One Pan Meal: Roasted Chicken & Vegetables

april-24-2009-138For some reason roasting a whole chicken (or turkey) seems like such a time consuming proposition, probably due to memories of elaborate Thanksgiving feasts. It really isn’t, though.

It takes a few minutes to prep the chicken for cooking, which is the time it takes to preheat your oven. After that most of the work is done by your oven, you just have to throw in some vegetables, turn the temperature down and then throw in some more vegetables.

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That is why this is one of my favorite dinners, and one we enjoy at least every two weeks. Making a whole chicken every other week also allows me to have homemade chicken stock on hand, which makes for even more simple and delicious meals.

Roasted Chicken & Vegetables

Recipe Notes: I have given you my favorite spice rub combination for chicken, but you can use whatever seasonings or spices that you prefer. You can also stuff the chicken with onions, garlic, citrus and herbs if you have extras lying around. You can use any sized chicken, simply adjust the cooking time accordingly and watch the internal temperature. Serve with a lacto-fermented vegetable (I prefer cortido) or a salad.

Ingredients

  • 1 ~ 5 lb. roasting chicken
  • 2-4 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 2-3 lbs. vegetables of your choice

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a small bowl combine salt, black pepper, thyme, cayenne and paprika.
  2. Prepare chicken: Remove any gizzards in the cavity and wash if desired. Place in a roasting pan or an 11×13″ pan and let the chicken dry out or pat dry with paper towels.
  3. Pour melted butter over chicken and disperse evenly with your hands. If you separate the chicken breast skin from the flesh you can rub butter and seasonings directly on the meat. Sprinkle spice rub over entire chicken, inside and out, rubbing it in as you go. You can also tie the legs together if you wish, but I do not find a difference in the end result.
  4. Place chicken in the oven and cook for 30 minutes while you prepare the vegetables. Choose a combination of longer cooking and shorter cooking vegetables. The longer cooking vegetables should be cut into uniform pieces, or roasted right alongside of the chicken from the beginning, as in a baked potato. Carrots, winter squash, potato and sweet potato are all good choices. Shorter cooking vegetables such as green beans, broccoli, mushrooms and zucchini can be prepped and reserved for later.
  5. After 30 minutes remove the chicken from the oven and turn the heat down to 350 degrees. Add the longer cooking vegetables to the pan, mixing them into the pan drippings. Place pan back into oven and allow to cook for 45 minutes.
  6. After 45 minutes remove pan from oven, insert meat thermometer between the leg and thigh of the chicken and add shorter cooking vegetables to the pan.
  7. Remove the pan from the oven when the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 180 degrees and vegetables are cooked through.
  8. Very important: Allow chicken to rest for 15-20 minutes, covered with foil if you like, to allow the juices to redistribute before cutting.

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19 Comments

  1. You’re making my mouth water. I love roasted chicken. Unfortunately we’re on the trend to hot weather so I probably won’t get to do this again until fall. On second thought, maybe I’ll try my crockpot.

  2. What a beautiful, simple recipe! It looks truly impressive. We love roast chicken. It’s delicious. We now have a pastured poultry provider at our market and I am looking forward to making use of his birds this summer.

  3. What vegetables do you usually use for this recipe? It looks delicious and I will definitely be making it soon. I have the crockpot going with your recipe for chicken stock right now.

  4. Shannon, I just found this recipe, and it sounds delicious! Just wondering, do you roast your chicken uncovered? I’ve always put the lid on my roasting pan, but is it better to leave it off?
    Paula

  5. i’m new to meat eating, and roasting a chicken for my fist time.
    breasts up or down?
    tia

    1. Deborah – I do breast up as the easiest, but you can also start breast down and rotate 3/4 of the way through the cooking process.

  6. Hey Shannon, I second paula’s question. Better to roast with lid off or on?
    By the way I’m loving your cookbook, even though its been in the mid 60-70’s here in Texas for about the past month!!
    I can’t wait for spring / summer book! 🙂
    Amy

  7. Awesome. I made it last night with the lid off. I figured your usually pretty thorough so you would have mentioned it. But I wanted to be sure.
    I have to tell you, the thought of roasting a whole chicken has always intimidated me, I did it last night following your recipe (though I added garlic) and my family loved it. It was definitely tender and juicy.
    Thank You!!

  8. I just wanted to say thank you for the wonderful recipe. I’ve made it a lot in the past year and it’s always so good! I now omit the butter under the skin (for crispier skin), but do put the spices under and on the skin. I’ll often put butter in with the veggies, depending on how much juice is in the pan when I put them in. I also like to do 325 degree convection instead of 350… again for crispier skin 🙂 Thanks!

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