Easy Oven Roasted Chicken

Are you looking for the easiest roasted chicken that you can do at home? You will love this recipe and it will become a family favorite!

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easy roasted chicken

We eat a lot of chicken, do you?

On average, we eat chicken 3-4 nights each week. That’s why having a recipe like this is so good to have in your cooking lineup.

And this recipe isn’t just good for one meal! You can use the leftovers to make some of our favorites. Click the images below to see the other chicken recipes we eat often!

list of ingredients:

  • whole chicken
  • olive oil
  • spices: thyme, sage, rosemary
  • granulated garlic
  • granulated onion
  • salt & pepper

my favorite kitchen tools

I’m not a kitchen gadget kind of girl. All I need are the basics. I’m not even really a cook but I can manage to get our family fed. Here are some of my favorite tools:

  • enameled cast iron dutch oven
  • a good cutting board (hubby made all of my cutting boards!)
  • a good meat slicing knife and fork
  • a meat/drippings baster
  • a meat thermometer
lady holding a bagged raw chicken at the kitchen counter.

whole chicken

Let’s talk about chickens. We have been buying our whole chickens from a local grower. They come vacuum sealed and frozen solid.

Of course, I have also bought whole chickens at the grocery store and have really liked the flavor. But I must admit, the local chickens are amazing!

I defrosted my whole chicken in a cooler filled with ice water for about eight hours. Then I rinsed the whole chicken in my kitchen sink.

Rest assured, I thoroughly washed my stainless steel sink first! It basically became a huge bowl! I was sure to wash the sink thoroughly after I rinsed the chicken.

Now my sink is really clean 😉

Lady washing our a stainless steele kitchen sink with a cloth.

The inside of the chicken needs to be rinsed as well.

After I let most of the water drip out of the whole chicken, I patted it dry with clean paper towels. That will help the olive oil to stick to the surface of the chicken.

Then I placed it in my enameled cast iron dutch oven. I love this dutch oven so much and I use it all the time.

Seriously, the best $50 bucks I’ve ever spent! You need one, and you’ll thank me later!

The seasonings are simple and I always have them on hand.

Ingredients needed for an easy roasted chicken including galic, onion, thyme, sage and rosemary.

Did I mention that I don’t measure? Including the olive oil! I poured enough in my hand that I thought would cover the chicken. I rubbed the chicken all over with the olive oil.

Then I sprinkled all of the seasonings over the whole chicken, including the inside.

BTW, I keep one hand to handle the raw chicken and the other hand for the spices. That makes cleaning up a bit easier since I don’t have to wipe down all of the bottles of olive oil and seasonings.

I think I forgot to mention preheating the oven. This is a trick I learned from a local chef. He told me to turn the oven pretty high – 450* to preheat and then when I put the chicken into the oven, turn it back to 350*

This is how I have roasted countless chickens over the last 30 years and it works every time. The high heat sears the outside of the roasting chicken and helps to seal in the flavors and juices.

Lady placing a dutch oven pot with a whole chicken into the oven to have a roasted chicken.
Lady setting the temperature on an oven.

internal temperature for a roasted chicken

165* That’s the standard according to all of the food professionals. I’m sticking with that temp!

The meat thermometer should be inserted in the thickest part of the chicken breast. Be sure to not touch any bone or the bottom of the dutch oven. That would throw off the reading.

Also, baste the chicken several times while roasting. As the chicken roasts, it will put off its juices including fat. The fat will help to brown the roasted chicken beautifully!

Close up of a food thermometer stuck in a roasted chicken in a dutch oven.

roasted chicken cooking time

Time will vary for each chicken depending on its size. My chicken is a decent size and it took about 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Did I mention that you should leave the lid off of the dutch oven? This will help the chicken to brown all the way around.

The cast iron in this dutch oven heats up and holds its heat. So, when you roast meat in it, it is kinda like an oven inside of an oven. The roasted chicken will brown perfectly because of the heat that radiates off of the sides of the dutch oven.

Seriously, you need this enameled dutch oven!

A roasted chicken roasted in the oven until golden brown.

how to get chicken drippings

After the chicken is finished roasting, lift it out and put it on a cutting board to rest. I used two large spatulas to lift it out of the dutch oven.

And look at the liquid gold that is left!! Woohoo, we’re having homemade chicken noodle soup this weekend!!

I can show you how I make homemade chicken stock with drippings. It’s sooo good and sooo easy to make! Click the button below to see the recipe:

Roasted Chicken juices left in the dutch oven after removing the chicken..

let’s review the steps

  • rinse and dry the whole chicken
  • rub with olive oil and sprinkle with seasonings
  • preheat oven to 450*
  • place chicken in a dutch oven and then in the oven for roasting
  • turn the temp down to 350*
  • roast until internal temp reaches 165*
  • baste with drippings periodically while roasting
A whole roasted chicken on a cutting board with a chef's knife and chef's fork.

two meals from one chicken!

All that’s left to do is slice the chicken and enjoy! Depending on how many you are serving will determine the leftovers. Even if the chicken is completely eaten, save the bones and the drippings for the stock.

recipe card

Here is a recipe card for you! You can print it if you like. You could also pin this post to your recipe Pinterest boards and refer to it as often as you need to!

Your friends and family would probably love to know how easy it is to roast a chicken in a dutch oven, Could you share this with them? They would appreciate it, I’m sure, and so would I!

Easy Oven Roasted Chicken

A roasted chicken roasted in the oven until golden brown.

This easy homemade chicken will become a family favorite. Have the chicken for dinner and then save the bones for easy chicken stock.

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 45 minutes
Total Time 2 hours

Ingredients

  • whole chicken
  • olive oil
  • granualted garlic
  • granualted onion
  • dried thyme
  • dried rosemary
  • dried sage
  • salt & pepper

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 450*
  2. Rinse the whole chicken inside and out.
  3. Pat chicken dry with clean paper towels.
  4. Rub olive oil over the whole chicken.
  5. Sprinkle the spices over the whole chicken.
  6. Salt and pepper the inside and outside of the chicken.
  7. Place whole chicken in enameled cast iron dutch oven, no lid.
  8. Place dutch oven in the preheated oven, turn the temp down to 350*
  9. Roast the chicken for 1 hour, 15 minutes to 1 hour, 45 minutes internal temp reaches 165*.

Notes

I use my stainless steel kitchen sink to rinse the chicken but first I thoroughly clean the sink! Be sure to clean the sink again once you are finished rinsing the chicken.

Use a food thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the breast.

Allow the chicken to rest for a few minutes before slicing.

Save the juices and bones for the best homemade chicken stock for soup!

thanks for joining our journey!

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14 Comments

  1. Oh yum! This looks amazing, Cindy! I love roast chicken and pinned your recipe to try later.

    1. Thanks for pinning Marieza! This roasted chicken is so easy too!

  2. I love roasting chickens too. I use the same seasonings as you.

    So delicious.

    Pinned

    1. Great minds roast alike! Thanks for stopping by Cindy! 😊

  3. Cindy! First, I love that you made the chicken in a dutch oven. Second, we love to have a roast chicken on Sunday nights for dinner. Then we use the left overs during the week for making other meals like chicken salad sandwiches or tacos.
    Thank you for sharing your tips and wisdom – oh and those buffalo check napkins are pretty darn cute . . . will have to check those out. ( no pun intended)

    1. We often have a roasted chicken on Sundays too! Especially in the winter months. Sorry to not be clear about the checked towels – they are actually kitchen towels. Or if we get really messy, they can be used as napkins!! 🥰 Thanks for all of your encouragement Anna!

  4. I love a good roasted chicken. This recipe looks really good, Cindy. I love all of the seasoning used for it. Pinned!

    1. You’re the best Tammy! Thanks for the sweet words about this easy recipe and thanks for pinning 🙂

  5. We used to roast whole chickens all the time when our boys were young. Your recipe looks so yummy and makes me want to make one ASAP!!

    1. Ya’ just can’t beat a roasted chicken! It’s just hubby and me now so we have leftovers 🥰

  6. Yum! Thanks, I pinned it as well

    1. It’s a seriously amazing chicken! Hope you give it a try 😊

  7. Patti Donophan says:

    I’ve gotta try this recipe for cooking a whole chicken! I love your children stock recipe! I’ve used it for the past couple of years-it makes the best tasting stock❤️. I’ve been using it in the chicken vegetable soup that we make 3-4 times for the past couple of years (we make a lot each time and freeze for future meals-yes, we eat a lot of chicken soup!). I need to use the stock recipe for chicken and dumplings (haven’t made for about 3 years). Love your blog, your tips are so helpful!❤️

    1. We eat alot of chicken soup too Patti! You will love this roasted chicken, I’m sure of it! Thanks so much for stopping by 🥰