Whole Roasted Chicken with Herbs Recipe

Whole roasted chicken with herbs is the king of Sunday dinners, yielding golden, crispy skin and impossibly juicy meat with just a handful of pantry ingredients. Dry-brining the bird overnight and roasting at high heat creates the perfect result every time. Each serving of this gluten-free, dairy-free roast provides 63g of protein with zero carbs, making it an ideal high-protein base for multiple meals throughout the week.

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken (about 1.8kg)
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 lemon, halved
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary

Instructions

1. Dry-brine the chicken: pat completely dry with paper towels inside and out. Mix salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary, garlic powder, onion powder, and smoked paprika. Rub the spice mixture all over the bird, including under the breast skin by loosening it gently with your fingers. Refrigerate uncovered for at least 2 hours, ideally overnight.
2. Remove chicken from the fridge 30 minutes before roasting to take the chill off.
3. Preheat oven to 450°F (230°C).
4. Place chicken breast-side up in a cast-iron skillet or roasting pan. Drizzle olive oil all over the skin and rub to coat evenly.
5. Stuff the cavity with the lemon halves (squeezed inside), crushed garlic cloves, fresh thyme, and rosemary.
6. Tie the legs together loosely with kitchen twine and tuck the wing tips under the body.
7. Roast for 50-60 minutes until the skin is deep golden and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh (not touching bone) reads 165°F (74°C).
8. Transfer chicken to a cutting board. Rest for 15 minutes before carving. The juices should run clear.
9. Deglaze the roasting pan with 1/4 cup water or white wine over medium heat, scraping up all the browned bits, to make a quick pan sauce.
10. Carve and serve with the pan sauce spooned over.

Tips & Variations

• Dry-brining overnight is the single most impactful step: it seasons the meat deeply and dries the skin for maximum crispiness.
• Starting at 450°F (230°C) and keeping it high for the full cook time is the secret to shatteringly crispy skin without a separate blast of heat.
• Spatchcock (butterfly) the bird by removing the backbone to reduce roasting time to 35-40 minutes and achieve even more crispy skin on all sides.
• Leftover roasted chicken keeps for 4 days in the fridge and is excellent for salads, sandwiches, soups, and fried rice.
• Add carrots, celery, and onion halves to the roasting pan as a simple bed for the bird; they roast into a built-in side dish.

Nutrition Breakdown

Calories: 709 kcal

Protein: 62.5g

Fat: 49.3g

Carbs: 5.9g

Fiber: 1.8g

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