This Herb Roasted Chicken is easy to make and is the best comfort food ever! So warming and cozy and packed with flavor, you'll love how easy this is.
The smell of chicken roasting has to be one of the best kitchen smells; it evokes memories of warmth and family. Plus, it always tastes fantastic.
Serve this up with the traditional sides of veggies, potatoes, and gravy, or add a salad and some crusty bread. And make sure you save the leftovers for the best chicken sandwich ever!
It's hard to beat an easy roast chicken recipe! And this Herb Roasted Chicken is the best! It is so juicy and has plenty of delicious pan juices that you can serve as a sauce or use to make gravy.
The most important thing for me with a roast chicken is juicy, soft breast meat. Overcooked chicken makes me cry.
The key to juicy, tender breast meat it to keep it moist during cooking. For this recipe, we will use butter and broth to keep the meat juicy.
Butter adds flavor and fat, and the broth adds moisture to the roast. The perfect combo.
We start by mixing chopped fresh herbs with seasonings, some wine (optional), and melted butter. This mixture is a fabulous concoction that will get pushed under the skin of the chicken. It packs flavor and moisture into your chicken.
Herbs for Chicken
Chicken and herbs are a great combo; I use the following herbs for my herb roasted chicken:
- Parsley
- Rosemary
- Sage
- Thyme
- Chives
How to push butter under the skin of a chicken
Butter under the skin makes the meat so juicy! But you need to make sure you don't break or tear the skin. To do this, I use an upside-down spoon to loosen the skin; it sorts of flows over the curves of the chicken, and the smooth side of the spoon is less likely to tear the skin than your fingers/nails.
Once the skin is loose, you can spoon the soft buttery goodness under the skin. Then use your hands to gently rub on top of the skin to push it into an even layer.
Then rub the outside with a little of the herby butter, and you are ready to roast.
Should chicken be at room temperature before roasting?
Absolutely yes. Before putting a chicken in the oven, make sure you give it time to come to room temperature. Give it at least 45 minutes on the countertop. It will be fine for a couple of hours out of the fridge.
This is because if you roast a cold chicken, it will cook unevenly - the outside will dry out before the center has got to temperature.
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What to serve with a Roasted Chicken
We love roasted chicken! And eat it in summer and winter. We love the meat, hot, warm, or cold, and we love leftovers! So we eat a lot of roasted chicken! These are a few of our favorite sides.
What to eat with roasted chicken in summer:
Salads and potatoes are perfect with summer roasted chicken.
- Homemade Peri Peri Fries
- Kachumber Salad
- A Simple Salad
- Crispy Pan Fried Potatoes
- Crispy Garlic Butter Potatoes
- No Cream Italian Herb Pasta
- Brazilian Tomato Salad
What to eat with roasted chicken in winter:
Enjoy x
If you try this Herb Roasted Chicken, please leave a 🌟star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I really appreciate it, and it helps others to know that the recipe is trustworthy.
Any questions about the recipe? Use the comments section below.
Get the Recipe
Herb Roasted Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 5.5 lb whole chicken
- ¼ cup butter melted
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ cup white wine
- 1 tablespoon parsley finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon rosemary finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon sage finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon thyme leaves
- 1 tablespoon chives finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 carrots roughly chopped
- 2 sticks celery roughly chopped
- 1 onion roughly chopped
- 1½ cups chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature. Remove the packaging and pat dry thoroughly.5.5 lb whole chicken
While the chicken is coming to room temperature
- Mix the melted butter with the olive oil, white wine, herbs, salt, and pepper. Set to one side to solidify slightly (it won't go totally solid as the wine and oil keep it runnier)¼ cup butter3 tablespoon olive oil¼ cup white wine1 tablespoon parsley1 tablespoon rosemary1 tablespoon sage1 tablespoon thyme leaves1 tablespoon chives½ teaspoon salt½ teaspoon black pepper
- Preheat the oven to 200ºC/390ºF.
- Use a dessert spoon to loosen the skin of the chicken.
- Reserve 2 tablespoons of the butter mixture. Spoon the remaining butter mixture under the skin, and then use your hands to distribute it evenly under the skin. Smear the reserved butter over all of the chicken skin.
- Place the chopped carrot, celery, and onion in a roasting tin. Pour the stock over the veg, then place the chicken on top and sprinkle the skin with salt.2 carrots2 sticks celery1 onion1½ cups chicken broth½ teaspoon salt
- Tie the ends of the drumsticks together and transfer the roasting pan to the middle of the oven.
- Roast for 1 hour.
- Reduce the oven to 330ºF/165ºC.
- Roast for a further 25-35 minutes. (Chicken is cooked when the internal temperature is 165ºF/75ºC or when juices run clear when you pierce the thigh.)
- Rest the roast chicken for 15 minutes - don't cover it.
- Serve with pan juices. You can squash the veg into the juices and then strain or serve it as is.
Nutrition
Nutrition is per serving
Rupali says
The butter mixture made a huge difference. My chicken turned out succulent and not at all dry like store bought.
Alex says
Beautifully delicious! A herb roasted chicken like this will be on my menu even week. Love the tip about the butter underneath the skin.
Donna says
The smell coming from my kitchen while this chicken was cooking was just phenomenal! Super tasty to boot, I just love the use of all the fresh herbs! We enjoyed as a Sunday dinner and used up the leftovers in wraps for school the next day - lunchboxes came back empty which is always a good sign 🙂
Claire McEwen says
Leftover roast chicken is just the best isn't it!
So happy you and the family loved it 🙂
Cx
Jennifer says
Heck yes! Had a chicken I had to use and your recipe worked out fabulously! It was moist, tender, juicy, and the herbs put it over the top!
Claire McEwen says
So pleased you loved it!
I can't stand dry chicken, so it makes me happy that others loved the juicy roast too 🙂
Cx
Susannah says
This chicken was absolutely amazing! I have it on my meal plan list for next month to make again. Might add some potatoes too. 😉
Sachi says
Great roast chicken recipe, it came out perfectly delicious!
Claire McEwen says
Thank you 🙂
Ruth says
Hey great recipe.
It was really tasty and juicy, my husband said it was better than the rotisserie chicken!
Linda says
This chicken is so flavorful and juicy. Love the texture and how delicious it is!
Mandy Applegate says
The herbs made this roasted chicken absolutely delicious! I cooked it for friends and they couldn't speak more highly of it - thank you!
Lynn says
This was so delicious! There is nothing more delicious than roasted chicken and this was so good!