Roasted Lemon Whole Chicken is wonderful to make on a winter Sunday. It is perfect with garlic mashed potatoes and a vegetable. I love having the leftovers to make other dishes for the week such as sandwiches, soups, or casseroles.
Roasted Lemon Whole Chicken is great with a variety of spice blends. If you don’t like a particular spice then use one that you do like. Here are some homemade spice blend ideas to get to you going for a variety of meals.
I first found this recipe in my Taste of Home Light and Tasty 2006 Annual Recipe Cookbook.
Oven Roasted
Recipe serves: 5
Serving size: 4 ounces
Total time: Between 1 and 1 ~ 1/2 hours
I recommend a 13×9 baking dish with a separate roasting rack versus a large roasting pan with roasting rack. In this recipe we are roasting a 4ish pound chicken so we want to make sure the pan is not too large to prevent the drippings from burning. If you already have a 13×9 baking dish and do not have a roasting rack I highly recommend picking one up. Elevating your chicken will allow the air to circulate under the chicken as it roasts for a tastier roasted chicken.
Storage for Spice Mixes
I usually make a large batch of a spice mix I like and then keep it in my spice pantry for the next use. I like this spice storage solution because you can custom make your own labels and the containers are the perfect size.
Let's grocery shop!
I am assuming you have salt and pepper. It is not included in pantry and spices.
Pantry & Spices
-
lemon pepper seasoning
-
onion powder
-
garlic powder
-
seasoned salt
-
dried thyme
Grocery
-
1 - whole chicken
-
1 - medium onion
-
1 - lemon
-
1 - bulb of garlic
-
1 - fresh rosemary sprigs
-
1 - chicken broth 14.5 oz
Let's prep!
| 1 whole broiler/fryer chicken 3 – 1/2 pounds |
| 1.5 teaspoons lemon pepper seasoning |
| 1/2 teaspoon onion powder |
| 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder |
| 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt |
| 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme |
| 1 lemon, halved |
| 2 springs fresh rosemary |
| 1 small onion, halved |
| 2 cloves of garlic, smashed |
| 1/2 cup chicken broth |
- Gather all of your ingredients and measuring tools
- Zest lemon and place in a small prep bowl
- Combine seasonings with the lemon zest:
- 1.5 teaspoons lemon pepper seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- Halve the lemon
- Halve the onion
- Smash 2 garlic cloves
- Measure 1/2 cup of chicken broth and set it next to the oven with a basting brush.
Let's cook!
- Complete the prep from the prep tab above.
- Preheat oven to 375° F
- Using your fingers loosen the skin around the breasts, legs and thighs.
- Take half the seasoning and rub under the skin. Rub the remaining over the chicken.
- Add to the inside of the cavity:
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1/2 teaspoon of pepper
- Rosemary sprigs
- 1/2 the onion followed by 1/2 the lemon then smashed garlic the other 1/2 lemon and remainder 1/2 onion
- Place the chicken in the roasting pan with the breast side up.
- Baste the chicken after 30 minutes with chicken broth or pan juices then every 30 minutes.
- After the chicken has been cooking for 1.5 hours check for doneness. The chicken will be 165°F and 170°F between the leg and chicken breast if it is not, continue to cook until it is done.
- Cover the chicken and let it rest for 15 minutes before carving. Enjoy!
This recipe can also be found in Weekly Dinners for 4 under $100 – Menu 1
