Roast Chicken slathered with a garlic-herb-lemon butter then oven roasted to golden crispy perfection.
Juicy on the inside, and served with liquid gold pan juices loaded with flavour, this is THE Roast Chicken recipe you’ll make over and over again!
The best Roast Chicken recipe is….
….. juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside with golden skin that’s buttery and herby and garlicky with just a subtle perfume of lemon to remind you it’s there without overwhelming.
It creates its own pan juices that’s used as the sauce for the chicken. This stuff is liquid gold!
This is the chicken version of the Herb and Garlic Butter Roasted Turkey Breast I shared for Christmas / Thanksgiving last year. I’ve lost count of how many messages there were asking for a chicken version – and I’m finally sharing it!
How to make the BEST roast chicken!
The best roast chicken has garlic herb butter under and on the skin, is stuffed with lemon and herbs, roasted until it’s crispy and deep golden on the outside, and juicy on the inside.
It’s really easy to prepare a whole chicken for roasting. The trick is to use an upside down dessert spoon to loosen the skin – the shape hugs the curves of the chicken and it doesn’t tear the skin.
Then simply spoon the garlic-herb-butter under the skin then spread it from the outside. OR hold it upright and drizzle in (see photos below) – whatever you find easier!
TIP: Use most of the butter under the skin, that’s where you get the most bang for your buck. Plus, garlic burns on the skin so you don’t want too much on the surface.
After the chicken is all buttered up, place it on a bed of garlic and onion. This serves two purposes:
Elevates the chicken off the base of the pan for more even cooking (otherwise the underside sits in the pan juices and will cook faster); and
Adds extra flavour into the pan juices used as the sauce for this recipe. OR used for gravy!
How to make the BEST roast chicken (cont’d)
I like to stuff the chicken with a wedges of lemon and a couple of sprigs of rosemary. Not so much for the flavour, because in truth, you can just barely taste it. It’s more for the perfume you get when you cut into the chicken so it seems like you can taste it.
And this is the reason why I do not put garlic inside oven roasted chicken. There’s no point – it doesn’t get hot enough to make any difference to flavour and just steams.
Flavour bomb set, now it’s time for the easy part – roasting.
How long does it take to roast a 2 kg chicken?
10 minutes at 220C/450F, then 1 hr 15 minutes at 180C/350F until the internal temperature is 75C/165F or until juices run clear.
The formula is: 10 minutes at 220C/450F, then 20 minutes for every 500g/1lb at 180C/350F until the internal temperature is 75C/165F or until juices run clear.
But….. I want gravy!!
OK OK, hold the tantrum! It’s all good! I have the gravy recipe in the notes.😇
But really, give the liquid gold a go one of these days…. It’s crazy good! I mean, it’s garlic butter. Infused with herb flavours and a hint of lemon. Mingling with roasted chicken juices.
Watch the video. It tastes even better than it looks! – Nagi x
More whole chicken recipes
- Slow Cooker Lemon Garlic Roast Chicken (set and forget!)
- Jamie Oliver’s Chicken in Milk (seriously delish!)
- Thomas Kellers’ Brine for Chicken
- Coconut Pot Roasted Chicken
- Chicken Noodle Soup – from scratch!
What to do with leftovers?
Use it to make epic Bread Bowl Sandwich, Chicken Pasta Salad, Chinese Chicken Salad or toss it into a Frittata or Omelette! salad
Best of Sunday Supper Roasts
Watch How To Make It
Sometimes it helps to have a visual – so watch me make this Roast Chicken recipe!
Roast Chicken recipe originally published May 2016, improved May 2018. Updated for housekeeping matters January 2019, no change to recipe. It’s perfect as is! 🙂
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Roast Chicken
Ingredients
- 1.75 – 2 kg / 3.5 – 4lb whole chicken , patted dry
- Salt and pepper
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 lemon, quartered
- 3 rosemary sprigs
Butter:
- 100 g / 1 stick unsalted butter , melted
- 3 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 tbsp sage , finely chopped (Note 1)
- 2 tsp rosemary , finely chopped (Note 1)
- 1 tbsp parsley , finely chopped (Note 1)
- 1/2 tsp each salt and black pepper
Under Chook:
- 1 cup / 250 ml dry white wine , or low sodium chicken broth
- 1 onion , quartered (Note 2)
- 1 garlic bulb , halved horizontally (Note 2)
Instructions
- Take the chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking.
- Preheat oven to 220C/450F (standard) or 200C/430F (fan/convection). Put shelf in the middle.
- Mix together Butter ingredients. Add juice from 2 wedges of lemon.
- Place chicken in a roasting pan. Use a dessert spoon to loosen skin from chicken (see video). Do the top (the breast) and the drumsticks – not the underside.
- Prop chicken upright, drizzle butter under skin, using most of the garlic/herb sludge, but saving a bit of butter for the skin (Note 3).
- Drizzle / smear remaining butter all over surface of the chicken. Squeeze over juice of 2 lemon wedges.
- Stuff used lemon wedges and rosemary inside chicken.
- Tie drumstick ends with string and tuck wing tips under the chicken.
- Sprinkle all over with salt and pepper.
- Place onion and garlic in the pan, place chicken on top. Pour wine around, drizzle chicken with oil.
- Transfer to oven. Roast for 10 minutes, then turn oven down to 180C/350F (all oven types). Roast for a further 1 hr 15 minutes, or until the internal temperature is 75C/165F or until juices run clear when pierced at the join between the drumstick and the body. Baste twice (30 min then at 1 hr), spooning pan juices over skin.
- Rest for 15 minutes – don’t cover, skin becomes wet.
- Serve with pan juices (see video for how to carve). I discard onion but use the garlic in the pan. See notes for side suggestions & how to use carcass for incredible homemade broth!
Recipe Notes:
50 g / 3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp / 40 g flour (any white)
2 cups / 500 ml liquid from pan topped up with low sodium chicken broth Melt butter over medium heat, add flour, stir for 1 minute. Add half the liquid while whisking. Once incorpoated and lump free, add remaining liquid. Continue cooking for 2 minutes, stirring regularly, until gravy thickens. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 5. COOK TIMES: 10 minutes at 220C/450F, then 20 minutes for every 500g/1lb at 180C/350F until the internal temperature is 75C/165F or until juices run clear. This assumes the chicken was taken out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking. If it’s fridge cold, add another 10 minutes to the cook time. 6. TYING DRUMSTICKS: I find it easiest to use one piece of string, wrap string around one leg, then yank the other leg closer and wrap string around that one to. Then once string is around both of them, it’s much easier to handle to use the string to pull then together then wrap the string around both of them tightly so they are crossed over each other. 7. CARCASS and leftover bits/juices: Scrape it all into a pot or slow cooker, add water so water is about 2.5cm / 1″ above chicken. Add 2 tsp Vegeta or chicken stock powder or 2 crumbled cubes, celery, carrot and a few garlic cloves (chunky pieces) and a few sprigs of fresh herbs like thyme/rosemary/parsley OR 1 tsp dried herbs. Simmer 1 hour / slow cooker 6 hours, strain. Pick out/off bits of chicken to use in soup. Use as incredible broth for Chicken Noodle Soup or Chicken Rice Soup. 8. SIDES: Roast potatoes (cut, toss in olive oil, salt, pepper and herbs, roast under chicken for 40 minutes), mashed potato or cauliflower, or garlic bread. Also try Potatoes au Gratin or Easy Cheesy Potato Bake – can make ahead then reheat in oven quickly. Pictured on the very edge of photo in post is this Kale Quinoa Salad (I often have it on hand as it lasts for days and days). Other great salads: Corn Salad with Avocado and Tomato, Roast Pumpkin Spinach Salad, a garden salad with Italian or French Dressing. 9. Nutrition assumes 1.2kg / 2.4lb of meat, remainder is bones discarded. Also assumes all pan juices are consumed which they probably won’t be, also you lose some in the onion/garlic/discarded chicken.
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
Like a mohawk – gone wrong. (Aftermath of a knee operation he had back in May 2018 when this recipe was first published…)
Hello,
What is the cooking time for x2 chickens that are 2kgs each?
Hi Vicky, as per the recipe as they are 2kg each 🙂 N
Delicious! I halved the butter amount and just added a few TBSPs of oil. I used the pan drippings to make a delicious gravy. I can’t say enough good things about this recipe.. or basically any of the recipes on this blog.
I’ve made this a few times. Absolutely delicious. Made the gravy tonight and absolute game changer…. So good! Thanks for the recipe
YOu’re so welcome Will! N x
Amazing. Best roast chicken I’ve ever had. I used jar garlic, rosemary and mixed Italian herbs in the butter because that’s all I had, with the bulb of garlic under the chicken with onion, with stock as I ran out of (*drank*) the wine. Made the gravy to go with it and served with roast veg. Even fussypants miss 4yo loved it, and ate without complaint. Husband and 10 month old also loved it. Thanks Nagi!
😂 love this Hayley – I have this problem all the time! N x
Do I need to cover the chicken when roasting?
It looks delicious and I want to try it tonight.
Hi Iamya, no need to cover. I hope you try it and love it! N x
Made this tonight. Use Kumera (NZ sweet potatoes and extra onion under chicken). Adde 250ml chicken stock to 250ml of NZ save blanc wine. Absolute winner. Partner said this was restaurant standard. Enjoy.
Sounds fab Rachel! N x
Hi Nagi,
Always felt intimidated by roasts but really trying to be a better cook for my family and I know how much they love these flavours in chicken. It’s in the oven now and looks good but I forgot to tie it up. Hope it’s not too much of a problem
It will be fine – enjoy!! N x
I changed this a bit due to not wanting to waste precious garlic or onion in current times! I chopped Maris pipers in thick slices for the chicken to raise up on. 4 cloves garlic, 75g butter not 100g. 2tsp mixed herbs as recommended but finely sprinkled more on the skin after.
I actually forgot the stock at the bottom! It still turned out great though; the potatoes cooked perfectly with a nice crispiness (those not under the chicken) the others were lovely and soft with lovely lemony flavour. I still probably could of made the gravy with some of the fats and a stock cube but I was short on time. Amazing nonetheless, thank you! One I will defiantly do again!
That’s great to hear Abbie! N x
Great recipe 🙂 I definitely recommend making the gravy at the end. The chicken on it’s own was mild in flavour but with the gravy it was nice and lemony.
And don’t we all love gravy Medeleine!! N x
Can I marinate the chicken with butter garlic for few hours before putting in oven?
Sure can Sayali! N x
I’ve made this a few times now and it’s always delicious. Once you do it a couple of times it’s actually a quick and easy meal to prepare. Amazing flavours.
Best roast chicken I’ve ever made, thank you!
Nagi,
Made this chicken tonight. Followed your directions exactly. Used fresh herbs from my garden that made it through the winter 🙂
Chicken was moist, flavorful and delicious! The video was really helpful.
Thank you Nagi for this recipe. Usually I don’t like eating the breast because it is too dry but my husband and I were amazed by how moist the breast was. This was the best roast chicken we have ever had. And the gravy was delicious.
Hi Nagi,
This is such a beautiful roast recipe! Thank you!
I have found though, I never have enough liquid in the pan to make the gravy, yet I always put a little more than 1 cup liquid stock. How can I fix this problem, because I would love the gravy!!
Thank you
Hi Loo Loo, just top up with a little extra stock 🙂 N x
Hello, can I use dried rosemary instead of sprigs for the cavity and if so how much should I use?
Hi Nagi, sorry I mispelt your Name, juggling with my chicken and writing in quickly.
2nd time making this and I will never make chicken any other way again!
The most delicious roast chook I have ever cooked – tasty & moist. Until I discovered your website my attempts at gravy were insipid. The gravy recipe was spot on. Served with roast carrots & potato. A perfect Sunday roast. Thank you
That’s wonderful to hear Colleen – gravy makes the meal doesn’t it! N x
Hello Nagi,
Thank you SO MUCH for your wonderful chicken lemon & herb roast chicken recipe.
This is the BEST roast chicken dish I have ever managed to produce.
Past attempts to roast a whole chicken have been so average, to put it politely, that I have not roasted a whole chicken for over 20 years… 😳
I found this recipe and decided that I had to give roasting a whole fresh chicken (I have only ever used frozen & thawed chickens before) one last try.
Apart from using lactose free margarine instead of butter, dried rosemary, a lemon, garlic & herb seasoning (plus extra minced garlic) and bottled lemon juice instead of fresh lemon as that is what I had on hand, I followed the rest of the recipe and instructions exactly, except I used two halved onions (trimming the rounded surface off so the chicken didn’t slide off the onions) under the chicken instead of a whole head of garlic, as I didn’t have one on hand.
I was absolutely stunned that this recipe and technique worked beautifully for me, especially since I lost track of time several times when my kitchen timer stopped working.
At last, I have found a neverfail roast chicken recipe and I owe it all to you!
Hugs & love from Australia,
Angela.
Sounds like you nailed it Angela, I’m so glad it worked out for you!!!
Love your site! Question…how crispy does the skin come out on this roast chicken? Thanks!