A Whole Roasted Chicken and Vegetables is an easy, one-pan dinner that is perfect for company or a lazy Sunday family dinner. This whole chicken has a crisp skin with moist, juicy flesh. Small potatoes, carrot chunks, and onion halves roast alongside the chicken and bathe in the pan juices.
We stuffed the chicken cavities with lemon, garlic, and fresh herbs which permeates into the chicken as it roasts, giving the chicken a delicious punch of flavor!
This simple dinner is a classic! All you need to add is a crisp salad and a make-in-advance dessert such as our vanilla panna cotta with strawberry sauce and your dinner is complete!
You can never go wrong when cooking chicken. If you have leftovers you can turn them into a completely new dish like our chipotle chicken pasta salad, or our chicken tortilla casserole. And you know a classic chicken noodle soup is not just for when you are down with a flu-bug it is good anytime!
This recipe would even make a great Thanksgiving dinner if you don’t want a large turkey.
If you are looking for more chicken recipes, some dinner examples to try would be.. crunchy pan fried chicken breast cutlets, chicken and rice bake, baked panko chicken, a deliciously creamy chicken in mushroom sauce, or a tangy lemon chicken piccata.
And if you are looking for some lunchtime ideas we have you covered. Here are two great ideas, a crisp chicken and avocado salad or a spicy chipotle chicken tortilla soup.
Here’s Why This Recipe Works
- Simple to make
- Moist and tender chicken
- Vegetables roast in the same pan
- One-pan meal
- Serves five to six people
Ingredients Needed For This Recipe:
- Whole chicken. We used a five pound chicken.
- Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Lemons
- Fresh garlic
- Fresh thyme and rosemary
- Butter
- Dried thyme
- Smoked paprika
- Olive oil
- Small Yukon Gold potatoes
- Carrots
- Small onions
- Dry white wine or chicken broth
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You will also need a roasting pan that is large enough to snuggle the vegetables around the chicken. Butcher’s kitchen twine. A meat thermometer will be helpful to determine the doneness of the chicken. And of course, a sharp knife and fork for carving and serving.
How to Make this Whole Roasted Chicken and Vegetables Dinner:
With time adjustments, this method of roasting a whole chicken can be used for any size chicken. An average size, whole chicken (about 3-1/2 pounds) will roast at 15 minutes per pound (unstuffed) in about 45 minutes.
As always, we recommend using a meat thermometer to determine doneness. That way you won’t overcook the chicken and dry it out but you don’t have to worry about undercooking it either.
We are roasting the chicken part-way and then adding the vegetables. This ensures that the vegetables do not overcook and become mushy. We like fork-tender carrots and potatoes! If you like your vegetables cooked more, you can add them much sooner.
Here is a brief description of how to put together this recipe. Be sure to scroll down to the printable recipe card below.
- Prepare the chicken: Pat it dry with paper towels. Coat it in melted butter, stuff it with aromatics and tie the legs together.
- Roast the chicken: Place the chicken into a large roasting pan and place it in a preheated oven.
- Add the vegetables: After the chicken partially cooks, add the vegetables and pour the wine around the edges of the roasting pan.
- Finish roasting the chicken: Return the pan to the oven and roast until the chicken is done and the vegetables are tender.
- Rest the chicken, carve and serve!
For the best results, use an instant-read meat thermometer and check the meat intermittently or use a leave-in meat thermometer so you don’t have to open the oven frequently. The above links are affiliate links from ThermoWorks . They make the best thermometers we have ever used and we highly recommend them.
Helpful Tips:
- For extra crispy skin and juicy meat: If time is not an issue salt the chicken generously then keep it refrigerated from 30 minutes or up to 8 hours in advance of roasting.
This creates a dry brine that helps retain moisture. Plus the salt will dry out the surface of the chicken giving it a crackling, crisp skin after roasting. - Make a quick gravy: There may be enough juices left in the roasting pan and the plate to make a gravy. Combine water and flour to make a slurry then whisk the slurry into a pot of simmering chicken broth and stir unti thick.
For every cup of chicken broth/juices, you will need 1/4 cup of water and 2 tablespoons of flour to make a slurry.
Additional Ideas:
This chicken dinner will serve up to six hungry people, if you have fewer guests and there are some leftovers use them to create a chicken pot pie for another meal.
Don’t let the carcass go to waste, toss it into a soup pot and make a great homemade chicken broth to use in your next great soup or chicken dinner!
Some Other Recipes We Are Sure You Will Love:
No outdoor grill required with these easy BBQ Baked Chicken Legs. They get baked in the oven on a rack so air circulates around them and they bake evenly. The sauce is added at the end of the cooking time to keep it from burning.
You will love the crispy skins on our Oven Roasted Chicken Thighs and the moist, juicy meat. The key to this recipe is a bit of honey combined with a blend of seasonings. This is an easy, weeknight dinner!
Whole Chicken in The Crockpot is one of those special recipes to keep for the days you don’t have time to cook! Just a quick prep, toss it in the crockpot, set it, and forget it for five hours! Then a quick browning under the broiler and it is dinner time!
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Whole Roasted Chicken and Vegetables
Ingredients
- 1 whole 5 pound chicken
- Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 lemons quartered
- 1 large head of garlic halved crosswise
- 1 or 2 bunches fresh thyme
- 2 bunch fresh rosemary
- 2 tablespoons butter melt
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound small Yukon Gold potatoes
- 3 carrots peeled and cut in 2-inch chunks
- 4 small onions peeled and halved
- ½ to 1 cup of dry white wine
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°
- Trim the excess fat from the chicken and pat it dry with paper towels to remove moisture. This step will help the skin get brown and crisp.
- Sprinkle salt and pepper inside the chicken and stuff the main cavity with some of the lemon quarters, the garlic halves, and most of the fresh herbs. Use the remaining lemons and herbs to stuff into the neck cavity. Close the opening with wooden picks.
- Use butchers twine to tie the legs together. Place the chicken into a large baking dish and tuck the wings beneath the body.
- Brush the surface of the chicken with melted butter, sprinkle with dried thyme, salt, pepper, and a light dusting of paprika.
Roast the Chicken:
- Roast the chicken for 40 minutes then remove from the oven.
- Toss the potatoes, carrots, and onions with olive oil and arrange them around the chicken.
- Pour 1/2 cup of the wine around the inside edge of the pan and sprinkle the vegetables with salt and pepper.
- Return the chicken to the oven and roast another 35-40 minutes until the juices run clear when a knife is pierced in the thickest part of the thigh or a meat thermometer reads 160°F and the vegetables are tender.
Rest, Carve and Serve:
- Remove the chicken from the oven and tent with foil and allow to rest for 15 minutes. The chicken will continue to cook from residual heat about another 10° after resting.
- Remove and discard the lemons, garlic, and herbs from the cavities of the chicken. Cut off and discard the string from the chicken legs. Lift and tip the chicken, draining the juices out of the body and into the pan.
- Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and carve the chicken, adding the pieces to a large serving platter.
- With a slotted spoon lift the vegetables from the roasting pan and arrange them around the chicken.
- Heat the juices in the roasting pan over medium heat on the stove. Add a splash of wine or water, if necessary, to loosen any stuck-on bits from the pan. Simmer for 3 minutes to reduce the juices slightly then pour the juices over the vegetables and chicken. Garnish with fresh herbs and serve.
Notes
- If there are giblets inside the chicken remove and discard them or reserve them for another use.
- Remove any pinfeathers from the chicken before roasting.
- If the breast of the chicken is browning too quickly, cover the area with foil.
- Chicken broth can be substituted for white wine.
- There may be enough juices left in the roasting pan to make a gravy. To make a gravy, for every 1 cup of chicken juices, you will need 1/4 cup of water and 2 tablespoons of flour. Whisk the flour and water together to make a slurry. Whisk the slurry into the simmering juices until it is thickened. Season with salt and pepper.
