Easy Roasted Chicken
This easy roasted chicken recipe is seasoned perfectly and so simple for weeknight meals! And, you only need a few ingredients to make it!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
One of the things I learned how to make early in my married life was a whole roasted chicken. It was one of those classic, basic recipes that every home cook should know, so I set out to learn how to make it early on. And I can’t tell you how much this knowledge has simplified meal preparation for me! Many dinners were saved because I at least had a whole chicken thawed in the refrigerator!
With a whole chicken ready to throw in the oven and a well-stocked pantry, I always had something I could make for dinner, even if I hadn’t had time to really plan anything.
Roasting a whole chicken is so handy because you can do so many things with it. You can simply roast it and serve it with sides like mashed potatoes, gravy, a salad with homemade croutons and ranch dressing, or just canned or frozen vegetables of your choice.
After you roast the chicken, you can use part of it for one meal, and save the rest of the chicken for other meals if your family is smaller. We’re at a point now in our large-ish family of seven, where we usually don’t have any baked chicken left over after a meal. In order to have leftovers, I’d need to cook two chickens (and sometimes I do!). But if you don’t need as many servings at one time, roasting a whole bird can be a great way to meal prep.
Use Leftovers to Make Bone Broth
But one of my favorite things about making roast chicken is that the carcass is great for making bone broth! This was a skill I learned before marriage, so it’s been a staple at our house for over 25 years now.
You can either make bone broth right away with the leftover bones, or you can put the carcass in a plastic zipper bag and store it in the freezer for later. You can make homemade chicken broth on the stove, in the slow cooker, or in the Instant Pot. I’ve done it all three of these ways, and they all work well.
Bone broth is something I like to keep stocked in my freezer for homemade soups and stews, so I pretty much have roasted chicken on the menu all the time, to make sure I have plenty of bone broth stocked up!
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Supplies Needed for This Recipe
- Large Cast Iron Skillet, baking dish or roasting pan
- Kitchen twine (optional)
- Meat thermometer
Ingredients
Find the full list of ingredients, amounts, and instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Whole Chicken: For this recipe, we’re using a 4-6 pound chicken, but you can choose a larger or smaller bird to roast.
- Olive Oil: You could also use avocado oil, melted butter, or coconut oil.
- Oregano: Oregano adds flavor, but you could leave it out or substitute Italian seasoning.
- Parsley: For flavor and color.
- Salt: This is my favorite salt to use in all of my recipes.
- Pepper: Freshly ground black pepper or ground pepper will both work.
- Fresh Herbs: Fresh thyme and rosemary are delicious in this recipe, but if you don’t have them on hand, you can leave them out, or use dried herbs.
This is a great recipe for using up fresh herbs from your garden if you have them! Every year I like to grow thyme, rosemary, basil, and other herbs in my herb garden for use in recipes. If you don’t have those on hand, don’t worry; they’re optional in this recipe.
How to Make Roasted Chicken
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Remove giblets from chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle some salt and pepper inside the chicken cavity, and stuff some of the fresh herbs inside the cavity (if you’re using the optional fresh herbs).
3. Place the chicken in an oven-safe dish, cast-iron skillet, or roasting pan, and tie the legs together with kitchen twine (optional). Tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken (optional). Drizzle oil over the bird and rub in with hands or a basting brush, being sure to coat all sides, even underneath.
4. Season the chicken with salt, pepper, oregano, parsley.
5. Roast the chicken uncovered for 60-90 minutes, depending on the size of your bird. To check for doneness, place a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh or breast. It should read 165 degrees F. All ovens are different, so the time it takes to finish cooking will vary.
6. Remove the chicken from the oven. Remove chicken from the skillet, cover with aluminum foil, and let rest for 15-20 minutes before slicing and serving.
Chicken is safe to eat when the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F. When roasting a whole bird, it’s best to insert the thermometer into the innermost part of the thigh and wing, and the thickest part of the breast, according to the USDA.
How to Serve Roasted Chicken
Serve roast chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy and a cooked vegetable like green beans. Or serve it with baked sweet potatoes or sweet potato fries and a salad with homemade sourdough croutons and homemade ranch dressing.
Roasted chicken goes well with so many things! Pasta, rice, quinoa, homemade sourdough bread, sourdough biscuits, or yeast rolls, just to name a few.
Roasted Chicken Recipe Tips
- If you don’t have kitchen twine to truss the legs (or you’d rather skip this step), be sure to check for doneness earlier (at about 60 minutes), as the chicken may cook faster without the legs being trussed.
- Cooked chicken will stay good in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
- Use the drippings from the roasted chicken to make gravy to serve over the chicken and mashed potatoes. Or, just drizzle the juices over the chicken before serving.
- To add even more flavor, add garlic, onions, and lemon to the inside of the chicken cavity before baking.
More Chicken Recipes
- Instant Pot Whole Chicken
- Instant Pot Bone Broth
- Slow Cooker Chicken Stew
- Creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup
- White Chicken Chili
- Chicken Cacciatore
To Serve with Chicken
If you make this recipe and enjoy it, please leave a comment with a 5-star recipe rating and let me know! Thank you!
Easy Roasted Chicken
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Remove giblets from chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle some salt and pepper inside the chicken cavity, and stuff some of the fresh herbs inside the cavity (if you're using the optional fresh herbs).
- Place the chicken in an oven-safe dish, cast-iron skillet, or roasting pan, and tie the legs together with kitchen twine (optional). Tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken (optional). Drizzle olive oil over the bird and rub in with hands or a basting brush, being sure to coat all sides, even underneath.
- Season the chicken with salt, pepper, oregano, parsley.
- Roast the chicken uncovered for 60-90 minutes, depending on the size of your bird. To check for doneness, place a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh or breast. It should read 165 degrees F. All ovens are different, so the time it takes to finish cooking may vary.
- Remove the pan from the oven. Remove chicken from the pan, place on a cutting board or platter, cover with aluminum foil, and let rest for 15-20 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
-
- You can substitute melted butter, avocado oil, or coconut oil for the olive oil.
- Feel free to adjust the amount and salt and pepper to taste.
- If you don’t have kitchen twine to truss the legs (or you’d rather skip this step), be sure to check for doneness earlier (at about 60 minutes), as the chicken may cook faster without the legs being trussed.
- Chicken is safe to eat when the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F. When roasting a whole bird, it’s best to insert the thermometer into the innermost part of the thigh and wing, and the thickest part of the breast. The baking time will depend on the size of the bird and your oven.
- Cooked chicken will stay good in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
- Use the drippings from the roasted chicken to make gravy to serve over the chicken and mashed potatoes.
