This tender roasted chicken with root vegetables is the coziest meal on a cool day. Pair it with a crusty bread or flaky biscuits and your meal is complete.
Sunday dinner at my grandma’s house always consisted of delicious food. Hearty roasted chicken, meatloaf, pot roast, beef and noodles with mashed potatoes…you get the point. The second you stepped onto the porch, you knew what she was making for dinner. I aim to give my family that same heartwarming feeling when they smell dinner at home. There’s comfort in the smell of a homemade meal. So, whether it’s for Sunday dinner or a weeknight meal for the family, this hearty and filling recipe will be one you keep around.
Let’s make it
People sometimes get a little nervous when they think about the fuss of roasting a chicken but I’m here to tell you, it’s worth it, and it’s not a fuss! Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees. You’ll then want to get your root vegetables washed and chopped. I used carrots, parsnips, red potatoes and an onion. If you’ve never had parsnips before, give them a try. They’re sweet and nutty and similar to carrots.
When your vegetables are chopped, lay them on one half of a 9×13 baking dish, with room on the other half for your chicken. A 5 pound chicken is what you’ll need for this recipe. Once you have removed the chicken from it’s packaging, lay it in the baking dish, breast side up. Generously apply olive oil to the top of the chicken and root vegetables. Next add the salt, pepper and garlic powder over both the chicken and vegetables.
By now, the oven has been preheated and is probably warming up your kitchen right now too. It’s an added benefit in the winter! Go ahead and put the chicken and root vegetables in the oven and set the timer for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Soon your house will smell like heaven and you’ll have people stopping in the kitchen to see about that delicious smell.
Roasted Chicken and Root Vegetables
How will you know your chicken is done? Grab ahold of a leg, carefully, it’s hot, and pull it away from the chicken. If it pulls away easily and the juices look like broth, and is not pink, your chicken is done. My favorite way to serve this roasted chicken with root vegetables is with fluffy sourdough biscuits.
Roasted Chicken with Root Vegetables
Ingredients
- One whole roasting chicken, about 5lbs.
- 4 medium red potatoes, chopped in 1 inch pieces
- 5 carrots, chopped in 1 inch pieces
- 2 parsnips, chopped in 1 inch pieces
- 1 onion, sliced
- 3 Tbsp. olive oil
- 2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. pepper
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Chop vegetables and lay on one side of a greased, 9x13 baking dish.
- Remove the chicken from it's packaging and put on the other side of the pan, breasts facing up.
- Drizzle olive oil over the chicken and vegetables.
- Sprinkle the salt, pepper and garlic power over the chicken and vegetables.
- Put the pan of chicken and vegetables into the 400 degree oven for about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
- Check for doneness, by pulling outward on a leg. If it pulls easliy apart, and the juices look like broth, not pink, the chicken is done. You may need to bake an additional 15-20 minutes according to the weight of your chicken.
Variations
- Use any variation of root vegetables, or just potatoes, it’s up to you!
- Add several whole cloves of garlic to roast with the vegetables.
- Serve with biscuits, crusty bread or a salad.
- Add a tangy barbecue sauce to the chicken for the last 20 minutes of baking time.
Roasting a chicken has extra benefits. When you’ve removed the meat from the bones, you can throw the bones in a pot of water with salt and pepper, a couple carrots and some celery and make a quick broth by boiling them until it’s golden in color.
If you want to make a bone broth, add the bones to a pot of water with salt and pepper, a splash of apple cider vinegar and simmer on low for 18-24 hours. Use either the chicken broth or bone broth as cooking liquid for rice or pasta, to increase the nutritional value.
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