Learning how to roast chicken is a skill that pays dividends. At its most simple, you can have a reliably delicious meal on the table within an hour with just a whole bird, some salt, and pepper. (An especially useful card to have up your sleeve when arriving to an empty vacation house kitchen.) There are many schools of thought about the best way to roast a chicken, whether you favor extra crispy skin or a super flavorful sauce. Whichever path you take, don’t neglect the chicken oysters — or the tail (Thomas Keller’s favorite morsel).
Roast Chicken with Lemons
This recipe from cookbook author Marcella Hazan is almost as legendary as she is. Her famous two-ingredient dish (a whole chicken plus two lemons) makes a delicious case for simplicity.
Zuni Chicken (Roast Chicken with Bread Salad)
Christopher Testani / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Christina Daley
The iconic recipe for Zuni Café’s Roast Chicken with Bread Salad by the late, great Judy Rodgers stands the test of time. Pre-seasoning the bird guarantees succulent meat and crispy, flavorful skin. The bread salad is scattered with currants and slightly bitter chicories.
Julia’s Favorite Roast Chicken
Julia Hartbeck
The beloved chef Julia Child seasoned this roast chicken inside and out by packing sautéed vegetables, lemon slices, and fresh herbs into the cavity, then rubbing the skin with butter. In typical French fashion, she trussed the bird to promote even cooking.
Za’atar Roast Chicken
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Christina Daley
The classic Middle Eastern spice blend (sesame, thyme, sumac, and more) coats the chicken for an herby, citrusy crust; it roasts with onions until everything is caramelized.
Savory MSG Roast Chicken
Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Thom Driver
This pantry-friendly roast leans on herbs, garlic, and good technique to deliver juicy meat and crisp skin.
Sweet and Spicy Roast Chicken with Chiles and Thyme
Food & Wine / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Josh Hoggle
A chile-thyme rub and honeyed glaze create a lacquered, sweet-heat finish.
Skillet-Roasted Buttermilk Chicken
Buttermilk tenderizes the meat before a hot-skillet roast yields crispy skin.
Wine Can Chicken
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Christina Daley
Beer can chicken has endured thanks to its ability to produce juicy, evenly cooked chicken. Here a can of wine is swapped in — with delicious results.
Air Fryer Roast Chicken with Rosemary-Orange Sauce
Food & Wine / Photo by Stacy Allen / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Tucker Vines
An overnight citrus-and-herb dry brine makes for ultra-crisp skin in the air fryer, along with a bright sherry-orange pan sauce for serving.
Pan-Roasted Chicken Thighs with Lemon and Cherry Tomatoes
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell
Sweet cherry tomatoes and lemon slices roast with the thighs, creating bright, spoonable pan juices.
Herb and Lemon Roasted Chicken
Cara Cormack
This roast chicken is foolproof and fantastic. Plus, it’s versatile enough for a weeknight dinner or weekend dinner party. Serve it with a crisp, citrusy Sauvignon Blanc.
Roast Chicken with Cilantro-Mint Chutney
Roast chicken, whole or separated into pieces, benefits brilliantly from chutney-based marinades. You make the chutney and reserve half as your dipping sauce, while the other half gets folded into creamy, tangy yogurt to make the flavorful marinade.
Roast Chicken with Potatoes, Shallot, and Lemon
Christopher Testani / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen
Potatoes roast in the drippings while shallot and lemon perfume the pan, which makes every bite redolent with savory flavor.
Crispy Roast Chicken and Shallots with Miso Gravy
Food & Wine / Photo by Carson Downing / Food Styling by Holly Dreesman / Prop Styling by Dera Burreson
This wonderful roast chicken is made with eight whole shallots — seven to bake with the chicken and one to flavor the miso gravy along with ginger, chives, and parsley.
Cardamom Chicken with Rice Pilaf
Food & Wine / Photo by Carson Downing / Food Styling by Holly Dreesman / Prop Styling by Dera Burreson
Sprinkled with cardamom, roasted until crisp, and topped with an apple-tinged sauce, these chicken legs taste extraordinary. The chicken is perfectly matched by the raisin-studded rice pilaf that’s also flavored with cardamom.
Roasted Chicken and Acorn Squash with Sumac Brown Butter
Tangy sumac brown butter and sweet squash make for a cold-weather meal you’ll prepare again and again.
Römertopf-Roasted Chicken and Root Vegetables
A covered clay baking pot traps steam for incredibly juicy chicken over sweet potatoes, parsnips, and more; uncover at the end for shatter-crisp skin.
Pan-Roasted Chicken with Grapes, Garlic, and Rosemary
Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell
Roasting grapes with garlic and rosemary yields a jammy, savory-sweet pan sauce for tender, juicy chicken.
Roast Chicken Thighs with Lentil Stew
Food & Wine / Photo by Carson Downing / Food Styling by Holly Dreesman / Prop Styling by Dera Burreson
Star chef and humanitarian José Andrés pairs crisp-skinned thighs with a comforting, paprika-scented lentil stew.
Roast Chicken with Hot Honey
Salty-spiced chicken gets finished with a DIY hot-honey drizzle scented with citrus peel and thyme.
Pollo al Lambrusco (Red Wine–Glazed Chicken with Onions and Grapes)
Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Mat Gibilisco
Here, chicken is roasted and glossed with a fruity Lambrusco reduction for a savory-sweet glaze.
Roast Chicken with Sauce Chasseur
Pan drippings become a French mushroom-and-tomato “hunter’s” sauce that’s spooned over the carved bird.
Murgir Roast (Bangladeshi Chicken Roast)
Food & Wine / Photo by Fred Hardy / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Hannah Greenwood
This celebratory, wedding-style roast chicken is scented with warm spices and aromatics, then finished with a silky, lightly sweet gravy.
Kombu Roast Chicken with Kabocha Squash and Daikon
Kombu lends subtle umami while kabocha and daikon roast alongside for a complete, Japanese-inspired sheet-pan dinner.
Juicy Lemon-and-Herb Roast Chicken
Lemon, garlic, and garden herbs perfume the meat and baste the bird as it roasts.
Roast Chicken with Chile-Basil Vinaigrette, Charred Broccoli, and Potatoes
Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Christine Keely
Chef Hillary Sterling’s epic chicken at Vic’s in New York got its juiciness and deep flavor from brining, air drying, and marinating. The process is simple but does require some planning — start at least a day ahead.
Ranch Roast Chicken
Fred Hardy / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Shell Royster
All the tangy, herby flavors of ranch are baked onto juicy roast chicken for this crowd-pleasing dish.
Honey and Lemon-Glazed Roast Chicken
Fredrika Stjärne
Winemaker Piero Incisa della Rocchetta says he loves chicken so much he regularly eats a whole one by himself. Inspired by beautifully browned Peking duck, he brushes chickens with a mixture of soy sauce and honey.
Rustic Garlic Chicken
Food & Wine / Photo by Brie Goldman / Food Styling by Charlie Worthington / Prop Styling by Natalie Ghazali
Yes, three heads of garlic. You don’t have to peel the cloves first. They soften during cooking and take on a subtle sweetness. Each person squeezes the garlic out of its skin onto the plate to eat with the chicken.
Butter-Roasted Chicken with Soy-Garlic Glaze
Con Poulos
For this recipe, a spiced butter made with ground cloves and star anise is rubbed under the chicken skin before roasting. The result is incredibly juicy and flavorful.
Poblano Pimento Cheese-Roasted Chicken
Ashley Christensen, the chef at Poole’s in North Carolina, kicks up her pimento cheese with spicy poblanos and green hot sauce. In this brilliant riff, the creamy dip is spread under the skin of a whole bird before it’s roasted to get both crispy skin and juicy meat.
Roasted Chicken Legs with Potatoes and Kale
Tina Rupp
For this one-pan dish, chicken legs roast on top of potatoes and kale, which are infused with the meaty juices. Prep takes just 10 minutes, and there’s very little cleanup as everything bakes up together and can be served straight from the pan.
Buttermilk-Brined Roast Chicken
Chefs Evan and Sarah Rich of RT Rotisserie in San Francisco use a buttermilk brine that includes umami powder, garlic, and Douglas fir — a signature ingredient from their flagship restaurant, Rich Table, that they forage themselves. In this adaptation, the chicken is roasted in the oven, and the brine is made with buttermilk, dried porcini, garlic, and rosemary. (If you have access to Douglas fir sprigs, feel free to use them.)
Chicken Roasted on Bread with Caperberries and Charred Lemon
Christina Holmes
In this super-simple dish from F&W’s Justin Chapple, chicken legs roast on top of chunks of bread that soak up the rich and tangy juices, making them wonderfully crisp and chewy.
Roast Chicken with Salsa Verde and Roasted Lemons
Con Poulos
This crisp and juicy roast chicken from star chef Jonathan Waxman of NYC’s Jams is perfect with his chunky seven-herb salsa verde. For ease of preparation, make the salsa a day ahead.
Roast Chicken with Butternut Squash
Andrew Purcell
Chicken quarters roasted with golden squash and sage are nice for a chilly autumn evening. To help the squash to brown evenly, be sure to spoon off the fat from the roasting pan after removing the breasts.
Butter-Roasted Chicken with Cilantro and Mint
John Kernick
Rubbing butter on chicken skin (as well as under it) and letting it sit in the fridge for a few hours is a great way to make the skin extra-crispy and the meat super-moist. In this recipe from the late, great chef Floyd Cardoz, the butter is flavored with cilantro, garlic, mint, chiles, cumin, and lime juice.
Ginger-Roasted Chicken
Lucy Schaeffer
In this recipe, rub seasoned garlic-ginger butter under and atop the skin, then roast with more garlic and ginger, onion, serrano chiles, and lime. Serve with an aromatic Riesling.
Sour Orange Yucatán Chickens
Con Poulos
This fragrant roasted chicken dish starts with a spiced citrus marinade that includes 20 garlic cloves and ancho chile powder. After it’s marinated overnight, the chicken is brushed with honey and baked till golden brown.
Roast Chicken Cacciatore with Red Wine Butter
Con Poulos
Giada De Laurentiis updates cacciatore by finishing with a glossy red-wine butter for added richness.
Brined Roast Chicken with Olive Bread Panzanella
John Kernick
This is a fantastic roast chicken, but what makes this recipe special is the olive bread. Scattered in the roasting pan and toasted in the chicken’s juices, the bread turns custardy on the inside and crunchy on the outside.
Tea-Smoked Roast Chickens
John Kernick
“This recipe looks like a doozy, but it really delivers,” says James Beard Award-winning chef Andrea Reusing. “The chickens are just so reliably juicy, even when they’re cooked longer than they should be.” Smoking the birds quickly over anise-scented tea makes them wonderfully fragrant.
Moroccan Roasted Chicken
Lucy Schaeffer
This roasted chicken is rich with a warm spice blend made from cumin, coriander, sweet paprika, cayenne, and cinnamon. Tangy dried apricots and sweet dates mingle with garlic and onion during the roast to create even more depth of flavor.
Pan-Roasted Chicken with Corn Relish
Antonis Achilleos
This one-skillet recipe is based on a dish chef Cathal Armstrong’s father, Gerry, made when Armstrong was growing up in Dublin, with a big difference. “We only got fresh corn for our birthdays. Otherwise it was frozen,” he recalls.
Spice-Rubbed Roast Chicken with Two Sauces
Con Poulos
This crisp-skinned, juicy chicken is rubbed with a fennel-lemon mixture before roasting and served with smoky piri piri and spicy, herb-flecked wasakaka sauces.
Vinegar-Braised Chicken with Leeks and Peas
Jonny Valiant
This easy main-course chicken dish is elegant enough for both entertaining and a simple weeknight dinner. White balsamic, fresh tarragon, and a hefty dollop of crème fraîche round out the mellow leeks and sweet baby peas in the glorious pan sauce.
Whole Roast Chicken with 40 Brussels Sprouts
John Kernick
Add brussels sprouts (all 40 of them) to the roasting pan so they absorb the fantastic flavor of the caraway-infused chicken juices as everything bakes.
Roast Chicken with Ratatouille
Stephanie Meyer
Thyme, rosemary, and cayenne flavor chef Andrew Zimmern’s chicken before and during roasting. Roasting pieces rather than a whole bird eliminates the need for carving.
Quick-Roasted Chicken with Mustard and Garlic
Lucy Schaeffer
For this delicious, mustardy chicken, Jacques Pépin splits the chicken and cuts between the leg and shoulder joints to halve the cooking time.
Roast Chicken with Port and Figs
Dana Gallagher
Dried figs are poached in port to make a luscious Portuguese-inspired sauce that pairs with roast chicken, a meal perfect for the beginning of fall. Ruby port provides the best color; tawny also works well.
Lola’s Roast Chicken with Sambal Chimichurri
John Kernick
These juicy roast chickens are marinated in a tangy, garlic-laden, Puerto Rican-style marinade. “It’s the vinegar that makes you want to keep eating,” chef Bill Kim says. “That flavor lingers and haunts you.”
Herb-Roasted Spatchcock Chicken
Fredrika Stjärne
Tyler Florence spatchcocks the bird for even cooking and maximum golden skin, then rubs it with oregano, thyme, and rosemary.
Best-Ever Roast Chicken
John Kernick
Chef Hugh Acheson roasts a simply seasoned bird to juicy perfection, focusing on technique and proper resting to guarantee tender meat.
Lemon-Oregano Roasted Chicken with Potatoes and Olives
Sarah Bolla
Mediterranean flavors — oregano, lemon, and briny olives — turn a pan of chicken and potatoes into a vibrant meal.
Lemon-Thyme Roast Chicken
Con Poulos
A classic lemon-thyme butter (or oil) keeps the chicken moist and aromatic while the skin turns crisp.
“Ode to Zuni” Roast Chicken with Fennel Panzanella
Peggy Wong
1999 F&W Best New Chef Suzanne Goin pays homage to Zuni Café’s icon, brushing the bird with duck fat and pairing it with a fennel-olive panzanella.
Pan-Roasted Chicken with Warm Farro Salad
David Malosh
Crackly-skinned chicken sits over a nutty farro salad with herbs and seasonal add-ins in this recipe from Kay Chun.
Persian Roasted Chicken with Dried Cherry-Saffron Rice
Quentin Bacon
Fragrant saffron rice studded with tart dried cherries accompanies this spice-rubbed roast chicken.
Pollo à la Brasa (Peruvian Roast Chicken)
Kate Winslow
A garlicky, cumin-and-paprika marinade gives the bird that signature Peruvian rotisserie flavor; serve with a creamy aji-style sauce if you like heat.
Pot-Roasted Chicken with Mushrooms
John Kernick
Chef David Bouley nestles a whole chicken into a lush bed of mushrooms for a moist, aromatic pot roast.
Roast Chicken
Jonelle Weaver
James Beard Award–winning chef and cookbook author Jerry Traunfeld keeps the seasoning classic, letting high-heat roasting and fresh herbs deliver crisp skin and tender meat.
Roast Chicken with Aromatic Jus
Dana Gallagher
This straightforward roast yields a deeply savory pan jus you’ll want to spoon over everything.
Roast Chicken with Rosemary and Lemon
Lisa Cohen
A classic trio — rosemary, lemon, and garlic — seasons a crisp-skinned roast that tastes like Sunday supper.
Roast Chicken with Sausage and Peppers
John Kernick
Sweet peppers and sausage roast alongside the chicken, turning into a built-in side with bold, smoky juices in this Italian American–inspired recipe from F&W’s Justin Chapple.
Roasted Chicken with Garlic-Thyme Butter
John Kernick
Chef Grant Achatz slathers the bird with an herby compound butter for intensely aromatic meat and crackly skin.
Roast Chicken Paprikash with Watercress and Dilled Sour Cream
Christina Holmes
This roast-chicken spin on Hungarian paprikash from F&W’s Justin Chapple is served with cooling dill-sour cream and peppery watercress.
Roasted Chicken, New Potatoes, and Asparagus
Jennifer Causey
In this recipe from the Food & Wine cookbook Quick From Scratch One-Dish Meals, roast chicken shares the pan with spring asparagus and tender potatoes for an all-in-one dinner.
Turmeric and Coriander Roast Chicken
At Maydan in Washington, D.C., whole chickens are seasoned with garlic, turmeric, and coriander, then roasted over an open hearth until deeply browned and crisp. This version translates the technique to the backyard grill. Spatchcocking the bird helps it cook evenly while taking on more smoke.
Uncle Boon’s Thai Roast Chicken
Con Poulos
From chef Matt Danzer, this is a Thai-spiced roast with fish sauce, palm sugar, and aromatics that yields deeply savory, lightly sweet results.
Roast Chicken with Tangerines
Quentin Bacon
This six-pound bird yields a lot of meat. But if you want even more, try roasting a capon (a castrated rooster) instead. They can get up to 11 pounds: Just make sure to scale the ingredients up and increase the cook time.
Roast Chicken Thighs with Tomato-Tapioca Porridge
Antonis Achilleos
Pioneering chef Wylie Dufresne serves his delicious crisp-skinned chicken with a simple, flavorful tomato-tapioca porridge. He created the dish when he was challenged as a Top Chef Masters contestant to prepare a fast recipe.
