Lemon Herb Roasted Chicken
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This lemon herb roasted chicken is no-fuss, fool-proof, and easy to prep! And the chicken is so juicy and tender with the crispiest skin!
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Why you’ll love this Lemon Herb Roasted Chicken
- Easy, hands-off cooking. Roasting a whole chicken requires very little effort. The prep time only takes a few minutes before the oven does all the heavy lifting.
- The crispy, golden skin. Say goodbye to boring, bland chicken! The high heat turns the skin so crispy while keeping the inside so moist and juicy.
- Makes for great leftovers. The leftover chicken can be shredded and used for soups, salads, wraps, and so much more. And the chicken bones can be saved for later for homemade chicken stock!
Key Ingredients
Chicken
4-pound whole chicken
Fat
Unsalted butter
Seasonings
Salt and pepper
Aromatics
Fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, and parsley), garlic, and lemon
How to make Lemon Herb Roasted Chicken
- Take off the chill. Remove the chicken from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for 30-45 minutes.
- Pat dry. Remove the giblets, and pat the chicken completely dry before generously seasoning the cavity with salt and pepper.
- Truss the chicken. Transfer the chicken (breast side up) on a rack in a shallow roasting pan, then tie the drumsticks together with kitchen twine. Pro tip: if a roasting pan is not available, you can also use a baking sheet with a wire rack on top.
- Prep the butter rub. Combine the butter, rosemary, thyme, parsley, garlic, lemon zest, salt, and pepper.
- Apply the butter rub. Loosen the skin by gently sliding your fingers between the skin and the breast meat, working carefully not to tear the skin.
- Rub the inside. Spread half the butter rub under the skin, allowing it to baste from the inside out as it cooks.
- Rub the outside. Spread the remaining butter mixture over the skin to help the outside turn golden brown and crispy.
- Roast the chicken. Transfer the chicken to the oven and cook the chicken at 425°F until golden brown. The internal temperature (thickest part of the thigh) should reach 165°F.
- Rest and serve. Let the chicken rest 10-15 minutes before carving and serving.
How to check for doneness
Insert a digital thermometer into the thickest part of the inner thigh between the breast and leg (but avoid the bone) to ensure that it has reached 165°F.
Variations and substitutions
This is a basic recipe for roasted chicken that leaves room for your favorite seasoning blend.
- Butter rub: swap out or add different herbs such as oregano, sage, or tarragon
- Cavity: stuff the inside of the bird with lemon halves, carrots, onions, smashed garlic cloves, or fresh herbs such as thyme or rosemary
- Vegetables (for the bottom of the roasting pan): skip the wire rack and place the chicken directly on top of vegetables such as carrots, potatoes, onions, celery, and garlic
recipes to repurpose leftover rotisserie chicken
Tools For This Recipe
Lemon Herb Roasted Chicken: Frequently Asked Questions
Pat the chicken completely dry, elevate the bird on a wire rack over a roasting pan for maximum air circulation, roast at a high temperature (425°F), and rest the meat uncovered.
Trying (or trussing) the drumsticks will allow the bird to hold a uniform neat shape, cook more evenly, yield juicier meat, and prevent burning.
You can use a simple baking sheet with a wire rack on top.
No, the chicken should be cooked uncovered for a crisp, golden brown skin. If the chicken browns too quickly, cover it loosely with a foil tent to prevent burning.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days, reheating in the oven at 325°F, covered in aluminum foil, until warmed through.
Lemon Herb Roasted Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 (4-pound) whole roasting chicken
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Remove giblets and excess fat from the chicken cavity. Dry chicken thoroughly with paper towels. Season chicken cavity with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Place chicken, breast side up, on a rack in a shallow roasting pan; tie drumsticks together with kitchen twine; set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine butter, rosemary, thyme, parsley, garlic and lemon zest; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Using your fingers, carefully loosen the skin from the breast meat, spreading half of the butter mixture under the skin. Secure skin over the butter with wooden picks. Spread remaining half of the butter mixture over the chicken; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Place into oven and roast until the chicken is golden brown and completely cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, about 1 hour. Let rest 10-15 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
Equipment
Notes
- Take the chill off. Let the bird come to room temperature for at least 30-45 minutes.
- Pat the chicken dry. Pat the chicken completely dry using paper towels to remove any surface moisture – this is key to get the skin nice and crispy.
- Season the inside and outside. Generously sprinkle the chicken cavity with salt and pepper to season the meat from the inside out.
- Use an instant-read thermometer for the most accurate results. The internal temperature should reach 165°F.
- Let your meat rest. Let the chicken rest for at least 10-15 minutes prior to serving, allowing the juices to redistribute – this will allow for maximum flavor and juiciness.
- Reheat in the oven. Leftover chicken can be rubbery when reheated. For best results with leftovers, reheat in the oven at 325°F, covered in aluminum foil, until warmed through.
Did you make this recipe?
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As always absolutely delectable. I added a bunch of water in the bottom of my roasting pan and it was juicy as could be. Perfect recipe! Thank you so much!
This looks so delicious. Do you think this recipe would work in the air fryer? That is how I usually do my roast chickens now?
Very good. Tented the chicken until the end and basted a few times while roasting. Put carrots, onions and potatoes on the bottom of the pan. This also helps keep the chicken from drying out. Stuffed the cavity with lemons and fresh rosemary. Made little slits under the skin and inserted the garlic and butter.
Can’t wait to make chicken soup with the gravy and chicken carcass!
I don’t know what I did wrong but the herbed butter, which smelled so good, was impossible to spread on chicken. I tried; the skin never browned or got crispy even though chicken got done. And my kitchen was full of smoke until I turned down the temperature. Glad the recipe worked for others
Good prep recipe as I make a similar recipe for years, but 425 instruction in your recipe is a bit too hot and could result dried out breast meat. I roast at 350 then increase temp last 10 minutes to crisp skin.
Sounds good well try that soon. But i well do it in my Air fryer.
Do come back and let us know how it went! Love this idea❤️
I’ve used this recipie several times and always love it. I add 1 teaspoon of paprika and a little lemon juice squeezed to the butter mix and put it in a roasting pan with a lid until the last few minutes to crisp the skin. I also use this with drumsticks and use dry herbs .
Great recipe! I used dried herbs. I usually tent my chicken when I roast it but I followed the recipe and did not do it. It turned out fine, but as a preference, I will probably tent the chicken next time.
I love this recipe, but the butter smokes enough to set off my (very eager) smoke detector. Do you have any suggestions for dealing with that? Would a foil tent help? Is there a suitable oil with a higher smoke-point?
Hi Erin, try pre-heating your oven to 475F/245C/Gas 9 and then turning it down to 375F/190C/Gas 5 once you have put the bird in the oven. Also half a pint of chicken stock in the pan will stop the butter from burning in the roasting tin, the steam from this will assist with ensuring the bird is moist & will give a great gravy too!
How long should you cook 2 4lb chickens? Looking to serve 4 adults and 4 kids
Cooking time should stay relatively the same but as always, please use your best judgment when making substitutions and modifications. Good luck, Jaclyn! 🙂
This chicken was great! I mixed all of the spices, olive oil and lemmon juice and rubbed it under the skin of the chicken and then over the top of the skin and poured the remainder in the cavity. I put about 3/4 cup water in the bottom of the pan and baked the chicken upsidedown with the breasts in the juices. I covered the whole thing in foil and in 2 hours the flavorful meat was falling off the bones. My company raved and everyone ate way too much. Served with baked apples, green beans and fresh bread. Delicious! Hashmanis
Thank you for your feedback!
So excited to make this recipe. Had two organic chickens and made according to recipe. Within 1/2 hour the herb butter was burnt so I used a tent. I then sampled the chicken and it is so salty. It didn’t look like the photo. I don’t know what went wrong! Are you suppose to lower temperature?
Oh no – how much salt did you add? Also, where did you place the chicken? It should be on the middle rack. Tenting is always a good idea though in case the chicken begins to brown quickly – that’s totally normal!
Cooked without a bag, correct?
Correct.
This looks great – but for those of us who have to time or energy for fresh herbs I’m sure we can use dried herbs right?
PS love your recipes and have used MANY – thanks!
Gayle
Yes, but please use your best judgement when it comes to the amount of dried herbs.
This looks absolutely perfect for Sunday dinner!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
Did you forget to add amount of butter.
You need 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature.
Do you cover the chicken when you cook it?
No cover needed! But if the chicken is browning too quickly, you can always tent it with foil later on.