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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! 🙂
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Juicy and easy. Used more carrots, added onions, skipped sprouts. Regular yellow potato good too.
This was excellent! The flavor was exceptional and the chicken was moist and tender.
This is recipe is phenomenal every time I make it. Most recently, I made it with frozen veggies (adding them later in the process in stages by vegetable) and it was even better!
This is my go-to roasted chicken recipe! I have made it 2 times and it has never failed to be juicy and delicious! And the veggies are awesome! So we are having it again tonight! Thanks! Natasha!!!!
I’m so glad you’re loving it, Becky!
I love oven roasted chicken and have been making it spatchcocked exclusively for the last two years. The only modifications I make are:
1) Before spatchcocking, I often brine my chicken overnight. I will say, when I brine my bird, it winds up moister but also more like the store-bought rotisserie chickens (which I loathe and I suspect are massively over salted). So I’m not a brine bigot – but definitely worth trying.
2) I find the Brussel sprouts burn if I halve them so I cook them whole with just the stem removed.
3) Save the bones and all your veggie scraps! My favorite thing about this dish is it’s two dishes in one. I always make chicken noodle soup after I make this dish and I use the bones and veggie scraps for the broth (which I always make in my Instapot).
4) For a real treat, carefully remove the skin where you can and sear them in a frying pan. Once crispy, they’re delicious.
Thanks for sharing that with us! That’s some helpful tips!
Without exaggerating, this is the best chicken I have ever made. Absolutely delicious! The only changes I made was adding parsnips and cooking the carrots and parsnips separately, because they couldn’t fit on the other baking sheet. Perfection! Thank you!
Excellent recipe. Only switch was i used russet potatoes because that was all i had. Turned out perfect. Took a bit longer to cook as it was a larger bird. Will definitely make again.
This is my “go to” recipe for roasted chicken! A lil Montreal steak seasoning in the butter with lemon pepper, does the trick for me! Thanks for the recipe!!
That sounds good! Thanks for sharing and for your review, Sara!
This recipe came out perfectly! 45 minutes at 425 was the perfect time for a 4 lb chicken that was spatchcocked. I added a little more spices on the top (season salt, garlic powder and onion powder.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Regina! I’m so glad it was perfect!
I did the veggies in a separate pan, mostly because I doubled the veggies and didn’t have room with the chicken. The chicken was delicious. I added Italian dressing to the veggies. They were also delicious. The carrots stayed crunchy, so next time l cook them a bit ahead of time. Easy meal. Everyone loved it!
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Jeanne! It’s especially great when everyone loves an easy meal!
It’s the only way we roast our chickens now, ❤️ love it and our favourite vegs is Brussels sprouts carmelized
I have made this several times using different veggies & it is always good. If I’m in a rush I use some flavored olive oil & herbs de provence instead of the herb butter and still delicious. It’s much quicker to cook this way and keeps the chicken at an even temp. I tend to cook in convection mode @ 400. Thx!
Hello does this splatter a lot in the oven while cooking due to the butter and olive oil?
Hi Christine. I haven’t noticed that in my oven.
Delicious, Natasha! I always spatchcock my chickens, so your recipe and technique sounded great. I had to omit the garlic (allergy ☹️), but added some fresh thyme into the butter. I’m usually too lazy to put a rub under the skin, but your recipe was well worth it. It’s my new favorite chicken dinner. Thank you for another great recipe!
Followed recipe and it was excellent. I did broil it for a few more minutes to get a nice crispy brown, but flavor was truly so good.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Nicole!
Breast was done but thighs were not done.
Can anyone tell me why?
HI Cheryl, It may be that your chicken wasn’t fully flattened – I suggest baking until both the thigh and chicken breast meat have cooked to 165˚F. If you find your chicken breast is done and don’t want it to get too brown or dry, you can tent the chicken breast with foil as the thighs catch up to the correct temperature.
Made it as advertised but 425F was way too high. 15 minutes at that temp and my bird was black in places. I dropped the temp to 350F and tented the bird. I can’t wait to check my oven temperature. The skin sure seems to darken really fast.
Hi Nitrous. Are you using a convection oven or convection/air setting? A convection oven would require adjusting the time and temperature. For a conventional oven on regular bake mode, we’ve had good success with this time and temperature.
Hello Natasha,
I’m feeding a crowd, can I make two chickens instead of one? Thank you
Hi Maia, If you’re looking to double (or 2x) this recipe, that should work well! Simply make 2x the ingredients. Bake time will likely vary (increase) if you find a way to fit all chickens into the oven simultaneously.
Can I do this with chicken thighs or breasts instead of a whole chicken? I have disability and cannot but the chicken as you suggested. I would love to try this recipe so please let me know
Hi Luan! Without making adjustments to time/temperature, the chicken would be dry. I would reference my One pan chicken and vegetable recipe and you can adjust it as needed. The meat will register 165 with a food thermometer (Amazon affiliate link) when it’s done. If the veggies need a little while longer to bake, then you can leave them in a little longer but remove the meat. I hope that helps.
That will probably work too but the timing might change so just look out for it.
I was a little intimidated to try this, but your instructions made it SO clear and easy. We had been frustrated with roasting whole chickens which ended up undercooked or dry despite measuring the temp with a thermometer, so this was a huge success–and now a keeper! Our chicken was almost double the size of the one in the recipe, but it didn’t take much more than an hour to cook to perfection in the convection roast mode at 425F. We chose to roast the veggies separately as we feared they would be swimming in too much chicken fat in the end, and that was a good decision. I wonder if with a smaller chicken that wouldn’t be a problem. Care to comment? Thank you!
I’m so happy you loved it Luiz. Using a different size chicken may reduce the amount of fat & juices released.
So easy & delicious! Did not have kitchen shears so i used a knife. Will be adding it to my meal plan!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe!