Roast chicken is one of those perfect dishes you can serve for any occasion, from family dinners to birthdays and other celebrations. This roast chicken recipe is packed with flavour thanks to the beautiful stuffing made with fresh breadcrumbs, onion and herbs, which goes in the chicken before it is cooked. It’s a great recipe for special occasions like Christmas, birthdays and romantic dinners, or any time you’re in the mood for it. And the chicken stuffing recipe alone is so good it could easily become one of your go-to options.
Ingredients
Method
Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F.
Make herb stuffing. Combine breadcrumbs, celery, onion, herbs, egg and butter in a bowl.
Wash chicken under cold water; pat dry inside and out with paper towel. Fill chicken cavity with stuffing, fold over skin to enclose; secure with toothpicks. Tie legs together with kitchen string.
Place chicken on a rack over a baking dish half filled with water (water should not touch chicken). Brush chicken with melted butter.
Roast chicken 15 minutes; reduce oven to 180°C/350°F, roast further 1½ hours or until cooked through. Stand 10 minutes before serving.
Tips and notes for your roast chicken with herb stuffing
- Check the height of your oven racks and adjust as needed before you preheat the oven to avoid the risk of burns if you need to do it later. As a general guide, preheating usually takes around 10 minutes, depending on your oven.
- Remember to melt the butter and beat the egg separately before combining with the other ingredients in the herb stuffing. This helps ensure an even amount of moisture and flavour in the stuffing.
- To check if the chicken is completely cooked, place a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the chicken – when it reads 75°C it is cooked. You could also check by piercing the thickest part of the chook with a skewer – when there are clear juices, it’s cooked.
- When resting the chicken, cover it lightly with foil to allow the juices to absorb evenly back into it for more tender meat.
- If you want to mix it up, we also have more stuffing recipes and inspiration for leftover roast chicken.
Can you put stuffing in a raw chicken?
Stuffing a raw chicken adds flavour to the meat and helps keep it moist inside, but it is important to factor the stuffing into the cooking time. Following the recipe and checking the chicken is cooked before rest and serving it means you can avoid serving anyone raw chicken.
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