Rosemary Garlic Oven Roasted Chicken

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This rosemary garlic oven-roasted chicken is flavorful and juicy! Oven-roasted chicken is an easy main dish you can turn into multiple meals!

Oven roasting a chicken at home is wonderful! There’s something very comforting and classic about serving roast chicken for dinner. It’s always seemed very homey to me. Although, full disclosure, when my mother served roast chicken, it was usually re-plated rotisserie from the grocery store. I didn’t realize how easy it was to roast a chicken until I got older!

By older, I mean several years into my marriage older. For our budget, and in the spirit of learning to cook from scratch, I tried roasting chickens early in our marriage.

I just never quite figured out the trick to keeping the bird from drying out!

Looking back, there was a good amount of user error involved. But it was an excellent learning experience! Instead of keeping things simple, I tried too hard and always ended up cooking the bird at too low a temperature for too long.

Time and experience are excellent teachers though. Google and cookbooks helped too. And now I have a foolproof, easy oven roasted chicken recipe that comes out perfect every time!

Rosemary Garlic Oven Roasted Chicken Recipe Notes

We usually purchase cuts of chicken, like a packet of chicken thighs or chicken breasts, but I roast a handful or so of chickens a year. This is especially true in the cooler months where I don’t mind running the oven!

The great thing about roasting whole chickens is the versatility! Since many people don’t roast whole chickens, you can often find them at a great price at the store.

The best tasting chickens, in my opinion, are the ones you find at the farmer’s market! They might be a little pricier than the store, but you support your local farmer (yay), and happier chickens taste better.

Besides, a whole chicken is a multiple meal situation! For those of you who want to reduce food waste, this is great!

For example, for our family of four, I’ll roast one chicken and serve for dinner with mashed potatoes or some roasted vegetables.

Leftover chicken is used in wraps, sandwiches, rice bowls, or salad. I save the carcass and make homemade broth with odds and ends from chopped vegetables.

The homemade broth is used for soup! Minimum waste, maximum utility.

Have a larger family to feed? Make two and have plenty extra for salads or other recipes. The leftovers for lunch the next day were still incredibly flavorful and moist. No dry chicken here!

Chicken Preparation Notes

You don’t need to wash and dry your chicken. If there are any juices when you unwrap your chicken, pat with a disposable paper towel and that’s it. Washing the chicken doesn’t improve food safety, cooking to the correct temperature does.

If you have a chance, rub the salt on the chicken skin the night before roasting. Even a few hours is fine. Let it sit in the refrigerator, uncovered, until you start preheating your oven.

Second, if you don’t have a roasting pan, use a cast iron skillet. You’re roasting at a pretty high heat. Most nonstick cookware isn’t oven-safe beyond 400 F. Don’t ruin your cookware!

Use something sturdy like a roasting pan or cast iron if you have it.

Third, use the giblets in your bird to make a quick gravy with the pan juices. Between the lemon, rosemary, and garlic, the drippings from the bird are amazing!

Finally, fresh rosemary is best, but if you don’t have any, use about a tablespoon of dry. Rub it over the skin before roasting to try and infuse a bit of flavor.

Keep the carcass and make chicken stock! Leftover meat can be used for sandwiches, green salads, or turned into chicken salad.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, darlings!