The perfect summer meal: crispy roasted summer vegetables with grilled lemon rosemary chicken
Hi, friends! The night before I left home for the summer, we had this lemon rosemary chicken with roasted summer vegetables and it was the perfect light, yet really filling and satisfying, summer meal. I was only originally planning on sharing the veggie recipe, but both of them ended up being really yummy, so I figured why not share both?
For the oven roasted veggies (or you could toss them into a grill basket instead of using your oven), I used mushrooms, red onion, zucchini, squash, and asparagus. Eggplant and bell pepper would also be wonderful additions to incorporate some other summer veggies.
Sure, it’s quite a bit of chopping, but you can grab your most trusty knife, turn on your favorite Spotify playlist, and it can be kind of therapeutic and you’ll be done in 10-15 minutes. Or, you can enlist a helper or two 🙂 Either way!
I actually used to hate squash and zucchini because I thought they were slimy, but it turns out that I love them when they’re roasted! Roasting adds lots of flavor and crispiness to the veggies. I’ve learned that the key to crispy roasted veggies is to not overcrowd the pan, because when that happens, the vegetables tend to steam and get soggy instead.
I also pat the veggies dry to get rid of any excess water before I add olive oil and seasonings, which may be overkill, but who likes soggy vegetables? Not I (clearly).
Next time, I’ll plan to use two pans because this was even a bit too crowded.
After the oven does its magic, you’re left with a pan of crispy, flavorful veggies! They shrink a lot in the oven, so I’d plan to make extra 🙂
And then the chicken marinade is just a simple mixture of lemon juice, olive oil, Dijon mustard, garlic, rosemary, and salt & pepper. I like to save a little bit of the marinade to baste the chicken while it’s on the grill (okay, save it so I can have my dad baste it while it’s on the grill), so it turns out juicy and full of flavor. I’ll bet this chicken would also be awesome mixed into a creamy pasta dish. Enjoy!
Roasted Summer Vegetables & Lemon Rosemary Chicken
Ingredients
- For the veggies:
- 2 small or 1 large zucchini, cut into spears
- 2 small or 1 large yellow squash, cut into spears
- 1 large purple onion, cut into half-circles
- 1 large bunch asparagus, trim tough ends away and then cut the remainder into spears
- 12-16 ounces white or portobello mushrooms, cut into thick slices
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- For the chicken
- 1/3 cup lemon juice plus 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon water
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried rosemary or 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Instructions
- For the veggies: After washing and chopping veggies, spread veggies onto two baking sheets. Dry excess water with paper towels or a clean dish towel.
- Drizzle veggies with olive oil to lightly coat. Add black pepper, salt, garlic powder, and thyme. Toss to coat.
- Roast at 425 for 13-16 minutes, turning broiler on at the end if necessary to crisp the veggies.
- For the chicken: In a large bowl, whisk all of the ingredients together. Reserve 1/4 cup of the marinade in a small bowl for basting chicken later.
- Pound each chicken piece to a roughly even thickness. Add chicken to the large marinade bowl, cover, and marinate for at least 2 hours, if possible, or as long as 12 hours. Grill on medium heat for 3-4 minutes on each side, or until done.
*I’ve realized that my schedule/Internet access will be all over the place this summer. I hope to still be able to post 2-3 times per week whenever possible, but since moving into my apartment on Tuesday, I actually still have no wi-fi. The upside? Way fewer distractions and I go to bed earlier (which is proving to be super nice since I’ve been having to get up between 6 and 7 a.m. to run). Downside to no wi-fi: I don’t get to blog as often as I’d like… but I’ll catch up with all of you as often as I can! And I’ll be traveling to New York City next week, so who knows what kind of adventures will happen there?
Rosemary is one of my favorite spices/flavors. Especially with lemon. AH you’re going to NYC next week? Hit me up if you have free time 🙂
Sadly, I think all of our days are planned out so I’m not sure if I’ll be able to take off and do my own thing, but if anything changes, I’d love to see you!
I looooove roasted veggies! Especially in the summer when the best vegetables are in season!
I agree! I have a hard time making veggies any other way now 🙂 Besides steaming broccoli…I’ll always love that!
Lemon and rosemary is amazing on chicken, isn’t it.
Also, roasting veggies is the best way to eat them I think.
I agree 100%! Hope you’re having a great weekend, Dannii!
Ooh this looks tasty. I really like roasted vegetables. It’s my favorite way to eat vegetables besides a big salad. :o)
Big salads are hard to beat 🙂 You’ve got me craving one now!
Roasting is one of my favorite ways to prepare squash and asparagus! The texture is so great and it perfectly highlights their sweetness.
Seriously, it’s like roasting brings out all the natural sweetness in veggies that I didn’t even realize could be sweet!
This meal just looks like summer!
This is totally the perfect summer meal! Roasted veggies are my favorite. And have so much fun in NYC!
I love lemon chicken and this meal could really hit the spot this evening! As for the amount of chopping, I am one of those people who is strange and actually enjoys all of the prep work with cooking. It soothes me! Anything with garlic is good in my book, so I am going to see if my parents would be up for trying out this dish! Thank you for the recipe!
I enjoy the prep work, too! Except if I’m in a hurry…then I wish I had a prep crew like a Food Network chef 😉 Hope you enjoy if you try it out, Julia!
I love roasted veggies! Anything crispy is something I can get behind 🙂 Have a great summer!
Roasted veggies are the best! Also seriously your photos always look amazing, super impressive 🙂 I feel like roasted veg just looking at them haha
Aww thanks, Jessica! The veggies are so colorful and pretty that it makes it much easier to snap pictures of them 🙂
So fresh and easy! I’m always on the hunt for a simple chicken recipe.
This is really lame, but my brother and I are in his apartment, and we both had no idea what to make for dinner. I’ve been so lazy when it comes to commenting on blogs, but I hadn’t been on yours in a while, so I just had to pop over and see what you’re up to. Long story short, he’s now in the kitchen making this recipe. It looked way too good to just bookmark 🙂 I’ll let you know if it tastes as good as it looks (which is obviously will)
That’s so awesome- not lame at all 🙂 I hope it turns out perfectly for you!
Garlic in it?AWESOME!
I must admit I am pescetarian, I don’t eat any meat since I visited a farm when I was seven and that shocked me..
But this recipe is incredibly fresh, inspiring.. I’ll try at least the veggie part of it!haha 😀
I have to say that I am always impressed by how literally perfect your recipes turn out. It really seems like you work hard on these to get them just right because they are always perfect using the exact measurements you provide. This never happens when I follow other recipes, especially for main dishes and sides. I made this recipe today and it was perfect 🙂 I did use boneless chicken thighs rather than breasts. I do not like chicken breasts. I also baked it because I have no idea how to grill 🙂 I marinated overnight and it was the best! I could taste lemon, but it wasn’t overpowering. The chicken was moist. I could go on forever! As a side note, I made the veggies, but, something about the consistency of baked squash and zucchini, sends my mouth in a tizzy….sensory issues 🙂 But, the asparagus was great! So, next time asparagus only. Thanks for these recipes 🙂
Pearl, you are the best! I’m so happy that my recipes have turned out well for you. I do lots of testing before posting and always hope that my instructions are detailed and clear enough for readers to be able to follow without having to try to read my mind 🙂 Thanks for leaving such a detailed and helpful review!