Roasted Garlic Lemon Herb Butter Spatchcocked Chicken

A gorgeous roasted garlic lemon herb butter spatchcocked chicken is a quintessential meal during the holidays. Not only does the roasted chicken make the entire house smell like the holidays but it’s a classic dish that has tons of flavor and doesn’t take much time to perfect. 

This recipe is a part of a holiday recipe roundup collaboration hosted by me, Natasha of @asiliglamcooks. For this week we are focusing on holiday essential recipes. I’m kicking it off with myroasted garlic lemon butter chicken.

The holidays are right around the corner and I wanted to share this must-try roasted garlic lemon herb butter chicken recipe with you in hopes that it will make you the rockstar of the kitchen when your guests arrive. This chicken is not just any chicken, it’s a perfectly roasted, spatchcocked chicken that is lathered in a gorgeous roasted garlic compound butter with fresh herbs. It taste incredible and it looks so gorgeous! It’s sure to be the star of your dinner table this holiday season. We all know how much love the turkey and the ham gets during the holidays but let’s not forget our good and humble friend, chicken! Dress your chicken up this holiday season with my roasted chicken recipe and impress even your hardest critic at the table. 

Here’s what you need for my roasted garlic lemon herb butter spatchcocked chicken:

For chicken

Whole chicken, butterflied or spatchcocked 

Kosher salt

Black pepper

Paprika

For garlic lemon butter

Unsalted butter, softened 

Lemon juice

Rosemary 

Thyme

Parsley

Black pepper

For roasting chicken 

White onion

yellow bell pepper

Red bell pepper

Olive oil 

For roasted garlic

Bulb of garlic

Olive oil, salt, pepper and paprika 

Tools you need: 

Large Sheet pan

Common questions:

1. Can I prepare this chicken without spatchcocking?

Yes, you can but you’ll need to increase the cooking time. Spatchcocking the chicken allows the chicken to cook evenly and reduces the cooking time. 

2. Can I make this in the air fryer?

Yes you can but you’ll need an air fryer that allows for the chicken to fit and sit flat. Something that looks more like a toaster oven that a traditional basket air fryer. 

3. Can I slow cook this chicken?

If you slow cook this chicken no need to spatchcock it and you can crisp the skin after it cooks. I    recommend cooking it for 4 hours on high and 8 hours on low. Put a trivet in the slow cooker so the chicken isn’t swimming in the juices it will produce. 

Roasted Garlic Lemon Herb Butter Spatchcocked Chicken

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A gorgeous roasted garlic lemon herb butter spatchcocked chicken is a quintessential meal during the holidays. Not only does the roasted chicken make the entire house smell like the holidays but it’s a classic dish that has tons of flavor and doesn’t take much time to perfect. 

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Additional Time 10 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes

Ingredients

For chicken

• 1 3lb Spatchcocked chicken
• 3 tsp of kosher salt, or to taste
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp of paprika

For garlic lemon butter

• ½ stick of unsalted butter, softened
• 1 tbsp of freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tbsp of freshly chopped rosemary
• 1 tbsp of freshly chopped thyme
• 1 tbsp of freshly chopped parsley
• 1 tsp of salt
• ¼ tsp of black pepper

For roasting chicken

• 1 large white onion, roughly chopped
• 1 large yellow bell pepper, sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 tbsp of olive oil

For roasted garlic

• 1 head of garlic, unpeeled and head of garlic cut off
• Season to taste with olive oil, salt, pepper and paprika

Instructions

For roasted garlic

1. Prepare roasted garlic prior to starting the cooking process as it takes about 30 minutes to roast in the oven
2. Cut the head off the top of the garlic and place on a piece of foil big enough to cover the head of garlic 
3. Drizzle with olive oil and season to taste with salt, pepper and paprika
4. Close the foil around the garlic and roast on 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until garlic is softened enough to easily squeeze out of the papery skin 

For garlic butter

1. In a small bowl add softened butter and squeeze the bulb of garlic until all the garlic is released from the cloves
2. Season the butter to taste with salt and pepper and add fresh rosemary, thyme and parsley 
3. Mix well with a fork for about 30 seconds until well combined 

For chicken

1. First, wash chicken and pat dry then season to taste with kosher salt and pepper, allow the chicken sit room temperature for 15 minutes to absorb some of the salt 
2. Once chicken has absorbed some of that salt, lather it in the garlic butter front and back and under the skin
3. Next, place onion and bell pepper on a sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. 
4. Lastly, place the buttered chicken on top of the onions and peppers and lightly coat the chicken with paprika in a thin even layer
5. Bake chicken on the top rack at 400 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until internal temperature registers 165 degrees and top is golden brown and caramelized. Allow the chicken to rest for 10 minutes before serving

Notes

You can use any assortment of peppers here or none at all 

For your garlic, compound butter, you can skip the roasted garlic and use freshly minced garlic if you’re short on time, you can also use dried herbs instead of fresh herbs if that’s all you have on hand.