Your family will love this Whole Roasted Chicken with Potatoes any day of the week. Tender, moist chicken uses butter, rosemary, thyme, paprika and lemon to infuse flavor into the chicken. This beats any store-bought rotisserie chicken! 

WHOLE ROASTED CHICKEN WITH POTATOES

There is something so comforting about a Whole Roasted Chicken with Potatoes. As the cold weather rolls around I love making meals like this or my Slow Cooker Mediterranean Whole Chicken.

There is something about a chicken that is rubbed with butter and fresh herbs and spices like on this Herb Roasted Turkey I will be making for Thanksgiving. 

The nice thing is that these recipes make a large amount of chicken which leads to leftovers. You can then use the leftovers for all kinds of meals throughout the week including these Easy Chicken Sliders or this Simple Curry Chicken Salad. 

Today’s recipes is one of my the best roast chicken recipes I have made.

I love the thyme, rosemary and paprika paired with butter and lemon. The flavors work so nicely to infuse flavor into the chicken and help create a tender meat. 

As we enter those cold winter nights this is a recipe you should keep on hand. Oh, and you will love the smell that will fill your house as it roasts in the oven. 

WHAT INGREDIENTS ARE IN THIS WHOLE ROASTED CHICKEN?

WHOLE CHICKEN: When I buy a whole chicken and plan to roast it in the oven I look for a 3-5 pound bird.

If you can find one without the giblets that is great otherwise just remove that from the inside before roasting. 

POTATOES: When I make this recipe I use smaller sized potatoes and I leave them whole instead of cutting them. You can chop them in half if you want or use large potatoes and cube them into larger chunks. 

ONION & GARLIC: The onion and garlic in this recipe add a lot of flavor to the chicken.

I like to stuff them both on the inside of the chicken and will also add the squeezed lemon in to help infuse that lemon flavor in the chicken. When you do this it helps to really infuse those flavors nicely. 

SPICES AND HERBS: The spices and herbs are my favorite thing about this roasted chicken recipe. It uses fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme and parsley.

It also uses paprika for warm and hot red chili pepper if you like that hint of spice. All of these herbs and spices are a suggestion and can easily be tweaked depending on your tastes. 

BUTTER: The butter helps to create the rub that you will spread on the outside and inside of the chicken. This helps create the skin and infuse the flavors into the chicken. If you are trying to avoid butter you can also try olive oil. 

LEMON: Lemon juice adds some acidity to the chicken which helps to tenderize the meat. I like to add the squeezed lemon into the cavity of the chicken for that extra flavor. 

BEER OR GINGER ALE: I pour a light beer or ginger ale around the chicken to help create a tender roasted chicken but you could also use broth in place of those. 

HOW DO YOU COOK A WHOLE CHICKEN IN THE OVEN?

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F°.

Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pin feathers and pat the outside dry. Place the chicken breast side up in a large pan.

Place the room temperature butter in a medium bowl and and add the garlic, red hot chili pepper {optional}, thyme, rosemary, paprika, black pepper and salt and mix well until it forms a paste.

Use your hands or a pastry brush to grease the chicken on the outside and also in the cavity.

Put the fresh rosemary and thyme spices into the cavity of the chicken along with 4 cloves of garlic, a squeezed lemon half and the small onions. Place the potatoes around the chicken.

Pour the lemon juice over the chicken then pour beer or gingerl ale around the chicken.

Turn the temperature down to 400 and roast the chicken for one hour. Check on the temperature of the chicken {you want it to reach 165 degrees F}.

Baste the chicken with the juices and continue cooking until the temperature reaches 165 degrees F. If you want a golden skin broil for 3-4 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the oven and set on a cutting board. Cover with foil and let sit for 15 minutes. Serve the chicken with fresh parsley and lemon wedges.

ROAST CHICKEN COOKING TIMES

The general rule of thumb for cooking a whole chicken is 15 minutes per pound to cook and then when you remove the chicken place it on a cutting board and tent it with foil for 10-15 minutes to let the juices settle. This helps the chicken remain tender. 

WHAT SHOULD I SERVE WITH THIS ROAST CHICKEN RECIPE?

SALAD: I love serving a salad with this type of meal. A few favorites of mine are this Lemon Arugula Salad, Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad, and this Easy Italian Salad. 

SIDE DISHES: I like to pair vegetable sides with this dinner. Some of my favorites are these Roasted Balsamic Brussels Sprouts,  Turmeric Cauliflower and these Italian Green Beans with Parmesan. 

BREAD: Crusty bread is also a great pairing for this meal. I like to serve rolls, pita bread or this homemade Artisan Bread.