Easy Roasted Chicken, a Simple, Flavorful Feast (2024)

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ByLauraPublished onFebruary 15, 2024February 15, 2024

This classic Roasted Chicken Dinner is the one dinner that calls everyone to the table. No one can resist the tempting savory scent of roasted chicken or turkey. Be sure to note that the individual roasting time of your chicken may vary.

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Ahh, one of the most flavorful kitchen aromas is the smell of roasted chicken! If you want people to know you’re serious about seeing them at the table, then roast a chicken. Plus, you can add all the fixings and really make it special. Or you roast a bird or two and meal prep for the week. There are no wrong answers here!

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How to roast a whole chicken

Roasting a chicken takes some time. It’s not as long as a roasted turkey, but this isn’t a quick dinner to make. So be sure to pick a day when you have some time.

The process is fairly straightforward. Clean your bird, stuff it or don’t, truss up the legs if you want, or leave them loose, you can do either, and then you’re going to roast it in a hot oven until the internal temperature reaches 165° on a digital thermometer.

You can change a roasted bird by adding stuffing, fruit, or vegetables to the cavity. Or add vegetables to the pan before placing the chicken in the pan. But you don’t have to. There are a lot of ways to change up a bird in the oven, and most of them turn out pretty good.

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What You Need to Make a Whole Roasted Chicken

You’ll need a few special items to make this recipe but nothing you can’t find at a regular grocery store.

1 whole chicken
baby potatoes
baby carrots
butter
olive oil
sage
lemons
onion
salt
pepper
roasting pan
100% cotton string (you don’t need this if you don’t have it you can skip tying the bird)

Roast Chicken Temperature

Whenever you cook chicken, you need to cook it to an internal temperature of 165°. Be sure to check the temperature in the thigh meat where the meat is the thickest. Digital instant-read thermometers are the best way to discover the internal temp, it’s quick and easy, and your bird will get back in the oven and back to roasting.

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Leftover roast chicken recipes

You can use leftover chicken in so many recipes, I’m sure you have plenty of your own recipes to use up leftover chicken. Try this Spinach Artichoke Chicken Casserole or this Chicken Gnocchi Soup for delicious ways to use up leftover chicken. OK here are two more that are made for leftover turkey this Turkey Salad can be made with chicken and so can this One Crust Puff Pastry Pot Pie!

What to Serve with a Roasted Chicken

You can make anything you want to serve with roasted chicken. We love to make it almost like a mini Thanksgiving Dinner. Because this recipe makes a vegetable and potato dish, we like to add a green bean casserole and roasted acorn squash. I don’t make a pecan pie but I should!

Store leftover roasted chicken

Leftover chicken can be stored in an airtight container for 3-4 days. Reheat it in the air fryer, microwave, or on the stovetop. Use it in casseroles or soups as well.

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Baked Chicken Dinner Recipe

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Course: Dinner Recipes

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours hours

Total Time: 2 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 6 Servings

Calories: 647kcal

Author: Laura

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Equipment

String for trussing
See Also
Baked Boneless Chicken Thighs - Healthy Recipes Blog
Roasting Pan

Ingredients

5 lb whole chicken adjust cook time to the actual size of your chicken
2 Tbsp fresh sage chopped
2 lemons
5 Tbsp unsalted butter room temp
½ cup yellow onion
16 oz baby carrots
1.5 lb baby potatoes
2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degree F.
cut baby potatoes in half and onion into large chunks
add potatoes, onions and carrots to the roasting pan
add olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper
mix to combine
chop sage into tiny pieces and add to butter, use a fork to combine
cut the lemons in half and juice half of one, reserve the remaining lemon halves for use in the chicken
add juice of ½ lemon to butter/sage mixture and mix to combine.
remove any giblets from the chicken and reserve for another use as desired
clean chicken as desired
pat chicken dry with a paper towel, be sure to bake your time during this step as it will result in a crispier skin.
liberally salt and pepper the chicken.
place the remaining lemon halves in the cavity of the chicken.
lift the skin above the chicken breast and insert about half the butter mixture and spread the mixture as much as possible under the skin
melt the remaining butter in the microwave and baste the entire chicken
to ensure an even bake on the chicken, tie legs together with baking string and tuck the wings under the bird so they don’t burn.
place chicken on top of veggies.
bake at 425 degree F for 20 mins
after 20 minutes lower the temp to 350 degree F and cook for about 1 hour and 30 minutes or until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the bird reaches 165 degree F
Allow chicken to rest for 10 minutes before carving.