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🍁🍗🌿 Make this easy Whole Roasted Thanksgiving Chicken when you don’t need a whole turkey! No brining, no waiting all day for a whole turkey to roast, and no excessive leftovers. Crispy golden skin with tender juicy meat, and it’s ready in just over an hour. The flavor has a classic Thanksgiving flavor profile thanks to rosemary, sage, and more. It’s also great for Christmas dinner and fall and winter gatherings.
Easy Thanksgiving Chicken Recipe
- Perfect for a smaller gathering. One whole chicken is just right when you’re not feeding a huge crowd. It serves 4 to 6 without much in the way of leftovers. And if you do have them, use the leftover chicken in so many other recipes from chicken noodle soup to white chicken lasagna rollups.
- Fast and without elaborate timing calculations. It roasts in about an hour and fifteen minutes for a standard 4.5 to 6 pound whole chicken. So it’s very easy to calculate when to put it into the oven.
- All the classic Thanksgiving flavors. Sage, rosemary, garlic, and celery salt give it the cozy, familiar taste of a Thanksgiving dinner without making a turkey. The chicken roasts on a bed or onions and oranges so get savory notes and citrus peeking through the flavor profile.
- No brining yet it stays juicy and has crispy skin. No need to ‘brine the bird’ a day or two beforehand. Just brush on a melted herbed butter mixture to the skin and inside the cavity. The meat stays juicy while the skin turns golden brown and crispy, so it looks just as good on the platter as it tastes.
- Mostly hands off. It roasts in one pan on a bed of aromatic onions and oranges, and you only baste it with its own pan juices few times near the end.
Ingredients In Thanksgiving Roasted Chicken Recipe
- Whole Chicken: Use a whole bird here for both white and dark meat and plenty of skin to turn golden and crispy. Most grocery store whole chicken are about 5 pounds. If for some reason you bought a frozen whole chicken, make sure to allow 24-48 hours for it to fully defrost in your fridge.
- Onions and Oranges: These flavor the chicken and the pan juices as they roast underneath it and inside the cavity. I used red onion but white onion or yellow onion are fine.
- Kosher Salt and Pepper: Basic ingredients that do so much so make sure to generously season the chicken.
- Butter: It adds rich flavor, and helps the skin turn golden. I use salted butter but unsalted butter is fine and then just add a bit more salt to taste.
- Garlic and Herbs: Fresh minced garlic, celery salt, dried sage, and dried rosemary add flavor. If you have fresh herbs on hand and prefer use them, go for it. The celery salt adds a layer of savory flavor and even though it’s not the most common ingredient, I think it’s worth it for this recipe. You can always make a batch of Bloody Mary’s or Bloody Mary Deviled Eggs with the rest.
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How To Make a Whole Roasted Chicken
- Set up the pan and season. Add the onions and oranges to a roasting pan or large cast iron skillet, saving a few for the cavity, and set the chicken on top, breast side up. Season with kosher salt and pepper.
- Come to room temp. Allow the chicken to sit in the roasting pan at room temp for 30-60 minutes before you bake it for optimal results. Fridge-cold meat simply does not cook the same way as room temp meat.
- Brush with herb butter. Whisk the melted butter with the garlic, celery salt, sage, rosemary, pepper, and brush it all over the chicken and inside the cavity. Tuck the reserved onions and oranges into the cavity.
- Tie, roast and baste. Tying the legs with kitchen twine is recommended but I’ve roasted chickens without. Roast for 45 minutes, then baste with the pan juices every 15 minutes until the thickest part of the breast and thighs reaches 165°F.
- Rest, slice, serve. Allow the chicken to rest for 15 to 20 minutes before slicing so the juices settle back into the meat, then serve with your favorite Thanksgiving sides. Tip – My Easy Chicken Broth Gravy is ready in minutes and does not require pan drippings so it’s perfect for this whole roasted chicken recipe. Make a batch while the chicken rests!
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for step-by-step photos and process shots of the cooking process.
Thanksgiving Chicken
🍁🍗🌿 Make this easy Whole Roasted Thanksgiving Chicken when you don't need a whole turkey! No brining, no waiting all day for a whole turkey to roast, and no excessive leftovers. Crispy golden skin with tender juicy meat, and it's ready in just over an hour. The flavor has a classic Thanksgiving flavor profile thanks to rosemary, sage, and more. It's also great for Christmas dinner and fall and winter gatherings.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 to 6 pound whole chicken, patted dry, at room temperature (remove any innards from the cavity)
- 2 large red onions, peeled and cut into chunky wedges (white onions or yellow onions may be substituted)
- 2 large oranges cut into wedges
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 5 tablespoons butter, melted (I use salted butter but unsalted may be used)
- 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 tablespoon celery salt
- 2 teaspoons dried sage, (or rubbed sage; if using fresh sage, use 3-4 teaspoons, finely minced or to taste)
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, (if using fresh rosemary, use 2 teaspoons, finely minced or to taste)
Instructions
- Chicken: Prep it by removing any innards or anything that was in the cavity and discarding it or saving it for another use. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels.
- Prep the Pan: To a large roasting pan, skillet, or braiser, evenly scatter the onions, oranges (reserve a few wedges of each to add to the cavity in step 5 later on) and place the chicken on top with the breast side up.
- Season: Evenly season with kosher salt and black pepper all over the outside and in the cavity as well. Tips – Do not be shy because even though 2 tablespoons sounds like too much salt, I promise it's not. And without it, the chicken isn't going to have much flavor.
- Room temperature waiting: Ideally allow the chicken to sit like this in the pan, on your counter for 1 hour before roasting it. At a minimum, for 30 minutes. Tip – Room temperature proteins cook through much more evenly and ultimately have better flavor, juiciness, and better texture compared to fridge-cold protein.
- Preheat and Oven Setup: In the final 20-25 minutes or so of waiting, preheat the oven to 425F. Make sure you have only 1 rack in the oven and that it’s in the lower 1/3 of the oven, allowing the chicken to fit properly.
- Butter Mixture: To a medium, micowave-safe bowl, add the butter and heat on high power to melt it, about 30 seconds.To the melted butter, add the garlic, celery salt, sage, rosemary, and whisk to combine.
- Brush, Stuff, Tie: Use a pastry brush to brush the melted herbed butter all over the chicken and inside the cavity. Use it all.Add the few wedges of reserved onions and oranges into the cavity.Tie the legs of the chicken with kitchen twine. If you don't have it, it's not the end of the world but the chicken will roast more evenly if you can tie the legs.
- Roast: Roast uncovered for about 45 minutes. I like to turn the pan once halfway through for more even cooking.
- Baste: After 45 minutes, baste the chicken with the pan juices that have collected at the bottom. Baste at the 45-minute mark, then again at the 1 hour mark, and by 1 hr 15 minutes the chicken should be done, but if it's not, baste it every 15 minutes until it's done.Tip – You don't need a baster. Simply grab a soup spoon or something similar and scoop up the juices and then drizzle them down the sides from the top.
- Roasting Tips – If at any point during the roasting process, especially after the 45-minute mark, that the chicken is getting overly browned before it's cooked through, drape a sheet of foil over the top of the chicken to tent it and shield it from the direct oven heat.
- Done: The chicken is done when a thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the breast and thigh reads 165°F. Tips – Do not guess because it's nearly impossible. Use a thermometer. Depending on the exact size of your chicken, how hot your oven runs, the climate in your kitchen, the type of pan you used, the roasting process may take less than 75 minutes or more. Do not go by the clock. Judge doneness by the temperature, however long that takes on the clock.
- Rest: Allow the chicken to sit in the pan for at least 15 minutes, up to 30 minutes, to allow the natural juices to redistribute. Do not cut into it early because the juices will run out and you'll be left with dry chicken.Tip – While the chicken rests, if you'd like gravy, you can make a batch of my 10-Minute Chicken Broth Gravy which doesn't require pan drippings.
- Slice: Slice or carve as desired.
- Serve: Serve it with your favorite sides like Mashed Potatoes, Cranberry Sauce, Sweet Potato Casserole, Green Bean Casserole, and Stuffing.
Notes
How To Use: Use this leftover chicken in any recipe that calls for leftover turkey (I have some great recipes using leftover turkey and this chicken is interchangeable with turkey) or any recipes that calls for rotisserie chicken or for shredded chicken.
Storage: Leftover chicken will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3-4 months.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 513cal, Carbohydrates: 9g, Protein: 35g, Fat: 37g, Saturated Fat: 14g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g, Monounsaturated Fat: 14g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 161mg, Sodium: 3692mg, Potassium: 492mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 649IU, Vitamin C: 29mg, Calcium: 57mg, Iron: 2mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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easy whole chicken + turkey recipes
