Our delicious Dutch Oven Whole Chicken is a cozy & comforting meal that your whole family will love! Made with a whole roasted juicy chicken, fresh veggies, and a homemade gravy that is perfect any night of the week!
The Best Dutch Oven Whole Chicken
For when you are craving the best comfort foods in those chilly winter months! This easy dinner recipe is a great Sunday Supper (great meal prep for the week) or a cozy weeknight meal. Just toss everything in a cast iron dutch oven and forget about it for a while to bake in the oven. A whole roast chicken recipe that is so easy to make and always a crowd-pleaser! You can even dress up this dutch oven roast chicken for a special occasion, like Christmas dinner or a family gathering.
Looking for another delicious chicken dinner recipe? Try our Smoked Beer Can Chicken!
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Easy: You really just throw everything in a Dutch Oven and let it cook!
- Comfort Food: There is just something about a homemade roasted chicken – the smell, the taste – it just warms the soul!
- Gravy: Pretty much everything is better with a little gravy on it, right?
What You Will Need
- whole chicken – just pick-up a whole roasting chicken from your local grocery store.
- ghee – option to sub with regular butter or a plant-based butter to make it dairy-free.
- salt and pepper – simple seasonings that are always a must when cooking any type of meat.
- sweet yellow onion – adds so much great flavor to the pot!
- celery, carrots, & potatoes – a variety of classic fresh vegetables that are the perfect way to turn this roast chicken into a full dinner.
- tapioca starch – the thickening agent for the gravy included in the recipe card.
- drippings – after the chicken is fully cooked there should be some drippings left in bottom of the pot that will bring so much flavor to the gravy.
- chicken stock – a great addition to supplement the drippings when making this chicken gravy.
- optional – fresh herbs make a great addition to this easy recipe, try some fresh rosemary, fresh thyme, or fresh parsley!
How To Make A Dutch Oven Whole Chicken
The first steps to making this whole chicken recipe are to prep the chicken. Do this by removing the entire chicken from the packaging and place it in an oven-safe dutch oven, breast side up. Be sure to remove any bags from the cavity of the chicken and feel free to tie the legs with kitchen twine. Pat the chicken dry with paper towel, rub it down the chicken skin with softened butter or ghee, and season with salt and pepper.
Now add the onions and vegetables to the pot around the chicken. Pro tip: for an added bonus, cut the bottom off a head of garlic and add that to the pot. The smell is amazing and roasted garlic cloves will take the flavors to the next level!
Place the entire pot on the middle rack of the preheated oven and let it all bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes of cooking time. Check the thickest part of the thigh with a instant-read thermometer to make sure the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165 degrees F and the outside of the chicken is a nice, golden brown color.
Remove the chicken and cooked vegetables from the pot and place them on a plate to rest at room temperature. Collect the drippings from the bottom of the pan.
Next, bring a large skillet to a medium high heat, add the ghee/butter to melt, and whisk in the tapioca starch. Slowly pour in the drippings and then the broth, whisking continuously to thicken.
Best Ways To Serve Dutch Oven Whole Chicken
The most amazing part of this chicken recipe is that it is a one pot complete meal with everything you need. Just portion out everything on plates and pour the delicious gravy over the top of everything. Another option would be to omit the tender potatoes from the pot and make some creamy mashed potatoes instead! You can also change up some of the vegetables with any others you have on hand. And if you need other side dishes, try a house salad or some grilled bread to soak up all that gravy goodness!
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Other Chicken Recipes You Might Like
Dutch Oven Whole Chicken
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
Our amazing Dutch Oven Whole Chicken is a simple, comfort food recipe that your entire family will love!
Ingredients
Chicken
- (1) 4lb whole roasting chicken
- 3–4 tablespoons ghee, softened (sub butter)
- kosher salt and ground black pepper
Veggies + Potatoes
- 1 sweet yellow onion, quartered
- 3 stalks celery, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
- 3–4 Yukon Gold potatoes, quartered
Gravy
- 1 tablespoon ghee
- 1 tablespoon tapioca starch
- 1 cup drippings (from bottom of Dutch Oven)
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- kosher salt and ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Remove the chicken from the packaging and place the chicken in an oven-safe Dutch Oven. Pat the chicken dry with clean paper towels and rub softened ghee all over, in every nook and cranny. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.
- Place onion, potato, celery, and carrots around chicken in the pot.
- Place in oven, uncovered, for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked (use an internal meat thermometer to make sure the internal temperature is 165 degrees F at the thickest part of the meat).
- Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes.
- Remove veggies and chicken from Dutch Oven and place on a serving platter – cover with aluminum foil and set aside.
- Bring a large cast iron skillet to a medium-high heat and melt 1 tablespoon ghee. Add tapioca starch and whisk together. Slowly add the pan drippings, whisking to combine the entire time. It may get kind of chunky for a second, just keep whisking. It will smooth out and thicken.
- Slowly add chicken broth, continuing to whisk.
- Once gravy has thickened, taste, and add more salt and pepper, as desired.
- Serve chicken, potatoes and veggies covered in gravy.
Notes
- Gravy liquid amount: If you don’t have 1 cup of drippings on the bottom of the Dutch Oven, make sure that between the drippings and the chicken broth you have a total of 1.5 cups.
- Potatoes: option to skip the potatoes in the Dutch Oven and make some homemade mashed potatoes instead!
- Store-bought gravy: You can always make things easier and buy store-bought gravy as well! Whatever works best for you.
- Head of Garlic: Feel free to throw a head of garlic in the Dutch Oven along with the chicken. It adds flavor and roasted garlic tastes amazing with the chicken!
- Storage: leftover chicken can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6 oz
- Calories: 460
- Sugar: 1.9 g
- Sodium: 256 mg
- Fat: 28 g
- Carbohydrates: 10.7 g
- Protein: 39.1 g
- Cholesterol: 138.1 mg
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