Simple Lemon Herb Roasted Chicken
A perfect springtime dinner, this simple lemon herb roasted chicken is easy to prepare and delicious.
I love roasted chicken and tend to like it with simple easy to find ingredients. This dish came about when we were starting to move into our shore house and we had limited kitchen supplies and ingredients. It was still very cold out and I wanted us to have something warm and comforting but not too heavy. I brought a chicken, some herbs I mixed up, a bit of butter and a lemon. I served it with a simple salad, nothing fancy just lettuce and dressing. It turned out so good I wanted to share it with you.
For me, making a roast chicken always has a comforting effect, especially in colder months. When spring comes and it’s citrus season adding a bit of lemon and some dried herbs enhances the chicken and if you want, adding a bit of butter makes for a dreamy sauce.
The Chicken
You can use a whole chicken, or a cut up assortment of pieces. Chicken thighs are lovely but my favorite way to make this dish is to spatchcock a chicken. At times you can find it already done for you at the supermarket. It is very simple to do it at home and certainly more cost effective. It only takes a few extra minutes to spatchcock a chicken and once you learn how you will find you will love this method of roasting a chicken. In addition, the roasting time is much shorter but you still get the nice juicy and tender chicken. You can learn how to spatchcock a chicken here How to Spatchcock a Chicken
The Herbs
Ideally fresh herbs should be used, but since we are in spring and you may not have fresh herbs in your pantry, making a little herb mix to keep handy is perfect for when you want to make this simple lemon herb roasted chicken. My favorite herbs for this dish are dried parsley, dried thyme, dried rosemary, and a bit of flaky sea salt. Add them all to a jar and keep it in your pantry for when the need arises, then all you need to do is sprinkle some over your chicken and roast it.
A fun little mix for you to keep on hand to use on roasted chicken, veggies, or even to make an herbed butter.
1 Tbsp dried parsley
1 Tbsp dried thyme
1 Tbsp flaky sea salt (such as Maldon Sea Salt)
1 Tsp dried rosemaryÂ
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
Mix together and store in a jar. Makes approx 1/4 cup.
Simple Lemon Herb Roasted Chicken
Materials
- 1 Whole Chicken, or 4-6 pieces of chicken thighs, legs, etc.
- 1-2 tbsp Herb mix see above for recipe
- 1 Lemon
- 1-2 tbsp Butter/Non-dairy butter optional
- Olive Oil
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup.
- Spatchcock the chicken (see above link on how to do this) then place on a roasting pan. Or if using chicken pieces, place on a roasting pan.
- Sprinkle the chicken liberally with the herbs, making sure you get all sides of the chicken.
- Drizzle olive oil over the top of the chicken.
- Cut lemon in half and squeeze the juice of HALF of the lemon over the top of the chicken. Take the other half of lemon slice it and place it under the chicken.
- Roast for 30-45 minutes until the chicken reaches 165°F and the juices run clear.
- Remove from the oven and add the butter to the roasting pan, stirring it around in the juices so it melts.
- Pour juices into a serving bowl and cut chicken if needed and place on a serving tray.
- Serve chicken with the reserved juices, and cooked lemon slices if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Buon Appetito!