Cast Iron Roasted Whole Chicken With Vegetables
This one skillet recipe is the best cast iron roasted whole chicken you will ever make. Juicy, tender, and loaded with lemon and herbs, this chicken is perfectly cooked every time. Potatoes, carrots, and onion cook under the chicken giving them the best flavor.
Cast Iron Roasted Whole Chicken With Vegetables
This one skillet recipe is the best cast iron roasted whole chicken you will ever make. Juicy, tender, and loaded with lemon and herbs, this chicken is perfectly cooked every time. Potatoes, carrots, and onion cook under the chicken giving them the best flavor.
Ingredients
- 1 Whole 3-4 lb Chicken
- 4 Large Potatoes, diced
- 1 Large Sweet Onion, diced
- 4 Large Carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 Lemons, halved and juiced
- 4 Garlic Cloves, minced
- 1 tsp Real Salt
- 6 Tbsp Butter
- 1/2 tsp Dried Ground Sage
- 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 tsp Onion Powder
- 2 tsp Dried Thyme
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a large 17" cast iron skillet with 2 Tbsp Olive oil.
- Begin by preparing vegetables. Dice potatoes and onion. Peel and dice carrots. Reserve a large quarter of the onion for placing inside the chicken cavity later. Place vegetables in the bottom of the cast iron skillet and evenly distribute in the bottom of the skillet.
- Place a small rack on top of the vegetables for the chicken to roast on top of the vegetables.
- In a small microwave safe bowl, prepare chicken seasoning by melting butter. Mix 4 minced garlic cloves, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp sage, and the juice form 2 lemons into the butter. Reserve the squeezed lemon halves to stuff into the chicken cavity later.
- Place chicken, breast side up, on the rack on top of the veggies. Starting at the chickens neck, insert your hands between the chicken breast and the skin to loosen the skin from the breast and create a cavity where you can pour the butter mixture.
- Pour butter mixture under the skin, making sure to reserve some to pour over the top. Make sure the top of the chicken is evenly coated with butter mixture. Sprinkle top of chicken with 2 tsp of thyme.
- Stuff chicken cavity with squeezed lemon halves and onion.
- Roast chicken at 400 degrees for 35 minutes and then baste chicken with butter and juices from the bottom of the pan.
- Roast chicken another 30-35 minutes or until internal temperature of thickest part of the breast reaches 155 degrees. The time will vary depending on the size of your chicken.
- Without removing chicken from the oven, increase oven temperature to 425 degrees and roast for 10 minutes or until internal temperature of the thickest part of the chicken breast reaches 160 degrees.
- Let chicken rest a few minutes outside of the oven before serving. This allows chicken continue cooking to 165 degrees without it drying out. This is a crucial step to juicy chicken! Let chicken rest 10 minutes and then enjoy.
- Remove chicken from rack and then slice. The vegetables in the bottom will have caramelized and have delicious flavor! Enjoy.
Notes
- What should I do with leftover chicken? Leftover chicken should be refrigerated and consumed within 5 days. If you have a lot left, consider making our favorite soup with it. Or it is always great in some chicken salad too!
- How can I use the leftover bones? Save them! Once the bones have been picked clean, I like to keep a "bone bag" in the freezer. I'll throw the left over bones and even skin in the bag and then store that in the freezer until I have a good amount to make bone broth with. Here's my favorite Instant Pot Bone Broth recipe.
A one skillet recipe the whole family loves!
There is just something about coming home to a house that smells like chicken roasting in the oven. It is the perfect recipe for colder days when you need the house to smell good. Not only do the smells make it cozy but the oven warms up the house too.
Roasting a whole chicken can seem like a huge undertaking but it is seriously one of the easiest recipes you will make. With a few minutes of prep work and by following a few simple tips, you will have a juicy, flavorful one skillet chicken supper the whole family will love.
Ingredients needed for this recipe:
- 3-4 Pound Chicken– Make sure the insides are removed! I used a 4 pound chicken in this recipe.
- 4 Large Potatoes-I used what we had growing in the garden and I honestly have no idea what they are. Ha! Russet, Yukon Gold or even Sweet Potatoes would be delicious!
- 1 Onion– A sweet onion works best. Feel free to use whatever you have on hand.
- 4 Large Carrots
- 4 Garlic Cloves
- Olive Oil– for greasing the cast iron skillet
- Butter, Lemon Juice, Sage, Onion Powder, Thyme– simple ingredients but the BEST way to season a whole chicken before roasting.
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Why we love Cast Iron Roasted Whole Chicken with Vegetables:
- A one skillet recipe: A whole meal and you only dirty one pan, a bowl, a cutting board, and a knife.
- So flavorful: The seasonings in this recipe are simple but they are the perfect combination.
- Juicy and roasted to perfection: Not to toot my own horn *toot* but I think I’d (Megan) call myself the chicken master. It’s all about cooking it just until almost the right internal temperature and then pulling it out of the oven, letting it rest, and then continue cooking out of the oven.
- The BEST roasted veggies ever: Veggies roasted under a dripping buttery chicken. I mean c’mon! The veggies are caramelized and dreamy.
Tips for juicy, tender chicken every time:
Are you sick of dry chicken? Yeah, me to. Here are two helpful tips so that you can enjoy eating and serving chicken once again.
- Internal temperature is key! Chicken should cook to 165 degrees but the key to not overcooking is to pull this chicken out of the heat BEFORE it reaches that temperature. For this recipe, I suggest pulling the chicken out of the oven when the internal temperature in the thickest part of the chicken reaches 160 degrees and then letting it continue cooking out of the heat until it reaches 165. Following this step has never let me down.
- Another thing to consider is where you are sourcing your chicken. I know cost can be a factor here so please do not feel burdened. Get the best that you can afford! Stay away from chicken injected with saline solutions. That chicken tends to look plump but is definitely far from tender. We have noticed that by purchasing a pastured chicken the meat is far more juicy and flavorful. Another good option we’ve found is Good Ranchers.
How to make a roasted whole chicken with vegetables:
Step one: Begin by greasing a large cast iron skillet with olive oil and preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Step two: Dice potatoes, carrots, and onion and fill bottom of skillet with vegetables. Place a wire rack on top of vegetables. Reserve a quarter of the onion to stuff chicken with.
Step three: In a bowl, melt butter and mix in minced garlic, salt, ground sage, onion powder, and lemon juice.
Step four: Place chicken, breast side up, on rack. Using your hands, separate chicken skin from breast. Stuff chicken with reserved squeezed lemon halves and quarter of onion.
Step five: Pour butter/seasoning mixture under skin and over the top of the whole chicken. Season with thyme.
Step six: Roast chicken with vegetables at 400 degrees for 35 minutes. Remove chicken from oven and baste with juices and butter from bottom of the pan. Roast for another 30-35 minutes or until chicken reaches 155 degrees. Without removing chicken from oven, turn oven temperature up to 425 degrees and roast for another 10 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.
Step seven: Once chicken reaches 160 degrees, remove from oven and let the internal temperature come up to 165 before serving.
The BEST part are the vegetables underneath! Juicy chicken flavors the vegetables, and the vegetables also get so perfectly caramelized.
