Welcome to your new favorite way to cook and consume poultry: slow roasted chicken. So easy that anyone can make it, delicious enough that everyone will eat it. All you need are a few staple ingredients, an entire chicken, a cast iron skillet (a cookie sheet works too!), and you’re on your way.

slow roasted chicken with potatoes and rosemary in skillet

How To Make Slow Roasted Chicken

Slow roasting a chicken takes time, but the process is incredibly easy for an uh-mazing end result (plus it’s fairly hands off once placed in the oven). Follow thesestep by step instructions for juicy, melt-in-your-mouth success.

1. One hour before cooking, remove your chicken from the fridge. Pat dry and remove any giblets. Generously salt your chicken and allow it to sit at room temperature for one hour. Allowing the salt to diffuse for even one hour greatly enhances both the flavor and the juiciness of the chicken. Keeping it at room temperature will help the chicken cook nice and evenly.

2. Just before baking the chicken, toss your potatoes in olive oil, salt, and pepper, and drop them in crevices and open space on your skillet. Cut a bulb of garlic in half and nestle it between your potatoes and chicken, flat side down. Rub the chicken with a Tablespoon or two of olive oil, and give it one last sprinkle of salt.

3. Roast your chicken low and slow. You’ll cook it at 325° F for 2 1/2-3 hours until it’s fall-off-the-bone tender and delicious. Your house will smell like a dream.

4. Allow the chicken to sit for a minimum of 10-15 minutes before digging in.

slow roasted chicken with potatoes in skillet

Ingredients

Slow roasted chicken only calls for a whole chicken plus a few staple ingredients you likely have sitting around.

  • One whole, uncooked chicken, about 4-5 pounds
  • One pound of petite gold potatoes
  • One Garlic Bulb
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Rosemary and thyme
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper

Slow Roasted Chicken Sides

This slow roasted chicken recipe is accompanied with delicious roasted potatoes, but if you’re looking for a side dish to serve in addition to the potatoes, we recommend any of the following:

  • brussels sprouts
  • broccoli
  • spinach salad
  • carrots
  • zucchini
  • green beans

slow roasted chicken with potatoes in skillet

Slow Roasted Chicken: Tips & Tricks

  • One of the best ways to ensure your slow roasted chicken tastes delicious, is to buy a good-quality bird. Look for chicken that’s organic (no chemicals), and if possible air-chilled (not submerged in water, which typically yields better flavor) for the best tasting chicken.

  • Remove the chicken from the fridge and salt it generously at least one hour previous to cooking. Allowing it to sit at room temperature will help the chicken cook more evenly and retain juices during the slow roast. Salting an hour before cooking will also help yield an extra juicy chicken with a beautifully crisp skin on the outside.

  • Don’t rush things. There are plenty of recipes out there that are designed to cook chicken in an hour or less, but this is not one of them. Delectable, fall-off-the-bone chicken only comes from the low and slow cooking technique.

  • This recipe comfortably serves 3-4, but you can easily double it. Prep two 4-pound chickens and roast both side by side on a large cookie sheet.

Make Next: 30-Minute Meatball Subs

Slow Roasted Chicken with Potatoes

4.80 from 10 votes
Brooke Eliason
Print
Servings: 4 servings
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 3 hours
Difficulty: Easy
Slow roasted chicken is easy to make, will make your entire house smell amazing, and tastes absolutely delicious.

Ingredients 

  • 1 whole 4-pound chicken
  • kosher salt
  • 1 pound petite gold potatoes
  • 3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
  • 1 whole garlic bulb
  • fresh herbs such as rosemary and thyme

Instructions

  • One hour before cooking, remove chicken from fridge and preheat oven to 325° F. Pat the chicken dry, remove giblets, season generously with kosher salt (including the inside of the chicken), and place in a cast iron skillet. Let chicken sit at room temperature for at least one hour (or up to 2 hours).
  • Just before cooking, prep the potatoes and garlic. In a medium-sized bowl, toss the potatoes with 1 Tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, a dash of kosher salt, and a few cranks of fresh cracked pepper. Nestle the potatoes beside the chicken. Cut a garlic bulb in half crosswise, and nestle the exposed sides face down in the skillet next to the chicken and potatoes. Drizzle 2 Tablespoons of olive oil on the surface of the chicken and rub it in with your hands, making sure to coat the nooks and crannies of the chicken. Sprinkle the now oiled chicken with a generous pinch or two of salt and garnish dish with rosemary and thyme.
  • Place the entire cast iron skillet with chicken, garlic, and potatoes in the oven and roast for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Once the chicken is half-way done cooking, carefully tilt the skillet towards you and baste the chicken and potatoes with the juices from the chicken, spooning the liquid on top of the entire bird and over all of the potatoes. Repeat this every 30 minutes until chicken is done cooking. Remove skillet from oven when the chicken is golden brown and both the chicken and potatoes are tender to the touch with the sharp end of a knife.
  • Let the chicken sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before serving (and up to 30).

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @femalefoodie so we can see what you’re cooking!