This crispy roast chicken is juicy, full of flavor, and unbelievably easy to make at home! Let me show you how to roast a whole chicken from scratch that tastes better than your favorite grocery store rotisserie chicken plus a bomb pan gravy.
And if you enjoy this recipe, you'll love my southern baked chicken recipe and Cajun butter roast turkey breast, too!
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❤️ Why You'll Love this Recipe
Easy to Make - Don't be intimidated by the idea of roasting a whole chicken. This simple roast chicken recipe is straightforward and low fuss with no fancy techniques or tools required. Just use my pro tips to prep the bird then let the oven do the work!
Well-Seasoned Chicken - We're using everyday whole food ingredients and a gang of spices to infuse every bite of crispy baked chicken with savory, nutty, bright, and smoky flavor.
Crispy on the Outside Juicy on the Inside - This method yields a crispy moist roast chicken with tender, juicy meat and crisp skin.
I don't know about you but I only want to eat chicken that's juicy and flavorful. Check out my easy orange chicken breast, cast iron honey mustard chicken thighs, slow cooker Moroccan spiced chicken, and tomato basil chicken skillet!
Featured Reader Review
★★★★★
"I made this bird for Christmas dinner because I didn't want to mess with doing a turkey and I just had to come back to tell you that it was so easy to do. Thank you for making it easy!"
-Amaare
What You'll Need for this Recipe
Whole Uncooked Chicken - I recommend grabbing a chicken with the neck and giblets already removed for ease (giblets are the internal chicken organs like liver, heart, etc. and usually come in a little bag you can easily pull out of the chicken cavity). Either way, use a chicken that weighs between four and six pounds for this recipe.
Avocado Oil is my pick for this dish because it stands up to higher cooking temperatures and we're starting this crispy juicy roast chicken roast at 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Spice Mix of salt, pepper, smoked paprika, freeze-dried lemon and more infuse the chicken with a beautiful flavor profile without adding any moisture, which is key for crispy skin.
Aromatics like lemon and onion and veggies add extra flavor and serve as a side dish that make this an easy one pot chicken dinner!
Check out the recipe card below for full ingredients list, measurements, nutrition facts, and step-by-step instructions!
Substitutions & Variations
Cooking Pan - I like to use a cast iron skillet or Dutch oven to make this chicken because they are oven-safe and then easy to make the gravy in for fewer dishes. However, you can use whatever oven-safe pan you like and have on hand.
Seasoning Blend - Feel free to mix up the spices in this recipe to suit your palate!
Aromatics - You can add other herbs and vegetables to the pan like garlic cloves, orange slices, potatoes or whatever you like. Just don't overdo it because too many vegetables in the pan will reduce the crispiness of the chicken skin.
How to Roast a Chicken for Crispy Skin
- Step 1: Mix the spices and oil together then coat the chicken with this mixture--get underneath that skin, too!
- Step 2: Tie the wings and legs close to the chicken with kitchen twine.
Pro Tip #1
Preheating the oven to 450 is a crispy chicken oven hack because it provides an extra hot start before we drop the temperature once the bird goes in for slow roasting. Also, remember to pat the chicken skin all over with paper towels to remove as much moisture as possible. This sets the stage for delectably crisp skin.
Pro Tip #2
Tying the wings and drumsticks with twine is optional but I highly recommend this step because it helps ensure all pieces of the chicken cook evenly. These pieces of meat that stick out are smaller and more likely to cook faster than the rest of the bird and burn otherwise.
- Step 3: Place the prepped bird in your roasting pan then surround with prepped vegetables and aromatics.
- Step 4: Bake chicken until skin is golden brown and crispy and the meat reaches 165 degrees Farenheit.
Pro Tip #3
You can change up the types of vegetables and aromatics used in this recipe but I don't recommend increasing the amount in order to avoid crowding the pan. These veggies will release steam as they bake and, remember, liquid is the enemy of crispiness. So we don't want to add too much!
Pro Tip #4
To be certain the chicken is done, I recommend piercing one breast of the chicken with a meat thermometer. Chicken is considered fully cooked when this part of the bird reaches 165 degrees Farenheit.
Make the Pan Gravy
- Step 5: Remove the chicken, carrots, and lemon from the pan then cook the pan liquid with white wine, water, and cornstarch until a gravy forms.
Pro Tip #5
If there's a lot of fat sitting on the surface of the pan liquid, skim it off before you start the gravy. And I like to leave the onions in the pan for extra flavor but you can remove them if you like.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can can bake this chicken up to three days in advance. To get the skin crispy again after storage and reheating, I recommend reheating in the air fryer or in the oven using the broil setting for the last few minutes.
Cool the chicken to room temperature then store refrigerated in an airtight container. You can refrigerate it whole or in carved pieces. Keeps for up to four days.
To freeze, place cooled and carved chicken pieces into an airtight, freezer-safe container then into the freezer. Keeps for up to four months.
How to Serve
Serve the chicken warm with gravy, of course. This is easy enough to enjoy for weeknight dinner and spectacular enough to make the star of your holiday dinner so consider making it you Christmas chicken!
As far as sides, I personally follow my mom's protein + starch + vegetable formula from childhood. Try savory mashed sweet potato, Soul Food baked mac and cheese, or spicy jollof rice with roasted green beans or zucchini calabaza squash with the chicken and carrots.
Pro Tip #6
Don't toss that chicken carcass when you're done eating! Use the bones to make homemade bone broth.
More Favorite Chicken Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
I hope you'll enjoy this slow roasted chicken with crispy skin soon and very soon. And sharing is caring so be sure to pin this recipe for later and follow me over on Pinterest. Thanks for reading!
📖 Recipe
Crispy Roast Chicken with Pan Gravy
Equipment
- 1 knife
- paper towels
- 1 large cast iron skillet or Dutch oven or other oven-safe pan
- 1 food thermometer optional
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 1 pound carrots
- ½ onion
- ½ lemon
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 1 ½ teaspoon sea salt plus more for seasoning vegetables
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon black pepper plus more for seasoning vegetables
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- ½ teaspoon freeze-dried lemon powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground thyme
- ¼ teaspoon powdered bay leaf
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 4-6 pounds whole uncooked chicken with neck and giblets removed
For the Gravy
- ¼ cup white wine
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Instructions
To Make the Roasted Chicken
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut carrots into bite-sized pieces, cut onion into quarters, and slice lemon.1 pound carrots, ½ onion, ½ lemon
- Mix avocado oil with sea salt, smoked paprika, black pepper, white pepper, lemon powder, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, bay leaf powder, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg until uniform.2 tablespoons avocado oil, 1 ½ teaspoon sea salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, ½ teaspoon white pepper, ½ teaspoon freeze-dried lemon powder, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon onion powder, ¼ teaspoon ground thyme, ¼ teaspoon powdered bay leaf, ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- Use paper towels to pat chicken skin dry. Gently pull (but don't completely remove) the skin away from top of chicken (breast side) and rub some of the spice and oil mixture between the skin and meat. Flip chicken over and repeat on the other side of chicken then rub spice and oil mixture all over the rest of the chicken until all the mixture is used up and chicken is evenly coated.4-6 pounds whole uncooked chicken
- Use kitchen twine to tie the chicken legs and wings close to the body of the bird. This helps ensure they won't cook faster than the rest of the meat and burn.
- Place chicken into roasting dish then arrange the cut carrots, onion, and lemon around it and sprinkle them with pinches of salt and pepper. Place pan into oven on middle rack and reduce heat to 375 degrees. Roast for about 20 minutes per pound of chicken or until the breast meat reaches 165 degrees. For example, my four pound chicken roasted for one hour and 20 minutes.
- Let roasted chicken rest in pan for about 10 minutes then remove the chicken, carrots, and lemon from pan in order to make the gravy.
To Make the Pan Gravy
- Skim off any fat from surface of the pan drippings and discard. Place pan on stove top over medium flame and stir in white wine.¼ cup white wine
- Heat liquid until bubbling then mix water and cornstarch together to create a slurry and stir into pan until dissolved.¼ cup water, 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- Reduce heat to medium low and continue cooking until mixture has thickened into a gravy (about three minutes). Remove twine from chicken and serve with gravy.
Amaare says
I made this bird for Christmas dinner because I didn’t want to mess with doing a turkey and I just had to come back to tell you that it was so easy to do. Thank you for making it easy! Merry Christmas!
Jazzmine Woodard says
You're so welcome, Amaare. Merry Christmas!
Natasha says
I didn’t know roasting a whole chicken could be so simple. The chicken has so much flavor and even my picky son ate all of what I gave him! Thank you Jazz!
Jazzmine Woodard says
You're so welcome, Natasha! Glad your whole family enjoyed this chicken.