Whole Chicken Recipes That Would Make Ina Garten and Julia Child Proud
Covered in bacon, cooked on a grill, crowd-worthy come holiday time; these chicken dinners are classics for a reason.
These easy whole chicken recipes are so delicious, you'll be convinced that they're much more than just Sunday dinner ideas. Discover whole chicken recipes that are quick enough for weeknight menus or elegant enough for a holiday dinner.
Orange-Roasted Chicken
When the refreshing tang of clementines meet the sweetness of maple syrup and the salty-savory qualities of soy sauce, deliciousness ensues. But that’s just the vinaigrette that’s drizzled over the chicken before it roasts. From there, we up the ante with earthy fresh sage leaves and shingles of umami-rich bacon. The results are “absolutely superb,” according to one BHG home cook who rated this whole chicken recipe worthy of five stars. “Tender, moist, flavorful, and cooked to perfection. The next-day chicken salad was awesome.”
Grilled Chicken with Watermelon Glaze
Summer isn’t summer until we’ve made this seasonal grilled chicken dish. To cook this whole chicken recipe in less than an hour, we’ll walk you through how to butterfly the bird. (This process is also known as spatchcocking.) The extra surface area allows for a quicker cook time—and more available real estate to showcase the sweet-and-spicy watermelon glaze.
Test Kitchen Tip: If you’d prefer grilling chicken pieces rather than butterflying it yourself, seek out chicken thighs or bone-in chicken breasts, or ask your butcher to cut up a whole chicken into meaty pieces.
Classic Roast Chicken
If you’re new to the world of whole chicken recipes, we suggest starting here. In fact, this is such a favorite chicken recipe, many members of Team BHG have the formula memorized. All you need to bring this juicy and golden chicken to the table is a bit of butter, some chicken broth, and a mix of whatever root vegetables you like or have handy. Once you’ve mastered this classic Sunday dinner, try our variations with a bright lemon-herb stuffing, warm and savory spice rub, or rich roasted garlic butter coating.
Mexican Spatchcock Chicken with Quinoa Salad
Don’t be intimidated by the amount of steps in the directions for this whole chicken recipe. The entire first step coaches you through exactly how to spatchcock a chicken. (We promise, you can do this!) From there, we’ll explain how to blend up a low-effort, high-reward adobo sauce to rub under the skin to act as a marinade. All that’s left to do is roast the south-of-the-border-style chicken and toss together the black bean- and mango-studded quinoa salad to round out the meal.
Plank-Smoked Chicken with Grilled Corn Relish
You’ll be glad you have the creamy and fresh ranch dressing recipe alongside this whole chicken recipe. That’s because the four quarter chicken pieces score a hot sauce and black pepper coating before being smoked. The smoky pimiento-spiked corn relish and dressing are just the ticket to tame the pleasant amount of heat hiding inside the smoked chicken.
Herb-Roasted Chicken
Dried herbs make mealtime magic in this easy whole chicken recipe. In tandem with butter and garlic, spice cabinet staples including dried basil, sage, thyme, and lemon-pepper seasoning make this whole chicken recipe taste even better than that ultra-popular supermarket rotisserie chicken.
Test Kitchen Tip: If you’re in the mood for more than just the protein alone, check out our variation with potatoes, carrots, onions, and turnips. Roasting them in the same pan allows the veggies to show off their natural sweetness and soak up the flavorful pan juices.
Bricked Chicken with Grilled Oranges
Even if you despised physics class in high school, you’ll love what the scientific concept does to this whole chicken recipe. Since flat birds cook much faster than whole, round ones, we suggest butterflying the bird before allowing it to swim in an herb- and citrus-based marinade. A bonus rub of citrus, honey, and parsley stacks on even more flavor, and grilling that all under the weight of a brick will yield craveably crispy skin. Not counting the marination time, this dinner takes just 50 minutes. Thanks, science!
Related: How Long Do You Grill Chicken? Here are All the Answers
Spatchcock Barbecue Chicken with Raspberry Glaze
Spatchcocking once again saves the day—well, at least your dinner prep time—in this easy sweet and spicy chicken dinner. That time-saving step, plus the fact that this calls for zero marination time, makes this one of our fastest whole chicken recipes. That doesn’t mean it’s shy on flavor, though. Brushing the bird in a mix of balsamic vinegar, raspberry jam, rosemary, cayenne pepper, and red wine (or your favorite cooking wine substitute) helps this grilled chicken pack in a balanced blend of taste bud-tempting flavors.
Roast Chicken with Fiery Lemon Glaze
This lemon chicken delivers sugar and spice and everything you crave in a spring (or anytime) dinner. To echo the cayenne and lemon in the marinade, we suggest stirring together a citrus glaze as the whole chicken recipe roasts. That glaze features lemon juice and zest, honey, and cayenne, which makes a brilliant sauce for this chicken—and drizzle for cornbread, according to one BHG fan.
Japanese Roast Chicken
We swoon over Japanese 7-spice mix (aka shichimi togarashi) over udon noodles, steamed rice, and eggs, and have enjoyed it at restaurants as part of chicken yakitori skewers. So why not use that same sesame, orange, garlic, and pepper blend to offer subtle warmth and Asian flavor to a whole chicken recipe? In partnership with a couple tablespoons of that spice mix, toasted sesame oil and orange slices make this roast chicken stand out from its poultry peers.
Related: How to Keep Spices Fresh Longer to Make Cooking So Much Easier
Chicken with Summer Squash
When the summer heat is on and we’re trying to keep ourselves and our kitchen as cool as possible, we turn to recipes with seasonal—and very few—ingredients. This garlicky summer squash, tomato, and whole chicken recipe delivers on that promise. That’s actually all of the building blocks you need to bring this easy chicken dinner to the table! Serve on top of or sprinkled with peppery arugula if you like (we do!).
Test Kitchen Tip: Purchase a rotisserie chicken to minimize prep time. We call for it here, and this easy dinner idea is done in 25 minutes.
Honey Roast Chicken with Spring Peas and Shallots
If you ask us, there’s no wrong food pairing for bubbles! In this whole chicken recipe, we ask for 8 ounces of Champagne or sparkling wine to help deglaze the roasting pan and act as the base for the pan sauce. Shallots, spring peas, honey, fresh tarragon, lemon, and those chicken drippings yield a sauce so sensational, we shower spoonfuls over our serving and mop it up with crusty bread—alongside a glass from the rest of that bottle.
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