Name: Lemon And Herb Roasted Chicken
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 80 min
Total time: 90 min
Ingredients: 2 kg whole chicken; 1/2 cup butter (, melted); 2 spring fresh thyme; 2 spring fresh rosemary; 1/4 cup parsley (,chopped); 1/4 tsp salt; 1/4 tsp ground black pepper; 1 cup water; 1 lemon (, sliced); 1 onion (, sliced); 1 spring fresh rosemary; 1 onion (, sliced); 1 lemon (, sliced); 1 clove garlic (, crushed)

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If you love roasted chicken, you will definitely enjoy this Lemon and Herb Roasted Chicken. It’s juicy on the inside, flavorful, and perfectly crispy on the outside. The secret? Fresh herbs, butter, lemon, and garlic.

Lemon And Herb Roasted Chicken

I really enjoy this chicken! It is SUPER flavorful, tasty and perfect for special occasions.

Now, let me tell you what I did to make this chicken so juicy and delicious:

I seasoned under the chicken skin generously with butter, fresh Thyme parsley and Rosemary; this is an important step because it actually prevents the chicken from getting dry.

I stuffed the chicken cavity with lots of lemon slices, onion, garlic and more fresh Rosemary. This step is also very important. It adds moisture and incredibly aromatic citrus flavors.

Roasting the chicken at 180 °C / 350°F for an hour or so until it is fully cooked, then broiling for 10-15 minutes just until the skin is crispy, is a good way to ensure a juicy chicken from the inside and a crispy skin on the outside.

You'll Need

Note: This is an overview of the ingredients. See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Chicken: I used a whole chicken about 2kg chicken.
Herbs: I used fresh thyme, rosemary and parsley.
Butter: I used melted unsalted butter.
Seasonings: I used just salt and ground black pepper.
For Chicken Cavity Stuffing: I used lemon slices, onion, garlic and fresh rosemary.

How To Make Lemon And Herb Roasted Chicken

Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F.

Prepare the chicken: First thing to do is to clean the chicken and pat with a kitchen towel; also, make sure there is not any water in the chicken cavity.

Loosen The Chicken Skin: Slide your finger underneath the chicken skin to loosen it be careful not to tear it. Loosening the chicken skin will allow you to put the dressing underneath the skin to maximize the flavour.

Pro Tip: Also, to get under the skin easily, you can carefully insert a small spoon under the skin to make pockets to stuff the butter.

Make The Herb Butter: Combine the butter, rosemary, thyme and chopped parsley, salt and pepper well then spread the mixture thoroughly under the chicken skin. Keep some for covering the skin as well.

Stuff The Chicken: Stuff the chicken cavity with the lemon slices, onion, garlic and rosemary then tie the chicken legs with a string.

Prepare The Chicken For Roasting: Put the chicken in an oven dish and add around it the other half of lemon slices and onion slices then pour the water inside the oven dish. After that, drizzle the dressing on top of the chicken and all around it.

Roasting The Chicken: Roast the chicken for about an hour to an hour and a half; my chicken took exactly one hour and twenty minutes on my oven until fully roasted.

Pro Tip: The cooking time may vary from one oven to another and also to the weight of the chicken; mine was 2kg.

Pro Tip: Use a meat thermometer in a tick part of the chicken to make sure it is done. The thermometer must record 165 F.

Broiling The Chicken: Broil the chicken for 5-10 minutes until it becomes golden brown and has a crispy skin.

Pro Tip: Broiling the chicken is an extra step to achieve a crispy skin. You may skip it if you want.

Serving The Chicken: I recommend serving once it has finished and is still warm.

Expert Tips

Every 10-20 minutes, use a spoon to pour the cooking butter into the baking dish over the chicken to keep it moist.
If you like, you can use chicken broth or chicken stock instead of water.