I covered it and braised it for 20 minutes. Delicious.