Julie Clark
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Baked Whole Chicken
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Learn how to make oven roasted chicken that is easy and tastes amazing. Baked whole chicken is an economical choice for dinner.
This oven roasted chicken takes less than 10 minutes to prep and bakes at a high temperature (400ºF rather than 350ºF) for extra crispy chicken skin. It’s simply seasoned with pantry staples, making it a no-fuss recipe that still looks and tastes impressive, like our baked bbq chicken and baked chicken legs. Serve baked whole chicken as a main dish and use leftover chicken meat in casseroles like our chicken and hash brown casserole, soups, or salads.
How This Baked Whole Chicken Dinner Becomes Meals for the Week
We’ve all walked through the grocery store and immediately been hit with the aroma of a freshly roasted chicken. They keep them at the front of the store (or right by the checkouts) for a reason. Rotisserie chicken is delicious and easy to pick up for a dinner.
I’ve noticed one thing, though. The roast chickens keep getting smaller. We have a family of 5, and sometimes the roasted chickens look small enough that I think I’ll have to buy two. And that gets expensive. So today I’m teaching you how to make baked whole chicken at home. This is similar to our slow cooker whole chicken!
This recipe is for a better-than-rotisserie roasted chicken. I promise you it is easy and you’ll be thrilled that you can make a deliciously flavorful, tender, juicy whole chicken that you can use in our chicken tater tot casserole, Mexican chicken soup, chipotle chicken pasta or chicken tetrazzini.
This baked whole chicken recipe makes a great Sunday dinner, but is easy enough for weeknights, too. Try one of these sides:
- garden salad
- broccoli
- brussels sprouts
- mashed potatoes or roasted red potatoes
- dinner rolls
- roasted potatoes in the oven
Enjoy! -Julie
Ingredients Needed
- Whole young chicken: A 5-6 pound whole young chicken works for our family. You can go smaller or larger if you’d like. Watch for them to go on sale and stock up if you have the freezer space.
- Salt: During recipe testing, I went down from 3 teaspoons of salt to only 2 teaspoons. My husband loved the 3 teaspoons, but I found that I could lower it to 2 with no one complaining.
- Paprika: Smoked paprika is delicious and adds a little depth to the flavor.
- Black pepper
- Dry mustard: Dry mustard adds just a little bit of tang to a recipe. It pairs well with the black pepper and paprika.
- Butter: Some rub butter or olive oil on the outside of the chicken or under the skin, but I found I didn’t need to do that to get crispy, flavorful skin. Just put the butter in the cavity and it will help create juices & drippings to make a flavorful gravy.
- Onion: This infuses the whole chicken with flavor.
You can also stuff the inside of the cavity with vegetables such as carrots or celery for added flavor. Garlic cloves, fresh herbs like rosemary sprigs or sage are a delicious choice, too.
How to Make a Baked Whole Chicken
Learn how to make oven roasted chicken that is easy and tastes amazing. Baked whole chicken is an economical choice for dinner.
Servings 8
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 35 minutes
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Discard any packets that are in the cavities of the chicken. Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel. 1 5-6 pound whole young chicken
- Place an oven safe wire rack in a 5 quart dutch oven or roasting pan. (The wire rack is optional, but I use one with handles so the chicken is easier to get out of the dutch oven.)
- Place the chicken on the wire rack in the dutch oven or cast iron roasting pan.
- In a small bowl, combine the salt, paprika, pepper and dry mustard. Sprinkle this mixture all over the outside of the chicken. Place the butter and quartered onion in the chicken cavity. 2 teaspoons salt, 2 teaspoons paprika, 1 teaspoon black pepper, ½ teaspoon dry mustard, ¼ cup salted butter, 1 small onion
- Place the chicken (uncovered) in the preheated oven and bake for 80-90 minutes or until the chicken tests done with a meat thermometer (165ºF in the thickest part of the thigh, not touching the bone). Check the chicken at 1 hour. We bake this at a high temperature so if the outside is getting too brown, lower the oven temperature to 350ºF.
- Baste the top of the chicken with some of the juices. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes, slice and serve.
Notes
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Refer to the article above for more tips and tricks.
The calories shown are based on the chicken serving 8 people, with 1 serving being ⅛ of the meat. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. The information in the nutrition box are calculated through a program and there is room for error. If you need an accurate count, I recommend running the ingredients through your favorite nutrition calculator.**
Nutrition
Calories: 264kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 87mg | Sodium: 700mg | Potassium: 218mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 559IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 18mg | Iron: 1mg
How to Bake a Whole Chicken
There’s no need to wash a chicken before cooking it. In fact, it’s been shown to spread bacteria if you try to wash it. Just remove any packages from the cavities and throw them away (or use for gravy, etc).
- Prepare the chicken. Mix together the seasonings and rub them on the outside of the chicken, on both the legs and the chicken breasts. Then place the butter and the onion in the large cavity.
- Place an oven safe wire rack in a 5 quart dutch oven or baking pan. (The wire rack is optional, but I use one with handles so the chicken is easier to get out of the dutch oven.) Put the chicken on the wire rack.
- Roast the chicken at 400ºF. Make sure that the oven racks are not up too high. Mine were in the lower third of the oven. Check the chicken at an hour. If it looks like it is getting too brown, you can lower the oven temperature to 350ºF.
The top of the chicken will be look dry when you take it out of the oven, but baste the chicken with the pan drippings, then let the chicken sit for 10 minutes before cutting.
What temperature do you cook chicken to?
The internal temperature of the whole roasted chicken should be 165ºF in the thickest part of the thigh, not touching the bone. Use an instant-read thermometer to test this.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use different herbs, spices and seasonings for the baked whole chicken?
Yes, get creative! Here are a few of our favorites: oregano, thyme, rosemary, basil or Italian seasoning blend.
Can you make chicken stock from the chicken carcass?
Yes, we love to do this! After you’ve gotten most of the meat off, place the carcass in a large stock pot or dutch oven. Fill the pan with about 8 cups of water and boil for about an hour. Then remove and discard the chicken carcass and use the chicken broth for a homemade soup.
How to Use Oven Roasted Chicken
Shred up that leftover roast chicken for one of these delicious recipes:
- Chicken & Stuffing Casserole
- Buffalo Chicken Casserole
- Crack Chicken Pasta
- Chicken Caprese Pizza
- Lemon Orzo Chicken Soup
- Chicken Bacon Lasagna
- Chicken Pot Pie
- Chicken Potato Soup
- Chicken Salad
- Creamy Chicken and Rice
You might also love knowing how to make a smoked turkey.
I made this for our Sunday dinner today and I was thrilled with the results. The meat was so juicy and cooked to perfection per the instructions in the recipe. Tomorrow I will use the carcass to make some delicious broth. Thank you for sharing.
EASY AND DELICIOUS
I’ve been roasting chicken for over 50 years and have always washed them to get the blood out of the bottom quarters and didn’t know about taking its temperature and have never been sick.
I like to put frozen baby carrots under the chicken with potatoes round it and whole garlic at the corners. I’ve also used mayonnaise shm
eered on the chicken or butter. The carrots are divine although usually not my favourite vegetable.
Thank you for the recipes.
Would the baking times be very different if I was to spatchcock the chicken?