Whole roasted chickens are my favorite healthy comfort food. These double oven roasted whole chickens are cooked to juicy, golden brown perfection every time.
I love how much you can do with this recipe. It’s two chickens but makes so much more than just one meal. I use the bones to make broth, the extra chicken to make chicken salad, top a good green salad with a healthy protein and make a meal out of it, shred the chicken and use it for soup or tacos or chicken and cheese quesadillas.
Note: You can shred the chicken and freeze it until you are ready to use it.
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Why You Should Always Make Two Roasted Chickens
- You can use the chicken bones to make healthy and delicious chicken broth.
- The extra chicken can be used to make White Bean Chicken Chili.
- You can slice the chicken and serve it over a Caesar, kale or roasted vegetable and arugula salad.
Printable Shopping List for Oven Roasted Chicken Recipe
What should I serve with whole oven roasted chickens?
Adding something green and healthy is always a good idea! Try it with a Kale and Brussels Sprout Salad,
Oven Roasted Broccoli with Lemon and Parmesan or Green Beans with Almonds.
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Whole Oven Roasted Chickens
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Oven Roast
Description
Whole roasted chickens are my favorite healthy comfort food. These double oven roasted whole chickens are cooked to juicy, golden brown perfection every time.
Ingredients
- 3 medium to large onions, cut into 2 inch piece
- 6 carrots, cut into 2” chuncks
- 1 pound baby Yukon gold potatoes
- 2 (5 – 6) pound whole chickens
- 2 lemons
- 2 heads garlic
- 2 large bunches fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme or sage), rinsed and dried
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 425°
Prep the Vegetables
- Chop onions into 2” pieces.
- Cut carrots into 2 inch chunks.
- Chop potatoes in half .
- Put all vegetables in bottom of roasting pan.
Prep the Chickens
- Put the chickens, side by side, breast side up on top of the vegetables.
- In a small bowl combine the salt and pepper.
- Cut both lemons in half.
- Cut both garlic heads in half lengthwise.
- Add ⅓ of the salt and pepper mixture to each chicken, reserving remaining ⅓ for the top of the chickens.
- Squeeze the juice of half of each lemon into each chicken and then place inside of chicken. Squeeze the juice of the other half of each lemon over the top of each chicken and place inside of the chicken.
- Add one garlic head and one bunch of herbs into each chicken with the lemons.
- Tuck the thighs under the chicken and tie the legs together.
- Brush olive oil on top of the chickens and sprinkle with remaining salt and pepper.
Roast the Chickens
- Bake for 1 hour.
- Cover the chickens with aluminum foil and continue to cook another 20 – 30 minutes until a meat thermometer inserted into the middle of the breast reads 160°.
- Remove the chickens from the roasting pan, cover lightly with foil and set aside.
Brown the Vegetables
- Remove most of the juices from the roasting pan. I put a strainer in my sink and dump the vegetables and juices into the strainer. (If you are worried about the grease in your sink and drain, you can put a strainer in a large bowl to collect the juices and discard them how you usually would grease.)
- Put the vegetables back in the roasting pan and put back into the oven for 15 minutes at 475°.
Carve the chickens and serve with vegetables.
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