Nothing smells better than a citrus and herb roasted chicken that perfumes the house while it's cooking. This dutch oven roasted citrus chicken is a great weekend meal that is big on flavor and perfect for the winter months when citrus is in season. So if you are looking for a really easy and delicious oven whole roasted chicken recipe, this is it.
This dutch oven roasted chicken is a favorite Sunday dinner at our house. So if you are always looking for more Sunday dinner ideas, this is a great one.
This oven roasted chicken recipe also makes a great dinner anytime of year and the beautiful aroma from the citrus and herbs will certainly get people to the table. If you love a delicious flavorful roast chicken, then you'll love this recipe.
You can absolutely use this for entertaining or special occasions as well.
The ingredients for this dish are fairly simple and not complicated.
For this Roasted Chicken, You Will Need:
- 1 medium to large whole chicken
- oranges
- lemons
- fresh herbs
- garlic
- potatoes
- chicken stock
- salt and pepper
- olive oil
- butter
Part of the inspiration for this dish comes from when I visited Belgium where you can find rotisserie chicken roasting over potatoes at every street corner and restaurant. The juices that the potatoes pick up from the chicken roasting in the dutch oven make the potatoes so amazing.
The juices from the chicken make for the most amazing sauce too.
I added my own twist to the dish with the citrus because it really compliments the chicken juices so well. This combined with the addition of chicken stock in making the sauce is what really brings this to the next level.
I also happen to really love citrus and put it in as many things as possible, from Christmas cookies to summer grilling recipes like my citrus chicken skewers.
The steps are fairly easy to make this roasted chicken. If you are not familiar with tying the chicken, here is my favorite site for that: How to tie a chicken.
Here are the steps in making this oven roasted chicken:
- Gather your ingredients
- Rub butter, olive oil and aromatics over the chicken and place ingredients inside the chicken cavity.
- Tie and tuck the chicken wings and legs so they don't burn when roasting(see my link above for a how to).
- Add citrus to bottom of dutch oven and squeeze over the chicken.
- Roast the chicken
- Make a quick gravy from pan juices
Pretty simple right! If you have never made a roast chicken this is a great chicken recipe to start with. Don't be intimidated by the tying of the chicken part either.
Making the gravy for this roasted chicken:
This dutch oven roasted chicken recipe has a natural gravy as part of the recipe which makes it so delicious. To make the gravy, the pan juices from the chicken after roasting are collected and reduced.
Once the pan juices are reduced on the stove top, you add some butter and a little more chicken stock until it becomes a beautiful light natural gravy. The gravy will have a citrus flavor that is so wonderful.
You will want to make sure not to skip this step because there is so much flavor in this gravy. It is also very easy to do and you can make this while the chicken is resting, so you have those extra few minutes to spare!
Since you already have chicken and potatoes in the recipe, a nice fresh Spinach salad would pair nicely with this meal. The citrus in the salad matches the citrus notes in the chicken.
Once you are done with the prep work for this dish, the oven does the rest of the work. This is a great meal to treat your guests or family to when you want to serve something special.
This oven roasted chicken also makes a great alternative to cooking a turkey at the Thanksgiving holiday.
Whether you are looking for Sunday dinner ideas or an easy but tasty dish to serve at the holidays, this recipe had you covered!
More ideas
If you love this herb baked chicken, you may also like these recipes:
Easy Roasted Citrus and Herb Chicken
Tried the Recipe? We Would Love To Hear From You In The Comments Below!
Equipment
- dutch oven or roasting pan
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken 3-4 pound chicken
- 2 cups homemade chicken stock or canned chicken broth
- 1 bag of baby potatoes whole any kind
- 2 oranges one sliced and one halved
- 2 lemons one sliced one halved
- 6 cloves garlic smashed
- 3 tablespoon butter softened and divided
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 4 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 2 sprigs of fresh oregano
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees
Preparing the Chicken
- Pat your chicken dry1 whole chicken
- Season the inside cavity of the chicken with half of your salt and the pepper.3 teaspoons kosher salt, 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Now place half of your orange and lemon slices, garlic cloves, and herb sprigs in the cavity as well.2 oranges, 2 lemons, 6 cloves garlic, 2 sprigs of fresh oregano, 4 sprigs of fresh thyme
- Cross the legs one over the other or tie them together with kitchen string to hold the contents inside.
- Tuck the wings underneath the chicken.
- Now rub half of the butter and olive oil over the top of chicken and with the orange and lemon quarters, squeeze the citrus juices over the the chicken and rub the juice into the skin.3 tablespoon butter, 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Sprinkle the chicken with the remaining 1 teaspoon salt.
- Lay the other half of your citrus slices on the bottom of your dutch oven.
- Place your chicken, breast side up on top of the citrus slices in the dutch oven.
- Now add ½ cup of chicken stock and potatoes into the dutch oven around the chicken.2 cups homemade chicken stock or canned chicken broth, 1 bag of baby potatoes whole
- Roast until the chicken’s juices run clear when a thigh is pierced with a fork or a thermometer registers 160°F (71°C) when inserted into the thickest part of a thigh, 1 ½ to 2 hours, depending on the size.
- Transfer the chicken to a cutting board, cover loosely with aluminum foil, and let rest for 10-15 minutes.
- Scoop out your potatoes on to a plate and cover with aluminum foil to stay warm
- After you have removed the chicken and vegetables from the dutch oven, bring your dutch oven over to the stovetop and heat over medium heat.
Making the Gravy from Pan Juices
- Pour 1 cup of your stock into the dutch oven and with a whisk scrape up any bits from the pan as you mix.
- Bring this mixture up to a simmer and keep cooking until it is reduced by almost half.
- Strain the pan juices through a fine-mesh sieve and pour back into the dutch oven and place over low heat.
- Add the remaining half of the butter and any additional chicken stock that is needed (based on how thick or thin you like your pan gravy) and mix until the butter melts.
- Taste the gravy and adjust for any additional seasoning.
Assembling the Roasted Chicken and Vegetables
- Carve the roast chicken.
- Now add your potatoes to a large platter topped with the chicken
- Drizzle a little of your sauce over top and serve with the remaining warm sauce on the side.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Values are estimates only.
See full nutrition disclaimer here
Daniel says
It was really tender. We cooked it for about 1 1/2 hours for a 3 pound chicken and it came out great. The sauce was wonderful too.