Roast Chicken — Whole or in Parts
From The Kitchen · the one you'll come back to
🗓 A Set-the-Week staple — roast once, eat all week.
This is the only chicken method you really need — three ways from one page. Roast a whole bird for a Sunday dinner with leftovers, a tray of bone-in parts for the week, or sear boneless cuts with a marinade for a fast weeknight. Same seasoning, same oven, endlessly useful. Marinate a batch for the next day or two, or roast a tray on Sunday and portion it into salads, wraps and bowls.
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken (3–4 lb), or bone-in parts (4 breast halves, or 6–8 thighs, or 6–8 legs), or boneless breasts or thighs
- 2–3 tablespoons olive oil — or a marinade
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Optional: 1 lemon (halved), a head of garlic (halved), fresh rosemary, thyme or oregano
Method
🍗 A whole bird (3–4 lb)
- Heat the oven to 425°F. Pat the chicken very dry — dry skin is crisp skin.
- Rub all over with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Tuck the lemon, garlic and herbs into the cavity.
- Roast breast-up about 1 to 1¼ hours, until a thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh (not touching bone) reads 165°F.
- Rest 10 to 15 minutes before carving — this keeps every slice juicy.
🍗 Bone-in parts
- Heat the oven to 425°F. Pat dry, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper, and arrange skin-side up on a sheet pan with space between.
- Roast until golden and cooked through: breasts and thighs 40–45 minutes, drumsticks and whole legs 45–55.
- Breasts are done at 165°F; thighs and legs are best at 175°F, where the dark meat turns tender.
🔥 Boneless, on the griddle
- Marinate boneless breasts or thighs 30 minutes (or overnight) in a marinade — where the flavor, and the prep-ahead magic, live.
- Heat a griddle or heavy skillet over medium-high. Sear 5 to 7 minutes per side (less for thin cutlets), until golden and 165°F.
- Rest 5 minutes, then slice for salads, wraps and bowls.
Gina's tip
A thermometer is the only truth — 165°F for breast, 175°F for thigh and leg. And this is the ultimate prep recipe: marinate the boneless cuts for tomorrow's dinner, or roast a full tray of parts on Sunday and portion them for a week of easy meals. Save the carcass for soup.
I hope this one finds a place in your kitchen as it has in mine. Enjoy!
— Gina