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The Best Roast Chicken is a simple and straight forward recipe that feeds the whole family! Crispy skin, full of flavor with oh, so juicy!
I love this recipe for Roast Chicken. It’s simple, perfectly seasoned, flavorful and oh so juicy plus lots of veggies are cooked right alongside the bird. Pair with some buttery mashed potatoes and you have a fancier weeknight meal or a lovely Sunday supper. Prep work only takes around 15 minutes and then off to the oven it goes. So much easier to make than it sounds. Promise!
Roast Chicken Recipe
This Roast Chicken Recipe is going to be simple, and it is going to be divine. Best. Chicken. Ever. And here’s what you’ll need to make that happen.
- Olive Oil – helps brown the chicken and get that crispy skin.
- Carrots – cut into large pieces. This along with the celery and onions cook right alongside the chicken.
- Celery – also cut into large pieces.
- Onion – peel and cut into chunks.
- Salt and Pepper – to taste!
- Whole Chicken – I use a 3 lb. bird with neck and giblets removed.
- Garlic – a whole bulb of it! Talk about flavor.
How Long to Roast a Chicken
There are three main indicators that will tell you your chicken is done.
- The Look – your chicken should be golden brown on the outside.
- Juices Should run clear– give your bird a poke in between the breast and the thigh to see if the juices are running clear. If they look a little pink, the bird isn’t yet cooked.
- The Temperature – to make sure your whole chicken is going to be safe to eat, you’re going to need a meat thermometer. After the recommended cook time, stick that thermometer in the thigh of the chicken. If the temperature reads 165 degrees or higher, your chicken is done.
How to Roast a Chicken
Even though you can find plenty of pre-roasted chickens for sale at just about any grocery store, making it from scratch is much tastier! Here’s how to do it:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- In a small roasting pan or baking dish, toss carrots, celery, and onion with 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper and place into the bottom of the pan.
- Pat entire chicken dry with paper towels, add garlic bulb into the cavity of the bird and tie legs together with kitchen twine (or use a small rubber band). Brush with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.
- Place overtop veggies and roast 60-90 minutes or until golden brown and registers at 165 degrees in the thigh.
- Remove from oven, cover with foil and rest roasted chicken for 20 minutes. Carve the entire bird and serve.
Side Dishes
What is so great about this Roast Chicken is that you cook a side dish right underneath it! You get your protein and your vegetables all in one meal. But if you just so happen to be looking for more side dishes to make this more of a complete meal, I got you covered.
More Chicken Recipes!
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Roasted Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 3 large carrots washed and cut into large pieces
- 3 ribs celery washed and cut into large pieces
- 1 onion cut into chunks
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 whole chicken 3-4 lb bird, neck and giblets removed
- 1 whole bulb garlic cut in half lengthwise
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- In a small roasting pan or baking dish, toss carrots, celery, and onion with 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper and place into the bottom of the pan.
- Pat entire chicken dry with paper towels, add garlic bulb into the cavity of the bird and tie legs together with kitchen twine (or use a small rubber band). Brush with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Place overtop veggies and roast 60-90 minutes or until golden brown and registers at 165 degrees in the thigh.
- Remove from oven, cover with foil and rest chicken 20 minutes. Carve the entire bird and serve.
Thank you for this recipe. It was super easy and very delicious! When I had about 20 minutes of baking time left, I added 1/2 cup chicken broth to the dish. Then I used the drippings to make gravy to serve with the mashed potatoes.
Well, I must try this. You don’t add anything along the lines of water or broth, just roast it with olive oil. Sounds amazing. And we can get three pound chickens here in Hermann, Mo. 🙂
This truly is the best roast chicken. Our family loved it! I will likely never try another roast chicken recipe.
Lauren thank you! Your recipes are highly impressive.
I love all of your recipes. Thanks for sharing them, as well as the delightful comments and pictures of your beautiful family. I do a lot of roasted chickens but have never added garlic. Do you peel the garlic bulb before placing it in the chicken?
Where do you find a 3 pound chicken? I can’t find one under 5 pounds to put on my rotisserie!
They’re all smaller (and overpriced) in NYC!