Whole Roast Lemon Chicken and Veggies
This recipe for a Whole Roast Lemon Chicken with veggies is delicious, simple, and so comforting. Roasting an entire chicken at home is so satisfying yet surprisingly straightforward once you know what to do. You can enjoy perfectly tender, juicy, lemon and herb-infused chicken every time.
The Ultimate in Easy Elegance.
Roasting your own whole chicken is the height of home cooking, in my book. It’s actually quite simple to do, yet can feel kind of elevated and skillful, since most of us are so used to buying individually-packed chicken breasts, wings, or thighs.
Don’t, however, be intimidated by the whole bird. Follow these step-by-step instructions and the reward is a dinner that takes a little up-front effort, then cooks itself. With a little care to avoid overcooking the chicken, you’ll consistently enjoy juicy meat, crisp skin, and the always-popular flavors of lemon, butter, and herbs throughout. Better yet, veggies roast cozily right under the chicken, so they come out at the same time with no extra work and all the same seasoning. Serve this chicken and veggies with an extra side of sourdough or French bread, a salad if you like, and plenty of pride in yourself!
Best Whole Roasted Chicken
A whole roasted chicken with veggies is one of my very favorite meals. There’s something inherently cozy about it but it also feels like a very grown-up dinner. And when done right, it can deliver some of the most tender and flavorful chicken.
Roasting veggies right beneath the chicken has been a favorite technique since we lived in Belgium. A famed rotisserie chicken cart at our local farmers market sold the absolute most amazing potatoes any of us had ever tasted, and we quickly realized the “secret” was plain to see–the potatoes were roasted directly beneath the spinning rotisseries, so all the seasoning and drippings from the chicken went straight to work making those humble potatoes sing. Although most of us don’t have a rotisserie at home, fortunately a simple cast iron pan and intentional layering can imitate the effect.
Ingredient & Substitution Notes
Here’s a quick overview of the key ingredients. As always, find the full printable recipe with measurements below.
- One whole chicken. This might be obvious, but look in your supermarket’s meat section for a whole chicken. You might be shocked by how relatively affordable this is per pound! You do not need to look for anything brined or specifically pre-seasoned.
- Carrots and red onion. These veggies roast perfectly under the chicken and develop so much flavor. If you prefer to substitute or add extra veggies, celery, parsnips, and baby potatoes are all great options.
- A full head of garlic, unpeeled, plus a whole lemon, and fresh herbs if possible. Any mix of thyme, rosemary, and oregano, or a blend that you enjoy such as Herbes de Provence can be nice.
- Staples: butter, olive oil, kosher salt, black pepper.
Helpful Kitchen Tools for this Recipe
- Cast Iron Skillet or Dutch Oven
- Sharp Chef’s Knife
- Kitchen Twine
- Liquid Measuring Cup
- Instant-Read Thermometer
How To Roast a Whole Chicken
Begin by removing the chicken from the refrigerator and preheating the oven to 400 degrees.
Prep the veggies. Peel and chop the carrots and onions, then toss them in the bottom of your cast iron skillet or Dutch oven. These will be the bed on which the chicken rests.
Prep the butter mixture and aromatics. In a large liquid measuring cup, melt the butter, then add a bit of minced garlic and seasonings. Separately, gather the remaining head of garlic, lemon, and sprigs of fresh herbs. It helps to have all these things prepped in advance so you don’t need to go back and forth too much in between touching the raw chicken.
Prep the chicken. Remove all packaging from the chicken. You’ll most likely find a package of giblets inside the cavity — pull those out and discard them. Use paper towels to pat the chicken dry, immediately discard those, too, then place the chicken over the veggies, breast side up. Pour the melted butter under the chicken skin, letting it run freely down the sides and into the cavity. Tuck a few onion wedges, the whole head of garlic, lemon halves, and fresh herbs into the cavity for extra aroma and seasoning.
Brush and sprinkle the skin. Coat the outside of the chicken very generously with olive oil, kosher salt, and black pepper. Tie the drumsticks together with kitchen twine and tuck the wings under the bird, if desired. Confession: I actually don’t always use twine; I skipped it once because my kids had disappeared the twine for a craft, and didn’t notice a real difference.
How long to roast a whole chicken?
The amount of time needed to fully roast a whole chicken depends entirely on the size of your chicken and the temperature of your oven. I typically roast a three to three-and-a-half pound bird, which takes almost exactly 75 minutes. A four pound bird may take a full hour and a half, while a smaller bird may take only an hour.
Pro Tip
The variable of oven temperature here is important to consider; my oven takes a relatively long time to come fully to temperature, but then holds heat like a tank and actually continues to rise in temperature throughout the baking time. Knowing this allows me to adjust the temperature and cooking times accordingly, but if I didn’t know, I might struggle to produce consistent results and wonder why. A simple oven thermometer is very affordable and the best way to know what’s happening in there. And no, even my relatively pricey oven does not read an accurate temperature on its external display.
If you are uncertain, start to check the chicken for doneness after around 50 minutes. The most accurate way to check is to use an instant-read thermometer inserted at the thickest part of the chicken but not hitting the bone, nor inside the cavity. When fully cooked, the temperature will read 165 degrees F. Another visual cue is that the juices will run clear, not pink.
Do I need to baste a whole chicken?
Basting a whole chicken is not, in my experience, necessary for juicy meat or a crisp skin, and in fact opening the oven door repeatedly to do so can cause wide fluctuations in oven temperature that actually are more problematic.
Should I roast chicken covered or uncovered?
To get that really golden brown crisp exterior, it’s imperative to roast chicken uncovered instead of covered.
If roasting a very large chicken that must be in the oven for a longer amount of time, it’s possible that the skin will become too brown for your liking. If this happens, tent it with a piece of foil when it is browned enough until the chicken is done.
Once fully cooked, let the chicken rest out of the oven for about 10 minutes. This is crucial to let the juices reabsorb so you get moist, tender meat.
Carve the chicken and serve with the roasted veggies and pan drippings. Yum!
Serving Suggestions
Another great thing about roasting a whole chicken is that it pairs well with so many different sides for a hearty supper! Whether you go with Thanksgiving-like sides or a light and bright salad, it’s all good. A few of my favorites:
- Ultimate Baked Mac and Cheese (or our favorite creamy Instant Pot version!)
- Roasted Garlicky Green Beans
- Lemon Pepper Asparagus
- Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes
- Parmesan-Crusted Roasted Red Potatoes
- Kale, Apple, and Pecorino Salad
- Healthy Broccoli Salad
Storage Tips
Extra roasted chicken can be stored in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to four days. The meat can also be shredded and stored in the freezer for up to four months. This is such a great way to be prepped for easy weeknight meals like white chicken chili or white bean chicken soup!
More Easy Chicken Dinners
Chicken is such a popular weeknight meal for good reason: it’s versatile, easy to prepare, and full of protein. Here are some other recipes to keep your chicken dinners interesting:
- Lemon Thyme Chicken
- Lemon Chicken Pasta
- Greek Chicken Marinade
- Baked Chicken Legs and Rice
- White Wine Chicken Skillet
- Creamy Tuscan Chicken
I hope you give this Whole Roast Lemon Chicken a try! It’s so delicious yet so simple to make. Truly the perfect Sunday supper.
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Whole Roast Lemon Chicken with Veggies
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken 2.5-4 pounds
- 1 pound whole carrots
- 1 large red onion
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 full head garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 1 lemon
- 4-6 sprigs fresh thyme rosemary, or oregano
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Remove chicken from the refrigerator and preheat the oven to 400 degrees.1 whole chicken
- Prep the veggies. Peel the carrots, cut in half lengthwise, and chop into pieces 3-4 inches in length. (If the ends of some carrots are very thin, those don’t need to be cut in half lengthwise. The idea is just to make all the pieces roughly the same thickness for even cooking.)1 pound whole carrots
- Peel the red onion and chop into chunks. Reserve one or two wedges of the onion for the inside of the chicken, then toss the rest together with the carrots in the bottom of a large cast iron skillet or Dutch oven.1 large red onion
- Prep the butter mixture. In a large liquid measuring cup, melt the butter. Pull 3-4 cloves off the garlic, peel and mince them, then stir the minced garlic into the butter. Add the 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and about 1/8 teaspoon black pepper. Stir well.1/4 cup butter, 1 full head garlic, 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, kosher salt and black pepper
- Gather the aromatics. Slice the top off the rest of the head of garlic, so one edge of the cloves is exposed. Slice the lemon in half, and prepare your sprigs of fresh herbs.1 lemon, 4-6 sprigs fresh thyme
- Prep the chicken. Remove all packaging from the chicken and discard the package of giblets from the cavity. Use paper towels to pat the chicken dry, immediately discard those, then place the chicken on top of the carrots and onion, breast side up.
- Gently pull up the skin of the chicken with one hand. With the other hand, pour all of the melted butter mixture under the skin, letting some of it run into the cavity of the chicken, as well.
- Tuck the reserved onion wedges, head of garlic, lemon halves, and fresh herbs into the cavity of the chicken. Don’t worry if it doesn’t all fit—just tuck in what you can.
- Brush and sprinkle the skin. After washing your hands well, drizzle olive oil over the outside of the chicken. Spread the oil with a pastry brush to be sure the skin is evenly coated. Sprinkle the top of the chicken really generously with more kosher salt and black pepper.3 Tablespoons olive oil
- Tie the drumsticks together with kitchen twine and tuck the wings under the bird, if desired. (I actually don’t always use twine. Some consider this a crime, but I confess I haven’t actually noticed much of a difference.)
- Roast. Place chicken in the oven to roast for approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes. Begin checking the temperature around 50 minutes. It usually takes 1 hour and 15-25 minutes for about a 3.5 pound chicken to roast in my oven, but this will vary depending on the size of your chicken, how your oven holds and distributes heat, etc. The chicken is done when the thickest part of the meat reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. (If testing temperature, be sure you’re sticking your thermometer into the actual chicken meat — if it pokes through to the cavity, the lemon, garlic, etc. will remain cooler even when the chicken is fully done.)
- Rest. Let the chicken rest out of the oven, still in the skillet, for about 10 minutes. This is crucial to let the juices reabsorb so you get moist, tender meat.
- Carve the chicken and serve with the roasted carrots, onions, pan drippings, and other sides as desired. Enjoy!
