Roast Chicken with Lemon and Rosemary

This easy roast chicken with lemon and rosemary is the perfect roast dinner recipe for a healthy, delicious family meal. Serve it up for your Sunday dinner, on special occasions or as your holiday entree.

Jump to:

• 🥘 Ingredients
• 🔪 Instructions
• 👪 Serving size
• 💭 Top tips
• 🥗 Serving suggestions
• 🍲 Leftovers
• 🍴 You might also like these recipes..
• 📋 Frequently asked questions
• 📖 Recipe

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Roast chicken is a family favorite. This Mediterranean style version with lemon and rosemary is a tasty, light roast chicken. With juicy meat and crispy skin, this is an entree that everyone will love.

🥘 Ingredients

Here are the ingredients you need to make the perfect roast chicken:

• Whole chicken: Buy it fresh, or thaw it beforehand if you use a frozen whole chicken. Whole chickens are easy to roast, and provide a large amount of meat for cheap.
• Lemon: Fresh lemon juice gives the juicy chicken a delicious flavor without being overpowering. You can also use bottled lemon juice if it’s all you have.
• Rosemary: This tasty herb is the main seasoning in the recipe.
• Salt and pepper: Don’t forget to season your meat!
• Butter (or oil): This is the secret to keeping the chicken juicy! Coat the skin with a thick layer of fat before cooking. The butter will drip off as the chicken cooks, so you won’t actually consume it, however it will make sure that the chicken cooks without drying out.

🔪 Instructions

Roasting a whole chicken is super easy, just follow this simple step by step method.

Step 1. Add your seasoning and fat. This is the most important part if you want your chicken to taste of anything. First sprinkle a bit of salt over the skin. Then, rub it all over the chicken. Cover every surface. This is important to avoid the chicken from drying out. And don’t skimp on the butter, most of it will drip off the meat by the time it’s finished roasting, and all it does is prevent the meat and skin from going dry. Also, make sure to cover literally every piece of the chicken with the butter. Get it all up in there. Even on the inside!

Then, when it’s all buttered up, add your dry rosemary and squeeze half a lemon over the skin. This creates that lovely flavor and will make roast chicken with lemon anything but bland.

Step 2. Roast your chicken! The label of your chicken will usually tell you how long to roast it, but in general the roast chicken cooking time will be 40 minutes per kg + 20 minutes extra. So if your chicken is 2 kg, it’s 1 hour and 40 minutes, or for a 1.5 kg chicken it’s 1 hours 20 minutes. I don’t open the oven or touch the chicken until the time has passed.

Then, check to make sure that the chicken has sufficiently cooked through by inserting a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the meat. Make sure that it has reached at least a temperature of 75° C / 165° F. Alternatively, insert a skewer into the thickest part of the meat. If the juices come out clear, the chicken is done. If the juices come out pink, leave it in the oven for 5-10 minutes, then try again.

Step 3. Let the chicken rest for a few minutes out of the oven, then carve. The meat and juices will be very hot, so just leave it on the side for a few moments to allow it to cool down slightly.

👪 Serving size

It can be hard to calculate how much roast chicken you should prepare per person. Keep in mind that a large part of the weight comes from the bones which will be discarded.

Most roast chickens will have a label on them suggesting how many servings they will provide. A medium chicken (1.4-1.5 kg) will typically be enough for 4 servings. A large chicken (1.6-1.8 kg) typically serves 6. This assumes that you will eat all the meat, including the chicken wings and legs.

💭 Top tips

Here are my top tips for the best result:

• Leave the chicken to chill for 10 minutes before carving it. This will allow the juices to settle in the chicken, and prevent the meat from drying out.
• Baste the chicken with the drippings halfway through the cooking time, and when you remove it from the oven. You can use a spoon or a turkey baster. This will make the chicken skin crispy and delicious.
• Use a meat thermometer to ensure that the chicken has cooked through completely before removing it from the oven. The chicken is done when it has reached an internal temperature of 175 °F / 65 °C.

🥗 Serving suggestions

Check out my post on what to serve with roast, or serve your lemon rosemary roast chicken with these side dishes:

• Vegetables: Serve your roast chicken with sauteed, roasted or steamed vegetables. Roasted broccoli and carrots is a great choice.
• Potatoes: Roasted potatoes with rosemary, potatoes au gratin or mashed potatoes all work well with roast chicken.
• Sauce: Serve with your favorite sauce, such as gravy.

🍲 Leftovers

Roast chicken leftovers are amazing! Here is how you can use and store the leftovers:

• Preparing for storage: Carve and shred the leftover meat. Discard the chicken carcass, and only store the leftover chicken meat. The meat can be stored in chunks, or you can use two forks to make pulled chicken.
• Storing: Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. The meat can be served cold, reheated, or added to a variety of dishes.
• Freezing: Freeze the chicken in a freezer safe container for up to 6 months. Allow frozen leftovers to thaw in a refrigerator overnight, then reheat it before serving.
• Using leftovers: The leftovers can be eaten plain as an easy entree, or you can use the shredded chicken in a variety of dishes. Try to make these easy sheet pan buffalo chicken quesadillas, add the chicken to wraps or salads, serve them in pasta or make grape and chicken salad.

🍴 You might also like these recipes..

If you love roast dinner recipes, you should try any of these recipes:

📋 Frequently asked questions

Can I roast a frozen chicken? – I highly recommend thawing the chicken completely before roasting it. This will ensure the best result.

📖 Recipe