One Pot Meal: French Roast Chicken (Poulet Rôti)
Why You Should Give This Recipe a Try
My husband’s French family is all about the traditional big Sunday dinner served at midday and this One Pot Meal: French Roast Chicken (Poulet Rôti) regularly appears on the menu. But lest you think French cooking is fussy or difficult, rest assured that this super simple one pot meal of juicy chicken on a bed of root vegetables is a “set it and forget it” type dish with very few steps and no complex techniques. Stuff a whole chicken with lemon wedges, herbs, and onions, put it in a Dutch oven, and let it slow roast on a bed of root vegetables. Best of all, roasting chicken in a Dutch oven not only means tender chicken with crispy golden skin but no splatters to mess up your oven – a pet peeve of mine. One Pot Meal: French Roast Chicken (Poulet Rôti) is so easy and delicious that I feel sure that once you try it, this will be the simple French roast chicken recipe you will come back to again and again.
Some of the best features of this recipe:
Perfect Chicken – I suppose that is subjective, but what could be better than tender, juicy chicken with crispy skin?
One Pot Meal – Chicken and root vegetables cook together in a Dutch oven for a complete meal.
Easy Clean Up – I actually made this chicken in a Dutch oven because I hate having a mess in my oven. The very short cooking time involved in the final few minutes of roasting doesn’t seem to be enough to cause splatters.
French Cooking Made Simple – This recipe allows you to make an authentic French recipe (my husband assures me the taste is exactly like the roast chicken he grew up with) without doing a ton of work.
As with all of my recipes One Pot Meal: French Roast Chicken (Poulet Rôti) is an easy recipe with no complicated cooking techniques, no fancy equipment, and with simple ingredients you can find in any grocery store.
Recipe Ingredients
5-6 lb whole chicken (roaster chicken)
4 tsp coarse salt
1 lemon
3 medium yellow onions
3 fresh rosemary sprigs
3 fresh sage sprigs
5 fresh thyme sprigs
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (divided)
1 1/2 lbs mini golden potatoes (or 4 medium Yukon gold potatoes)
2-3 medium carrots
1 tsp herbes de Provence
Salt and black pepper
Helpful Tools
- Dutch oven or roasting pan with a cover
- Measuring spoons
- Sharp knife
- Cutting board
- Vegetable peeler
- Paper towels
- Instant-read thermometer or meat thermometer
Ingredient Notes
Chicken: Chickens come in different varieties – broilers, fryers, roasters. A roaster works best in this recipe as it has a bit more fat, perfect for holding in moisture and making a crispy skin.
Salt: I use coarse sea salt.
Fresh herbs: Fresh herbs are ideal. I buy mine in a packet called poultry blend and it comes with everything I need. If you have to use dried herbs, be aware that they are stronger than fresh herbs. The ratio is typically 3:1, fresh to dried.
Potatoes: I am a big fan of mini golden potatoes because they tend to cook uniformly and the skin is tender enough to eat. If you cannot find the mini golden potatoes, use about 4 medium Yukon gold potatoes. You can peel them or leave the skin on.
Herbes de Provence: I use Herbes de Provence in lots of recipes, so I have a big bottle on hand. If you don’t have any available, you can mix 1 tsp of thyme with 1/2 tsp of rosemary and sprinkle it over the veggies.
Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Prepare the chicken by removing any giblet packets from inside.
3. Use paper towels to pat the chicken dry inside and out. Be thorough about drying the chicken as it will help produce a crispier skin.
4. Sprinkle 2 tsp of coarse salt on each side of the chicken. Rub the salt into the skin before flipping it over (I start on the breast side) and adding salt to the other side.
5. Peel the skin off one onion and quarter it. You can half it if it is on the smaller side.
6. Quarter a lemon.
7. Stuff the inside of the chicken with the lemon wedges, quartered onion, and sprigs of sage, rosemary, and thyme. Set aside.
8. Prepare the vegetables. Wash and peel the carrots. Cut off the top and a small piece at the bottom and discard. Cut the carrots into approximately 2-inch pieces, then cut the pieces in half vertically down the middle. If the carrots are on the skinnier side, leave them in the 2-inch chunks.
9. Wash the potatoes and cut any that are particularly large in half. The goal is to have the potatoes roughly the same size so that they cook evenly.
10. Remove the skin from the remaining 2 onions and quarter them.
11. Place the prepared carrots, potatoes, and onions in the bottom of the Dutch oven.
12. Drizzle olive oil (about 2 tbsp) over the vegetables.
13. Sprinkle the vegetables with 1 tsp Herbes de Provence. Lightly salt and pepper. Toss everything with your hands to combine.
14. Place the prepared chicken on top of the vegetables. Drizzle with 6-7 tbsp of olive oil and rub the oil over the surface of the chicken. Be sure to get the oil into the crevices like the inside of the thighs and wings.
15. Cover the pot and cook at 425 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes for 5 lbs to 1 hour and 30 minutes for 6 lbs.
16. Remove the cover and finish roasting for approximately 20 minutes. If you notice the pan is dry (it usually makes its own pan juices), you can add a touch of low sodium chicken broth so the vegetables won’t burn.
17. The chicken is done when an instant-read thermometer placed into the thickest part of the chicken thigh and chicken breast registers 165 degrees F.
Storage
I allowed the pot to cool and placed the entire thing in the fridge. If you don’t have the room, transfer leftovers to an airtight container and store in the fridge for 2-3 days.
To reheat the leftovers, I suggest adding a bit of chicken broth to the bottom of the pot and placing the Dutch oven, with the cover, in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes.
Tips & Tricks
If you don’t have a Dutch oven, you can use a roasting pan with a lid instead.
When preparing your chicken, don’t wash it! Washing it won’t get rid of bacteria and may actually spread it to other surfaces. The cooking will take care of the bacteria. DO, however, be sure to wash your hands each time you touch raw chicken.
If you wish to, you can tie the chicken legs together with a bit of kitchen twine. It is not necessary, however.
When checking the temperature of the chicken, be sure to insert the thermometer in a few different spots (the chicken thighs and chicken breast) without touching the bone or any part of the pan.
Chicken is by far the protein we eat most in our house. Try some of these other easy and delicious chicken dinners for your family!
Easy One Skillet Creamy Tuscan Chicken Dinner
Easy One Pot Creamy Chicken Marsala
Sheet Pan BBQ Chicken Thighs with Sweet Potatoes
One Pot Mediterranean Chicken with Orzo (Easy Dinner)
Best Greek Yogurt and Lemon Marinated Chicken Recipe
Baked Apricot Chicken Thighs (Easy Dinner)
One Pot Meal: French Roast Chicken (Poulet Rôti)
Ingredients
- 5-6 lb whole chicken roaster chicken
- 4 tsp coarse salt
- 1 lemon
- 3 medium yellow onions
- 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 3 sprigs fresh sage
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil divided
- 1 1/2 lbs mini gold/yellow potatoes
- 2-3 medium carrots
- 1 tsp herbes de Provence
- Salt & black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Prepare the chicken by removing any giblet packets from inside.
- Use paper towels to pat the chicken dry inside and out. Be thorough about drying the chicken as it will help produce a crispier skin.
- Sprinkle 2 tsp of coarse salt on each side of the chicken. Rub the salt into the skin before flipping it over (I start on the breast side) and adding salt to the other side.
- Peel the skin off one onion and quarter it. You can half it if it is on the smaller side.
- Quarter a lemon.
- Stuff the inside of the chicken with the lemon wedges, quartered onion, and sprigs of sage, rosemary, and thyme. Set aside.
- Prepare the vegetables. Wash and peel the carrots. Cut off the top and a small piece at the bottom and discard. Cut the carrots into approximately 2-inch pieces, then cut the pieces in half vertically down the middle. If the carrots are on the skinnier side, leave them in the 2-inch chunks.
- Wash the potatoes and cut any that are particularly large in half. The goal is to have the potatoes roughly the same size so that they cook evenly.
- Remove the skin from the remaining 2 onions and quarter them.
- Place the prepared carrots, potatoes, and onions in the bottom of the Dutch oven.
- Drizzle olive oil (about 2 tbsp) over the vegetables.
- Sprinkle the vegetables with 1 tsp Herbes de Provence. Lightly salt and pepper. Toss everything with your hands to combine.
- Place the prepared chicken on top of the vegetables. Drizzle with 6-7 tbsp of olive oil and rub the oil over the surface of the chicken. Be sure to get the oil into the crevices like the inside of the thighs and wings.
- Cover the pot and cook at 425 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes for 5 lbs to 1 hour and 30 minutes for 6 lbs.
- Remove the cover and finish roasting for approximately 20 minutes. If you notice the pan is dry (it usually makes its own pan juices), you can add a touch of low sodium chicken broth so the vegetables won't burn.
- The chicken is done when an instant-read thermometer placed into the thickest part of the chicken thigh and chicken breast registers 165 degrees F.
