Christmas Chicken

Easy Christmas chicken recipe full of comforting, homecooked aromas and flavors, juicy meat, and festive garnish.

Christmas roast chicken is an easy replacement for a turkey dish. A whole bird roasted at home feels like an accomplishment and sure does taste heavenly. Plus, not all chicken recipes are boring – this juicy roast chicken is simple yet show-stopping. You’ll see what I mean.

My favorite part is that chicken is a traditional and very universal meat for holidays – it goes well with whatever sides you whip up.

And of course, you can make this recipe all year round!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Succulent and simply delicious.
• The classic roast chicken recipe is made easy for busy cooks. Minimal prep and the oven does all the heavy lifting giving us time to make side dishes.
• Perfect centerpiece for your Christmas feast and probably the best Christmas chicken I’ve ever made.
• One-pan dish that feeds a whole family and makes delicious leftovers. You can bulk it up with some potatoes, onions, and carrots and it will be a complete festive meal.

Recipe Rundown

• Taste: Juicy chicken, with hints of rosemary, cloves, orange, cranberries, and garlic. Smells and tastes like holidays!
• Texture: Tender meat with crispy skin.
• Appearance: Festive, decorated with Christmas colors from fresh cranberries or pomegranate. Whole roasted Christmas chicken makes a traditional centerpiece.
• Difficulty: Beginner-friendly easy roast chicken recipe. Roasting chicken is not that complicated but making sure the whole chicken cooks evenly can be challenging.
• Would I make this again? Yes!

Ingredients Notes

• Whole chicken of 4-5 lbs will be perfect for a family of 6. Free-range, organic chickens are the best for roasting, they have softer meat and are healthier chickens in general. It should be room temperature before you start seasoning and roasting it, don’t roast frozen chicken without thawing it. Also, make sure to properly clean the cavity.
• Olive oil, salt, and pepper to coat the chicken with seasoning. You can also use clarified butter mixed with seasoning and herbs to coat the chicken.
• Fresh oranges, sliced (plus extra slices for garnish). You can also use orange zest but I love using fresh fruit as it also has tons of orange juice and it will help to make tender chicken meat. You can add a few lemon wedges too for a nice citrusy burst.
• Fresh rosemary, whole sprigs
• Smashed garlic cloves. You can use garlic powder but I would really recommend using fresh herbs and fresh garlic for the best flavor. For more flavors, you can add extra cloves to the pan: roasted garlic gives lots of aromas.
• Chicken broth to make sure our meat turns out super juicy and tender.
• Garnish: fresh pomegranate seeds or cranberries (fresh or frozen work).

Kitchen Equipment

• Roasting pan or just a large baking pan (enough to fit the chicken and the broth). To make clean-up easier, line it with foil.
• Optional, meat thermometer

How To Make Roast Christmas Chicken

1: Prep The Chicken

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Remove the packaging from the chicken. Place the chicken breast side up in the roasting pan and pat it dry with paper towels.
3. Coat the chicken with olive oil and then season with salt and pepper.
4. Stuff the inside of the chicken cavity with orange slices, rosemary sprigs, and garlic cloves.
5. Add the broth to the pan.

2: Roast The Chicken

1. Roast the chicken uncovered for 90 minutes, basting occasionally, until the skin is golden brown and the internal temperature reads 165 degrees F in the thickest part of the breast.
2. The pan juices will thicken during backing. You can start basting the chicken at around the 30-minute mark and do it every 20 minutes. Basting will give our simple roast chicken a really nice glaze and make sure every part of the whole chicken is infused with flavors and cooks evenly.
3. Alternatively, you can cover the pan tightly with foil and roast for 1 hour, remove the foil and cook for the remaining time uncovered for the skin to brown and crisp.
4. Let the chicken rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing and serving.

3: Garnish The Cooked Chicken

1. Garnish with pomegranate seeds or cranberries and extra orange slices to serve – optional.
2. Some chopped spring onions won’t hurt either. Cranberry sauce and herb butter will pair nicely with this holiday chicken well too.
3. Do not discard the basting liquids, they can make a nice thick gravy.

Storage

Let the chicken cool completely and carve it before storing it. Store leftover chicken in an airtight container for 3-4 days in the fridge.

To reheat wrap the chicken portion in foil or in a roasting pan with some chicken broth and warm up in the hot oven (350 F).

If making ahead you can freeze the roast chicken too for up to 3 months.

Substitutions & Variations

• Instead of the whole chicken, you can use chicken thighs or chicken breast. Watch out for doneness, especially with breasts, they tend to become rubbery if overcooked and that’s the last thing we want at Christmas dinner.
• Make a glaze instead of a simple garnish. You can coat cooked chicken with a brown sugar glaze packed with spices and tangy flavors of apple cider vinegar.
• Use any seasonings and herbs you want. I only do kosher salt and black pepper, but paprika, chili powder, warm spices, fresh sage, fresh thyme, ginger, garlic powder, mustard, and others will surely work.
• Adults-only Christmas chicken can benefit from a splash of white wine in the broth.
• Serving ideas. Roasted chicken goes well with mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes, carrots, Brussels sprouts, and your favorite green bean casserole or any other roasted veggies. A lighter idea would be green salad. For the hearty side – make some good old cheesy mac and cheese.

Expert Tips To Make Perfect Roast Chicken

• For more flavor and crispy skin, you can either rub unsalted butter under the chicken skin or use a dry rub on top of it. Make sure to use softened butter at room temperature and buy good quality butter. Rubs with brown sugar, honey, and maple syrup (real one, not pancake syrup) make delicious skin on chicken thighs and breasts for Christmas chicken recipes.
• A 5-pound chicken roasts for around 90 minutes. If you have smaller pieces or bigger birds, adjust the cooking time and you will also need to use a larger baking sheet. Every pound of chicken roughly requires 30 minutes of roasting. But you should check the meat temperature and rule based on that more than based on time only.
• Want more flavors and extra juicy roast chicken? Marinate the chicken overnight or for 24 hours (with some orange juice, apple cider vinegar, spices, and seasoning).

Popular Questions

What Is The Chicken Christmas Tradition?

Usually, turkey was considered a Christmas meat, but when it wasn’t available, chicken took its place as it is a similar lean bird mear. This tradition was picked up by fast food chains and for regular customers, it was also easier and cheaper to make chicken.

How Do You Cut Christmas Chicken?

You need to let the chicken cool just enough so you can comfortably touch it. You need a really sharp knife, and, ideally, a roasting fork. Start carving the roast chicken by removing the legs and the wings.

Then make a cut in the middle of the breast and body, and start cutting smaller pieces from one side, at a diagonal angle or you can carve the whole breast in one go.

How To Get The Glaze To Stick To The Chicken?

To make sure the glaze or rub sticks to the chicken skin you need to make sure the chicken is dry (pat dry it), and then coat it in oil or butter to let the rub or glaze ingredients stick properly. 

If you love this holiday main dish recipe, you’re going to love these other holiday main dishes too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!

More Great Roast Chicken Recipes

Roasted Half Chicken

Ghee Roasted Chicken

Dutch Oven Garlic Chicken

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