Roast Garlic and Lemon Chicken (Printable)

Golden roasted chicken infused with zesty lemon and aromatic garlic for a Mediterranean-inspired main dish.

# What You’ll Need:

→ Poultry

01 - 1 whole chicken (approximately 3.3 lbs), patted completely dry

→ Aromatics

02 - 2 lemons, zested and halved
03 - 1 bulb garlic, halved horizontally
04 - 1 small bunch fresh thyme (approximately 10 sprigs)

→ Seasoning & Fats

05 - 3 tbsp olive oil
06 - 1 tsp kosher salt
07 - ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

→ Vegetables for Roasting Base

08 - 1 large onion, sliced
09 - 2 carrots, cut into large chunks

# How To Make:

01 - Preheat oven to 400°F.
02 - Arrange onion slices and carrot chunks in the bottom of a large roasting pan to create a flavorful bed for the chicken.
03 - Rub the entire chicken surface with olive oil, then evenly coat with kosher salt, black pepper, and lemon zest.
04 - Fill the chicken cavity with halved lemons, halved garlic bulb, and fresh thyme sprigs.
05 - Secure the legs together with kitchen twine and tuck wing tips under the body for even cooking.
06 - Place the chicken breast-side up directly on the vegetable bed in the roasting pan.
07 - Roast for 1 hour 10 minutes, basting with pan juices once or twice during cooking, until juices run clear and internal temperature reaches 165°F when measured at the thickest part of the thigh.
08 - Let chicken rest for 10 minutes before carving to allow juices to redistribute. Serve with pan juices and roasted vegetables from the pan.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • The skin gets impossibly crispy while the meat stays impossibly juicy
  • It looks like you spent all day but really you just spent ten minutes
  • The leftovers make the best sandwiches you have ever had
02 -
  • Dry that chicken skin like your life depends on it because moisture creates steam and steam creates rubbery skin instead of crispy perfection
  • Let the chicken come to room temperature for about 30 minutes before roasting so it cooks evenly instead of drying out before the center is done
  • Use a meat thermometer because guessing leads to either overcooked dry chicken or undercooked unsafe chicken and neither is a good outcome
03 -
  • Rotate the pan halfway through cooking if you notice one side browning faster than the other
  • Save the chicken carcass to make stock because homemade stock makes better soup than anything you can buy

Go Back