Oven Roasted Chicken and Potatoes – Real Food with Sarah

This Oven Roasted Chicken and Potatoes is easy to make, juicy and super flavorful. It's made in one pan with simple ingredients for a delicious family meal.

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Whole roasted chicken with potatoes and herbs in a pot.

Whole roasted chicken and potatoes is a classic meal that feeds the whole family. Making a whole chicken can be very intimidating for some people, but I assure you this recipe is very easy! Oven-roasted whole chicken and potatoes can even be made as an alternative to my easy roast turkey on Thanksgiving, especially if you are hosting a smaller crowd. If you love using your Dutch Oven, try my Beef Short Rib Ragu or braised pot roast next!

The chicken is seasoned with fresh herbs, spices and lemon juice. The potatoes are easily thrown into the same pan to give you even less work. You will love this recipe for a weekly meal or to use as meal prep for busy days. If you love roasting chicken, you will also enjoy my Spatchcock Cornish Hens.

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🌟Why You'll Love this Recipe
🥘Ingredients
📖Substitutions & Variations
How To Prepare a Whole Chicken for Roasting
🔪Instructions
💭Recipe FAQs
👩🏻‍🍳Chef Tips
🥗Serving
Storage & Reheating
More Recipes You May Like
📋 Recipe
💬 Comments

🌟Why You'll Love this Recipe

One pot meal. This easy chicken and potatoes recipe is made using just one pot making it super easy to make and clean up! Add honey-roasted parsnips and carrots for more veggies on the side.
It's juicy and flavorful. The Dutch oven roast chicken is seasoned with spices, fresh herbs and more resulting in a delicious juicy chicken.
Great for leftovers and meal prep. This oven roasted whole chicken will become your new favorite recipe to make on Sunday and enjoy as leftovers for the week. It would be great on sandwiches, salads or on its own with your favorite veggies. Use the leftover chicken to make my Air Fryer Chicken Quesadillas.

🥘Ingredients

Whole chicken- I used a 4.5-pound chicken for this recipe. You can use any size chicken, you will just have to adjust the roasting time and maybe the size of your pot.
Lemon- The lemon is used in the cavity of the chicken and we will also squeeze a little juice over the skin. The lemon adds moisture to the chicken meat and also helps to tenderize it.
Onion- Both yellow or white onion will work for this recipe.
Potatoes- The potatoes are optional in this recipe but roasting them with the chicken leads to more flavorful potatoes and a built-in side dish. You can certainly roast the chicken without them. I used yellow creamer potatoes, but any small or fingerling potatoes will work. You can also add sliced carrots or parsnips to the pan.
Herbs- For this whole chicken recipe, I use fresh rosemary and thyme sprigs, however, fresh parsley is a great option and sometimes I sprinkle this on after cooking.
Chicken broth- I like adding this to the pan for additional flavor and to keep the chicken from drying out. I recommend using low-sodium broth as you can always add more salt to the dish later if needed

See the recipe card below for quantities and a full ingredient list.

📖Substitutions & Variations

Use butter instead of oil- In place of the oil, use melted butter to make a garlic butter mixture. Use unsalted butter in place of the oil.
Potatoes- This recipe calls for creamer potatoes but baby red potatoes and even diced sweet potatoes will go well with the chicken.
Add extra veggies- If you have carrots in the fridge or even parsnips, peel and slice them and add them to the pan.

How To Prepare a Whole Chicken for Roasting

Prepare the chicken for roasting using these few steps to ensure a more flavorful meal.

Remove the chicken from the packaging and remove any giblets or neck that might be inside the cavity. Also, trim any excess fat and skin and remove any remaining feathers.
Rinse the chicken inside and out with cold water in the sink.
Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. This helps the skin crisp up during roasting.
Optional: Truss the chicken by tying the legs together and the wings to the body with kitchen twine.

🔪Instructions

Remove the chicken from the fridge 30 minutes before cooking to allow it to warm up to room temperature.

Step 1: Season the chicken. Place chicken inside your Dutch oven or other large pot. Add the spices to a small bowl with the olive oil. Season the chicken with the spices all over, under the skin and inside the cavity.

Step 2: Stuff the cavity. Place ½ of the onion, lemon, thyme and rosemary into the chicken cavity.

Whole raw chicken seasoned with spices and fresh herbs.

Step 3: Pour in a cup of chicken broth. around the chicken.

Raw whole chicken with baby potatoes and onions in a pot.

Step 4: Outside of the chicken, scatter the potatoes. Roast for 20 minutes per pound. Check that the chicken has reached at least 165 degrees F internally. Serve with the potatoes, onion and juices from the pan.

💭Recipe FAQs

How long do I cook a whole chicken?

The length of time depends on the temperature you are using. I prefer to roast chicken at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes per pound. For example, a 4-pound chicken will cook for 80 minutes (1 hour and 10 minutes). Use a thermometer to check the internal temperature of the chicken, it should be 165 degrees F in the thickest part of the thigh.

Do I need to cover the chicken when cooking?

I recommend not covering the chicken when cooking to allow for crispy skin.

Should I add water to the Dutch oven?

I recommend adding liquid to the Dutch oven with the chicken to prevent it from burning and drying out. However, I prefer to use chicken or vegetable broth instead of water. This helps to create more flavorful pan drippings to serve over the chicken.

How do I carve a chicken?

First, make sure you have a carving knife, a very sharp kitchen knife or kitchen shears.
Begin by removing the legs.
Cut away at the skin and meat around the leg joint and then slice through the joint. You can also use your hands here to rotate the leg and disconnect the bone.
The next step is to remove the wings. This can be done with the same method as you used for the legs.
Next, cut off the chicken breast meat and any meat remaining on the carcass.
Throw away the carcass or save it for later to make a homemade chicken stock.

A whole chicken garnished with fresh herbs.

👩🏻‍🍳Chef Tips

Take the chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking to allow it to come to room temperature. This will allow for a more even cook.
Pat the chicken dry before cooking and seasoning, this will allow for very crispy chicken skin.
My number one tip for flavorful chicken is to make sure you rub the spices underneath the skin of the chicken. You want the flavor to get into the meat and not just sit on the outside.
Check the internal temperature of the chicken with an instant-read thermometer or another meat thermometer. The thickest part of the chicken should be at least 165 degrees F.
Let the chicken rest for about 10 minutes before carving and serving to allow the juices to redistribute throughout the meat.

🥗Serving

While the chicken and potatoes are a meal already, you can certainly add some additional sides such as Air Fryer Green Beans.

Jalapeno cranberry cream cheese dip makes a great appetizer.

Storage & Reheating

Store the roasted whole chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days. The potatoes can be stored in a separate container for the same amount of time. The chicken can be stored whole or cut into pieces.
Use leftover chicken breasts to make chicken salad with apples.
The chicken will freeze very well for about 2-3 months.
Reheat leftovers in the microwave for 1-2 minutes.