This roasted spatchcock chicken recipe is quicker than traditional roast chicken, and it packs in so much flavor thanks to our roasted lemon vinaigrette.
Our family loves roast chicken, so I’m always looking for quicker, easier ways to make it. In this recipe, we spatchcock (or butterfly) a whole chicken by removing the backbone so it can be flattened for roasting. This helps the chicken cook faster and gives you more golden-brown, crispy skin.
To make this a true one-pan meal, we roast vegetables on the same baking sheet around the butterflied chicken. We also add a few lemon halves, which soften and caramelize in the oven. Just before serving, we use the roasted lemons to make a simple lemon vinaigrette, which we drizzle over the chicken. It’s incredible!
Key Ingredients
- Chicken: This recipe works best with a chicken around 5 pounds. If yours is smaller or larger, adjust the roasting time (smaller cooks faster, larger takes a little longer).
- Olive Oil: You’ll rub the chicken all over with olive oil and toss the vegetables with a bit more, so everything browns nicely in the oven.
- Salt, Pepper, and Rosemary: Salt and pepper season the chicken and vegetables, while rosemary adds a lovely, herby flavor that pairs perfectly with the roasted lemon. Thyme or sage are great substitutes.
- Vegetables: I keep it simple with onion, carrot, and potatoes, but feel free to add other hearty vegetables to the pan.
- Lemons: These roast alongside the chicken, softening and caramelizing. After roasting, their juice becomes the base for a delicious lemon vinaigrette to drizzle over the chicken.
- Dijon Mustard: Just a teaspoon helps emulsify the vinaigrette and rounds out the roasted lemon flavor.
Find the full recipe with measurements below.
How to Spatchcock Chicken
Spatchcocking, or butterflying, a chicken means removing the backbone so the chicken can lie flat on a baking sheet or rack while it roasts. This helps the chicken cook more evenly, and since all the skin faces upward, it browns and crisps beautifully.
Tip 1: Use sharp kitchen shears. With sharp kitchen shears, cut along one side of the backbone, then the other, to remove it. Flip the chicken so it’s skin-side up on a cutting board, then press down firmly on the breastbone until it cracks and the chicken flattens.
Tip 2: Season all over. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels, then season it thoroughly on both sides. For this recipe, we use olive oil, salt, pepper, and fresh rosemary.
Tip 3: Place skin-side up on a baking sheet. Transfer the seasoned chicken to a rimmed baking sheet, skin-side up. For a true one-pan meal, scatter vegetables (like onion, potatoes, and carrots) around the chicken. As the chicken roasts, it releases fat that helps season the vegetables.
Tip 4: Add lemons. Instead of stuffing the cavity with lemons, like we do for classic roast chicken, we add lemon halves directly to the baking sheet. As they roast, they soften and caramelize. After roasting, use those lemons to make a simple roasted lemon vinaigrette for drizzling over the chicken.
More Chicken Recipes
- The Best Chicken Noodle Soup
- Chicken Caprese Salad
- Perfect Juicy Poached Chicken
- Juicy Lemon Chicken Thighs
Lemon Roasted Spatchcock Chicken
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
Spatchcocking, or butterflying the chicken, helps it cook more quickly and more evenly, and since all the skin faces up, it browns beautifully. Add your favorite hearty veggies to the baking sheet along with some lemon halves, which you can turn into a lemon vinaigrette for serving.
You Will Need
1 whole chicken, 5 to 6 pounds
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary or 2 teaspoons dried rosemary
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 small onions, peeled and quartered
4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
2 medium potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks
2 lemons, halved
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Directions
1Prep: Heat the oven to 400°F (204°C). Line a large rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper.
2Spatchcock the chicken: Place the chicken with the backbone facing up and the drumsticks pointing toward you. Using poultry shears or sharp kitchen scissors, cut down one side of the backbone, then the other, to remove it. Flip the chicken so it is skin-side up, then press firmly on the breastbone until it cracks and the chicken flattens.
3Season the chicken: Rub both sides of the chicken with a little olive oil, then season generously with salt, pepper, and about 1 tablespoon of the rosemary. Transfer the chicken to the prepared baking sheet, breast-side up, and tuck the wing tips underneath.
4Prepare the vegetables: Toss the onions, carrots, and potatoes with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, the remaining rosemary, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Scatter the vegetables around the chicken. Add the lemon halves to the baking sheet.
5Roast: Roast the chicken until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reaches 165°F, about 1 hour. After 30 minutes, rotate the baking sheet and toss the vegetables for even cooking.
6Rest the chicken: Transfer the chicken to a cutting board, tent loosely with foil, and let rest for about 10 minutes. Keep veggies warm covered with foil.
7Make the vinaigrette: Use tongs to squeeze the roasted lemons into a small bowl. Add any juices from the baking sheet. Whisk in the mustard. Taste, then add a little olive oil (about 1 tablespoon), salt, and pepper as needed.
8Serve: Slice the chicken or cut it into quarters. Serve with the roasted vegetables and spoon the roasted lemon vinaigrette over the top.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- The nutrition facts provided are estimates.
Loved this recipe, it was wonderful hot and cold. . The vinaigrette put the finishing touch to a great meal
Delish. Loving your recipes – they all turn out perfect and your instructions are so helpful and easy to follow. Thanks – more, please!
Five stars
We don’t do turkey anymore as you can’t find a 8-10 bird anywhere.
We get together and figure out what we’d like as the entree, then make the usual Thanksgiving sides, salads and desserts.
This year it will be your chicken….looks so good I;m ready for it now.
Happy T-day!
Hope you love it 🙂 Enjoy your holiday!
This was excellent! Normally I only butterfly a chicken for chicken-under-a-brick. The rosemary crusting gave a much better flavor than just stuffing the chicken with rosemary. I can’t wait to try this again with cornish hens, or maybe even turkey if I can find a really small one.
Both sounds great! Cornish hens would be wonderful (and quick).
Nice and simple, but delicious. The roasted lemon vinaigrette is a nice twist. Thank you!
So glad you liked it — the roasted vinaigrette is our favorite part to this. (Which is an achievement since Adam loves his gravy).
I will be trying your recipe for the rosemary lemon chicken this weekend. Thank you, and good luck with your new business : ) I have used and belong to allrecipes.com and really use them a lot for ideas. Hope to see you again tho.
Chloe
Ooooooo I’m digging theeeeez!