Roasted Chicken
Updated Aug 11, 2025
Whole roasted chicken rubbed in butter and thyme for crispy skin and stuffed with garlic and thyme on the inside to carry the flavor through the whole chicken.
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My Whole Roasted chicken is so good!
When I want dinner to feel a little special but don’t want to stand over the stove, I make a whole roasted chicken. I’ve tried it with all kinds of seasonings, including a rosemary roasted chicken, but this simple roasted chicken recipe is the one I come back to most. The skin gets crispy, the meat stays juicy, and it makes the whole kitchen smell amazing.
Once you get past the part where you have to handle a raw chicken, it’s really easy. I stuff it with garlic, onion, and thyme so the flavor gets into the meat as it roasts. By the time it comes out of the oven, golden and sizzling with the yummy smell filling my kitchen, I always feel so proud of myself!
Happy Cooking!
– Yumna
How to Make Roasted Chicken
Roasted Chicken Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken about 3 ½ pounds
- 3 tablespoons butter melted
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 bunch thyme + 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
- 1 head garlic sliced in half horizontally
- ½ onion
- Lemon slices for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Pat the chicken dry with paper towel, remove the giblets, tuck the chicken wings underneath the breast and tie the legs together with kitchen twine.
- In a small bowl, combine the melted butter, salt, pepper and thyme. Use your hands to rub the butter mixture all over the chicken, making sure to get underneath the skin as well.
- Stuff the garlic, onion and thyme sprigs inside the chicken cavity.
- Place the chicken on a large baking dish and roast in the oven breast side up until the skin is golden brown and a thermometer inserted in the chicken reads 165°F, about 60-75 minutes.
- Spoon the juices from the bottom of the baking dish over the chicken and allow the chicken to rest for 15 minutes before carving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Recipe Tips
- Make sure to use kitchen twine to truss your chicken. This helps the meat stay nice and juicy while cooking evenly all over. Place your chicken on the counter with the breast side up, and criss cross the twine around the legs, pull tight, and tie. I have lots of helpful step-by-step tips on how to twine if you need!
- Pat the skin of your chicken dry with a paper towel. This helps it crisp up while cooking as the chicken is less likely to steam. If you like your skin extra crispy, once the chicken is cooked, you can place it under the broiler for a few minutes.
- Let your chicken rest before carving it. This will help the juices redistribute so you won’t have any dry breast meat! Once cooked, take your chicken out of the oven, cover it loosely with foil and let it sit for 15 minutes to half an hour.
Serving Ideas
- Add potatoes. I love eating this herby chicken with a side of potatoes. My favorite dishes are garlic roasted potatoes, parmesan potatoes, and air fryer potatoes.
- Make a side salad. I love a Greek salad with this chicken, but my chopped green goddess salad will also work well.
- Roast some veggies. While you’ve already got the oven on, you might as well throw in some veggies to roast too. Try my roasted broccoli, roasted carrots, or roasted zucchini.
FAQs
Leftovers are the best thing about cooking a whole chicken, imo! Remove the meat from the bones and keep it covered in the fridge for up to 3 days. It’s great for sandwiches and salads! And be sure not to throw the carcass away. You can use it to make your own chicken stock!
Yes! Just be sure to let your chicken cool, then break it down however you like (so you can thaw individual parts one at a time). It should keep well in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 4 months. When you’re ready to eat, just thaw your meat in the fridge overnight then reheat it in the oven or the microwave until warmed through.
Yes, you can easily get ahead of things by prepping the chicken the night before. In fact, this can actually result in crispier skin as the salt will help to draw out any extra moisture. Rub the butter all over, stuff the cavity and let it sit in the fridge, uncovered for up to 12 hours.
My rule of thumb is to plan for a pound of whole chicken per person, so a 4 pound chicken is perfect for four. I always like to roast a chicken larger than I need so that I can enjoy the leftovers later in the week!
Your chicken is done when a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 165°F. Make sure the thermometer doesn’t touch the bone for an accurate reading!
Yes, you can. Tying the legs helps the chicken cook more evenly and maintain its shape, but it’s not mandatory. The chicken will still cook well if you skip this step!
Comments
This was delicious!
So happy you liked it, Jennifer! Thanks!
Thank you so much for the recipe, the chicken turned out so delicious, that I didn’t even have time to take a picture! My kids finished in 30 min, and there was plenty for the second round 😉 I am making a chicken noodle soup tomorrow with the leftovers 😉
You’re welcome, Irena! So happy you and your kids loved it. I hope your soup turns out great!!
I was looking for a juicy roasted chicken recipe with garlic and herbs and this popped up. Absolutely delicious, and oh so juicy!
Yay, I’m so happy you enjoyed it! Thanks, Lesli!!
New to cooking and trying new recipes online. Need some clarification on some things. What kind on onion? Yellow or white? I couldn’t tell by the video. Also, the butter is it salted or unsalted? I know there’s salt in the recipe but I just want to make sure I’m doing everything right.
Congrats on starting your cooking journey—how exciting! The good news is that you can use whatever onions and butter you have on hand and it won’t drastically change the recipe. I like using salted butter and yellow onions for roasted chicken but it will be delicious with any butter or onion option. If you want to learn more about different types of onions, I have a post you might find helpful: https://feelgoodfoodie.net/types-of-onions-with-uses/
Your recipes are top of the world and so appetizing.thank you
Thank you, Fatima!
Plan on making this tomorrow. Can I prep the chicken when it’s frozen, let it sit for half a day, then cook it? Can it still be a little froze when I cook it?
I would make sure the chicken is fully defrosted before prepping and cooking.
Haven’t really baked in years I am looking forward to receiving your recipes.
Looking forward to hearing what you think of my recipes!
Beautiful Recipe well researched and experimented before sharing
Well done….. Roast chicken will come out perfect each time and great tasting too (apart from looking great too)
So happy you liked this one, thank you!
Can I cook two chickens in the oven at the same time with the same timeframe you listed?
As long as you leave a little space between the two chickens, it should be fine!
If I put it on 300 for 2 hours while I’m at baseball that should be okay right?
Hi Samantha, great question. I am not sure, I’ve only made it at 400, so I can’t really say if it will be cooked at 300 for only two hours. Also, I wouldn’t recommend leaving your oven on if you’re not home; you just never know.
Hi is oven 400 degrees on convection or normal thx for sharing your recipes!
You’re so welcome! The temp is for a normal oven.
Hi Yumna, I’ve made this recipe before and it turned out perfect! This may be a silly question but I have people coming over next week and I was wondering if I can use an “adult” chicken, instead of a young chicken with this recipe?
Hi Leila, it’s a great question, and I am flattered you want to make it for your guests! You can most certainly use a larger-sized chicken for this recipe. The recipe, as is, is for a 3 to 3 1/2-pound chicken. For the cooking time, it’s 15 minutes per pound at 400°F. Regarding the seasonings, double (6-7lbs) or triple (9-10lbs) based on weight. Happy cooking!
This turned out excellent! And I didn’t have all the ingredients as listed (no lemon, no fresh thyme). With a bird thawed out and no idea how to cook, I found this; followed the instructions with what I did have on hand and it turned out wonderful! Even my texture sensitive six year old snarfed it all down! Thank you so much!
Thank you so much! I’m glad you were able to make it work and that you all enjoyed.
Absolutely amazing! I usually prefer rosemary over thyme for my baked chicken but WOW! This recipe is a game changer! Thank you!
Thank you so much! That is amazing!!
Absolutely delicious!
Thank you so much!
I’d like to make this for a client. May I leave the bird whole for presentation’s sake and deliver for them to eat a couple of hours later?
That should be fine!
Was a killer… so delish, definately a re-maker. Thanks
So glad you’re loving this recipe! Thank you!!
Instead of lemon can I use an orange?
Yes! Or you can try limes. Or you can omit it!
This is an insane recipe! Works so so well – the chicken comes out crackling from the oven. And when you cut it, it’s so soft falling off the bone. Thank you feelgoodfoodie!!! You saved Christmas. I’ll be using this recipe for many many years!!
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Merry Christmas!!
Tried this evening and it turned out great. Easy to prepare and was a real hit. Thank you
That’s incredible! Yay!! You’re so welcome.
Made this for dinner tonight and it was AMAZING!!! The flavor reminds me of the herb and crusted chicken that’s really popular at the Cheesecake Factory. This is just a better version 🙂 I also love that I have left overs for a few days. Yumna , there’s always a spot for you at my dinner table!! thank you 🙂
Yay!! That’s so great to hear. Thank YOU!