This easy Whole Roast Chicken Recipe is cooked to crispy-skin perfection in a Dutch Oven with Lemon, Garlic, and Rosemary Butter slathered on every bite! Add potatoes to the bottom of the pan and you’ve got yourself a complete, one-pot meal.
This is my favorite recipe for roast chicken. Cooking it in a dutch oven ensures the chicken is moist and flavorful, but still gets that awesome golden-brown, crispy skin.
Here’s what I LOVE about this roast chicken recipe:
- It uses only five ingredients (assuming you already have butter, salt, and pepper);
- The flavor combination of lemon, garlic, and rosemary creates amazing flavor;
- There is no waste– the lemon zest, juice, and rinds are used, as well as the onion, garlic, and rosemary scraps;
- While it takes a while to roast in the oven, the prep time is only 10-15 minutes!
- You can add potatoes to the bottom of the pan to cook and soak up all those delicious juices while the chicken roasts for an easy one-pot meal. YUM!
And the other thing? A whole roast chicken is a foolproof way to impress people. This recipe comes out gorgeous every time, and it’s perfect for a dinner party or date but also easy enough to make for your family on a whim.
Tips for making the BEST Whole Roast Chicken
- Pat the chicken dry. This will help the skin crisp up to perfection.
- Season the cavity. Add a LOT of salt and pepper inside, and stuff it with the lemon rinds, rosemary sprigs and stems, garlic scraps, and onion scraps. This will help keep it moist and flavor it from the inside out.
- Add the butter mixture under AND over the breast skin. Use your hands for this (then give them a good wash). It’s important to spread the mixture liberally over the entire chicken (every nook and cranny). In addition, I separate the skin from the top of the breast and spread some of the butter underneath, being careful not to tear the skin (intact skin helps the meat stay moist since it keeps the juices in). This creates extra crispy skin and helps flavor the meat better.
- Truss the chicken. Not in a complicated way- I just tie the legs tightly together using kitchen twine. This helps keep everything nice and neat and compact for even, consistent cooking. If the legs splay out too much, they will cook too quickly, causing them to become dry.
- Roast high, then low. Roast the chicken at 475 for 15 minutes- this gets the crispy skin process going. Then, turn the heat down and roast at 350 for approximately 20 minutes per pound, or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees (I stick my meat thermometer into the thickest part of the breast as far as it will go, then retract it just a little so it’s not touching the bone. It won’t read accurately if it is touching a bone)
- Let it sit for at least 10 minutes when it’s done. This will ensure that a) the chicken isn’t too hot to handle when you carve it, and b) that the juices have a chance to redistribute. If you cut into it too quickly, the juices will escape too fast and the chicken will become dry.
Roasting a Whole Chicken in your Dutch Oven
I have a blue Cuisinart Classic Enameled Cast Iron 5-1/2-Quart Oval dutch oven, which I LOVE and HIGHLY recommend. Conveniently, it perfectly fits a chicken, and because it gets so hot on the sides , it helps roast it evenly on all sides of the chicken for awesomely crispy skin.
Here are some tips to roasting a whole chicken in your dutch oven:
- Layer onions and potatoes (or another root veggie) on the bottom so you have a complete meal. The veggies will soak up all the juices as it cooks.
- Keep the cover off when roasting. If the skin browns too quickly on top, you can place the cover on ajar on top to help avoid direct hot heat, or tent it with foil if the cover doesn’t fit/the chicken is too tall.
By the way… a Dutch Oven is also an amazing thing to bake crusty, no knead artisan bread in!
If you don’t have a Dutch Oven…
You can easily make this recipe in a large casserole dish or roasting pan using the same method!
Or, you can use your slow cooker. Just keep in mind, you won’t have any crispy skin if you do this. Slather the chicken in the butter mixture, and set on top of onions (and potatoes, if you want) in your slow cooker. Cook for 4 hours on high. (more on how to cook a whole chicken in your slow cooker)
You may also be interested in another one-pan chicken recipe: Spiced Chicken and Rice with Apples and Raisins. YUM.
Don’t throw the chicken bones/carcass out!
Make homemade chicken stock with them. Just store the carcass/bones in your freezer in an airtight bag or container until you’re ready to make it!
Recipes to make with leftover roast chicken:
- Easy Chicken and Dumplings from Scratch
- Chicken Salad with Grapes and Walnuts
- Avgolemono (Greek Chicken Soup with Lemon)
- Cobb Salad with Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
- Healthy 20-Minute Chicken and Mushroom Stroganoff
- Chicken and Corn Enchilada Casserole
- BBQ Chicken Naan Pizza
And check out these other easy recipes you can make in a dutch oven from Pinch of Yum!
Did you make this Dutch Oven Whole Roast Chicken? Please comment below and Rate this Recipe
Dutch Oven Whole Roast Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken about 4-5 lbs.
- 2 lemons
- 5 cloves garlic 3 minced, 2 cut in half
- 4 sprigs fresh rosemary 3 finely chopped, 1 left whole
- 2 large onions halved and thickly sliced, end scraps reserved
- 4 tablespoons butter (1/2 stick)
- kosher salt see notes
- black pepper see notes
- 1.5 lbs. potatoes cut into 1" pieces, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.
- Melt butter (4 tablespoons) in small bowl (I used my Pyrex measuring cup); add minced garlic (3 cloves), chopped rosemary (from 3 sprigs, about 2 tablespoons), the zest of the two lemons, and plenty of kosher salt and black pepper to taste. Set aside.
- Place the onions in bottom of enameled cast iron dutch oven. Reserve the end scraps. If using potatoes, add them on top of the onions.
- Prepare chicken by removing giblets from cavity and patting dry with paper towels.
- Liberally season the cavity with salt and pepper. LIBERALLY.
- Cut the zested lemons in half; reserve juice and save rinds.
- The butter mixture will have hardened slightly by now. Using your hands, slather the mixture liberally over every part of the chicken and under the breast skin (being careful not to tear the skin).
- Stuff the cavity of the chicken with the lemon rinds, onion scraps, remaining 2 garlic cloves, and rosemary sprig/stems. Place in dutch oven on top of sliced onions and potatoes, if using.
- Tie the legs of the chicken together tightly using kitchen twine.
- Pour reserved lemon juice over the chicken.
- Roast chicken UNCOVERED for 15 minutes at 475, then reduce heat to 350 and cook STILL UNCOVERED for approximately 20 minutes PER POUND, or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees (about 1.5 hours for a 4.5 lb. chicken). The chicken should be uncovered the entire time it cooks, unless it seems like it's burning (see notes).
- Allow the chicken to rest for at least 10 minutes before carving.
Notes
- Basting: If you want to, baste the chicken approximately halfway through cooking process. You don't have to.
- Salt and pepper: You want to salt and pepper liberally- I’d say at least 1 tablespoon of kosher salt for a 4ish lb. bird (up to 2 tablespoons, if you have a larger chicken that’s more like 8 lbs.). Pepper you can do to your taste- it will give it a nice kick if you use a lot (around 2 teaspoons) but you can definitely get away with only 1/2 teaspoon.
- If chicken is burning: you should cook the chicken uncovered in the dutch oven, but if it starts to burn on top and the internal temperature is not high enough yet, you can place the lid on ajar to avoid direct heat and prevent further burning. Or, you can tent it with foil on top.
- Other vegetables: You can add carrots or other root veggies, that take a long time to cook, in the bottom of the pan in place of or in addition to the potatoes. Note: I actually prefer to roast my potatoes/veggies separately because they get more browned, but it's super convenient to cook them in the same pot!
- Slow cooker instructions: Place sliced onions in bottom of large slow cooker. Prepare chicken as directed above. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours or high for 4-5, until the chicken is falling off the bone. (this method will not make crispy skin, but will still be delicious!
- Make it paleo/dairy free/Whole30: Use olive oil or ghee instead of butter.
- The provided nutrition information does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. Feel free to calculate it yourself using this calculator or by adding the recipe to Yummly.
- If you are sensitive to lemon flavor, you may want to use only 1 lemon. Same goes for if you are using extremely large or juicy lemons. Some readers have commented that the flavor is too lemony. I LOVE a really lemony chicken but no harm in cutting the amount in half if that's not your thing!
Nutrition
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:
This recipe first appeared on Bowl of Delicious as “Lemon, Garlic, and Rosemary Whole Roast Chicken.” It has been updated with new photographs, clearer instructions, and the option of adding potatoes based on suggestions from reader comments.
viki
Probably the best chicken i’ve ever eaten.
The time suggested wasn’t enough ,I had to cover for 45 min and then uncover on a high temp to get that crispy skin.It was awesome !
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it! Cooking time can vary by a number of factors, and I’m happy you were able to figure out a solution that worked for you – thanks for sharing what you did!
Jessie
*I haven’t made this recipe.
We are in AZ and it’s too hot to run the oven. I have an outside stove I want to use. Would this work with a cast iron Dutch oven on stove top?
Elizabeth Lindemann
I’ve never tried this method. One of the best things about this recipe is that it bakes in the oven with the lid OFF for crispy skin but a juicy chicken. Keeping the lid off on the stovetop wouldn’t work so it would be very different. HOWEVER, you might want to look into making it in your slow cooker! You can use the same buttery rub and follow the prep directions in this recipe, and cook on high for about 4 hours. You wouldn’t get crispy skin (though you can stick it under your broiler after cooking if you want), but it would be juicy and delicious and you wouldn’t heat up your house with the oven. Here’s more info on cooking a whole chicken in the slow cooker: https://www.bowlofdelicious.com/slow-cooker-whole-chicken/ Hope that helps!
Erin O'Malley
I’m wanting to make this recipe but ai only have a cast iron Dutch Oven that doesn’t have enamel. Should I change the temperature or anything before cooking because of this?
Elizabeth Lindemann
This is a good question! I think you will be all set with the instructions as written. Non enameled cast iron can get a little hotter because of the dark color, but I don’t think it will be enough to effect this too much. Keep an eye on it – you may find it just needs a little less time overall to completely cook, so keep a meat thermometer in so you can check or maybe check the internal temp 15 minutes early or something. Hope that helps and hope you like it!
Janet
Could you tell me about the butter mixture? I read it a couple of times and never saw the ingrediants.
Elizabeth Lindemann
I think you may have missed the actual recipe card at the bottom! If you scroll all the way down you’ll see a recipe card that you can view or print out and it has all the instructions and ingredients as a traditional recipe. Here’s the quick link to the one for this recipe (you can also hit “jump to recipe” at the top of the post to bring you down there) – https://www.bowlofdelicious.com/lemon-garlic-and-rosemary-whole-roast-chicken/#wprm-recipe-container-7308
Mary Ann
This chicken was really flavorful and easy to make. I used only one Meyer lemon, as I was afraid that it would be too overpowering and my suspicions were right. I felt that the vegetables were bitter tasting. In an attempt to make this more healthy, I used olive oil instead of butter, but found that the olive oil collected at the bottom of the pan and made the vegetables too oily. That was my bad. Next time I will use the butter, as directed. Vegetables swimming in butter are a lot better tasting than swimming in oil. LOL. I took off one star for the recipe’s amount of salt used. Salting “liberally” is rather subjective, so I used the amount she suggested in her notes, but found that it to be too much salt.
Overall, I will definitely make this recipe again, but use only lemon zest and less salt. This was an easy recipe and bears repeating.
Elizabeth Lindemann
This is great feedback, thanks for the thorough response! Meyer lemons are usually much juicier than regular lemons so good call with using only one. And yes, I think butter will be better than oil with the veggies in the bottom – but I actually prefer roasting my veggies separately (but most readers who make this recipe love the way they cook at the bottom of the Dutch Oven with the butter, though, which is why I kept it in the instructions!).
Claudia
Absolutely delicious!
The chicken was sooo juicy and flavourful – love it!!!
Thank you for the great recipe.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Mary
Made it tonight and it turned out REALLY GOOD! :-)
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Lace
Excellent recipe, I used a combination of butter and olive oil for the seasoning blend. I basted the chicken while cooking so it wouldn’t dry out. Very tasty, thank you!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it! Basting won’t hurt it, but if you want to save yourself the hassle next time I find it comes out super juicy without bothering to baste at all!
Jbm
Outstanding!! And so easy! I add celery and carrots in addition to onions and potatoes on the initial cook, and add water the next day making for a delicious soup.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it, and I love that you got two meals out of it with the soup later!
Amelia Herman
Love it! Love the lemony-ness (I use Real Lemon and reserve the fresh, live stuff to make a salad dressing). Love the thoroughness of the recipie itself! You clearly know your stuff here, and I really appreciate all the options and tips. And The Stock — oh my gosh the stock that comes out of the leftover carcas is unrivaled! I don’t ever want to make stock with anything else. Bar highly raised!
How might it go to reduce the heat slightly and cook longer. With all that moisture, i’m interested to see how close to literally ‘falling off the bone’ i can get the meat. Wouldn’t want to overcook of course though.
Also, I’m new-ish to non-vegetarianism. I’ve made this recipe 3 times before, 4th today. No idea how to peel back the skin and apply the mixutre under it lol it’s a bit terrifying! Any tips on that?
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you like it! This is a great question. I’ll try to add some photos/a tutorial on putting seasoning under the skin soon, but in the meantime, check out Rachel from The Stay At Home Chef’s video tutorial on roasting a chicken – at 2:45 she puts the butter and seasoning under the skin and it’s pretty easy to see. Hope that helps! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlpMIwVLk4w
Robbie
What would you substitute for butter ( I don’t mix meat and dairy)?
Elizabeth Lindemann
You can use olive oil! Or ghee would work (clarified butter with the dairy particles removed- not sure if that’s ok or not).
mitzi
Robbie, why can’t you use margarine?
Elizabeth Lindemann
Margarine would probably fit these requirements but personally I don’t like using it because it often uses ingredients that aren’t as healthy or sustainable – I personally prefer olive oil or ghee.
Stacey Obie
Absolutely delicious! Made multiple times. Family requests often.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you and your family like it!
Cindy
I just made this for the second time today. I’ve been cooking chicken for decades and this is, by far, the best, juiciest roasted chicken ever! The only thing I change was I used thyme instead of rosemary and it is so delicious. 🤤 I do use my Dutch oven. I don’t eat gravy and always feel bad tossing the juice left on the bottom. First time I cooked it with little white potatoes and they were out of this world. I can’t wait to make this for my family!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Rachel
I don’t cook whole chicken very often. We mostly eat vegetarian. I was SUPER nervous that I would dry out the bird completely. This was hands down the best whole chicken I’ve ever cooked. We could not believe how moist and tender and absolutely delicious it was. We loved the light lemoniness on this gorgeous spring day.
Thank you so much for this recipe! This one is getting printed and put in the recipe binder for suuuuure.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So happy you liked it!
Kim S
Great flavor and simple to make.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Maureen Roye
Made this exactly as stated and the results were fantastic. I did have to put the lid on during the last half hour because my oven has a mind of its own. This one is going from a laptop screen to my recipe box for good!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it and way to show that oven who’s boss lol!
major
I make this for my wife 7 or 8 times a year and its always terrific, one of our favorite recipes. After its all done sometimes we make a lemony gravy with the drippings. I wouldn’t change a thing!
Elizabeth Lindemann
Aw, this makes me so happy! So glad you and your wife liked it.
Amber
Can I use a round 5qt Dutch Oven or wouldn’t that work??
Elizabeth Lindemann
Yes that will work!
Geary Furin
I have been trying to find great recipes for my dutch oven. This recipe worked perfectly! I did add carrots and potatoes as well as made a quick pan gravy from the drippings. Yumm! I wish I could add a pic too.
Thank you!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Dana
I’m making this recipe tonight! It’s my first big meal in my new apartment and it’s so special! I made it a few weeks ago for the first time and I have to say, I’ve been roasting chickens for 20 years and it was a REVELATION to me to crank the heat at the start. This recipe is GLORIOUS for a garlic and lemon devotee but also as someone who is a VERY GOOD amateur chef. You knocked it out of the park with this recipe and I really appreciate it.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Aw yay! So glad you liked this recipe and you got to christen your new apartment kitchen with it! :-)
Beckie
YUM!
Thank you for this wonderful recipe, we had it for Sunday Lunch today with roast potatoes and root veggies. Such a delicious flavour :o) I even made my own gravy from the juices and now the carcass is bubbling away with some extra veggies to make a lovely chicken stock.
Deffo doing this again!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it, and way to go with making gravy from the drippings and stock from the carcass!
ADW
Very good, but too much lemon. I would cut that amount in half.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Thank you. You’re not the first person to give this feedback – I LOVE a good lemony chicken, but I went ahead and added a recipe note to cut the amount in half if you’re sensitive to lemon flavor or if you are using particularly large/juicy lemons. Thanks again!