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Meat, South and mountains

Chicken with olives and thyme roasted potatoes

Chicken with olives and thyme roasted potatoes is a chicken thigh stew simmered in tomato and green olives, served with oven roasted potatoes. It serves 4, takes 1 hour, is rated easy, and costs about €3.20 per serving. The key to success is blanching the olives to remove excess salt and spacing out the potatoes on the tray so they brown properly.

A chicken simmered in tomato with green olives, and thyme roasted potatoes on the side, it smells like the South of France.

Chicken with olives and thyme roasted potatoes
Total time
1 h
Difficulty
Easy
Cost per person
€3.20
Calories per person
650 kcalcalculated by Kiloach, your weight coach
Season
Summer, Fall
The kids
They generally like it

This dish smells like the South of France as soon as the pot starts to simmer. The chicken cooks slowly in a tomato sauce brightened by green olives, which bring that salty, slightly bitter edge you find in Provençal cooking. The crispy skin on the thighs holds up thanks to a two step cooking method, seared first, then simmered in the sauce.

On the side, the thyme roasted potatoes carry their own weight, crisp outside, soft inside. This is a weeknight dinner that doesn't need constant attention, once the pot is simmering on low you can go do something else. Kids usually go for it too, especially if you set a few olives aside from their plate.

The ingredients

4 people

Butcher

  • Chicken thighs 4

Fruits and vegetables

  • Onions 2
  • Garlic 3 cloves
  • Potatoes 800 g
  • Thyme 6 sprigs

Pantry

  • Crushed tomatoesoften in the pantry 400 g
  • Pitted green olivesoften in the pantry 150 g
  • Dry white wineoften in the pantry 10 cl
  • Olive oiloften in the pantry 4 tbsp
  • Saltoften in the pantry 1 pinch
  • Pepperoften in the pantry 1 pinch

The step by step recipe

  1. Preheat the oven to 210 degrees, cut the potatoes into wedges with the skin on, toss them with the oil, thyme, salt and pepper, and roast them. 35 min

    Spread them out on the tray without crowding them, they brown better.

  2. Brown the chicken thighs in a Dutch oven, skin side first, then set them aside. 10 min

    Don't flip them too soon, the skin releases on its own when ready.

  3. Cook the onions and garlic until soft, deglaze with the white wine, add the tomatoes and return the chicken to the pot. 5 min

    Scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot.

  4. Cover and let it simmer, then add the olives for the last ten minutes. 35 min

    Adding the olives at the end keeps them firm.

  5. Flip the potatoes halfway through cooking and serve them with the chicken, spooned over with sauce.

    Sprinkle with flaky salt just before serving.

Our tips to get it right

  • Pick chicken thighs with the skin on, it protects the meat during simmering and adds flavor to the sauce.
  • Keep the heat low and the lid on while it simmers, a hard boil dries out the chicken instead of making it tender.
  • If the sauce looks too thin at the end, take the lid off for the last ten minutes so it reduces.

The variations

  • Swap the chicken for rabbit pieces, they pair just as well with the tomato and olives.
  • For a vegetarian version, replace the chicken with roasted zucchini and bell peppers added at the end of cooking.
  • For kids, blend the tomato sauce a bit and serve the olives on the side so they can add them or not.

What to serve it with

  • Bread for the sauce
  • A lemony green salad
  • A glass of dry white wine

Storage

Chicken with olives keeps for 2 to 3 days in the fridge in a sealed container. It freezes well, sauce and meat together, for up to 2 months. Reheat it gently in a saucepan or the oven, and the potatoes are best reheated in the oven to get some crispness back.

Questions about this dish

Can you make this dish ahead of time?

Yes, chicken with olives tastes even better reheated the next day, once the flavors have had time to settle. Make the chicken and sauce the day before, and cook the potatoes at the last minute so they stay crisp.

What kind of olives work best here?

Classic pitted green olives work very well, they add firmness and a clean flavor. Avoid olives heavily marinated with herbs, since they can overpower the tomato sauce.

Why blanch the olives before adding them?

Blanching the olives for a minute in boiling water removes some of their salt and softens their flavor. This helps if you find store bought olives are often too salty.

Can you skip browning the chicken first?

You can skip this step if you're short on time, but the chicken will have less flavor and the skin will stay soft. Browning the skin before simmering builds an important base of flavor for the sauce.

How long does it take to make a chicken with olives and thyme roasted potatoes?

Count 1 h in total, prep and cooking included. The recipe is rated “easy”.

How many calories are in a chicken with olives and thyme roasted potatoes?

About 650 kcal per serving, for a recipe meant for 4 people. Calories are calculated by Kiloach, your weight coach, the app that partners with Mon Chou.

How much does a chicken with olives and thyme roasted potatoes cost?

About €3.20 per serving, or €12.80 for 4 people, based on average supermarket prices.

What allergens does this recipe contain?

This recipe contains none of the major allergens tracked by Mon Chou. Always check the labels of the products you buy.

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