Lemon Herb Butter Roast Chicken
Lemon Herb Butter Roast Chicken is insanely delicious and a foolproof roast chicken recipe. The lemon herb butter keeps the chicken so tender while crisping the skin perfectly. It's a healthy and easy to make recipe that is perfect for a weekend dinner or a special meal like Thanksgiving or Christmas.
Complete the meal with some mashed potatoes with cream cheese and some spicy honey roasted carrots.

Say hello to the one and only roast chicken recipe you'll ever need: Lemon Herb Butter Roast Chicken. I'm talking about all the crispy skin, the tender, juicy meat, and the delicious gravy you get to spoon over the potatoes I know you're serving on the side. This is everything.
The secret is the lemon herb butter. (You could totally use ghee if you're on The Whole30 Program.) It's mixed with lemon zest, tons of chopped herbs, and plenty of salt and pepper. You take that flavorful butter and spread it both under the skin and over the whole bird.
Yes, under the skin means getting up close and personal, but it's worth it. Chicken breasts have a tendency to dry out. ā We don't want that. By sandwiching the butter between the breasts and the skin, you're guaranteed to have juicy meat.
(BTW: if you're having a big group over for Thanksgiving, you could totally make this butter and use it on your turkey. I've done it. It's amazing.)

What's it like where you live? Is it as chilly as it is here in Vancouver? This time of year on the west coast is all about cold, miserable rains. Even with rain boots and an umbrella, it's hard to want to get outside. My inner homebody comes out full force around November each year.
I mean, who wants to be out in the freezing cold when you can be inside where it's toasty warm and smells like delicious Lemon Herb Butter Roast Chicken? (Not a single hand raises)
We've been on a bit of a roast chicken kick here lately. When the whole ‘let's eat roasted chicken twice week' thing started about a month ago, it had been ages since I made one. I kind of forgot how easy they are to make. I mean really, all you have to do is rub some herb butter on a chicken and put it in the oven. I like to set the chicken on top of some onions and carrots, but you can even skip that part.
Pop some potatoes in the oven when the chicken is halfway done cooking and toss some salad greens in a simple lemon dressing and dinner is ready. The hands-on cooking time is only about 10 mins.


See that lemon herb butter? That's where the magic lays. You're going to take some softened butter and mix it with some thyme, oregano, rosemary, garlic, and lemon zest. An (of course) plenty of salt and pepper, too. It gives the roasted chicken so much flavor.
We've talked about how that butter helps to crisp the skin and keep the meat juicy, but it also plays another key role. That lemony herb butter melts into the “gravy” and makes it insanely delicious. And those quotes are on gravy because what I really mean is the juice that accumulates at the bottom of the pan. You could make a gravy out of it, but I like to spoon it over everything on my plate as is. Lemon Herb Butter Roast Chicken isn't meant to be fussy or complicated.
This is simple and delicious, feel-good cooking.

Favorite Roast Chicken Recipes
- Crockpot Roast Chicken
- Roasted Parmesan Crusted Chicken
- Orange Cranberry Roast Chicken with Rosemary Balsamic Butter ā festive!

Lemon Herb Butter Roast Chicken
If you love this recipe as much as we do, let us know with a 5-star rating!
Ingredients
- 1 – 3 lb whole chicken
- 1 lemon
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 2 large shallots, quartered
- 1 apple, cored and cut into 8 pieces
- A few stems of thyme, oregano, and rosemary
Lemon Herb Butter
- ¼ cup softened butter
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, chopped
- 2 teaspoons fresh oregano leaves, chopped
- 1 teaspoon rosemary, chopped
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, very finely minced
- Zest from 1 lemon
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
- Mix all the lemon herb butter ingredients together in a small bowl. Use the zest from the lemon you'll use with the chicken. (You only need one lemon)¼ cup softened butter, 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, 2 teaspoons fresh oregano leaves, 1 teaspoon rosemary, 1 teaspoon sea salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, 2 cloves garlic, Zest from 1 lemon
- Cut the lemon in half and remove as many seeds as possible. Place the carrots, shallots, apple, and herbs in the bottom of a baking pan.1 lemon, 2 carrots, 2 large shallots, 1 apple, A few stems of thyme, oregano, and rosemary
- Dry the chicken with paper towels then spread half the butter under the skin on the breasts. Using your hands, make small pockets between the flesh and the skin near the cavity side of the chicken. Stuff some butter into the pockets then use your hands to push it up over the whole breasts. Try to stuff some more butter under the skin around the legs. Be careful not to break the skin. Use half the butter under the skin and rub the remaining butter over the skin.1 – 3 lb whole chicken
- Place the butter rubbed chicken on top of the veggies in the pan. Squeeze the lemon juice over the top then nestle the lemon halves besideĀ the chicken. Roast the chicken for 45 minutes then turn the oven down to 350 degrees and roast for another 45 minutes.
- Remove the chicken from the oven and place it on a serving platter. Spoon the veggies out of the pan and place them beside the chicken. Discard the lemon and herbs. Pour the remaining juices into a bowl and serve beside the chicken.
Made this for the first time, served with rice. It was so good I went back for seconds and packed it for my boyfriendās lunch the next day. I asked him if he liked it and he said āI licked it off the bonesā. š Super simple and super delicious!
If I am using a Dutch oven to roast the chicken do I need to put the lid on for part of the cooking time?
I always leave the lid off so that the skin gets crispy!
Dear Kristen,
can I halve the chicken since there’s only two of us eating?
No unfortunately it’s not possible to follow this recipe with only half the chicken. But the chicken is delicious as leftovers. Try it on sandwiches or cold over a salad. And the bones from the chicken make great soup stock so you could use some of the leftover meat in a soup, too!
We loved this recipe! The chicken was tender and perfectly flavored with the lemon and herbs. Thank you!
That is so wonderful to hear! Thanks, Joanne
Do you have the nutritional breakdown on this recipe? Sounds fab!!
We are working on updating all of our older posts with the nutritional info. I’ll flag this one to get done sooner!
I forgot to rate the recipe and it is a 5 star recipe! ***** I made this for Christmas dinner of 2019 not 2020! I followed the recipe exactly and used butter. Super tender and delicious! I served the lemon chicken with roasted small colorful little potatoes, and green beans.
Thank you so much for coming back to let us know, Lawdidaw! I’m really happy to hear that it was a hit at your Christmas dinner!
I made this for Christmas dinner 2020, and it was delicious and perfect. When I make it again, it will add more veggies and apples on the bottom of the pan.
This chicken was great! I mixed all of the spices, olive oil and lemmon juice and rubbed it under the skin of the chicken and then over the top of the skin and poured the remainder in the cavity. I put about 3/4 cup water in the bottom of the pan and baked the chicken upsidedown with the breasts in the juices. I covered the whole thing in foil and in 2 hours the flavorful meat was falling off the bones. My company raved and everyone ate way too much. Served with baked apples, green beans and fresh bread. Delicious!
I’m so happy to hear you liked it! Horray!!
Such a simple and beautiful recipe. The chicken turned out very tender. Will be making it again.
So happy to hear you liked it!!
Sounds awesome. However, Can you confirm the cooking time please. Seems very long for a 3 lb chicken. What time if using convection. Thanks.
That’s right! 1 1/2 hours. The butter keeps the chicken super tender. š