This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy here.
Say goodbye to dry oven-roasted chickens. This Lemon Rosemary Chicken recipe will show you how to roast the perfect chicken in the oven and feel good about the food you eat.
I'm excited to partner with Wolf in a series of posts in the next couple of months to help you make meals your family will love. After all, the kitchen is the heart of the home so my hope is that you pick up a few new favorite recipes and techniques that will yield delicious family meals.
As important, I want to talk about something very dear and concerning to both Wolf and me: the fact that less and less people are actually cooking homemade meals. Did you know in 1900 we ate 98% of our meals in our homes? Today, it's less than 50%. We spend hours watching cooking shows but only 31 minutes a day preparing meals ourselves.
The solution to change this is easy. Start with one meal per week and just cook! Cooking for our families doesn’t necessarily mean making elaborate meals. It could be the simplest of things, like roasting a chicken. I’ve been roasting my own chickens in the oven for years and never thought to write about the process, much less do a video! So today is the day I share how I do it with you.
As a full-time working mom who juggles three kids, homework, activities, and still cooks all of our meals at home, I'm constantly on the lookout for time-saving kitchen shortcuts that will help me get a healthy meal on the table so we can enjoy our dinner together.
Today's roasted chicken recipe is my favorite. I have a rosemary bush outside my kitchen door that I received as a housewarming gift over 8 years ago. Back then, it was a tiny plant but over the years it has given me the pleasure of seasoning a lot of meals.
I typically roast a chicken, or two, for our Sunday meal and enjoy it with vegetables and rice. Leftovers can be used to make tacos, chicken salad, wraps, quesadillas, soups, and much more. Wolf has lots of recipes and tips that will inspire delicious dishes in your next weekly meal plan on their website; so make sure to check them out.
You always hear me talk about shopping and prepping for the week on Sundays, putting together a meal plan for the week, and even how I shop on a budget. One of the reasons I'm sharing this recipe with you today is to help you achieve that one meal "together" and make the rest of the week easier to plan out.
What I love about this Wolf campaign is that you don't have to be a chef to make many of the recipes my collaborators and I are sharing. I encourage you to come back for more recipes I'll be sharing and even follow the #ReclaimtheKitchen hashtag on social media. One can never have enough kitchen inspiration.
If you are wondering how exactly do I cook two chickens at once in one oven, the answer is that big turkey-roasting pan that typically gets used once or twice a year. I use it nearly every week! I can fit two chickens side by side and use the extra chicken for other recipes! Side note: I prefer stainless steel roasting pans like this one to the “non-stick” pans. Over time, the non-stick coating chips off and the pan has to be discarded. The roasting pan you see today (below) is nearly a decade old and still going strong.
Check out how easy it is to roast a perfectly juicy chicken in the oven.
If roasting your own chicken looks easy, it's because it is! I promise you that once you taste the difference between your homemade chicken and one that has been sitting at the store for a few hours, chicken will never be the same. Your family will love the rosemary flavors, the juiciness of the meat, and the aroma that will fill your home while it's cooking in the oven.
How to Roast a Chicken
Ingredients
- 5 pound roasting chicken
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- 2 to 3 springs of fresh rosemary
- 1 lemon, quartered
- 1 head of garlic, top trimmed off
- 1 to 2 tablespoons melted butter
Vegetable Bed (optional)
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 4 to 6 carrots, peeled and cut into 2 inch chunks
- 1 bulb of fennel, tops removed and cut into wedges
- Olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425F (220C).
- Rinse the chicken with cold water inside and out and pat dry with a paper towel. Transfer the chicken to a plastic (washable) cutting board an remove any excess fat or skin from the chicken.
- Generously season the cavity (inside) of the chicken with salt and pepper. Stuff the chicken with rosemary, quartered lemon, and roughly cut garlic head.
- With a basting brush, brush the outside of the chicken with melted butter or olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Using some kitchen string, tie up the legs and tuck the wings under.
- Chop your vegetables over a clean surface. Drizzle the roasting pan with olive oil and spread them around the pan and place the chicken on top.
- Roast the chicken for 1 hour and 15 minutes (a little more for larger chickens a little less for smaller), checking for doneness around the breast at 165F (75C) and 175F (80C) around the thigh.
- Remove the chicken from the oven and allow it to rest for 5-10 minutes on a platter or cutting board covered with aluminum foil. Transfer the roasted vegetables to a serving platter and serve.
Nutrition
How many meals per week do you cook at home? Do you find it difficult to make meals for your family? What would you like to improve?
From time to time, I work with awesome companies to develop recipes for this website. Today's post was brought to you by SocialMoms and Sub-Zero Wolf Blogging Program. All opinions are 100% my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that encourage my creativity.
Leave a Reply