A simple to make roast chicken is a must on your dinner rotation list. This chicken is juicy and delicious, slathered with savory garlic and herb butter, and roasted to perfection.
This is going to be the best Roast Chicken you’ve ever made, and your family is going to go crazy for it! The perfect blend of herbs and spices, the crispy skin, and the tender, juicy chicken will have everyone asking for seconds, or even thirds.
Don’t want to turn the oven on today? Make your whole chicken in the Instant Pot instead! For a smaller chicken, this recipe for Air Fryer Whole Chicken is quick and easy too.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- A Classic Meal: If you are just learning how to roast a whole chicken, I am so glad, because I’m going to teach you the best way to make this beautiful homestyle meal. Roast chicken is a protein packed comfort food that everyone loves.
- Simple Ingredients: Fresh herbs and garlic along with some common kitchen staples are all that’s needed to make this roast chicken flavorful and cooked perfectly.
- It’s an Upgrade! If you’ve made my original Roast Chicken recipe, you’ll notice that this one is similar, but I’ve added a few new tricks that make it even better. This updated roast chicken recipe has more flavor because we’re adding the herb butter under the chicken skin rather than just on top of it.
Key Ingredients
Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
- Chicken: This recipe is meant for a 3-4 pound whole chicken. You can use it to make a larger bird, but keep in mind that you will need a bit of extra time to get it cooked fully.
- Fresh Herbs: Chop up fresh parsley and thyme finely to add to the butter. You’ll also need a whole sprig of thyme to add into the cavity for tons of flavor in the meat.
- Garlic: I use three whole cloves of fresh garlic, finely minced, for this recipe. I don’t often use pre-made, jarred minced garlic, but if that’s what you have you can certainly use it here.
- Onion: One whole onion, peeled and cut in half goes into the cavity of the chicken along with a sprig of thyme.
- Salt, Pepper, and Olive Oil: Basic kitchen ingredients add the final touches needed to make the perfect roast chicken.
How to Make A Roast Chicken with Garlic Herb Butter
Before you start: If you have the time, I highly recommend brining the chicken first. This will make the meat juicier and give it additional flavor. Use my easy chicken brine recipe! If you don’t have the time, you can still make this roast chicken without brining.
Tip!
Be sure to remove the bag of giblets from the inside of the chicken cavity!
- Prepare: Take the chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes prior to cooking. Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C) for a standard oven, or 430°F (220°C) if using a convection/fan oven.
- Make the Garlic Butter: In a bowl, combine the softened butter with thyme, parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper. Set the herb garlic butter aside.
- Prep the Chicken: Place the chicken on a cutting board, and pat dry with paper towels. Using kitchen shears, loosen and separate the skin from the chicken, and then use a spoon to push the skin away from the meat without tearing it. Do this to the breast and the thighs and drumsticks, not to the underside of the chicken.
- Season: Season the cavity of the chicken with ½ teaspoon of salt. Then use a spoon to spoon most of the garlic butter under the chicken skin. Push it around to distribute the butter evenly under the skin. Stuff the cavity of the chicken with onion halves and the rosemary sprig. Then truss the chicken or simply tie the legs with poultry twine.
- Bake: Transfer the chicken to a baking dish. Tip with the remaining herb butter, and drizzle with olive oil. Roast the chicken for 15 minutes at 450°F/230°C, then lower the heat to 400°F (200°C) standard oven, or 380°F (190°C) convection/fan oven. Continue Roasting, basting at least twice starting after 30 minutes.
- Check: Check for doneness after the chicken has roasted for 45 minutes at the lower temperature by using a meat thermometer to ensure that the internal temperature of the meat is 165°F (74°C) at the thickest part of the thigh. Add more time if needed.
- Rest: Remove the chicken from the oven once it has reached the correct temperature, and allow it to rest for 15-20 minutes uncovered before carving and serving.
Check out my tutorial on how to carve a chicken!
How Long to Roast a Chicken?
A 3-4 pound chicken should be done after an hour to an hour and a half in the oven using this method, but a larger one may take longer. The general rule is that it takes 15 minutes per pound of chicken, but you should always go by the temperature of the meat to be sure that it’s done. The safe cooking temperature for chicken is 165°F/74°C.
Success Tips
- Two Oven Temperatures. You’ll notice that we start cooking the chicken at a higher temperature and then lower the temp for the remainder of the cooking time. This trick helps to create crispy chicken skin and allows you to slowly roast the chicken too. It’s a win-win. Cooking the whole time at a high temp would give you dried out meat, and cooking only at the lower temp would leave you with soggy chicken skin.
- Brine if you can. The difference between a roast chicken that has been brined first and one that hasn’t is subtle, but also very noticeable. Nobody will know if you don’t brine the chicken, but they will definitely comment on how delicious it is if you do.
- Use a Thermometer. A simple instant-read meat thermometer is the best way to be certain that you’ve cooked your roast chicken to a safe temperature. If you’re not sure how to use it, I wrote a guide on how to use a kitchen thermometer that you might find useful.
- Don’t Baste Too Much. Start basting the chicken after it’s been in the oven for 40 minutes or so, but you only need to baste 2-4 times. If you baste more than that you risk making the process take longer, since opening the oven can cause the temperature to drop.
- Let it Rest. You will want to slice into this chicken right away because it smells so good, but please be patient. Allowing your roast chicken to rest for 15-20 minutes gives the juices time to redistribute, resulting in perfectly tender and juicy chicken.
What to Serve with Garlic Herb Butter Roast Chicken
This delicious and simply seasoned chicken recipe pairs well with just about any of your favorite side dishes.
Make it simple by serving with a Homemade Caesar Salad and Air Fryer Tater Tots.
For a full comfort food experience, add sides of Crockpot Mashed Potatoes or Boursin Mashed Potatoes and Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots.
Eating Healthy? Enjoy roast chicken with a Kale Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette, Strawberry Spinach Salad, or some Healthy Red Cabbage Slaw.
For sauce, try this delicious Horseradish Sauce, or serve it with Homemade Ranch.
Need More delicious chicken recipes? Try making stuffed cornish hens for your next dinner party, or serve marry me chicken, it’s everyone’s favorite!
FAQs
Roasting chicken breast side up allows us to get beautifully browned skin, and keeps the breast of the chicken from drying out too quickly.
The easiest way is to use a simple spoon. Tip the pan a bit if you need to scoop up the drippings and then just drizzle them over the breast of the chicken to baste it. You can also use a pastry brush if you prefer.
Leftover roast chicken can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Use leftover roast chicken in sandwiches, soups, or for a second delicious meal. You can also freeze leftover chicken for up to 3 months.
If the meat has fully cooked but the skin isn’t as crispy as you would like, put it under the broiler for just a few minutes. Watch it carefully so it doesn’t burn.
Enjoy this new and improved, perfectly roasted chicken recipe! Be sure to pin it, you’ll definitely need to find it again next time.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Garlic Herb Butter Roast Chicken
Recipe Video
Ingredients
- 3-4 lb (1.5-2kg) whole chicken giblets removed, patted dry
For the garlic butter mixture:
- 1 stick (113g) butter softened
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped thyme
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
To stuff the chicken:
- 1 medium yellow onion peeled and cut in half
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
To drizzle:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- I highly recommend brining the chicken if the time allows it, see my chicken brine recipe.
- Take the chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes prior to cooking.
- Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C) standard oven, or 430°F (220°C) convection/fan oven.
- Make the butter mixture, in a bowl combine the butter with thyme, parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
- Place the chicken on a cutting board, and pat dry with paper towels. Using kitchen shears, loosen and separate the skin from the chicken, and then use a spoon to push the skin away from the meat without tearing it. Do this to the breast and the thighs and drumsticks, not to the underside of the chicken.
- Season the cavity of the chicken with ½ teaspoon of salt.
- Use a spoon and spoon most of the garlic butter under the skin and push it from outside to distribute evenly.
- Stuff the cavity with the onion halves, and the rosemary sprig. Truss the chicken or just twine the legs with poultry twine.
- Transfer to a baking dish, spread the remaining butter on top of the chicken. Drizzle with olive oil and transfer to the oven.
- Roast for 15 minutes, then lower the heat to 400°F (200°C) standard oven, or 380°F (190°C) convection/fan oven. And roast for 45 minutes (this changes depending on the size of your chicken). Baste at least twice starting at 30-40 minutes by spooning some pan juices/melted butter over the chicken.
- Check the internal temperature of the chicken, when it reaches 165°F (74°C) at the thickest part of the thigh, the chicken is ready. Remove from the oven.
- Allow the chicken to rest for 15-20 minutes uncovered before carving and serving.
Notes:
- Two Oven Temperatures. You’ll notice that we start cooking the chicken at a higher temperature and then lower the temp for the remainder of the cooking time. This trick helps to create crispy chicken skin and allows you to slowly roast the chicken too. It’s a win-win. Cooking the whole time at a high temp would give you dried out meat, and cooking only at the lower temp would leave you with soggy chicken skin.
- Brine if you can. The difference between a roast chicken that has been brined first and one that hasn’t is subtle, but also very noticeable. Nobody will know if you don’t brine the chicken, but they will definitely comment on how delicious it is if you do.
- Use a Thermometer. A simple instant-read meat thermometer is the best way to be certain that you’ve cooked your roast chicken to a safe temperature. If you’re not sure how to use it, I wrote a guide on how to use a kitchen thermometer that you might find useful.
- Don’t Baste Too Much. Start basting the chicken after it’s been in the oven for 40 minutes or so, but you only need to baste 2-4 times. If you baste more than that you risk making the process take longer, since opening the oven can cause the temperature to drop.
- Let it Rest. You will want to slice into this chicken right away because it smells so good, but please be patient. Allowing your roast chicken to rest for 15-20 minutes gives the juices time to redistribute, resulting in perfectly tender and juicy chicken.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
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