Healthy Whole Chicken Recipes

Serve this spice-roasted chicken with buttered egg noodles and steamed green beans.

This sweet-tart pomegranate molasses glaze is delicious combined with the citrusy sumac spice rub, and gives the roasted chicken a dark, ruby luster. Rub the chicken earlier in the day, or overnight, for the best flavor.

Brining the chicken before grilling ensures that it's juicy and tender. A sesame-cilantro pesto, with ginger, mint, and crushed red pepper, is the perfect topping for this Asian-style main dish.

We've included a basic herb combination in this recipe for roasting two chickens at once, but season your chicken with whatever herbs you like. Though we like to roast two chickens at once, you can also easily halve all the ingredients and just roast one.

Inspired by piri piri chicken, this recipe braises the chicken in a slow cooker first before it hits the broiler to get a little char.

In this easy roast chicken recipe, two whole birds cook side-by-side on one pan, which means you only have to heat the oven once but you'll have enough leftover chicken for days. Rotating the chickens on the pan during roasting ensures all sides are evenly cooked and golden brown.

When making a whole, slow-cooker chicken, it's best to buy a better-quality chicken such as one from a farm stand. The flavor and texture of the bird will hold up best over the long cook time. Also, leaving the skin on during cooking will ensure that the chicken stays moist. If you have leftover chicken, use it for a chicken soup or in a chicken salad sandwich. For a beautiful presentation, serve the chicken surrounded by fresh sage leaves and roasted, halved lemons and garlic heads.

If it isn't already, this vibrant dish will make oven-roasted chicken a favorite at your house. With the lemon potatoes, it's an irresistible and simple meal. You can use the leftover meat in soup, sandwiches, and salads.

Nothing says comfort like a roasted whole chicken, but it can take a while to cook. Using parts instead puts this easy roast chicken on the weeknight menu. Fresh herbs, lemon juice and capers in this Italian salsa verde sauce brighten things up.

The pulp and rind of Moroccan preserved lemons is all you need to lift a pedestrian roast chicken into the realm of the exotic!

This quick version of a traditional recipe can be made in about 30 minutes using a beloved kitchen hack: shredded rotisserie chicken! The shredded meat simmers briefly in a flavor-packed base that is rich with garlic and spices, sweetened with dates, and tangy from olives and preserved lemons. The addition of lentils and garbanzo beans makes this a hearty one-pot supper, though you can serve it with rice, couscous, or pita bread.

This taco pasta salad recipe has all our favorite taco fillings dressed in a creamy salsa dressing. We like how fresh avocado, tomatoes and onion brighten this pasta dish, but feel free to add your favorite taco toppings--corn, black beans or jalapeños just to name a few--to give it your own spin.

Removing the backbone from a whole chicken and flattening it—aka spatchcocking—helps it to roast in about half the time. Serve with grilled seasonal vegetables.

Tucking fresh herbs and garlic between the skin and the breast infuses the meat with flavor. We use thyme here, but you can also use fresh rosemary or parsley. If you have a rack, place the chicken on it to allow the hot air to circulate. You can also improvise a rack (as we do here) by setting the chicken on the neck and giblets.

Roast two chickens, not one. It takes about the same amount of time and you can pop the second chicken in the fridge to use over the next few days. Your future self will thank you for skipping a trip to the store to grab a rotisserie bird—saving you not only time but at least 50 mg of sodium per serving, depending on where you get yours from.

The flavors in this spice rub are reminiscent of Italian gremolata.

Crispy skin, tender meat and charred skin make for a delicious dinner main. Plus, the blend of paprika, cumin and cinnamon match deliciously with the chicken. You can eat this grilled chicken as-is--perhaps with a side of grilled vegetables and roasted potatoes--or shred it and put it in a salad.