The Best (and Easiest) Lemon Butter Roasted Chicken Recipe (5 Ingredients) High Protein Recipes Chicken Recipes Budget Recipes Dinner Fruit Low Sugar Recipes Gluten-free Low Sodium Recipes

Whole roasted chicken looks so impressive for dinner, but is one of the easiest dishes to make. This lemon butter roasted budget-friendly chicken recipe has only five ingredients, but is full of flavor, moist and juicy. This will be a go-to recipe once you taste the first bite.

To make this whole baked chicken you need only five ingredients. Here is your short high-protein shopping list: olive oil, butter, a lemon to juice and zest, fresh garlic and a whole chicken. The olive oil, butter, lemon juice, lemon zest and garlic and mixed together to form a compound butter. The flavored butter is rubbed under the skin and all over the outside of the chicken. Bake for about one hour and 15 minutes, and it's ready to take centerstage on your dinner table. Check out the health benefits of protein.

Serve this juicy lemon chicken for dinner with your favorite side dishes. We like to serve a fresh vegetable (think broccoli, green beans, corn, carrots, brussels sprouts, asparagus) and a garden salad. The chicken is also delicious with a grain like quinoa, farro or brown rice. Shred any leftover chicken for chicken salad.

Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour and 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour and 25 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 whole chicken (about 3 pounds)

Here's how to make it: 

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Stir together the olive oil, butter, garlic, lemon zest and lemon juice in a small bowl. Season with salt and black pepper. (For some color, sprinkle the outside of the chicken with parsley flakes. For some heat, use crushed red pepper flakes.)
3. Put the chicken into a baking pan. Carefully lift the skin up from the chicken breasts and rub about 1 tablespoon of the butter on the skin. Use the remaining butter to coat the outside of the chicken. Put the spent lemon inside the chicken. (You could stuff an onion and fresh herbs into the chicken cavity before baking for even more flavor.)
4. Put the chicken into the oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 375 degrees F. Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the chicken is 165 degrees F. Store any leftover chicken in an airtight container in the fridge.

Recipe cooking times, nutritional information and servings are approximate and provided for your convenience. However, 30Seconds is not responsible for the outcome of any recipe, nor may you have the same results because of variations in ingredients, temperatures, altitude, errors, omissions or cooking/baking abilities. Any nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and it is up to the individual to ascertain accuracy. To ensure image quality, we may occasionally use stock photography.

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