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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 you use sweet Potatoes instead of regular? I am cutting down on starches and carbs and find that Sweet Potatoes are much healthier.
Hi Candie, I saw someone else share that they used sweet potato and liked it. I hope that helps!
Made this on a whim and my family absolutely loved it! The veggies were as good as the chicken. Will make this again and again.
Sounds great! Thank you for your excellent feedback, Karen.
Very good!!! I made this tonight and it was delicious and easy! Everyone loved it. I will make this frequently.
I’m glad this recipe was a huge hit!
The seasoning sounded bland so I added poultry seasoning and a roasted pepper garlic blend, subbed bacon grease for the butter and seasoned the outside as well as under the skin. The veg were delicious! I don’t think the lemon juice did anything for this at all. This really would have been bland with just lemon, garlic, and salt & pepper.
HI Rachel, It is very flavorful as written but your substitutions sound great also.
I love chicken and eat it often and all different ways. This chicken was so easy to make (bought it already spatchcocked if that’s a word?) and was so incredibly juicy and delicious. The vegetables came out great because I cut them small enough to cook through. I had to fight to make sure we had leftovers. Any recommendations on how to reheat them? Thanks and I love so many of your recipes! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!
Wow! I love that you found one ready to go! That’s so great! You can use the oven to reheat; be sure not to dry it out. Merry Christmas, Marilyn!
Best whole chicken I have ever made! Thank you for the recipe.
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Çağan!
The Spatchcock Chicken recipe was spot on. Thank you so much for the how to video, it was so very helpful. The chicken was juicy, the skin was crunchy, and the vegetables divine. From my husband I received a “very, very good dinner!” There is nothing better than creating and achieving a great dinner for your family that is healthy. Thank you Natasha!!
Great to hear that it was a huge success, Laurie! Thank you for sharing that with us, we appreciate your good comments and feedback. Totally agree, homemade really rocks!
Wondering if you can you use a roasting pan instead of half sheet?
Hi Amelia, you would need a very large roasting pan so you can give the chickens some space without crowding the pan too much. I have cooked two roasted chickens before but spatchcocking both will roast faster than roasting two whole chickens. For that, I would highly recommend using an in-oven thermometer to test for doneness.
I just made this and it was fantastic! I roasted potatoes,Brussels sprouts, cauliflower florets, and radishes with it. Other than the additional veggies I followed your directions.
There did seem to be a lot of juice in the bottom of the pan. I think I should have moved the oven rack down a notch from the middle but that’s an oven performance issue. It’s fairly new and I’m still figuring it out. The juice by the way was delicious and I soaked it up with my homemade bread! Thank you for an easy,awesome recipe!
It really is so juicy! I’m glad you loved it, Eva!
We LOVE this recipe. Question: My guests want the vegetables for Thanksgiving. Will I get the same results without the chicken? Should I drizzle some lemony butter& evoo? Will it still take 45 min? Your recipes are great!
Hi Susan, I would roast the vegetables until they are tender. They will bake a little faster without the chicken, but it also depends on how thick you slice things up. I would drizzle with some lemmny butter and evoo, yes, but you won’t need as much as you would if you had a whole chicken in the recipe.
Doing it tonight with some simple changes. I like to inject with a garlic, chicken broth. I’ll use the same broth later to make the egg noodles in. Can’t do brussel sprouts. Nope, no way, not happening.
Sounds good, Andy. Please share with us how you liked the recipe when you try it!
Looks soooo very good
I want to make this tonight but I don’t have brussels sprouts. What can I substitute with?
Hi Janet, you could just use more of the carrots and potatoes if you prefer not to use Brussels sprouts.
I have made this before and it is wonderful but today I have a 6 & a 1/3 lb chicken how long should I roast it?
Hi! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! It will take a while longer to make the 6 lb chicken, so you may need to adjust the bake time. Be sure to check the chicken’s internal temperature is at 165 once done.
I love doing chicken this way. I leave the backbone attached on one side because I don’t usually have time to make my own broth. Don’t forget to tuck the wing tips under the wing so you keep them from burning and you expose more of the breast skin. Last, I put less of the butter mixture under the skin and more on the outside. The seasonings under the skin don’t roast they just stay almost raw. This is only worth the trouble if you eat the skin.
Made this tonight, following your recipe to a T. Except I didn’t have parchment paper so lined the pan with foil. It was delicious, so easy, and my guests loved it. Thank you!
That’s great, Jane! Happy to know that the recipe was a huge hit.
Hi Natasha,
I waa wondering how to figure out the cooking time if I am making 2 chickens?
Thanks,
D
Hello there, I haven’t tried that yet to advise of the cooking time but someone in the comments section shared this “I tried this with 2 chickens for Thanksgiving dinner this year (in Canada haha) and it turned out amazing!”
Hi,
Just wondering on cooking times if I make two chickens with all the vegetables i the oven at the same time?
Thanks,
D
Hi D, you would need a very large roasting pan so you can give the chickens some space without crowding the pan too much. I have cooked two roasted chickens before but spatchcocking both will roast faster than roasting two whole chickens. For that, I would highly recommend using an in-oven thermometer to test for doneness.
Great recipe! This is my second time making this easy, delicious chicken. Thank you! I really enjoy watching your videos. You have an amazing personality!
Thank you for that sweet review and compliment, Sally! You’re so nice!
Unfortunately this was a miss for me. The chicken was very difficult to pull apart.
Sorry to hear that didn’t work well for you. Was there anything that was changed with the process indicated in the written recipe? I’ve never experience that before so I’m curious as to why that happened.
Why are you trying to pull this apart. What are you, pulling on the legs and wings???? Are you ok?
When roasting should you use regular bake or convection bake for best results
Hi David, we use regular bake.
Hi Natasha! I’m planning to make this soon and was wondering if there’s any benefit to brining the chicken beforehand, even for just a few hours. For added flavor/juicyness. If so, how would you brine?
Hi Maria, I haven’t tested that with a brine to advise. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
I can’t wait to cook this. I’ll be doing it xmas day in a baking pan on the bbq with the hood down. Australia’s too hot to cook inside. Im sure the neighbours will be drooling with the smells that will be wafting around. Thanks for the inspiration.
I bet it’s going to smell amazing! I hope you love this recipe, Julie!