Dinner · Chicken

Simple Roast Chicken

A whole chicken roasted with lemon, garlic and herbs. Leftovers become soup, salads and quesadillas.

⏱ 1 hr 45 min (15 min prep, 1 hr 15 min cooking, 15 min waiting) 🍽 Serves 5 · about 5 ounces meat leftoversbudgetfreezer friendly gluten free
📅 Add to my plan

ContainsMilk. Check the labels on what you buy; brands differ.

Ingredients

Make 5 servings

  • Chicken

  • 1 Whole chicken, about 4 pounds
  • 2 tbsp Butter, salted, softened
  • 1½ tsp Table salt
  • ½ tsp Ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp Dried thyme
  • ½ tsp Garlic powder
  • 1 Lemon, halved
  • 4 clove Garlic
  • 1 Yellow onion, cut in thick slices

Make it yourself

Make the butter yourself →

In the planner, Make it on the shopping list swaps the store item for these ingredients and puts the work on your prep day.

Nutrition

Nutrition coming: the USDA numbers for these ingredients are being added.

Steps

You’ll need: roasting pan or large oven-safe skillet, instant-read thermometer, kitchen twine (optional).

  1. Heat the oven to 425°F. Take the chicken out of its package and remove anything in the cavity. Do not rinse the chicken; washing raw poultry spreads germs around the sink. Pat it dry with paper towels and throw them away. Wash your hands and anything the raw chicken touched.
  2. Lay the onion slices in the pan as a rack. Set the chicken on top, breast up.
  3. Mix the butter, salt, pepper, thyme and garlic powder and rub it all over the chicken. Put the lemon halves and garlic cloves inside. Tie the legs together if you like.
  4. Roast 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer reads 165°F in the thickest part of the breast and the innermost part of the thigh, without touching bone.
  5. Let the chicken rest 15 minutes before carving. Spoon the pan juices over the meat.
  6. Within 2 hours, pull the meat off the leftover carcass and refrigerate it. Save the bones in the freezer for stock if you like.

🌡 Safe temperaturesChicken 165°F. Check the thickest part with a food thermometer (USDA). More on food safety.

Make aheadRub the chicken with the seasoned butter up to 1 day ahead and keep it uncovered on a plate in the fridge; the skin dries and roasts crisper.
❄️ FreezerFreeze cooked, pulled chicken in portions for up to 4 months for best quality. Handy for soups, quesadillas and pot pie.
↺ LeftoversUse leftover meat in chicken noodle soup, chicken quesadillas, Caesar salad or pot pie; reheat to 165°F.
🧒 With kidsMany kids like the drumsticks. Pull the meat off the bone for younger children.
Dairy-free swapUse olive oil instead of butter.

Goes well with

🥔 Creamy Mashed Potatoes🫛 Garlic Butter Green Beans🥕 Roasted Vegetables

Good to know

Cooking Fats Compared Salted vs. unsalted butter Table salt vs. kosher salt vs. sea salt Fresh vs. dried herbs Food Safety Basics

An original Teddy Rook Book recipe. Nutrition is estimated from USDA FoodData Central and changes with brands and portions.

@teddyrookbook GitHub