Oven Roasted Whole Chicken

Oven Roasted Whole Chicken is the perfect one-pan weeknight dinner. It's easy to prepare, provides multiple dinners, and is bursting with flavor. It features a juicy whole chicken stuffed with garlic and lemon on a bed of potatoes, fennel, and carrots. The juice from the chicken drips onto the veggies for extra flavor!

This is our go-to meal prep dinner that we love to make whether or not Alec is in an ulcerative colitis flare. The chicken and veggies are easy on his stomach and it provides multiple delicious dinners. Plus our roasting method makes the skin perfectly crispy while keeping the inside tender. Trust us, this will be a new weeknight favorite!

Looking for other roast chicken recipes? Try this Wild Rice Stuffed Chicken or this Dutch Oven Chicken.

Jump to:

• Why You'll Love This Roasted Chicken
• Key Ingredients
• Substitutions and Variations
• How to Make Roasted Chicken
• Cooking Tips
• Related Recipes
• Did You Like This Roasted Chicken Recipe?
• Oven Roasted Whole Chicken

Why You'll Love This Roasted Chicken

• Taste - The chicken is well seasoned, bright, and flavorful.
• Texture - The chicken is tender, moist, and has a lightly crispy skin.
• Effort - It takes some effort to truss and prepare the chicken then you need to let it cook, and finally you need to carve it. But after it is carved, you have multiple meals!
• Time - It takes about 20 minutes to prep, about 1 and a half hours to cook, and 20 minutes to rest.

Key Ingredients

• Roasting chicken - The bones and skin of the roasting chicken add moisture and flavor. It also provides for multiple meals.
• Lemon - Stuffing the chicken with lemon adds a bright citrus flavor.
• Garlic bulb and cloves - Garlic infuses the meat with a rich aroma.
• Olive oil - Brushing the chicken with olive oil gives it crispy skin.
• Rosemary - Rosemary adds an earthy savoriness to the chicken.
• Fennel bulb - Fennel adds a mild anise flavor.
• Potatoes - We cook the waxy potatoes, like Yukon gold, under the chicken so it gets the chicken drippings. It makes for a delicious side.
• Carrots - Carrots are a sweet veggie that taste delicious covered in chicken drippings.

See recipe card for quantities.

Substitutions and Variations

• Orange - Use an orange instead of a lemon for a different and fragrant citrus taste.
• Onion - Stuff the chicken with onion for an oniony flavor. Note that onion can affect sensitive stomachs more than garlic.
• Wild Rice Stuffed Roasted Chicken - Stuff the chicken with wild rice to make a roasted chicken that is both flavorful and hearty.
• Vegetables - Use your favorite hearty vegetables instead of our recipe mixture of carrots, potatoes, and fennel. You can use just potatoes, cubed butternut squash, kabocha, honey nut squash, whatever hearty vegetable you like!

How to Make Roasted Chicken

• Preheat oven - Preheat the oven to 425°F.
• Prepare the chicken - Remove the giblets, any excess fat, and pin feathers from the chicken. Then pat the chicken dry and season the inside with salt and pepper. (Photo 1 and 2)
• Fill cavity - Stuff the cavity with some of the thyme and rosemary, the lemon halves, and garlic bulb. (Photo 3)
• Measure twine - To truss the chicken, first measure the twine about 4 times the length of the chicken. (Photo 4)

Steps to Truss the Chicken

• Truss the chicken - Then truss the chicken or tie the legs with twine. First, first tuck the wing tips into the chicken's body to hold them in place. Then, find the small neck bone and place the center of the twine around it. (Photo 1)
• Wrap the twine around breast - Wrap the twine around the sides of the breast, above the wings and legs, using your fingers to hold it tightly. At the breast's base, cross the twine to form an "X." Then, wrap the top end under the bottom end 2-3 times and pull it through to create a surgeon's knot, then pull the ends of the twine tightly to plump the breast. Tie the twine again to make a knot at the base of the breast. (Photo 6 and 7)
• Wrap twine around legs - Loop the twine around the underside of the drumsticks. (Photo 8)

• Tie the legs - Tighten the twine to bring the drumstick knobs together at the breast base. Use your thumb to press the knobs together so they cross. Continue tightening the twine and tie another knot over the surgeon's knot to secure it. (Photo 9)
• Finish trussing - Trim any excess twine and tie a bow. (Photo 10)
• Brush and season - Brush the outside with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. (Photo 11 and 12)

Prepare and Roast Chicken and Vegetables

• Prepare the roasting pan - Toss garlic, potatoes, carrots, fennel, rosemary, and olive oil in a roasting pan. Then season with salt and pepper. Spread the vegetables evenly in the pan and place the chicken on top. (Photo 13 and 14)
• Roast chicken and vegetables - Roast the chicken for 1½ hours, or until the juices run clear when you pierce the thickest part of the thigh. The chicken skin will be golden and crispy. Then, transfer the chicken and vegetables to a serving platter and tent with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes to allow the chicken to rest. Finally, slice the chicken and serve it with the vegetables. (Photo 15 and 16)

Cooking Tips

• Be sure to pat the chicken dry so the skin gets crispy.
• Be sure to let the chicken rest so the juices redistribute from the center to the rest of the the meat. It will also allow the flavors to further meld together.
• For easier prep, use a garlic press to minced the garlic.
• To ensure the chicken is cooked through, use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature. The chicken is done when it reaches 165°F (74°C).

Related Recipes

Did You Like This Roasted Chicken Recipe?

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