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This roast chicken and potatoes recipe is so savory and satisfying. Add a simple salad and some wine, and you’ve got an easy dinner party for four to six in one pan.
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Why we love this recipe
With so many great ways to roast a chicken, it’s worth noting when one method is so good that you go back to it again and again. That’s what’s transpired between me and this particular oven roasted whole chicken and potatoes for well over a decade. It’s:
- Super-savory and flavorful, with prosciutto, lemon, thyme, and sage (a.k.a. all the best things)
- Beautifully moist and tender, thanks to the compound butter
- Flexible — make it with or without gravy, and add or swap in different vegetables
This recipe makes an excellent family dinner, and I highly recommend it for an easy and cozy dinner party of up to six people. Just add a simple salad and plenty of wine — and maybe a nice fire and some sultry jazz.
I first published this recipe here in 2017, after having cooked and evolved a Jamie Oliver recipe many times since 2008. I’ve since updated the post for clarity and tweaked the recipe to streamline the process.
What you’ll need
Here’s a glance at the ingredients you’ll need to make this recipe.
- One fairly large whole chicken works well here, or you can roast two smaller ones side by side in the same pan. See the section below for my favorite sources for organic chicken.
- You can use diced Yukon Gold potatoes or small new potatoes in this recipe. These days I always use diced Yukons, because they cook perfectly without parboiling. If you’re using whole small potatoes, parboil them in well-salted water for 10 minutes before adding to the pan.
- You’ll zest a whole lemon to use in the compound butter and then tuck the lemon itself into the chicken before roasting.
- If you’re making gravy, you’ll need a nice dry white wine that you like to drink (serve the rest of the bottle with dinner), chicken broth, and flour. To make this recipe gluten-free, either skip the gravy or use your favorite GF flour blend to make it.
How to make it
Here’s an overview of what you’ll do to make a beautiful dinner of roast chicken and potatoes. You can see the steps in action in the video that accompanies this post, and get all the details in the recipe card below.
- To make the compound butter, mash together the butter, prosciutto, garlic, sage, lemon zest, and pepper.
- Place the chicken in a roasting pan and separate the skin from the breast to make two pockets. Fill the pockets with some of the compound butter, then rub the rest all over the outside of the chicken.
- Roast for 20 minutes, then add the diced potatoes to the pan and return to the oven until chicken is cooked through.
- Let the chicken rest for 15 minutes before carving. Either spoon potatoes out of pan or return to oven if you want them cooked more. When potatoes are done, make gravy in the roasting pan if you like.
Expert tips and FAQs
More favorite roast chicken recipes
- Old fashioned roast chicken
- Chicken with rosemary and thyme
- Marinated spatchcock chicken in cast iron
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