Learn how to make a whole roasted chicken, Italian style! This Italian Rosemary Chicken recipe with Potatoes is quite common in the Umbria and Tuscan regions of Italy. It’s no surprise that Rosemary Chicken is popular— rosemary is quite abundant in Italy where it can grow as tall as a human being!
Watch the Video Recipe!
Prefer to watch a video recipe? Let Italian Grandma Margherita teach you how to make her traditional Rosemary Chicken and Potatoes. Click below to watch the video, filmed in Italy!
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How to Make Rosemary Chicken with Potatoes
While anyone can roast a whole chicken, the holy grail is making a chicken with juicy meat and crispy skin! And of course, crispy potatoes are the ultimate side dish. Keep reading to learn our secrets to making the ultimate whole roasted chicken… the Italian way!
This particular recipe for rosemary chicken with potatoes uses quintessential Italian ingredients: lemon, rosemary, garlic and olive oil. Be sure to use fresh garlic and rosemary! Italians almost never use dehydrated garlic or garlic powder in their recipes. Literally, we’ve never seen these ingredients in an Italian chicken!
Flavoring the Whole Chicken
Start with a whole chicken with the innards removed. There is no need here to spatchcock the chicken. Cut the lemon in half, and rub the cut side of half the lemon all over the chicken skin. This serves to both flavor the chicken skin and help it to eventually crisp up as the chicken roasts.
Mince a few tablespoons of fresh rosemary with one clove of fresh garlic and a teaspoon of salt. We’ll use this rub along with sprigs of fresh rosemary and halved fresh garlic to flavor our chicken.
Using a knife or kitchen scissors, make small incisions around the whole chicken anywhere the meat needs to be flavored including the thighs, the legs, the breasts. Use a finger to loose the skin from the meat, providing a space to add herbs and spices. Underneath each incision, add a bit of the minced rub, a half a clove of garlic, a sprig of rosemary and a bit of olive oil.
To the inside of the chicken cavity, add:
- the other half of the lemon
- some rub
- the rest of the garlic cloves
- a tablespoon of olive oil
- a handful of black olives
- salt and pepper
Rub salt and pepper generously on the outside of the chicken skin. Pin the cuts closed with toothpicks or metal skewers. We don’t want the meat to dry out as it roasts!
Let the chicken rest with it’s rub and flavorings overnight or at least 8 hours.
No Baster Required
Many recipes for whole roasted chicken require a baster. In these recipes, a baster is used to continuously suck up the juice that gathers in the bottom of the roasting pan. That juice is then squirted onto the chicken as it roasts.
Our rosemary chicken recipe is simpler and does not require a baster!
Before roasting the chicken, add a few more teaspoons of salt and pepper to the skin and generously coat the chicken skin with extra virgin olive oil. Roast the chicken in a large pan.
Add one cup of filtered water to the bottom of the pan. Then, cover the chicken tightly with foil. The water in the bottom of the pan will provide the moisture the chicken needs to remain juicy as it cooks.
Roast the chicken in a pre-heated oven: 485° F (250° C). Roasting time depends on the size of the chicken. In this recipe, we use a 6 lb chicken. The general rule of thumb is 1 hour of roasting for every 2 lbs of chicken. For our recipe, that’s a total of 3 hours.
The FDA advises cooking chicken to an internal temperature 165°F (74°C) for food safety.
After an hour in the oven, flip the chicken and add a half a cup more of water to the bottom of the pan. Cover again with foil and return to the oven for another hour.
When the skin has begun to brown (after about 2 hours for our chicken size), remove the foil and roast uncovered for another hour or so. Flip the chicken every 15 minutes for even crispy skin throughout the chicken.
Use fresh garlic and rosemary!
Most Italian food recipes expect you to use fresh garlic and herbs, and this recipe is no exception! Fresh garlic pieces allowed to rest on meat overnight will impart a tone of flavor and is a common way to prep meat for Italian recipes.
Roasting time? Roughly 1 hour for every 2 lbs (1 kg) of chicken!
Always determine doneness by appearance and internal temperature. However the rule of thumb for roasting chicken is you’ll need about an hour for every 2 lbs (1kg).
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Rosemary Chicken with Potatoes – Italian Whole Roasted Chicken
Equipment
- roasting pan or similar
- aluminum foil or a roasting pan lid
- toothpicks or skewers to secure the incisions closed during roasting
Ingredients
- 6 lb whole chicken insides removed
- 3 lb potatoes peeled and cut into bite-size pieces
- 8 cloves garlic fresh; halved
- 2 handfuls fresh rosemary
- 10 black olives about a handful
- 1 lemon
- ½ cup olive oil or, as needed
- 3 tsp salt or, as needed
- ½ tsp black pepper or, as needed
Instructions
Prep the Herbs and Aromatics
- Cut 7 of the garlic cloves in half (or in quarters if the cloves are really large). Cut the lemon in half. Mince a few tablespoons of the rosemary with 1 clove of garlic and a teaspoon of fine salt.2 handfuls fresh rosemary, 3 tsp salt
Prep the Chicken
- Place the chicken in a roasting pan. Massage the entire skin of the chicken with half of the lemon.1 lemon, 6 lb whole chicken
- Using a knife or kitchen scissors, make small incisions around the whole chicken anywhere the meat needs to be flavored including the thighs, the legs, the breasts.½ cup olive oil
- Use a finger to loose the skin from the meat, providing a space to add herbs and spices. Beneath each incision, add a bit of the minced rub, a half a clove of garlic, a sprig of rosemary and a bit of olive oil.
- Add the following inside the chicken cavity: the other half of the lemon, some rub, the rest of the garlic cloves, a tablespoon of olive oil, a handful of black olives, salt and pepper.10 black olives
- Rub salt and pepper generously on the outside of the chicken skin.½ tsp black pepper
- Pin the cuts closed with toothpicks or metal skewers to prevent the meat from drying out.
- Let the chicken marinate like this overnight or at least 8 hours.
Roast the Chicken
- Add a few more teaspoons of salt and pepper to the skin Generously coat the chicken skin with extra virgin olive oil.
- Add one cup of filtered water to the bottom of the pan.
- Then, cover the chicken tightly with foil. The water in the bottom of the pan will provide the moisture the chicken needs to remain juicy as it cooks.
- Roast the chicken in a pre-heated oven: 485° F (250° C). For a 6 lb chicken, you'll need to roast the chicken about 3 hours. Be sure to check for doneness.
- After an hour in the oven, flip the chicken and add a half a cup more of water to the bottom of the pan.
- Cover again with foil and return to the oven for another hour.
- When the skin has begun to brown (after about 2 hours for our chicken size), remove the foil and roast uncovered for another hour or so.
- Flip the chicken every 15 minutes for even crispy skin throughout the chicken.
Roast the Potatoes
- Peel and cut the potatoes into bite-size pieces. Soak the potatoes in water for 2 hours to remove starch on the outside of the potatoes.3 lb potatoes
- Dry the potatoes and transfer them to a roasting pan.
- Toss the potatoes generously in extra-virgin olive oil. DO NOT SALT AT THIS TIME.
- Roast the potatoes uncovered in a 485° F (250° C) oven for about 45 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, toss the potatoes. Add a few pinches of salt and a few sprigs of fresh rosemary. Return to the oven to finish roasting.
- Buon appetito!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
“I’ve been looking for the exact recipe for this roasted chicken and potatoes for 25 years when I was in the Navy stationed in La Maddalena Italy . I want to recreate this for my mother on her birthday GRAZIE!!!! Xoxo I’m so excited !!!! Oh how I love and miss the people and food just everything my best
experience of my life living there , never will forget 💙🕊 My children have stop hearing about my memories of Italy and how much love I have … love an Italian at heart from California , America xoxo”