Lemon Garlic Roast Chicken With Squash
Updated October 6, 2025
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Hadas Smirnoff.
- Total Time
- About 1 hour 45 minutes
- Prep Time
- 15 minutes
- Cook Time
- About 1½ hours
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
6 large bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 3 ½ to 4 pounds)
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon pimentón or smoked paprika
½ cup lemon juice (from 3 lemons)
3 lemons, 2 cut crosswise into ⅛-inch slices, 1 zested
2 heads garlic, separated into unpeeled cloves
3 small leeks, cut into 2-inch lengths
½ cup rosemary leaves, stripped from about 6 sprigs
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling.
2 delicata squash, seeds removed, sliced crosswise into ½-inch rings and seeded
¼ cup chopped parsley
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
33 grams carbs; 278 milligrams cholesterol; 796 calories; 23 grams monosaturated fat; 11 grams polyunsaturated fat; 14 grams saturated fat; 52 grams fat; 5 grams fiber; 1351 milligrams sodium; 50 grams protein; 3 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Set chicken thighs in a single layer in a roasting pan. Season generously on both sides with salt and pepper. Put a pinch of turmeric and a pinch of pimentón on each thigh and rub into the surface. Pour lemon juice over chicken and let marinate for 30 minutes, if time allows.
- Step 2
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Arrange lemon slices around and under chicken. Scatter garlic cloves and leeks over top. Sprinkle with rosemary and drizzle with about 2 tablespoons olive oil. Roast on the middle rack of the oven, uncovered, for about an hour, until meat is tender and the juices run clear when probed, and the chicken is nicely browned and lemon slices slightly charred.
- Step 3
Meanwhile, arrange the squash rings on a baking sheet. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Add to the oven after the chicken has cooked for about 30 minutes. Roast uncovered on top rack of oven until lightly browned and fork-tender, about 30 minutes.
- Step 4
To serve, mix together parsley and lemon zest. Transfer chicken, garlic, leeks and lemon slices to a serving platter (or serve from an oven-to-table roasting pan). Top with squash rings and parsley-lemon mixture.
Private Notes
Comments
I recommend against using a cast-iron skillet (as I usually do) as a roasting pan for this dish. Turmeric is soluble in oil and will penetrate the pore of the cast iron necessitating a lengthy clean up with soap and water and then reseasoning.
@Michael the acidity of the lemon juice will eat away the seasoning of a cast-iron skillet… Be careful unless your pan is very very well seasoned
Unpeeled garlic cloves? How does that work?
The worst NYT recipe I’ve ever tried. I had misgivings about cooking thighs for an hour but I assumed that you knew more than I did. You didn’t!! They were grotesquely overcooked and inedible.
I used acorn squash since delicata was not available and butternut squash is so time-consuming to peel. It was great.
I assembled the entire recipe, leaving it to marinade for several hours. I substituted the rosemary for Burlap and Barrel’s herbs de Provence and sprinkled twice as much olive oil on but half the lemon juice. A roasting pan the size of the chicken thighs, rather than a sheet pan keeps the juices and marinade in resulting in a very moist and flavorful dish. It was roasted at 400 for about 50 minutes. Quite delicious and will go into my favorites folder.