Imagine the amazing aroma from the oven while making Lemon Chimichurri Roast Chicken! It's delicious thanks to a citrusy and herby sauce.
We have an Argentinian restaurant in our area, Dale Boca, that serves delicious, freshly-made empanadas with a generous dish of homemade chimichurri sauce!
That garlicky sauce brimming with parsley, garlic, and vinegar is such a tasty accompaniment... we've thought about licking the dish clean, but have managed so far to keep our tongues in our mouths!
I think about that chimichurri a lot, and came up with a version of my own here to slather over a chicken before roasting! It has crushed red pepper flakes, finely chopped herbs, and I added a little twist... of lemon! Fresh lemon juice and lemon zest adds an extra layer of vibrant flavor to this sauce.
Why you'll love this recipe
This sauce is perfect for adding loads of flavor to meats—like a roast chicken! Slather the chimichurri over every surface, and add a few lemon slices to the cavity as well.
The chimichurri sauce comes together very quickly if you have a food processor or blender, much like homemade pesto. Be sure to use a big, fresh bunch of parsley for the best flavor. It's much more exciting than regular lemon chicken: it's a chimichurri roast chicken.
If you have leftover chimichurri sauce or decide to make extra it's delicious as a dipping sauce for empanadas, spread over grilled meats or with steamed veggies.
More great chicken recipes: Mexican Spiced Chicken and homemade Chicken Sausage Patties.
🔪 How to make Lemon Chimichurri Roast Chicken
Step 1: Make the chimichurri
Blend together onion, garlic, parsley, spices, oil, and lemon juice to make the thick and flavorful chimichurri. Set some aside.
Step 2: Prepare the chicken
Pat dry the whole chicken and tuck back the wings. Fill the cavity with lemon slices then tie up the legs. Cover the entire surface of the chicken with the chimichurri sauce, then let the chicken marinate for 30 minutes.
Step 3: Roast the chicken
Set the marinated chicken in a hot, cast-iron skillet and place it in the preheated oven. Roast the chicken for 15 minutes per pound until cooked through.
Step 4: Enjoy
After giving the finished chicken a quick rest, serve it with the reserved chimichurri sauce. It's comfort food perfection!
Notes:
- I made my recipe using a five-pound chicken—a good size for our family. For your roast chicken the guideline is to roast it for about 15-20 minutes per pound, so adjust your cook time accordingly if need be.
- If time is crunched you can skip the marinating step and just put the chicken in the oven right away.
- If you don't have a cast iron skillet use a baking dish or roasting pan instead.
The recipe for Easy Roast Chicken with Lemon Chimichurri is below! Here are a few other dinner and appetizer recipes to try:
💬 Are you a Chimichurri fan? What do you think of this chicken? Leave a comment and star rating below!
Lemon Chimichurri Roast Chicken
Ingredients
- ½ small onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1½ cups fresh parsley leaves
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano (or 2 tablespoons fresh oregano)
- 1 teaspoons red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ⅓ cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 5 pound whole chicken (giblets removed and discarded, or saved for another time)
- 2 lemons, sliced
Instructions
Make the chimichurri sauce:
- Mince the onion and garlic in a food processor. Add the parsley, oregano, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper, and process everything until the parsley is finely chopped and all ingredients are incorporated. (Scrape the bowl of the food processor a few times if necessary.
- Scrape the mixture into a medium bowl and add to it the olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice and lemon zest. Stir everything together - this is your chimichurri sauce! This will give you about 1¼ cups of lemon chimichurri.
- Remove ½ cup of the chimichurri and set it aside. This will be to serve with the finished chicken.
Prepare chicken:
- Place the chicken in a shallow dish or pan. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Tuck the wings back behind the body. Place the sliced lemons into the cavity of the chicken, then tie the legs together with kitchen twine.
- Use the remaining chimichurri sauce on the chicken: pour some sauce over the bird and rub it into the entire surface. (I like to use my fingers to do this but you can also use a basting brush.) Pour on a little more as you need to so that the entire bird is coated. (If you have leftover chimichurri you can serve it later as long as you keep it free of utensils and fingers that have touched raw chicken.)
- Loosely drape a piece of plastic wrap over the chicken, put it in the fridge and allow it to marinate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 450° F. Place a cast iron skillet large enough to hold the chicken into the oven, so that it heats up with the oven.
Roast the chicken:
- Remove the chicken from the fridge. Carefully lift the chicken from the dish and place it into the hot cast iron skillet sitting on the oven rack. Pour any marinade from the pan over the bird, and close the oven. Roast the chicken for 15 minutes per pound - 1 hour 15 minutes for a 5-pound bird. *Tent the top of the chicken with a loose piece of foil for the last 30 minutes, to keep the chimichurri from burning too much.
- Use a meat thermometer to check if it's done: the thickest part of the breast should be 175 degrees F and dark meat should be 180 degrees F. (Be sure you're not touching bone with the thermometer.) If the chicken isn't done roast it for additional 10 minute intervals until it's ready.
- Remove the pan with the chicken from the oven and allow it to rest for 10 minutes before carving.
- Serve the chicken with the reserved chimichurri for dipping or spooning over pieces.
Notes
- If time is crunched you can skip the marinating step and just put the chicken in the oven right away.
- If you don't have a cast iron skillet use a baking dish or roasting pan instead.
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