Not only is this recipe for lemon rosemary oven roast chicken delicious it's also SUPER EASY to prepare!
The secret to this amazing bird is that I stuffed a whole lemon in the chicken! Yes, that's right a whole lemon!
I first zested the lemon over the chicken to make a delicious coating and also sprinkled it with rosemary, thyme, garlic, pepper, sea salt and olive oil. The zested lemon on the inside of the chicken created the most tender juicy meat you could imagine! I was hoping this recipe would turn out yummy but I actually surprised myself with how good it was!
The lemon flavor was not overpowering at all – it was more of subtle hint of just the right amount of lemony flavor.
The drippings for this also made for an excellent gravy!
I'm so happy to be able to share this recipe with you and hope you will enjoy it as much as we have! 🙂
Easy Lemon Rosemary Oven Roast Chicken
Ingredients
- 5 lb whole chicken
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 whole lemon
- 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp olive Oil
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/4 tsp dried rosemary
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 cup water
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 375°F.
- Season the chicken with salt and pepper and place in a roasting pan.
- Drizzle olive oil over the chicken covering top and legs.
- Using a small grater or zester, zest the entire lemon over the top of the chicken being sure to let there's some on the breast and legs of the chicken.
- Stuff the chicken with the lemon. Just put the whole lemon right into the cavity of the chicken.
- Sprinkle rosemary, thyme and garlic over the surface of the chicken.
- Pour the water in the bottom of the roasting pan.
- Roast for 1 hour 45 minutes until golden on top. Also be sure to check on the chicken a few times throughout cooking to baste.
