Make Dutch Oven Chicken the easy way! Tender chicken made with a handful of simple ingredients in a Dutch oven. Roasting a whole chicken has never been so easy!
After buying rotisserie chicken for years, I decided to start roasting whole chicken myself. It was intimidating at first, but I quickly got the hang of it.
Over time I simplified the steps for roasting a whole chicken to save time. I've also kept the seasonings simple, so the leftover chicken pieces can be used to make everything from chicken salad to enchiladas. Or use it to top salads, flatbread, or pesto tortellini!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Easy Recipe I don't use paper towels to pat the chicken or kitchen twine to tie the chicken legs. You definitely can use kitchen twine; I just don't take the time to do so.
- Kid-Approved In my observation, kids prefer tender chicken that is mild in flavor much more than they do crispy chicken skin. While crispy skin may sound appealing, I've only met one or two people in my entire life who enjoy eating it, and they weren't kids. 😊
- Simple Ingredients Whole chicken, olive oil, garlic powder, dried basil, dried thyme, onion, carrot, and celery. Of course, you can use fresh herbs like fresh rosemary or thyme instead of dried, but it's not necessary.
- Meal Prep Roasting chicken in a covered dutch oven is one of my favorite ways to meal prep. While it does take an hour to roast in the oven, this recipe requires minimal 'hands-on' time, and the cooking process overall is very simple. I like to keep roasted chicken on hand so I can quickly toss together a chicken salad, or make a warm meal quick, like creamed chicken.
Dietitian Tip
When serving roasted chicken, try not to stress out about whether your kids are eating white meat or dark meat. Yes, white meat contains more protein and less saturated fat per serving compared to dark meat, but dark meat is also more palatable (easier to eat) for some kids.
Ingredient Notes
- Whole Chicken 5-6 pound whole chicken. Remove the giblets. If you buy it from a local farmers market, I suggest asking for it without the neck. Chicken is an excellent source of protein.
- Vegetables Onion, carrot, and celery add flavor and moisture to the cavity of the chicken.
- Olive Oil I like to use extra virgin olive oil instead of butter when roasting a whole chicken.
- Seasoning I use garlic powder and dried herbs to save money and time when making this roasted chicken recipe. Mix in a few tablespoons of homemade chicken seasoning if you're looking for bold flavor.
How to Make Dutch Oven Chicken
- Place chicken on the bottom of the dutch oven, breast side up. Place the pieces of onion, celery, and carrot in the cavity of the chicken.
- Spread a thin layer of the olive oil and herb mixture around the entire chicken, inside and out. Place the lid on the Dutch oven (should be a tight-fitting lid) and roast in the oven for one hour. Remove the Dutch oven from the oven and let the chicken rest for 30 minutes with the lid still on. The chicken is finished roasting when the internal temperature of the thickest part of the meat reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Helpful Tips
- Use your hands to get some of the oil and herb mixture between the skin and meat of the chicken before roasting it.
- Insert a instant read digital meat thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh to ensure the internal temperature of 165 degrees f has been reached.
- Cooking time will vary depending on the size of the chicken. This recipe works the best with a 5-6-pound whole chicken.
- I've made up to a 7-pound chicken in my 5.5 Qt round Dutch oven. The 7-pound chicken barely fit and it took another 15 minutes in the oven.
- Don't forget to remove the giblets before roasting the chicken (especially if they're in a plastic bag!).
- This is not a "crispy skin" chicken. No one in my family likes to eat the skin, so I roast my chicken the easy way 🙂
- Once all pieces of the roasted chicken have been removed, use the rest of the chicken parts (bones) and remaining cooked onion, celery, carrots, to make homemade chicken broth.
- Once removed from the bones, allow the cooked chicken to cool to room temperature. Store leftovers refrigerated in an airtight container.
Questions You May Have
No, you should not wash raw chicken. Washing raw chicken has been shown to transfer dangerous food-bourne pathogens.
Yes, you can use a crockpot instead of a Dutch oven but you may need to adjust the time slightly.
It depends. If you want crispy skin, you'll want to roast it uncovered for about half of the roasting time (in this case, for 30 minutes), and then finish roasting it for the remaining time.
I choose to roast chicken uncovered because I don't care about crispy skin, and I'd rather not have to remember to place the lid on after 30 minutes. This is my personal preference 🙂
Feel free to use kitchen twine to tie the legs together. I personally have never done this, and my whole roasted chicken always turns out great.
Did you make this roasted Dutch Oven Chicken recipe and love it? Please let me know by leaving a comment and ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating below. A 5-star rating is the best compliment!
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📖 Recipe
Dutch Oven Chicken
Equipment
- 1 Dutch Oven 5 ½-Qt or larger
- 1 Sharp knife to cut the carrots and celery, and then to cut the whole chicken into pieces.
- food handling gloves optional
Ingredients
- 5½ pounds whole chicken 5-6 pounds. Neck and giblets removed.
- ½ onion yellow onion. Cut it in half, so you have two quarters of a whole onion.
- 2 stalks celery cut into thirds
- 2 whole carrots ends removed. Cut in half.
- 3 tablespoon olive oil extra virgin
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- ½ tsp salt sea salt or table salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Place the thicken in a Dutch oven, breast side up.5½ pounds whole chicken
- Place onion, carrots, and celery in the cavity of the chicken.½ onion, 2 whole carrots, 2 stalks celery
- Place olive oil, salt, garlic powder, rosemary, and thyme in a small bowl and stir to combine.3 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, ½ teaspoon salt
- Pour the oil and herb mixture on the top of the chicken and use your hands to spread it all around the chicken, including under the skin (use your fingers to get between the skin and flesh) and in the cavity.
- Place the lid on your Dutch oven and place t in the oven. Roast the chicken in the oven with the lid on for one hour.
- Remove from the oven and leave the lid on. Let the chicken rest for another 20-30 minutes (see notes)
- Serve or piece the chicken apart to be used later and enjoy!
Notes
- Feel free to use kitchen twine to tie the legs together. I personally have never done this, and my whole roasted chicken always turns out great. Still, some say that the meat on the legs will be moister if you tied them together.
- This recipe works the best with a 5-6-pound whole chicken.
- I've made up to a 7-pound chicken in my 5.5 Qt round Dutch oven. The 7-pound chicken barely fit and it took another 15 minutes in the oven.
- Remove the giblets before using the chicken.
- This is not a "crispy skin" chicken. No one in my family likes to eat the skin, so I roast my chicken the easy way 🙂
- Onion, celery, and carrot are used to add flavor and provide moisture to the chicken while it cooks. I've made this without stuffing the cavity with anything and it turned out, it just wasn't as moist or flavorful.
- Use disposable food handling gloves.
- Once you've removed all of the chicken pieces, use the remaining parts to make homemade chicken stock. It's so easy!
- To turn this into a complete meal, place baby potatoes or chunks of sweet potatoes, and chunks of carrot (or baby carrots) under and around the chicken so they can roast while the chicken is roasting. If placing potatoes and carrots around the chicken (this is what I usually do), drizzle a small amount of olive oil on top of the vegetables before roasting.
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