Slow-roasted oregano chicken with buttered tomatoes from Nothing Fancy: Unfussy Food for Having People Over (page 189) by Alison Roman

Accompaniments: Celery and fennel with walnuts and blue cheese; Creamy cauliflower and onion gratin; Frizzled chickpeas and onions with feta and oregano

Always check the publication for a full list of ingredients. An Eat Your Books index lists the main ingredients and does not include 'store-cupboard ingredients' (salt, pepper, oil, flour, etc.) - unless called for in significant quantity.

Notes about this recipe

krista_72bovc on May 29, 2026

Delicious and simple
jessica_e8w974 on March 29, 2026

This is so good. I make it often and it’s very popular with all.
Willora on March 24, 2026

One of my all time favourite, hands off chicken recipes
peacheater on March 05, 2026

This was lip-smackingly good and so simple to prep! Used thyme instead of oregano as no fresh oregano was available.
abbycox on February 06, 2026

Super easy, tasty and impressive
jwm on September 06, 2025

I followed the directions the first time I made this and it was fantastic. I made it from memory then next time i cooked it. I found myself unexpectedly feeding 15 college kids so roasted two chickens at once (different pans - rotating racks). It got rave reviews, not only for the taste, but because it was so comforting and homey. I’m guessing it was thr first home-cooked meal they had eaten in a while. Nothing is more comforting and homey than the smell of a roast chicken.
PinchOfSalt on June 02, 2023

This book recipe is the same as this online recipe www.eatyourbooks.com/library/recipes/2307361/slow-roasted-oregano-chicken-with
PinchOfSalt on June 02, 2023

Made this in my Anova Precision Oven and found that it cooked much faster than expected. I suspect that was because the settings I used included having the fan on high. (At first I also had the steam on at 20 percent but when I noticed how fast the cook was moving along I upped that to 100 percent.) Bottom line the chicken was delicious with the breast meat a bit overcooked after only one hour. I made one ingredient substitution: all of the tomatoes from a 28-ounce can of plum tomatoes, minus the juices. That seemed to work nicely. Don't overlook the deliciousness of the roasted garlic. Squeeze out every bit of goodness and enjoy! This recipe is definitely worthy of being tried again with some adjustments to the APO's settings (lower fan, 100 percent steam, perhaps breast-down, maybe even lower temperature). Or maybe just use my regular oven (no convection).
CheesyKranskyLove on October 03, 2022

My oven probably runs hot because I found the chicken slight overcooked at the end. Very tasty flavour though and ample sauce.
Emily Hope on October 07, 2021

As others have said, this is truly delicious. Had a bunch of tomatoes from the garden that needed using, so I at least doubled the tomatoes. They ended up releasing a lot of liquid (and I may have put them back in the oven after the chicken was done, at a higher temp, to reduce them a bit?), but we mopped it all up with some homemade sesame bread.
chawkins on September 15, 2021

I made half a recipe using 4 chicken thighs weighing about 2 lbs, used Roma tomatoes from the garden, roasted at 300 degree F for 2hours. Very easy and very delicious.
lou_weez on June 06, 2021

Delicious!!! The salty, anise-flavoured chicken paired with the sweet jammy tomatoes is a real win.
anya_sf on March 26, 2021

Made again. Rosemary worked well in place of oregano, underneath the tomatoes so it didn't dry out completely. Grape tomatoes (uncut) also worked well. 4.5 lb chicken cooked 3 hours (salted 1 hr ahead) was falling-apart tender and still very moist with crisp-ish skin.
KarinaFrancis on February 01, 2020

Holy smoke this is so damn good! I even managed to get some crispy skin on the breast thanks to basting with the pan juices every 30 mins. I cooked it at 150deg C for 2 hours and the meat was juicy, the tomatoes were jammy as promised and the pan juices outstanding. Note to self: double the tomatoes!
averythingcooks on January 05, 2020

This made a wonderful Sunday dinner! I made it as written (using the tips from anya_sf's comments) with a 4 lb chicken and broiled some buttered ciabatta bread to eat along with it. I ate my portion as a knife & fork open faced sandwich as follows : toasted bread smeared with roasted garlic topped with chunks of chicken followed by the lovely "herby jammy" tomatoes sprinkled with crumbled feta cheese. Just delicious and an absolute make again!
Zosia on December 23, 2019

I used chicken thighs and baked them on a sheet pan. I omitted the butter and oil but the tomatoes were still very flavourful thanks to the juices from the roasted chicken (and garlic and oregano) and became "jammy" in the time it took for the chicken to cook. Family enjoyed this.
anya_sf on December 23, 2019

Roasted for 2.5 hours (4.5 lb chicken), the chicken was tender and juicy. I didn't have time to salt the chicken ahead. Some additional guidance would have been helpful. I left the garlic cut side up, but think the cloves would have softened more cut side down. The oregano was strewn on top and dried out, when I should have made sure it was under the tomatoes. We mopped up the tomatoes and juices with bread. Delicious and easy, as long as you have plenty of time. My mother-in-law said it was the best chicken she'd ever eaten.