Have a smaller crowd to feed this Thanksgiving? This Thanksgiving Chicken is an easy alternative to turkey that's still special enough for the holiday table! Garlic herb butter is rubbed under and over the skin for a flavorful, juicy chicken with beautifully golden skin.
The chicken roasts over carrots, celery, and potatoes, making it an easy one-pan Thanksgiving dinner with the vegetables cooked right alongside it.
Quick Look: Thanksgiving Chicken
- ⏲️Ready in: 2 hours, 45 minutes
- 👪Serves: 4
- 🥘Key Ingredients: Whole chicken, carrots, potatoes, onion, celery, butter, seasonings
- 🍳Method: Oven
- ⭐Difficulty: Easy
- 👩🍳Texture/Flavor: Juicy herb-butter chicken with tender roasted vegetables
- ☀️Best For: Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Sunday dinner
- ✅Why You'll Love It: An easy one-pan holiday meal
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Serving chicken for Thanksgiving may be a little out of the norm, but pair it with my Slow Cooker Green Bean Casserole and you've got a classic holiday meal!!
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Why This Recipe Works
- Nothing against turkey (I love turkey!), but a chicken is so much more manageable. Plus, chicken cooks faster, and it's easier to keep juicy.
- The carrots, celery, and potatoes are like a built-in side dish, you know? As the chicken cooks, all those flavorful juices drip down onto the veggies. I think the potatoes are my husband's favorite!
- Thanksgiving chicken is perfect for a smaller group. Since it's a special day, you might want another special side dish, too. I highly recommend my Southern Cornbread Dressing which is always requested during the holidays.
- And don't forget the garlic herb butter! Spreading it under the skin helps keep the chicken juicy and flavorful, while rubbing it over the skin helps it turn crispy and golden. If you like to eat the skin, you're in for a treat!
Ingredients for Thanksgiving Chicken
Whole chicken - Aim for about a 5-lb bird. You won't need the neck or gizzards that come in a pouch inside the chicken -- save those for things like stock, or Cajun Dirty Rice (Rice Dressing).
Vegetables - carrots, celery, onion, and potatoes will be used in the pan under the chicken and for stuffing into the chicken.
Butter - use unsalted butter because you will be mixing it with kosher salt.
Poultry seasoning - check the label and use a salt-free version.
Other seasonings - smoked paprika for added flavor, minced garlic, and some black pepper.
Herbs - we keep it simple by using dried parsley and dried basil.
Ingredient Substitutions
Regular paprika - if you already have it on hand, use it. The flavor isn't as bold as smoked paprika, but it will work if you just don't want to get the smoked kind.
Salted butter - if all you have is salted butter, then reduce the kosher salt to 1 teaspoon.
How to Make Thanksgiving Chicken
Photo 1 - Chop the carrots, onion, and celery into small pieces. These will be stuffed inside the chicken cavity.
Photo 2 - Chop the remaining vegetables into chunks and spread them on a rimmed baking pan.
Photo 3 - Make the garlic herb butter.
Photo 4 - Place the chicken on top of the vegetables. Stuff the chopped carrots, celery, and onion inside the chicken cavity.
Photo 5 - Rub half of the garlic herb butter under the skin and the remaining butter all over the outside of the chicken.
Photo 6 - Bake as directed in the recipe card!
Anne's Recipe Tips
- Let the chicken sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking. This is how I make the recipe and how I've tested it each time.
- Use the center oven rack for even cooking.
- Use a meat thermometer to check for doneness. The chicken is done when it reaches 165°F.
Side Dishes for Thanksgiving Chicken
When I think about holiday meals, I think about a big feast with plenty of side dishes! Here are a few of my tried-and-true favorites to serve with Thanksgiving Chicken:
Cheesy Green Bean Casserole with its layers of green beans, creamy sauce, and cheese then topped with crushed Ritz crackers!
Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Topping is my abosulte favorite side dish for chicken or turkey. It's sweet and buttery with a touch of cinnamon.
Spinach Parmesan Casserole gets some love this time of year with it's fresh spinach, parmesan cheese, and heavy cream for a super smooth sauce. Topped with panko breadcrumbs for an extra crispy topping.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
Allow any leftover chicken and veggies to completely cool off. Place them in an airtight container, then place it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave at 50% power until warmed. If you zap the chicken at 100% power, it's possible it'll dry out and get tough (and we don't want that!).
Thanksgiving Chicken FAQs
No need to baste the chicken thanks to the herb-butter spread under and over the skin. The other thing about basting is it can cause the oven temperature to drop, which could slow down the cooking.
Not really, I haven't had to do this. But since all ovens are slightly different, if the chicken starts to brown too quickly, you can cover it with foil but you'll want to remove it for the last 20-30 minutes of cooking to let the skin crisp up.
Definitely! The same techniques apply, though you'll need to adjust the cooking time since a turkey takes longer to cook than a chicken. You'll also need to make a double batch of the garlic herb butter.
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Recipe
Thanksgiving Chicken
Ingredients
- 5 lb whole chicken (set on countertop for 30 minutes to allow to come to room temperature)
- 5 whole carrots, peeled approx. 2 for the Mirepoix, 3 for the pan
- 5 celery stalks approx. 2 for the Mirepoix, 3 for the pan
- ½ small onion for the Mirepoix only
- 4 small Yukon potatoes, peeled or unpeeled for the pan only
- 1+½ tablespoon olive oil
Garlic Herb Butter
- 8 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
- 1+½ teaspoon minced garlic from a jar not dehydrated
- 2 teaspoon course kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
- 1 teaspoon dried basil flakes
- 1 teaspoon salt-free poultry seasoning Walmart brand is salt-free
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Pat dry the chicken with paper towels. Remove the neck and giblets from the cavity of the chicken and discard. Gently separate the skin from the meat with your fingers, trying not to tear the skin. Set aside for now. Wash and dry your hands 🙂
- Make the Mirepoix: Chop about 1-½ carrots, 1-½ celery stalks, and the onion into ½-inch small pieces. You will need ½ cup of each vegetable. The pieces need to be small because they will get stuffed inside the chicken. Place the Mirepoix in a bowl and set aside for now.
- For the pan vegetables: Chop 3 carrots, 3 celery stalks, and 4 potatoes into chunks. Place the chopped vegetables on the bottom of a rimmed roasting pan or broiler pan (recipe tested using a 12" x 16" x 1" broiler pan) without a rack. Drizzle olive oil over the vegetables and toss until the vegetables are coated. Spread the vegetables evenly in the pan.
- Make the garlic herb butter: In a small bowl, add the butter, garlic, salt, parsley, basil, poultry seasoning, smoked paprika, and pepper. Stir until well blended.
- Place the chicken on top of the vegetables that are in the roasting pan.
- Stuff the Mirepoix inside the cavity of the chicken.
- Rub half of the garlic herb butter on the meat under the skin of the chicken. Try to get the butter mixture under the skin of the breasts, thighs, and legs as best you can.
- Rub the remaining butter mixture all over the outside of the chicken.
- Place the pan on the center oven rack. Bake for 15 minutes per pound of chicken or until a meat thermometer reads 165F. For me, the chicken was done at 75 minutes. Remove the chicken from the oven and let it rest about 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Pat the chicken dry before adding the garlic herb butter. The butter sticks to the skin much better when the chicken isn't wet.
- Loosen the skin gently with your fingers. Work slowly so you can spread the garlic herb butter underneath without tearing the skin.
- Cut the pan vegetables into fairly large chunks. They'll be roasting underneath the chicken for quite a while, so you don't want tiny pieces that get too soft.
- Check the chicken a little early. My 5-pound chicken was done in about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Since chickens and ovens vary, start checking the temperature before you think you'll need to.
- Let the chicken rest before carving. Give it about 10-15 minutes so you don't lose all those juices when you cut into it.
- Need a side? Try my Thanksgiving Fruit Salad!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy to my readers. I'm not a nutritionist and I don't guarantee the accuracy of this data. The data may differ according to the brands I used versus the brands you use. To calculate the data yourself using your brands, try using an online nutrition calculator or app.
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