Name: Whole Roast Chicken
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 cups potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces (no need to peel); 3 cups carrots, 3/4 inch slices, at a diagonal; 1 large onion – cut into 1-inch wedges; 1 lemon, zested, then cut in half; 2-3 tablespoons olive oil, divided; 1 whole head of garlic, cut in half (see photo) or sub garlic cloves; 4-5 lb whole chicken, organic if possible, innards removed, patted dry; 10-12 sprigs fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, sage, or lemon thyme); Salt and pepper to taste ( 2-ish teaspoons)

This baked whole chicken is delicious and simple; anyone can do it! With just 20 minutes of hands-on time (60 minutes of baking time), the oven does most of the work and can be repurposed into many other meals during the week! Video.

A simple easy recipe for roast chicken with lemon, garlic and rosemary, baked in the oven over vegetables. A delicious dinner recipe! #roastchicken

There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so. ~Shakespeare

Here’s a tried-and-true recipe for Whole Roast Chicken that turns out perfect every time. Simply seasoned with lemon, garlic, and herbs, and baked over a bed of vegetables, the skin is deliciously crispy yet it is juicy and tender on the inside. The first time you make a roast chicken, you will feel like you truly accomplished something remarkable. It’s that good.

From start to finish, it takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes, with 20 minutes of hands-on time. If you’ve been intimidated by roasting a whole chicken, here’s an opportunity to learn something fun and new that I promise you will use over and over again. Once you get the idea, you can use the basic recipe for your own creative flavorings. This basic recipe is truly foolproof.

What I love most about this recipe is how the leftovers can be used for more delicious meals during the busy workweek! I always get several meals out of this by making the most flavorful soup (or stock) the next day, and using leftover meat for tacos, enchiladas or salads. So it’s like 2-3 meals in one! The meal that keeps on giving. 😉

How to Cook a Whole Chicken | 60-Sec Video

What You’ll Need

Whole chicken - The star of this easy whole roast chicken recipe; opt for organic, pasture-raised if possible.
Garlic - Roasts into soft, sweet cloves that infuse the chicken and vegetables with rich garlic flavor.
Fresh Herbs- rosemary, thyme, sage, or lemon thyme- add aromatic, herbaceous depth that pairs beautifully with lemon and garlic.
Lemon - Brightens the chicken with fresh citrus notes, creating a classic lemon roast chicken flavor profile.
Veggies: Potatoes, carrots, and onions bake beneath the chicken, becoming tender and flavorful from the drippings. Feel free to use other slow-cooking veggies- parnips, beets, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, etc.
Olive oil - Essential for achieving crispy skin and perfectly roasted vegetables in the oven.
Salt and pepper - Simple but essential seasonings that enhance flavor and help create a golden, savory crust.

How to Roast a Whole Chicken

A simple easy recipe for roast chicken with lemon, garlic and rosemary, baked in the oven over vegetables. A delicious dinner recipe that can be turned into other meals during the week!

Step One: Preheat Oven and Prep Optional Veggies

So the recipe starts with preheating the oven to 425 F and placing the oven rack in the MIDDLE.

While the oven preheats, bring the chicken to room temp and prep any optional veggies. Feel free to skip the veggies if you like! But I love roasting a chicken over a bed of veggies that will catch all the drippings- so tasty!

Here I’ve used 3 stray carrots, a russet potato and one onion. Other root veggies would work too. You want to use veggies that can hold up to being in the hot oven for an hour. So for example, asparagus would not work here. Get it? 😉

But parsnips would, or beets, cauliflower, celery root, fennel bulb – tougher veggies! Wedges of cabbage also work great. These will cook under the chicken, catching all the flavorful drippings.

Toss the veggies with olive oil, salt, pepper, rosemary and lemon zest and create a base or platform for the chicken.

Cut a garlic head in half and lemon in half and place half of each, open side down in the pan.

A simple easy recipe for roast chicken with lemon, garlic and rosemary, baked in the oven over vegetables. A delicious dinner recipe that can be turned into other meals during the week!

Step Two: Prep the Chicken.

A NOTE ON CHICKEN: I’m using a small 4-pound organic, local free-range chicken here- and this smaller size tends to work best. Having a whole chicken is a special treat in our house- it doesn’t happen all the time, perhaps a couple of times a year, if that.

So I splurge and buy the best local organic chicken I can find. It really does make a difference. They truly do taste better, more tender, more juicy, better texture overall.

This little guy cost about $17 dollars. This may seem like a lot, but if you think about how you will get 2-3 meals out of this- for 2 people, it is actually not that bad.

Using a better quality of chicken here will truly elevate the final dish. I promise!

Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and remove any innards. Sprinkle the inside cavity with salt and pepper stuff with the other half with the lemon and head of garlic.

Add 5-7 rosemary sprigs. You can also use fresh thyme ( lemon thyme is really nice) or sage.

Most people tie the legs up together with cooking twine – and yes, of course, you can do this- this is pretty traditional. But I’ve been preferring this simpler way- letting the legs just splay open- reducing the cooking time, less fuss, and keeping the breasts from overcooking.

If you’de like to try it this way, snip the skin between hip and leg.

Or feel free to tie legs together with twine- up to you.

A simple easy recipe for roast chicken with lemon, garlic and rosemary, baked in the oven over vegetables. A delicious dinner recipe that can be turned into other meals during the week!

Season all sides of the chicken (getting all the nooks and crannies- wings, legs, neck, back) with salt and pepper and place breast side up on the veggies.

Tuck the wings under the shoulder blades or into the hip “pocket”.

Drizzle the chicken with little olive oil, brushing it over the seasoned skin.

TIP: If not using veggies, baking in a cast iron skillet will crisp up the back side- always good too!

Step Three: Bake the Chicken

Place the whole chicken in the middle of the 425F oven, rotating it halfway through if needed. A 4-pound chicken will take roughly 50-60 minutes.

If you are using a bigger chicken, then it will take longer. I usually plan on 15 mins per pound- ish (for a room temp chicken). But don’t rely on time, use a thermometer.

INTERNAL TEMPERATURE OF THIGHS AND BREASTS:

Use a kitchen thermometer, cook until chicken thighs reach 170-175 F and breasts reach 155-160 F. The nice thing about this is it will happen at roughly the same time. Meat should be opaque and juices should run clear, not pink.

Because there are veggies in the pan, it’s hard to see the juices, so I always just use a thermometer. OK? 👌

A simple easy recipe for roast chicken with lemon, garlic and rosemary, baked in the oven over vegetables. A delicious dinner recipe that can be turned into other meals during the week!

STEP FOUR: LET IT REST!

Let the chicken rest 15 minutes before cutting so the juices don’t run out of the meat. YES, This is probably the hardest part of the recipe because you will be dying to dive right into it. But letting the meat relax will help keep it juicy and moist.

A simple easy recipe for roast chicken with lemon, garlic and rosemary, baked in the oven over vegetables. A delicious dinner recipe! #roastchicken

STEP Five: Serve

In our house of two, this is how we like to serve it…

We’ll carve off the breasts and serve with the veggies and salad. Then while we are eating, I’ll flip the chicken over and broil it.

TIP: BROIL THE BACKSIDE!

Turn the bird over and place it back in the oven, under the broiler (still on the middle rack) to get the backsides crispy for 5-8 minutes. (Be careful not to burn!!!)

By the time Brian is ready for seconds- the legs, thigh and wings are by now, nice and crispy. To me there is nothing worse than gelatinous skin. So crisp that backside up!

And remember, even if you devour most of the chicken you can still make a good broth out of the bones and carcass. Put the whole thing in the fridge overnight.

The next day simmer it in water for a couple of hours. Let it cool, pick the meat off the bones, and save the meat if you like. Season the broth with salt and pepper and use it for soup, stock, or freeze for later. Sooooooo tasty!

Spice Variations (endless possibilities)

Zaatar Spice
Garam Masala
Cajun Seasoning
Mexican Chili Seasoning
Dukkah!
Ras El Hanout (Moroccan Spice)
Berbere Spice

In addition to salt and pepper, try a spice rub. You can also make a paste- mixing spices and olive oil– and then rub this over the chicken.

A simple easy recipe for roast chicken with lemon, garlic and rosemary, baked in the oven over vegetables. A delicious dinner recipe! #roastchicken

How to use leftover Chicken

Let me know what you think of this different technique of not tying up the legs. I’ve come to prefer it, but curious what you think!

Hope you are having a good week.

Comments

Barbara Cutting says:

Jan 17, 2026 at 8:27 am

This looks delicious. However, I usually use the cooking juices from the chicken to make a gravy (which my family always says is the best bit!). There is no mention of gravy in this recipe – do you just spoon any liquid from the bottom of the pot over the meat, and if so, is it not a bit oily?

1. Sylvia Fountaine says:
  
  Jan 17, 2026 at 1:35 pm
  
  Hi Barbara, yes, you can absolutely make gravy, but because I place a bed of veggies in the bottom of the pan, they soak up all the drippings. Feel free to skip those.