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Crispy and Simple Roasted Chicken with Herbs

Simple roasted chicken with herbs in cast iron skillet.

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This simple whole roasted chicken recipe is made with fresh herbs and comes together in about an hour for the perfect elegant, nourishing dinner and most amazing house smells (and leftovers!).

Ingredients

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  • 1 4-5 pound whole chicken
  • 1 sweet or yellow onion, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 2-3 lemons, cut into quarters
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 3-4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
  • 5-7 fresh sage leaves
  • Heaping 1/2 tablespoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

  1. Preheat and prepare chicken. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Rinse the chicken in the sink and thoroughly dry with paper towel. The drier the skin, the crispier it'll get! If desired, line your baking dish or cast iron skillet with aluminum foil. It's not necessary, but can help reduce clean-up after. Set the chicken in the skillet while you make the seasoning paste.
  2. Make herb seasoning paste. Combine finely chopped rosemary and sage leaves with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Stir to combine and form a paste.
  3. Season chicken. Stuff the chicken with onion and lemon wedges, plus a rosemary twig and a couple sage leaves. Place the remaining onion, lemon wedges, garlic cloves, and a couple rosemary and sage twigs around the chicken in the skillet. Rub the seasoning all over the chicken, both thigh-side (usually facedown when cooking) and breast-side, even getting it underneath the chicken skin.
  4. Roast chicken. Roast the chicken, uncovered, at 425 degrees for 50-60 minutes. At minute 50, take the chicken out and check the internal temperature with a meat thermometer. If it's close to 165 degrees, keep the thermometer in the chicken and monitor as the chicken continues to cook outside of the oven. If it doesn't reach 165, give it a couple more minutes in the oven. If it does, turn off the oven and let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Notes

  1. Chicken size. This recipe is written for a 4-5 pound chicken, and has been tested most with that size. Note that a smaller chicken will cook faster, so you'll likely need to check the temperature earlier (around 45 minutes).
  2. Storage & freezing. To store leftover chicken, cut it off of the bone and place in an airtight container for up to a week. You can also freeze it for up to three months.Leftovers are great in soup! Also, instead of discarding bones, you can freeze them or use right away to make chicken stock or bone broth.
  3. Kitchen twine. Some people prefer to tie the chicken legs together with kitchen twine to bring them closer to the body for a more even cooking experience. I have found success either way, so I usually treat this as optional. Feel free to do so, if you'd like!

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