Nothing beats a great roast chicken dinner. One of the most classic and easy roast chicken recipes are ones with lemon and herb. It warms the house, feeds a family and best of all, you might even have some leftover chicken for chicken soup or chicken sandwiches for lunch.

Lemon and Herb Roast Chicken in a casserole

Lemon Herb Roast Chicken

Whether you are using fresh herbs or dried herbs, you can’t deny the fact that a simple roast chicken can please everyone. The aroma of herbs combined with the wonderful citrus flavor of fresh lemons heightens a basic recipe to something elegant and satisfying.

Rubbing butter on the outside of the chicken will give you a wonderful flavor to the baked chicken. So treat yourself to some of the butter goodness! But if you don’t want to use butter, then you can certainly use olive oil. This recipe will still be delicious. Serve up some roasted vegetables, a green salad or a slice of grilled bread, and what you have is a wonderful weeknight chicken dinner that’s fast, east and satisfying. As far as the left over bones, make sure to save those and make yourself a batch of homemade chicken stock. It’s so easy and versatile to use for the rest of your cooking.

Video for How to Oven Roast a Whole Chicken

(we know, it isn’t quite the same recipe, but it may help give  a general visual on how to prepare the lemon and herb roast chicken)

Video on How to Truss a Chicken

YouTube video

 

How to Transform a Boring Roast Chicken into an Amazing Lemon & Herb Roast Chicken

  • Use fresh herbs or dried herbs
  • Rub chicken with butter (or olive oil), herbs and lemon zest
  • Truss if desired (makes it pretty, and a little juicier, but isn’t required)
  • Super Easy Delicious Lemon Herb Roast Chicken!

Lemon and Herb Roast Chicken Recipe

Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
There are a couple options for the ingredients. You can use either melted butter or olive oil (or preferred cooking oil) to rub the chicken. 
You can also use either fresh herbs or dried herbs. For this recipe we prefer to use melted butter with the fresh herbs. Since you'll need to heat the butter to melt it, we'll toss in the fresh herbs and the combination of the warm butter with the fresh herbs helps infuse a bit of the herb flavor into the butter. Quite delicious. 
If you use dried herbs instead of the fresh, most people will substitute only about half the quantity of dried for fresh (1 Tablespoon of dried instead of 2 Tablespoons of fresh).
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Ingredients

  • 1 whole Chicken
  • 2 Tablespoons Butter or Olive Oil
  • 2 Tablespoons freshly chopped Italian Parsley (or other preferred herb-oregano, thyme, tarragon, etc...)
  • 2 Lemons , one lemon zested and then cut into 1/4's the other lemon just cut into 1/4's (make sure to set aside the zest to use on the chicken)
  • Kosher Salt , to taste
  • fresh cracked Black Pepper , to taste

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 425°F. Pat dry the chicken. For the crispiest skin- see step 2. For quickest preparation- proceed to step 3.
    Oven knobs
  • Sprinkle salt over all surfaces of chicken. Set on a plate, place in fridge and allow to air dry for at least 2 hours and up to overnight. Remove from fridge and pat dry water that had come to skin surface.
  • Combine butter, chopped herbs, and lemon zest in a small saucepan. Melt butter over medium heat until completely melted. Set aside.
    Chopped Herbs on a cutting board
  • Truss the chicken if desired (see video in post for trussing instructions). Place the chicken in a baking dish).
    Tying the truss tight
  • Spread butter mixture evenly over the chicken (the butter will harden as it contacts the cold chicken. Best to work quickly.) Squeeze one lemon worth of quarters over and inside the chicken and place th e squeezed pieces plus one more lemon's worth of wedges in the roasting pan with the chicken. Season chicken generously with salt and pepper.
    Lemon and herbs rubbed on whole chicken
  • Roast for about 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 35 minutes or until juices run clear when you cut between the leg and the thigh or the temperature in the thickest part of the thigh reads 165°F when probed with an instant read thermometer. Remove from oven and allow to rest for about 10 minutes. Carve and serve as desired.
    Finished whole chicken

Video

YouTube video

Nutrition Information per Serving

Calories: 488kcal, Carbohydrates: 5g, Protein: 36g, Fat: 36g, Saturated Fat: 9g, Cholesterol: 143mg, Sodium: 136mg, Potassium: 446mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 435IU, Vitamin C: 34mg, Calcium: 38mg, Iron: 2mg
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Calories: 488

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