Use this easy Dutch Oven Whole Chicken recipe to make an entire meal in one pan. Roast a whole chicken with carrots, potatoes and onions for the perfect comfort meal.
If I want to serve this cozy meal with some extra vegetables, I usually make a side salad and toss it in this green dream dressing or make a batch of air fryer asparagus.
One Pot
Easy Clean up
Quick Look: Dutch Oven Whole Chicken
- ⏱️ Prep Time: 10 minutes
- 👩🍳 Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- 🕖 Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- 🍗 Servings: 6 servings
- ⚡️ Calories: 430 calories per serving (based on nutrition panel)
- 🔥 Cooking Method: Bake in oven at 425F
- 🛒 Main Ingredients: Chicken, carrots, and potatoes
- ⭐️ Difficulty: Much easier than it sounds! A delicious, healthy, and easy way to make a whole chicken and complete meal in one pan.
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Colleen left this 5 star review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“I used to be intimidated by whole chicken recipes, but this one is so approachable and delicious!! I feel like an expert now, and I love how easy this is!”
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- One pot dinner – A one pot meal is one of my favorite recipes to make! This dutch oven roast chicken recipe takes a bit of cooking time, but it requires very little active time and uses simple ingredients so you can make it any night of the week. Everything goes in the same pot for a simple easy recipe with quick clean up!
- Great for a small group – If you’re hosting a dinner party, this is a great recipe to make. It’s easy but feeds the whole family with an easy cooking process that does not require too much effort. This is a dish that feels fancy without being difficult!
- Best leftovers – The best way to use leftovers is to make sandwiches, wraps, and chicken salad. Leftover roast chicken is so the most flavorful chicken and perfect for meal prep or lunch all week long. You could also use the leftover roasted veggies to make a breakfast frittata.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here’s a quick look at the ingredients you need to make a flavorful dutch oven whole chicken. For a full list of ingredients and amounts please head to the full recipe.
- Baby potatoes, yellow onion, and large carrots – delicious veggies to make this recipe extra hearty!
- Whole chicken – take note of what size chicken you have because it will impact the amount of time needed to cook
- Salted butter – I use salted butter to coat underneath the skin of the chicken for the perfect crispy skin. You can use unsalted butter if you are cutting back on sodium.
If you want to use similar ingredients, but make a stew instead? Try this chicken stew. Looking for another way to make chicken in the oven? Try this crispy oven baked panko chicken.
How to make a dutch oven whole chicken
Step 1: Combine potatoes, onions, and carrots in the bottom of a dutch oven and toss with olive oil and seasonings.
Step 2: Pat the chicken dry and brush olive oil over the top of the chicken skin. Season with salt and pepper.
Step 3: Place the entire chicken in the five quart dutch oven on top of the vegetables, chicken breast side facing up. Cover the pot with a lid and place in the preheated oven.
Step 4: Cook until the chicken reaches 165F when the thickest part of the thigh is measured with a meat thermometer. For extra crispy skin, broil for a minute or two after cooking. I personally love the taste of the golden brown skin.
Looking for another way to make chicken for dinner tonight? Try this lemon herb spatchcock chicken or this easy pan seared chicken breast.
Mad’s Expert Tips for the Dutch Oven Whole Chicken 🍗
- Pay attention to size of chicken – Make sure your chicken is in the range of 3.5-4.5 pounds. If it is smaller or larger, you will have to adjust cooking time.
- How to get perfectly cooked veggies – I recommend quartering the baby potatoes, slicing the onions into half moons, and cutting the carrots in either matchsticks or rounds.
- Get extra crispy skin – Don’t forget the butter first of all, but also, if you want the skin extra crispy, I recommend broiling for a minute or two at the end.
- How to use leftovers – If you have leftovers of this whole chicken recipe, you can use them like a rotisserie chicken. Make jalapeno popper chicken salad or poppy seed chicken salad.
Don’t need a whole roast chicken? Try these oven baked chicken chicken thighs instead.
Recipe FAQs
What size dutch oven is best?
A 5 to 7-quart round Dutch oven is typically ideal for a standard 3.5-4.5lb chicken.
Do I add liquid?
No liquid needed; the chicken will come out nice and juicy thanks to its own juices sealed inside the dutch oven.
Can I get the skin extra crispy?
Yes, after cooking, you can briefly place the chicken under the broiler for 1-2 minutes, watching closely to prevent burning.
Storage and Reheating This Dutch Oven Whole Chicken
Allow your leftover chicken from your dutch oven chicken recipe to cool completely, then place chicken in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to four days.
My favorite way to have these leftovers is cold in salads or sandwiches, but you can also reheat them in the microwave or toaster oven.
Other delicious Chicken Recipes
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
Email Recipe for Later
Recipe
Dutch Oven Whole Chicken
Ingredients
- 16 oz baby potatoes quartered
- 1 yellow onion sliced into half moons
- 4 large carrots cut into matchsticks
- 3.5 – 4.5 lb whole chicken
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil separated
- 2 tbsp salted butter melted
- 2 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F. Place potatoes, onions and carrots into the dutch oven and toss with 1 tbsp olive oil. Season with 1 tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper. Toss to coat evenly.
- Unwrap chicken and remove anything from the cavity. Pat dry with a paper towel. Use a basting brush to spread melted butter under the chicken skin on the breasts, thighs and legs.
- Brush 1 tbsp of olive oil over the top of the chicken skin. Season with salt and pepper. Place chicken in the dutch oven on top of the veggies, breast side facing up. Place lid on the dutch oven
- Bake at 425F for 1 hour with the lid on. Remove the lid and cook uncovered for another 10-30 minutes depending on the weight of the chicken. Remove from the oven when the internal temperature of the chicken thigh is 165F
- If you want extra crispy skin, broil the chicken for just 1-2 minutes before removing from the oven.
- Remove the chicken from the dutch oven and allow to cool for about 20 minutes before carving and serving with the roasted vegetables. Drizzle excess juices from the dutch oven over the sliced chicken.
Recipe Notes
- This recipe is simple and has great flavor as is, but you can feel free to mix it up. You can minced garlic cloves to your vegetables, or roast the chicken with a head of garlic then remove after cooking. If you prefer a bit more bite in your onions, you could substitute red onion.
- For the seasoning, I kept it simple with salt and pepper, but you can add any seasoning blend you would like. Fresh herbs like fresh rosemary would be great, or some lemon zest from the lemon rind added to your spices. You could also make a garlic herb butter mixture to spread in between the skin of the chicken. Combine softened butter, pressed garlic, lemon juice and herbs in a small bowl, then put the herbed butter under the breast skin and thigh skin.
- I like using baby potatoes, but you could swap in fingerling potatoes or sweet potatoes.
- Make sure your chicken is in the range of 3.5-4.5 pounds. If it is smaller or larger, you will have to adjust cooking time.
- For extra crispy skin, don’t forget the butter and then broil for 1-2 minutes after cooking.
- I recommend quartering the baby potatoes, slicing the onions into half moons, and cutting the carrots into either matchsticks or rounds for evenly cooked veggies.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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