Roast chicken with vegetables recipes are easy to prepare, which means you don’t have to spend hours in the kitchen. This delicious post features a medley of herbs that complement chicken and add lots of flavor.
There is nothing more satisfying than a perfect roast chicken with vegetables recipes. Chicken has always been the most favorite food because of its flavor, taste, and extremely delicious gravy that comes along with it.
Please Tell Us You’re Roasting Chicken on Top of Other Stuff
The best vegetables have been underneath your roast chicken the whole time.
Have you ever looked at a pile of vegetables and thought about how much better they would be if they were actually a big piece of meat? Hm. That’s not actually possible, but the closest you can get is roasting a chicken on a bed of vegetables and letting those vegetables absorb all of the drippings that run off of the bird. And, according to senior food editor Rick Martinez, it’s actually pretty easy to do.
Unlike putting vegetables in the cavity, which flavors the chicken but leaves the inside vegetables kind of meh, lining the bottom of a baking sheet with vegetables and aromatics allows the chicken to auto-baste that layer. In other words, the vegetables underneath taste vaguely rich and meaty, but are still vegetables. Good for resolutions to eat more vegetables. Better for the part of you that really doesn’t want to. It’s an especially great technique when you’re just cooking for you and bae. Plus, no one needs to take side dish duty: The side is already built in.
Martinez says that the ideal set-up would be to have the chicken slightly elevated so that air can circulate between the chicken and the vegetables. It’s just prettier that way, and allows even the vegetables directly under the chicken to caramelize. At Dai Due in Austin, for example, the chef puts the chicken directly on an oven rack right above a lower-down baking sheet with vegetables to get the full effect. If that seems a little extreme for your home kitchen, you can fashion a makeshift rack on top of your trusty sheet pan by getting creative and elevating the bird using four lemon halves (flat side down) or making a vegetable rack out of thick carrots and celery. All a “rack” really entails, he says, is something slightly taller holding up the chicken over the stuff that’s underneath it. Or you can just put a chicken directly on top of the vegetables. Either way: Doable.
Here’s how to do it: First, cut your vegetables. Any hardy vegetable (so, forget peas, corn, leafy spinach) goes. Maybe you’ll slice some onions, and add some cloves of garlic, hunks of carrot, and steak-fry-looking potatoes. Throw in a few sprigs of thyme and rosemary. Or you could incorporate leeks, shallots, and garlic. (We know our test kitchen manager Brad Leone likes roasting a whole chicken on a bed of leeks.) If you want to get crazy with it, line that tray with potatoes and kimchi! Throw in a little chorizo, Italian sausage, bacon, or pancetta! Line the whole thing with rounds of sliced baguette!. The possibilities are endless—but Martinez would always suggest going heavy on the potatoes (because chicken fat is better than butter, duh). Just make sure to cover all of these vegetables in a thin coat of olive oil and a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper before you put the chicken on top. It’ll help them cook more evenly and absorb flavor throughout.
Remember to toss the vegetables together two to three times throughout the roast. So, if you’re roasting a whole chicken (or just a few pieces) for about 40 to 50 minutes, get those vegetables rolling around in the accumulated juices every 15 or minutes or so. Assuming your oven isn’t cranked up to 450° or 475°, your vegetables shouldn’t overcook before your chicken’s done. That really is it. Much easier than reorganizing your pantry, calling your grandma more, and whatever else you promised yourself you’d do this year, right?
Roast Chicken and Vegetables with Fall Spices
This weeknight dinner is the perfect, cozy meal to enjoy on a crisp Fall evening.
There’s something about the smell of roasting chicken, potatoes, and butternut squash that make you nostalgic for fall. It reminds you of crisp fall days, huddled up with sweaters, sipping on a cup of warm soup, and enjoying a flavorful roast. This roast chicken with vegetables is naturally gluten-free and low in calories.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
INGREDIENTS
Chicken pieces, 2 3/4–3 lb (1.25 kg–1.5 kg)
Olive oil, 3 tablespoons
Sweet paprika, 2 teaspoons
Ground coriander, 2 teaspoons
Ground cumin, 2 teaspoons
Red pepper flakes, 3/4 teaspoon
Lemon zest, grated from 1 large lemon
Kosher salt, 1 teaspoon, plus more as needed
Freshly ground black pepper
Butternut squash pieces, 1 package (14–16 oz/440–500 g)
Fingerling potatoes, 1 lb (500 g), halved lengthwise
HOW TO MAKE IT
- Position a rack in the center of the oven, and preheat to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Pat the chicken dry, and place in a large bowl; add 2 tablespoons of the oil and turn to coat. In a small bowl, mix the paprika, coriander, cumin, red pepper flakes, and lemon zest. Set aside 1 tablespoon of the spice mixture for the vegetables; add the remainder to the chicken. Add 1 teaspoon salt and a generous amount of black pepper to the chicken and turn to coat. Arrange the chicken, skin side up, on half of a large rimmed baking sheet.
- Place the squash and potatoes in the same bowl. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, season lightly with salt and black pepper, and toss to coat. Add the reserved spice mixture, and toss to coat. Arrange the vegetables on the second half of the baking sheet. Place in the oven and roast until the chicken and vegetables are cooked through, about 25 minutes.
- Transfer the chicken and vegetables to a warmed platter or 4 warmed plates and serve right away.
Herb Roast Chicken and Vegetables
- Prep20 Min
- Total2 Hr 5 Min
- Servings6
Here’s a great recipe to pop in the oven while you enjoy a little time in the garden.
Ingredients
- 1/4cup olive or vegetable oil
- 2tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 2tablespoons chopped fresh marjoram leaves or 1 teaspoon dried marjoram leaves
- 1/2teaspoon salt
- 1/4teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
- 1lemon
- 1whole roasting chicken, 4 pounds
- 6new potatoes, cut in half
- 1cup baby-cut carrot
- 1/2pound green beans
Steps
- 1Heat oven to 375°F. Mix oil, thyme, marjoram, salt and pepper. Grate 1 teaspoon peel from lemon; add peel to oil mixture. Cut lemon into fourths; place in cavity of chicken.
- 2Fold wings of chicken across back with tips touching. Tie or skewer drumsticks to tail. Place chicken, breast side up, on rack in shallow roasting pan. Brush oil mixture on chicken. Insert meat thermometer in chicken so tip is in thickest part of inside thigh muscle and does not touch bone.
- 3Roast uncovered 45 minutes. Arrange potatoes, carrots and green beans around chicken; brush chicken and vegetables with oil mixture. Roast uncovered 30 to 45 minutes or until thermometer reads 180°F and juice of chicken is no longer pink when center of thigh is cut. Let stand about 15 minutes for easiest carving. Remove lemon and discard.
- 4Place chicken on platter; arrange vegetables around chicken. Serve with pan drippings.
Tips from the Betty Crocker Kitchens
- tip 1If you don’t have a roasting pan, you can use a broiler pan or a 13×9-inch rectangular pan.
- tip 2For easy cleanup, line the roasting pan with aluminum foil before placing the chicken on the rack in the pan.
Nutrition
475 Calories, 25 g Total Fat, 38 g Protein, 28 g Total Carbohydrate