This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
This Spatchcock Chicken recipe is our favorite way to roast a whole chicken. Every part of the roasted chicken turns out juicy and so flavorful with that garlic herb butter (the same one we use on our roasted turkey!). This one pan chicken dinner is easy and so delicious!
There is no marinating or lengthy prep required. This is simple enough for a busy weeknight but it’s also a crowd-pleaser and perfect for company!
The potatoes, carrots and Brussels sprouts roast along with the chicken. This blend of vegetables bakes to perfection and every bite is supremely flavorful. The potatoes have a crisp salty skin with a creamy inside and these were some of the best tasting Brussels sprouts I’ve tried.
Watch the video on how to Spatchcock a Chicken and prepare this easy one-pan chicken dinner – one of our favorite whole chicken recipes!
Watch how to Spatchcock Chicken Video:
A whole roasted chicken can be tricky because the chicken breast can quickly dry out by the time the dark meat is cooked through, but when you butterfly a chicken (spatchcock), the chicken breast sits lower in the pan on the same level as the legs so it bakes more evenly and results in a juicy, moist and flavorful chicken.
Ingredients for Spatchcock Chicken Recipe:
For this recipe, you will need a 4 to 4 1/2 lb whole chicken. Allow the raw chicken to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before using for more even baking. The flavored butter is incredible and makes every bite memorable. We it in several of our recipes because it just works. See the full print-friendly list of ingredients in the recipe card below.
Ingredients for 1-Pan Chicken Dinner:
To make this a one-pan meal, we add potatoes, carrots and Brussels sprouts. Everything roasts together and you don’t have to toss or flip anything while it is roasting in that amazing flavored butter.
How to Spatchcock Chicken:
1. (Preheat Oven to 425˚F after step 4) Place chicken breast-side down with the wings/ neck facing towards you. Use kitchen shears to cut through the ribs right next to the spine on both sides to remove spine.** Open the rib cage and use a heavy chefs knife to score down the sternum. This will help to pop out the breast bone and flatten the chicken. Season under the chicken with about 1/2 tsp salt and a pinch of black pepper.
**Keep the spine and bones from the roasted chicken after it is carved and use them for the best homemade chicken bone broth!
2. Flip the chicken over with the breast side up and place on a parchment-lined, rimmed baking half sheet. Using the palm of your hand, push firmly over the breast bone so the chicken lays completely flat. You want it to lay flat so all parts of the chicken bake evenly. Separate the skin from the meat over breast, thigh and drumstick areas.
3. In a small mixing bowl, combine the flavored butter ingredients and mash together with a fork for a couple of minutes until most of the lemon juice is incorporated into the butter.
4. Spread 2/3 of it under the chicken skin and spread and dot remaining butter all over the chicken.
5. Place prepared vegetables all around the chicken then drizzle all over with olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt and some black pepper to taste.
6. Bake uncovered at 425˚F for 45 minutes or until instant read thermometer registers 160˚F when inserted into the thickest part of the chicken breast. Don’t over-bake or the breast will be dry. Keep in mind the temperature will rise another 5-10 degrees after it comes out of the oven. Remove form oven and rest uncovered 10 minutes on a cutting board before serving.
More One-Pan, Easy Chicken Dinner Ideas:
Here are some of the reader favorite chicken recipes on our blog.
- One Pan Chicken Breast and Veggies Dinner
- Avocado Chicken Salad (Wildly Popular!)
- 15 One-Pan Dinners for Lazy Nights
⬇Print-friendly Spatchcock Chicken Recipe:
Spatchcock Chicken Recipe Video
Ingredients
Ingredients for Spatchcock Chicken Recipe:
- 4 1/4 lb whole chicken, *
- 1/2 tsp salt, (we used sea salt)
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
Ingredients for Flavored Butter:
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- 1 Tbsp olive oil, plus more to drizzle
- 1 Tbsp parsley, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 tsp lemon zest
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp salt, plus more for vegetables
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
Ingredients for 1-Pan Chicken Dinner:
- 2 lbs medium red potatoes, scrubbed and quartered
- 3 medium carrots, peeled and quartered
- 8 oz Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
Instructions
- (Preheat oven to 425˚F after step 4). Place chicken breast-side down with the wings/ neck facing towards you. To remove the spine, use kitchen shears to cut through the ribs right next to the spine along both sides. Open rib cage and use a heavy knife to score down the sternum. This will help pop out the breast bone and flatten chicken. Season inside the chicken with 1/2 tsp salt and a pinch of black pepper.
- Flip the chicken over breast side up and set on parchment-lined, rimmed baking half sheet. Using the palm of your hand, push firmly over the breast bone forcing the chicken to lay completely flat. Use your thumbs to separate the skin from the meat over breast, thigh and drumstick areas.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the flavored butter ingredients. Mash with fork for a couple of minutes until lemon juice is mostly incorporated into butter.
- Spread 2/3 of mixture under the chicken skin and and dot/spread remaining butter all over chicken.
- Place prepared vegetables all around the chicken and drizzle everything with olive oil. Sprinkle chicken and vegetables generously with salt and some black pepper to taste.
- Bake uncovered at 425˚F for 45 min or until instant read thermometer reads 160˚F when inserted into thickest part of chicken breast**. Remove form oven and rest uncovered 10 minutes on a cutting board before serving.
Notes
**Don't over-bake or the breast will be dry. Keep in mind internal temp will rise another 5-10 degrees after it comes out of oven.
Nutrition Per Serving
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Have you tried this method for roasting a whole chicken? I hope you’re excited about making it after watching this video!! If you try it, let me know how you liked loved it! 🙂
Can this recipe work with cornish hens?
Hi Shalini, someone else commented and shared this “I made this using a Cornish game hen for husband and me. It was wonderful! The flavored butter sauce placed under the skin and on the hen made all the difference. It was a perfect meal with potatoes and carrots.”
Nice dish, but potatoes often don’t cook in 45 minutes.
I hope you try and love this recipe Dan!
This came out so amazing!! My boyfriend said he could eat it everyday!
Isn’t it delicious! I’m so glad you both enjoyed this recipe!
Could this work for an 18 lb. Turkey ?
Hi Debbie, without out testing that I cannot say or advise. If you experiment I would love to know how you like it.
The Spatchcock Turkey turned out beautifully. It certainly cut down the cooking time plus it was extremely easy to carve and serve. I will always cook turkey like this from now on
That’s so great! Thank you for sharing that with me!
Amazing chicken! I didn’t add the veggies because I didn’t want them to soak up the excess fat. I served steamed veggies on the side.
Thank you so much for sharing that great review with us Yolanda!
Meant to say PictSweet Farms! Could you update my comment? Is your husband still your videographer? I love your videos, you guys look like you are having so much fun….hope to see a photo of your kiddos soon, they must be soooo big!!
No worries Elizabeth. Yes, my husband is still the person doing my videos. He has some awesome skills, I’m glad you are loving them!
Dear Natasha,
Thank you again for this awesome chicken recipe which our family has been enjoying for some time. Tonight I tried something different, using frozen PictSweet Farms vegetable mix…cooking them the entire 45 minutes although the recipe calls for only 20. They were a huge hit and soooo delicious!! It’s an easy shortcut given the chicken prep takes a bit of time…can’t say enough how delicious those were, so sweet with the chicken!! Try them, you will love them when you have a bit less time on your hands..keep up your great work!! xxoo
Thank you so much for your awesome comments and great recommendation! I’ll keep your suggestions in mind in case I do this recipe again.
Hi Natasha, I’m making this tonight! So excited. I’m worried about the 425 degrees and parchment paper. None of the reviewers mentioned having any issues. The directions on my parchment paper box say not to exceed 420 degrees. Do you think it will be Ok? Thanks.
Hi Pattie, we had no problem with ours being in there at that temperature. I would be sure don’t have edges sticking up or too much “extra” paper on the sides. I hope you love this recipe.
Thank you! I’ll post back here with my update.
One word. Fabulous!! We enjoyed this so much. After reading reviews, I made sure to cut my vegetables small. A couple of the carrots were a bit too big and were a bit firmer. Brussels sprouts are wonderful in this dish! Chicken was juicy and DELICIOUS! No problem with the parchment paper and high oven temp. Will make this again!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Pattie! Thank you for the wonderful review!
This a really good! I like the spatchcock method a lot. I had to make some slight changes (use what you have in hand), but not many. I put some thyme, marjoram, and sage from my herb garden in the lemon butter. I didn’t have Brussels sprouts but used 1 russet, 1 sweet potato, 1 onion, and 3 carrots. I did not use parchment because I wanted a pan sauce. I put the sheet pan on the burner, added chicken broth and lemon juice, scraped up the brown bits, and reduced. Then took off heat and threw in a chunk of butter and just swirled the pan a little until it melted and thickened the sauce. It would have been good without the pan sauce, but the sauce made it special. Thank you for this recipe!
You’re welcome, Kim! Thank you for sharing this great feedback with us!
Has anyone ever tried to do this with a larger bird, say a turkey? Wonder how a 12 lb or so turkey would turn out. Any thoughts?
I haven’t tried that yet, maybe others here can share their experience?
It works beautifully with a 12-14 pound turkey. Just need a really big cookie sheet (I ordered one online) changes everything about roasting turkey, as it is done quickly and so easy to carve. You can just make gravy from the neck and other parts on stovetop with some chicken broth onion, celery and carrot.
I make spatchcock chicken frequently. I prefer to purchase it spatchcooked. Butcher takes more bones out under the breasts and it’s prettier and easier to portion out. This is a great recipe! Sheet pan dinners are my fave!
Thx Natasha. I’m a fan!
That’s a great idea! Thank you so much for sharing that with me!
I would like to make this but don’t have a whole chicken. Would this work with just pieces? I have about 1.5 pounds of drumsticks and 2.2 pounds of thighs. Planning to put baby carrots and red potatoes as per recipe(no Brussel sprouts). Do I need to adjust temperature or cooking time? Tried so many of your other recipes and love them! Thanks.
Hi Victoria, that should work! If using a smaller chicken or larger carrots, you would need to adjust the bake time, or slice carrots into smaller pieces as in the photos/video above. I hope that helps for next time!
This was my first try at Spatchcock Chicken and I have to say….”Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner”!!! Thanks for giving us this recipe. By the way, I really enjoy your videos!!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Connie!
Can I put this on the bbq?
Hi Stephanie, I have not tried using this recipe on a bbq grill to advise if it would bring out the same result.
Hi Stephanie,
You absolutely can do this on a BBQ. I do it all the time. I put the chicken on the top rack and a drip pan underneath with a can of beer in it which kind of evaporates away but keeps the juices from burning so you can do a gravy with it.
Thank you for sharing that with me, Christian!
This recipe was good but I can never make it again. It created so much smoke it set off every smoke alarm in my house.
Hi Susan, I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe. I haven’t had that experience. That could happen if foods are too close too the broiler or leaving the broiler on too long.
You have to have windows open and exhaust fan running 🙂
This happens whenever I roast chicken with skin.
So tender, juicy and flavorful!
The lemon and garlic placed under the chicken steams right into the chicken. Tossing the potatos and carrots in olive oil
S & P, also gives it a crispy brown glaze.
Wow your description is feedback is just great. Thank you for sharing that with us, Lori!
Love it! came out perfectly especially since I followed the tip for letting the Chicken come to temperature before backing.
I only had carrots and sweet potatoes which I sliced into wedges and they cartelized, so yummy!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Oh So Delish!
Be aware that just the veggie prep will take about 15 mins.
The herb butter about 6-7 mins.
The chicken prep about 10 mins.
Putting it all together in the pan another 5 mins.
The true prep time is 30-35 mins. maybe longer.
You may also not get the nice crispy skin unless you have a convection oven but the taste is superb.
Thank you so much for sharing that with us Jacqui!
Excellent! New favorite way to cook a whole chicken, my mother who hates Brussels sprouts actually liked them like this too!
That’s just awesome Jennifer! I’m so happy you both enjoyed this recipe!
Can’t even watch videos because if ads. Would have liked to watch before trying to make this. Guess I will find another site without stupid ads.
Hi Twila, Thank you for sharing your concerns and feedback.
The only way we can continue providing free recipes is by having ads on our site so we are not able to remove those at this time. We find that most people would rather see the ads than pay to see the recipes.
I appreciate your feedback and I hope you love every recipe you try.