Chicken with Figs, Olives and Lemons

This is an incredibly flavorful one pan dish for late summer when figs are in season. Golden juicy chicken thighs are flavored with sweet plump figs, salty green olives, tangy lemons, honey, capers and fresh oregano. The result is a wonderful combination of sweet, sour, and briny flavors.

This is an exciting dish that’s simple to make. Figs are only available in the markets late summer to early fall. When you see them I highly recommend grabbing them up to make this very special chicken recipe. It’s elegant enough for guests and easy enough for a cozy weeknight meal.

Tender chicken thighs are first sautéed then baked in a luscious lemony sauce with juicy figs and salty olives. The figs are tender and sweet but the olives, lemon and oregano balance that out quite nicely. The dish has a luscious taste, sweet, salty and tangy at the same time.

Are Figs Nutritious?

Figs are high in fiber and a good source of many bioactive phytonutrients, including flavonoids, phenolic acids, carotenoids, and tocopherols.

They also contain decent amounts of potassium, calcium, sodium, magnesium, and phosphorus. In addition, figs provide essential trace elements, including iron, manganese, zinc, and copper.

You’ll get the most nutrients if you don’t peel your figs; the highest concentrations of phytonutrients are in their skin. And darker fig varieties contain more polyphenols and antioxidant power than lighter ones.

Ingredients

• fresh figs – they make this dish elegant, plums or dried figs can be substituted, see notes in FAQ.
• bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs – I find the bones give the meat a lot more flavor and the skin gets nice and crispy, but you could also use breasts or boneless thighs instead, but reduce the cooking time.
• Castelvetrano olives –  known for their buttery flavor, meaty texture, and bright green color. I recommend buying them pitted to save time and work. Any type of green olive can be substituted if these aren’t available.
• lemons – half the lemons are juiced, the others are peeled and cut into beautiful round slices.
• garlic – the cloves are left whole and smashed.
• capers
• honey – a light raw honey has a nice flavor.
• fresh oregano – fresh is best, dried can be substituted.
• extra-virgin olive oil
• white wine – you can substitute chicken broth and white wine vinegar if you prefer. The alcohol in the wine cooks off.
• sea salt and fresh pepper

How To Make

This lemon chicken with figs is easy to make in one pan. There isn’t much chopping to do so the preparation only takes 10-15 minutes. After that you can sit back while the dish cooks in the oven. Here are the basic steps. The detailed instructions are in the recipe card below.

Step 1: Juice lemons. In a small bowl mix lemon juice, capers, honey, oregano, 1/4 cup oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper together. Cut remaining 2 lemons into round slices (exact directions below).

Step 2: Heat remaining oil in a 12” or 14”large skillet over medium-high. Sprinkle chicken with remaining teaspoons salt and pepper. Add chicken, skin side down, to skillet; cook until golden brown and fat is rendered, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Step 3: Add garlic to pan drippings in the skillet; cook over medium high, stirring constantly, until golden, about 1 minute. Add wine scraping up any browned bits from bottom of skillet; cook until liquid is reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in the olives.

Step 4: Add in the chicken, skin side up. Add fresh figs; pour lemon juice mixture over chicken. Tuck lemon slices around chicken.Cover baking dish with lid; cook in preheated oven 20 minutes. Uncover; cook until golden brown, about 35 minutes more. Garnish with additional oregano.

Serving

I recommend serving this chicken with, sauteed kale, rice, quinoa, cauliflower rice,  or cauliflower mash.  You want something to soak up all of the yummy sauce, because it’s so good!

Storage

Store leftover chicken covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat on the stove. I usually just leave it in the pan with the cover on and put it into the refrigerator. Then when I’m ready to reheat it, I simply put the pan on the stove and heat on medium low until warm.

If you like this recipe you try these other delicious one pan chicken dishes:

• Sheet Pan Chicken with Zucchini Tomatoes and Basil
• Easy Sautéed Chicken and Apples
• One Pan Chicken with Broccoli Rabe and Sweet Potatoes

Chicken with Figs Olives and Lemons

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A one pan dish of golden juicy chicken thighs flavored with sweet plump figs, salty green olives, tangy lemons, honey, capers & fresh oregano.

• Author: Ingrid DeHart
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 55 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
• Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
• Category: Main Dish
• Method: Saute, Roast
• Cuisine: Paleo, Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Whole30

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• ¼ cup lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
• 2 lemons, peeled and sliced
• 1/4 cup drained capers
• 2 Tablespoons honey
• 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh oregano, plus more for garnish
• 6 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 2 teaspoons sea salt, divided
• 1 teaspoon black pepper, divided
• 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 3 1/2 pounds)
• 12 garlic cloves, smashed
• 1 cup dry white wine or chicken broth and 1 Tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 1 cup pitted Castelvetrano olives
• 2 cups fresh figs, halved 

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Squeeze the lemon juice and set aside. Cut ends from 2 lemons. Stand each lemon upright on a cutting board; cut peel and pith from flesh using a knife. Discard peel and pith. Cut each lemon crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices, and remove any seeds; set slices aside.
3. In a small bowl, mix together the lemon juice, capers, honey, oregano, 1/4 cup oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Set aside.
4. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a 12” or 14”large skillet* over medium-high. Sprinkle chicken with remaining  1 1/2 teaspoons salt and remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
5. Add chicken, skin side down, to skillet; cook until golden brown and fat is rendered, 6 to 8 minutes. Work in batches if necessary.  Transfer chicken, to a plate, skin side up.
6. Add garlic to pan drippings in the skillet; cook over medium high, stirring constantly, until golden, about 1 minute.
7. Add wine scraping up any browned bits from bottom of skillet. Cook until liquid is reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in olives.
8. Add in the chicken, skin side up.
9. Add fresh figs. Pour lemon juice mixture over chicken. Tuck lemon slices around chicken.
10. Cover pan with lid; cook in preheated oven 20 minutes. Uncover, cook until golden brown, about 35* minutes more. Garnish with additional oregano.
11. Serve with sauteed greens, cauliflower mash, rice, quinoa or cauliflower rice.

Equipment

14″ Saute Pan

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Notes

A 14” saute pan is ideal but a 12” pan will work. Saute the chicken in batches, then put back into the pan with the sauce. Everything will be closer together.

If using chicken breasts or  boneless thighs, reduce the cook time in the oven to 20-25 minutes.