French Roast Chicken

This heart-warming classic French roast chicken recipe is easy to make and creates a juicy, tender chicken with crisp and flavorful potatoes.

I asked my husband what I should make for dinner, and he requested something French. I found this simple French roast chicken recipe (poulet rôti) on Le Chef’s Wife. I loved that you cooked the potatoes, shallots, and garlic along with the bird. As the chicken roasts, the rendered fat coats the potatoes with savory drippings, which makes them incredibly flavorful! We all loved this tender & juicy chicken and thought it paired well with a tian provencal made with tomatoes, onions & zucchini, and some crusty bread.

French Roast Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1 (4 lb.) whole chicken
• 6 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
• 6 small shallots, peeled and ends trimmed
• 1 full head of garlic + 3 cloves for inside the chicken
• ¼ cup of olive oil, divided
• Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
• 3 tbsp of butter
• 3 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 3 leaves of fresh sage
• 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary

How to Make a French Roast Chicken

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Coat a roasting pan (or large Dutch oven or cast-iron skillet) with olive oil.

Remove and discard any innards from inside the chicken cavity. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels–this will help the skin get crispy!

Set the chicken in the prepared roasting pan. Season the inside of the chicken with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste. Add the three garlic cloves, thyme sprigs, sage leaves, and rosemary sprigs.

Using cooking twine, tie the legs together.

Drizzle 3 tablespoons of olive oil all over the entire bird, then season with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste.

Slice a whole head of garlic, skin on, in half (width-wise), and place each half on opposite sides of the pan (skin side down).

Toss the potatoes and shallots with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, and season with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste. Toss to coat evenly, then arrange around the chicken and the garlic.

Place 3 tablespoons of butter around the potatoes, shallots, and garlic.

Place in the oven to roast for 1 hour and 45 minutes, basting the bird with the pan juices and stirring the potatoes 3 times throughout the cooking time, until the bird reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees with a meat thermometer.

Remove the chicken from the oven and let it rest on a cutting board for 20 minutes before slicing and drizzling with pan juices.

Place the potatoes and shallots in a serving bowl.

Squeeze the garlic cloves from skins (discarding the skins), add the roasted garlic to the potatoes, tossing until mixed.

Serve the chicken with the potatoes along with lemon wedges and enjoy.