Easy Lemon Roasted Chicken
This lemon basil roasted chicken is sure to become your go-to recipe for an easy meal! Fresh chicken roasts in the oven with garlic, carrots, and potatoes. The whole dish is brightened with fresh lemon and basil.
Free from: Wheat, gluten, dairy, casein, eggs, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, coconut, fish, shellfish, crustaceans, mollusks, celery, corn, sesame, mustard, lupin, sulfites, nightshades, tomatoes, and more
Lemon and garlic roasted chicken is a classic dish that is both flavorful and hearty. Roasting carrots and potatoes with the chicken serve as a perfect built-in side dish. The caramelization of vegetables in the oven brings out their natural sweetness that balances with the tangy lemon dressing.
With the leftover chicken, you can transform it into dishes like chicken salad sandwiches without celery or easy chicken and rice soup!
Why You’ll Love this Roasted Chicken
- Super easy, classic recipe
- Built-in side dish with roasted veggies
- Super healthy! Great source of protein, fiber, and vitamins
- Gluten free, dairy free, egg free recipe, top 9 allergy friendly!
- Provides lots of extra chicken for leftovers the next day
Ingredients
You only need a few simple ingredients to make this recipe!
- Whole Chicken: A 6 to 7 lbs chicken is what my store typically carries. You can make this with a smaller 4-5 lbs chicken.
- Lemons: The star of this chicken! I use 2 whole lemons when making this, one to stuff inside the chicken and one to slice and lay on top.
- Fresh Basil: I love to use fresh basil, but you can used dried basil if that is all you have on hand.
- Carrots + Potatoes: I love roasted carrots and potatoes with this dish, but you can use any combination of root vegetables you have to make this. Sweet potatoes, parsnips, turnips, and more!
- Garlic + Onions: These aromatics flavor the chicken both from the inside and out! I like using a sweet onion or yellow onion.
- Salt + Pepper + Olive Oil
Instructions
This is a quick run through of how to make this lemon chicken. For the full instructions, complete with recipe measurements, please see the recipe card below.
First, there is no need to tie the legs or wings or any such things. Leaving the legs loose actually helps the thick thigh meat cook faster, which means dinner is done all the quicker!
To start, place the oven rack in the middle to lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 375F/ 190C.
Pull out your favorite baking dish that will hold the chicken and the veggies. Lightly oil the bottom of the pan so nothing sticks.
Place your chicken in the baking dish. Using paper towels, gently pat it dry. This helps the seasonings stick to the skin and helps with browning.
Season all the surfaces of the chicken with salt and pepper. I generally use about 3 to 4 teaspoons of kosher salt when cooking a chicken, depending on the size of the bird.
After letting the chicken rest, place the chicken breast side up into the baking dish. Drizzle about ¾ of the olive oil over the chicken and cover it with lemon slices. Add one roughly chopped lemon, a few cloves of garlic, half of the onion, and several basil leaves to the inside of the chicken.
Next, add the roughly chopped onions, carrots, garlic, and potatoes to the pan. Drizzle those with the remaining olive oil and sprinkle them with more salt and pepper. Finally, add the fresh basil to the pan next to the chicken.
Now, gently cover the chicken with some foil or a baking lid, if your baking dish has one.
Roasting the Chicken
Roast the chicken in the oven for one hour and then remove the foil to let the chicken brown. Check the pan to make sure there is still liquid in the pan, adding any if the pan is starting to dry out.
Roast the chicken for 30 more minutes until the chicken is nicely browned and cooked all the way through. Check for doneness by inserting a thermometer into the thickest part of the chicken, typically the breast or the thighs. It should read at minimum 165F but can go up to 180F, depending on how large your bird is.
Finally, let the chicken rest in the pan at least 15 minutes before carving. This helps the juices in the meat settle back down. Serve and enjoy!
FAQs
Aside from adding tons of flavor, the lemon actually helps to tenderize the meat on the chicken. Just don’t let the chicken soak in a marinade of lemon for more than a few hours as the acidity of the lemons can actually break down the chicken proteins too much and you’ll have gummy chicken.
Roasting times can vary based on the temperature and how big the chicken is. In general, you want to make sure that the thighs (typically the thickest part of the bird) reaches an internal temperature of 165F.
In general, you want to plan for 20 to 25 minutes of cooking, per pound, when cooking a whole chicken.
Top Tips
You can let this chicken rest at room temperature for 30 to 60 minutes before cooking if your time allows. This will help with more even cooking.
Salt your chicken up to 24 hours in advance, keeping the chicken in the fridge while it rests. This method allows for the salt to evenly diffuse throughout the chicken, making for a more flavorful chicken. Plus, it will be more tenderful.
How to Store
Any leftover chicken should be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.
How to Serve Lemon Roasted Chicken
- With Fresh Salads: A classic green goddess salad in the summer or an apple cider salad in the fall.
- As Leftovers: This would make a great addition to classic minestrone soup!
More Easy Dinner Meals
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Equipment
- Roasting pan
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- Baking foil or cover
- knife
- cutting board
Ingredients
- 7 lbs Chicken
- 2 Lemons fresh one cut into wedges one into slices
- 1 garlic head
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon basil dried or 3 sprigs fresh basil
- 1/3 cup olive oil or melted butter
- 1 onion medium sized roughly chopped
- 4 potatoes roughly chopped
- 4-5 carrots roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F / 190°C. Lightly spray a 2-inch deep baking dish with oil. Set aside.
- Prep the chicken. Gently pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Stuff the chicken with one of the lemons cut into wedges, along with half the onion, a few cloves of garlic, and some leaves of fresh basil. Place the chicken into the baking dish. Drizzle with ¾ of the olive oil and cover the chicken with additional lemon slices.
- Prepare the veggies. Roughly peel and chop the carrots and potatoes. Arrange the vegetables alongside the chicken. Drizzle the remaining olive oil over top the vegetables and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add fresh basil next to the chicken. Cover with baking foil or a lid if your baking dish has a lid.
- Roast the chicken. Roast the chicken for 60 minutes, then remove the cover to let the chicken brown. Check the pan for moisture, adding some water or chicken broth if necessary. Continue to roast the chicken for an additional 30 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F / 75°C.
- Rest. Remove the chicken from the oven and let it rest at least 15 minutes before carving and serving. Enjoy!
Notes
- How to Store
- Any leftover chicken should be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- How to Serve Lemon Roasted Chicken
- With Fresh Salads: A classic green goddess salad in the summer or an apple cider salad in the fall.
- As Leftovers: This would make a great addition to classic minestrone soup!
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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