Really Easy Roast Chicken
Recipe GLPRd178679a6e9078
A straightforward one-pan roasted chicken with a deliciously lemony pan sauce. A whole chicken is rubbed with soft butter, stuffed with lemon, garlic, and fresh herbs, then roasted alongside tender potatoes and carrots. The pan drippings are combined with chicken stock and soy sauce to create a savory, bright sauce. Simple enough for beginners, impressive enough for family dinner.
Save recipes you love
Create a free Grocery List Plus account to save recipes, rate them, and add every ingredient to your grocery list in one tap.
Ingredients
1 whole chicken, approximately 1.5 kg (3.3 lbs)
1 lemon, halved
2 garlic cloves
1 sprig fresh thyme or rosemary, or omit if unavailable
50g soft butter
800g small waxy potatoes such as Charlotte, halved if large
350g small Chantenay carrots or regular carrots, cut into chunks
1 tablespoon olive oil
300ml chicken stock
1 tablespoon low-salt soy sauce
Directions
Remove any trussing strings or elastic from the chicken and discard. Preheat your oven to 220°C (200°C fan/425°F, gas mark 7).
Place the lemon halves, garlic cloves, and herb sprig (if using) inside the cavity of the chicken.
Place the chicken in a large roasting tin. Using your hands, massage and spread the softened butter evenly over the entire surface of the chicken, including the thighs, legs, and wings.
In a bowl, combine the halved potatoes and carrot chunks. Drizzle with the olive oil and toss everything together with your hands until well coated.
Scatter the oiled vegetables in an even layer around the chicken in the roasting tin. Season the chicken and vegetables generously with salt and pepper. Roast at 220°C for 30 minutes.
Remove the tin from the oven and give the vegetables a good stir. Reduce the oven temperature to 200°C (180°C fan/400°F, gas mark 6) and return the tin to the oven for 50 minutes more.
To test for doneness, carefully pull one of the chicken legs away from the body using tongs or a cloth—it should come away easily with no pink near the joint, and the juices should run clear. If you have a meat thermometer, insert it into the thickest part of the thigh without touching bone; it should read 75°C (165°F). Once cooked, remove the chicken from the tin and set aside on a warm plate to rest for 5 minutes.
Transfer the roasted vegetables to a serving dish. Using tongs, remove the lemon halves, garlic cloves, and herb sprig from inside the chicken and place them in the roasting tin. Press down firmly on the lemon halves with a potato masher to release all their juice.
Pour the chicken stock and soy sauce into the roasting tin with the squeezed lemon and garlic, stirring well to deglaze the tin and combine all the flavors. Place a fine sieve over a clean jug and carefully pour the pan juices through to strain them, pressing gently on the solids to extract all liquid. Discard the solids.
If desired, pour the strained sauce into a small saucepan and warm it on the stovetop, or reheat gently in the microwave. Serve the carved chicken and vegetables with the warm lemony sauce on the side.
