Italian Chicken Thighs with Zucchini and Red Potatoes

Diced tomatoes with green chilies add just a little kick to this naturally gluten free comfort food recipe for Italian Chicken Thighs with Zucchini and Red Potatoes, while the juicy chicken pairs nicely with the flavorful veggies.

I know. It’s still warm for an oven recipe, but we’re reaching the point in summer here where we have the occasional cool and rainy day to let us indulge in a little comfort food. And I had this idea for Italian Chicken Thighs with Zucchini and Red Potatoes rattling around my brain all week, so the only way to shut that up when it happens is to experiment with the darn recipe!

And a happy experiment this turned out to be, too. I did cheat on ALDI this week, because, well: Just look what my local Jewel store has been up to. I combined some of the produce I picked up on their sale with some pantry staples I already had in my house — so the three potatoes and two zucchini I used in this recipe cost me a whopping $.60 total. (The chicken, I’d actually picked up on clearance at some point at ALDI. 😉 )

So here’s your all-in-one comfort food recipe for the week, which also makes up this week’s Sunday Scratchups, your weekly recipe from scratch around affordable ingredients (chicken thighs) and grocery sales (potatoes and zucchini).

Italian Chicken Thighs with Zucchini and Red Potatoes

Ingredients

– for the chicken

1 Tbsp olive oil
3 lbs bone-in chicken thighs, trimmed
1 tsp seasoned salt
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp oregano
Black pepper, to taste

– for the veggies

20 oz red potatoes, diced
Black pepper, to taste
Sea salt, to taste
20 oz zucchini, chopped
1/2 Tbsp minced garlic (about 3 cloves)
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
10 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies

– to top

1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp shredded Parmesan

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and spray the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Trim chicken thighs and season on both sides with seasoned salt, black pepper, Italian seasoning, and oregano. Brown for about five minutes a side, skin side down first, then remove to a separate plate.

Add potatoes to the same skillet, season with a little sea salt and black pepper, and cook them over medium heat for 5-7 minutes until they just start to brown, stirring occasionally and scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the skillet from the chicken.

Stir in the garlic and zucchini and continue to saute for another 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally, or until zucchini begins to brown. Stir in both cans of tomatoes (do not drain).

Transfer the vegetables into your prepared baking dish and spread them out evenly, then sprinkle with 1/3 cup shredded Parmesan. Nestle chicken into the vegetables, skin side up, and top the chicken thighs evenly with 1 Tbsp Parmesan.

Roast at 425 degrees for 30  minutes, or until chicken is cooked through to temperature and vegetables are tender. Serve the chicken with its built-in side of veggies.

An all-in-one chicken dinner for the win…

I also boiled up a pot of corn on the cob to go with today’s chicken, because those were included in Jewel’s produce sale when I was picking up the other items. But really, this chicken does cook up complete with its own veggie and potato side dish… the corn just took the whole dinner over the top.

Tomatoes and Parmesan are a classic combination for a reason, right? The diced tomatoes with green chilies add just a little kick to this naturally gluten free Italian chicken dish, while the juicy thighs pair nicely with the flavorful veggies.

Italian Chicken Thighs with Zucchini and Red Potatoes, printable recipe

4.8 from 5 votes

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Italian Chicken Thighs with Zucchini and Red Potatoes

Total Time

1 hr

 

Diced tomatoes with green chilies add just a little kick to this naturally gluten free comfort food recipe for Italian Chicken Thighs with Zucchini and Red Potatoes, while the juicy chicken pairs nicely with the flavorful veggies.

Course: dinner

Keyword: chicken, chicken thighs, Italian, potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini

Author: Rachel Singer Gordon

Ingredients

- for the chicken

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 lbs bone-in chicken thighs trimmed
• 1 tsp seasoned salt
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp oregano
• Black pepper to taste

- for the veggies

• 20 oz red potatoes diced
• Black pepper to taste
• Sea salt to taste
• 20 oz zucchini chopped
• 1/2 Tbsp minced garlic about 3 cloves
• 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
• 10 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies

- to top

• 1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp shredded Parmesan

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and spray the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.

2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Trim chicken thighs and season on both sides with seasoned salt, black pepper, Italian seasoning, and oregano. 

3. Brown for about five minutes a side, skin side down first, then remove to a separate plate.

4. Add potatoes to the same skillet, season with a little sea salt and black pepper, and cook them over medium heat for 5-7 minutes until they just start to brown, stirring occasionally and scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the skillet from the chicken.

5. Stir in the garlic and zucchini and continue to saute for another 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally, or until zucchini begins to brown. 

6. Stir in both cans of tomatoes (do not drain).

7. Transfer the vegetables into your prepared baking dish and spread them out evenly, then sprinkle with 1/3 cup shredded Parmesan. 

8. Nestle chicken into the vegetables, skin side up, and top the chicken thighs evenly with 1 Tbsp Parmesan.

9. Roast at 425 degrees for 30  minutes, or until chicken is cooked through to temperature and vegetables are tender.

10. Serve the chicken with its built-in side of veggies.

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