This Perfect Roast Chicken recipe has 8 ingredients and is a breeze to make. All you need is a whole chicken, garlic, onion, thyme, lemon, salt, pepper, and olive oil.
I often make this easy chicken recipe on Mondays because it’s so simple. I assemble all of the ingredients in the late morning or early afternoon, and then throw it in the oven to bake before dinner. Every time I make this healthy chicken recipe I save the carcass and make a big batch of my homemade Chicken Bone Broth recipe in a crockpot. I keep some of the bone broth in the refrigerator, and the rest in the freezer. I love using the bone broth for snacks and in other dinner recipes throughout the week.
- 1 whole chicken (2-3 pounds)
- celtic sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 bunch fresh thyme
- 1 lemon, halved
- 1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, quartered
- Preheat oven to 425°
- Remove chicken giblets and rinse chicken inside and out
- Pat chicken dry
- Place chicken in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish
- Liberally salt and pepper inside of chicken
- Stuff cavity with bunch of thyme, both halves of lemon and all garlic
- Brush outside of chicken with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper
- Tie legs together with kitchen string and tuck wings under body of chicken
- Place each onion quarter into a corner of dish
- Roast chicken for 1 ½ hours or until juices run clear
- Allow to cool slightly and serve
My version of Perfect Roast Chicken is based upon one from Ina Garten. While Ina’s recipe for Perfect Roast Chicken calls for wheat flour, chicken stock, and butter, mine is a tad simpler and gluten-free as well. My boys adore this roasted chicken recipe and I think you will too!
Here are some paleo side dishes that we serve with this easy paleo chicken recipe!
Pierre says
Hm…..yummy! Can’t believe such simplicity produces such good taste. I remember all too well the hustle I had to go through garnsihing n then actually baking a whole chicken before this. Cheers mate
Elana says
Pierre, so glad you enjoyed!
Doris says
I just made it and my husband keeps saying that it was soooo delicious. Thank you Elana!
Elana says
You’re welcome Doris!
Alisa says
Hi – I just made this roasted chicken. Got my chicken from our Sunday Market here in sw France. The chicken is local and raised on a farm not far from my house, it was the best roasted chicken I’ve made. Thanks!
Elana says
Alisa, so glad to hear this is the best roast chicken you’ve made!
Katie says
Just made this chicken and it was AMAZING. How could I do two at once for company? Same temperature in the oven with just a little more cooking time?
Our family of 3 just about ate the whole thing, but I’d love to make this when we have people over.
Elana says
Thanks Katie! I haven’t tried that, if you do please let us know how it goes :-)
jennifer_hart says
elana, this roasted chicken is just wonderful! i did follow the suggestions of the the first poster and used butter and lemon in addition to the other ingredients. This is my new favorite recipe!
Elana says
Jennifer, so glad to hear this is your new favorite recipe!
bob says
I have tried roasting a whole chicken a few times with varying degrees of success. I tried this recipe tonight, and it was so simple and delicious! I will definitely be using this recipe again! Thanks Elana!
Tomorrow – roast chicken stock =)
Elana says
You’re welcome Bob!
agnesgordon says
Love all your recipes.
Elana says
Thanks Agnes!
The Omnivore says
This was wonderful! I served it with some homemade garlic aioli and the carcass is in my freezer waiting to be turned into stock!
kimberly boigon says
i made it last night. it was perfect! although, i would love to make a bigger bird to feed more people. is there a way to adapt the recipe for a larger bird?
Barb says
Where exactly do you place the fennel bulb, under the chicken or inside, that sounds really good, I love fennel. Thanks
Barb
Vusala says
That was one perfect Roast Chicken! Next time I will try chicken breasts too.
Vusala.
Vusala says
One more comment: in the middle of roasting I put a metal pan with a little hot water in the oven to avoid burning the top of chicken before it’s done and of course to keep it juicy.
Vusala says
Thank You, for the great work you are doing!
I tried couple recipes from your site and iBook(Gluten free cupcakes) and surprisingly they came out perfect. Why surprisingly? You probably know, many times you try new recipe, even though with the best comments, most of the time it comes out not as good as described. But your recipes, frankly, come out even better than shown! Really, no kidding! However sometimes I do substitute some ingredients(when don’t have exact match), still comes out very good!
At this moment I make dinner – Roast Chicken. I want to share some changes I made for one your Roast Chicken recipes. I always remove the skin of chicken(no matter what is recipe), so I removed the skin, rubbed chicken with salt, pepper, little ketchup, toasted sesame oil. Rubbed some garlic salt inside of chicken and put half of lemon(cut side in), placed in Pyrex with onion pieces(as you described), sprinkled with more sesame oil and, the best part, sprinkled with shaved almonds! Now waiting. Smells sooo good!
Vusala
Julie says
I love roast chicken. Something I have tried a couple of times and find that I get a perfectly roast chicken, tender and moist, is to do what is called “spatchcocking” the chicken, a term meaning to take the thigh bones out, and cut out the back bone as well, making the chicken lay nearly flat on the roasting pan. I learned how to do it from Gwyneth Paltrow’s blog called “Goop”. It sounds hard, but it is easier than you think and the end result is a very moist chicken that cooks in under an hour. Regular roast chicken is great but I think you would enjoy the challenge of trying this method. I have also done this with a turkey. Works like a charm.
Lisa @ www.bakedinmaine.com says
One of my favorite meals to cook on the weekend.
I add a bunch of chopped vegetables to roast.
And lots of lemons, garlic and olive oil.
DELICIOUS!!!!
~Lisa
Georgia Pellegrini says
A great roast chicken is undeniable tasty. I also love making roast pheasant.
Georgia Custer says
Can’t wait to try out. I have a great recipe for glutenfree chicken tortilla soup I can use the leftovers for.
dominica says
This is the PERFECT recipe to make for when my parents come to town (my Mom is GF) Thx Elana!
jessica says
i can’t wait to make this!
Selina says
Wow! This chicken was amazing! My family loved it and it was “perfect.” Thanks again for another great recipe!
Jacqie says
I just made this tonight. Two family members said, almost simultaneously, “This chicken is perfect.”
And it was – thanks!
Jane Reinholz says
I have no fewer than 40 cookbooks. The one cookbook never goes back in the cupboard is your Almond Flour Cookbook. We are gluten and dairy free and my grandchildren have so many favorite recipes from your book! I enjoy your postings and use them for meal planning on a regular basis. Thank you so much!!
Debby says
I don’t know how anything could be more perfect than your chicken with onions,olives and prunes!
Terris says
Beautiful picture of a delicious looking meal. I have been making roast chicken a lot lately to comfort us during the cold winter months. My family loves it with sweet potatoes, apples, shallots and carrots nestled in with the chicken. When the chicken and vegetables are cooked, I add a cup of apple juice, a splash of balsamic vinegar(gf), fresh thyme and salt and pepper to the juices/drippings and make a quick gravy to ladle over the meat. If I’m feeling particularly motivated, I may thicken it a bit with whatever gluten-free starch I have on hand, and pass it through a fine mesh strainer before serving.
Baciamille says
Hi there. Can you tell me what the purpose of putting the quarter onion in each corner is? Thanks!
Claudia says
Hi Elena, your chicken looks delicious! I wanted to let you know that I translated into spanish one of my favorite recepies from you book: chocolate cookies!… and posted it on my blog so more people can find your delicious gluten-free treats
I’ll let you know if i transalate more recepies :)
Anne says
YES! We ALWAYS use this recipe and it is always a winner in my home! YUM!
Janet NZ says
Roast chicken was such a treat when we were growing up, and we still love it. I also love Ina’s recipe for fried chicken, using buttermilk as a marinade – so delicious!
Kiran @ KiranTarun.com says
Mmmmm.. Delicious looking chicken. I must try roasting a chicken soon :) Thanks for this simple recipe :)
Hannah's Harvest says
This looks so beautiful. I am about to make a soup from my chicken from last night, it did not look so beautiful.
Genevieve says
I like to roast my chicken with cut up onions, celery, and carrots. It turns out delicious as they’re loaded with herbs and chicken fat!
Eri says
We love this chicken recipe, too. I have been making her “Perfect Chicken” since I first saw it on Foodnetwork a while back. It’s so tasty!
Rachel says
I also make this at least once a week and just taught it to my little sister as a “stock” recipe. I have never used fennel for some reason – it seems like that’s a favorite. I love it because you can use whatever you happen to have and it always comes out picture perfect.
Kalynskitchen says
I agree, Ina is a great source of good recipe ideas. Thanks for introducing me to her!
Laura says
What a pretty dish!
Lisa {smart food and fit} says
Looks so perfect! I have to get back into roasting a chicken to make homemade chicken stock. I roast a lot during the fall and winter but I just used my last jar the other day. I’ll try Ina’s recipe,thanks for sharing!
Lorraine says
Can you elaborate a little more on how you make the stock, the whole process?
Amber says
I was hoping to hear about making stock as well!
Shirley @ gfe says
That IS a perfect roasted chicken! Few things are more comforting than a good roasted chicken. They are just so succulent. Love this simple recipe, Elana–thank you!
xoxo,
Shirley
Tammy says
Mmmmmmm. Can’t think of any better flavors for roast chicken than lemon and onion. My family’s variation: Slather roaster in butter, put half an onion in the cavity, squeeze half a lemon over the chicken and put that in the cavity too. Roast for 1 1/2 hours.