Nothing beats the incredible flavor and aroma of Spatchcock Chicken with rosemary and potatoes. This method ensures an evenly cooked chicken that’s tender and juicy on the inside and perfectly crisp and golden on the outside.
When I think of food that tastes like “home”, roasted chicken dishes are usually at the top of my list.
This spatchcock rosemary chicken dish with potatoes is one of the best ways to make a whole chicken and since it cooks in the same pan as the potatoes, the cleanup afterward is minimal.
This dish is a great Thanksgiving alternative to a spatchcock turkey, especially for those who are feeding a smaller crowd.
Serve alongside roasted brussels sprouts and carrots, a green salad, or creamed spinach for a complete meal.
Recipe Ingredients
All ingredients for this recipe are shown in the pic below and special notes are made in this bulleted list to assist you.
- Chicken. Look for a good quality whole young chicken. If you have a local butcher, opt to buy it there instead of buying one soaked in solution. You’ll still need to dry the chicken off with paper towels, but not nearly as much.
- Potatoes. I’m using Yukon Golds because they tend to hold their shape better than others but you can use any potatoes you’d like.
- Herbs. I’m using a combination of fresh rosemary, fresh parsley, and dried oregano. If you want to use dried rosemary instead, use 1/3 of the amount called for since dried will be much more potent.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to make it
Each number corresponds to the numbered written steps below.
- With a mandoline or sharp knife, slice 2 pounds of Yukon Gold potatoes into 1/8-inch discs. Be sure to use the guard and follow the manufacturer’s safety guidelines. Mince 1/4 cup of flat-leaf Italian parsley and 6 cloves of garlic, dice 1 medium onion, chop 2 tablespoons of fresh rosemary leaves, and grate 1/2 cup of Pecorino Romano cheese.
- Place a whole chicken on a large cutting board, breast side down and with the tail side facing you. Pat it very dry with paper towels inside and out. Using kitchen shears, begin cutting from the tail end on one side of the backbone all the way to the neck. Repeat the same cut on the other side of the backbone. You can cut away any loose overhanging skin by the neck opening. Save the backbone for homemade chicken stock or another use.
- Flip the chicken over and press the breast bone down with two hands until the chicken is splayed or flattened. You should hear a few cracks during this process. The goal is to flatten the chicken for even cooking.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F and set the rack to the middle level. Dry the chicken off one more time then season both sides with a total of 2 teaspoons of kosher salt and 1 teaspoon of black pepper.
- In a large bowl combine the onion, garlic, rosemary, parsley, oregano, grated cheese and 3/4 cup of olive oil and mix well. Spread the potatoes onto a large baking sheet or pan and pour half the oil and herb mixture on top. Toss to coat and lightly season the potatoes with salt and pepper.
- Place the spatchcocked chicken breast-side-up on top of the potatoes then pour the remaining oil mixture onto the chicken. Use your hands to coat the chicken well above and below the skin on both sides. In the pic below I’m drizzling a bit more olive oil.
- Bake the chicken for 50 to 70 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer reads 158-160°F when inserted into the thickest part of the chicken breast. If desired, you can broil the chicken for a few minutes to crisp up the skin, but watch carefully to avoid burning.
- Remove the chicken and place on a platter and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt. Let the chicken sit lightly covered with tented foil for 10 to 15 minutes before serving. The chicken will reabsorb some of its juices and become moister. Flip the potatoes over in the pan and bake at 450°F for 5-10 minutes, or broil for a few minutes to crisp them up. Serve the potatoes and chicken on a large platter and enjoy!
Top tips
- Dry the chicken. Be sure to dry the chicken very well with paper towels. Whole chickens have a lot of water in them and drying will help the chicken roast rather than steam.
- Use a lot of olive oil. It may seem like there is a lot of olive oil here, but trust the process. The oil helps keep the chicken moist and yields superior results.
- Broiling. To crisp up the chicken at the end, do so when the chicken is almost done cooking. Doing it after the chicken is already 165°F could make it too dry.
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If you’ve enjoyed this spatchcock chicken with potatoes, give these other recipes a try.
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Spatchcock Rosemary Chicken and Potatoes
This incredible spatchcock chicken is smothered with a blend of rosemary, parsley, oregano, and olive oil and baked on top of thinly sliced potatoes until golden and crisp.
Ingredients
- 1 whole young chicken
- 1 tablespoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt divided
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1/4 cup minced flat-leaf Italian parsley
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 1 medium onion diced
- 2 tablespoons chopped Rosemary leaves
- 2 pounds (908g) Yukon Gold potatoes thinly sliced into 1/8" discs
- 1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
- 3/4 cup olive oil plus more if needed
Instructions
- Place the chicken on a large cutting board, breast side down and with the tail side facing you. Pat it very dry with paper towels.
- Using kitchen shears, begin cutting from the tail end on one side of the backbone all the way to the neck. Repeat the same cut on the other side of the backbone. You can cut away any loose overhanging skin by the neck opening. Save the backbone for chicken stock.
- Flip the chicken over and with two hands press the breast bone down until the chicken is splayed or flattened. You should hear a couple of cracks during this process. The goal is to flatten the chicken for even cooking.
- Preheat oven to 425°F and set the oven rack to middle level.
- In a large bowl combine the onion, garlic, rosemary, parsley, oregano, grated cheese, and olive oil. Mix well.
- Spread the potatoes out onto a large baking sheet or pan. Pour half of the oil mixture onto the potatoes and toss to coat. Lightly season the potatoes with salt and pepper.
- Dry the chicken off one more time, then season both sides with a total of 2 teaspoons of kosher salt and 1 teaspoon of black pepper. Place the spatchcocked chicken breast-side up on top of the potatoes then pour the remaining oil mixture onto the chicken. Use your hands to really get the chicken coated above and below the skin on all sides.
- Bake the chicken for 50-70 minutes or until an instant read thermometer reads 158-160°F when inserted into the thickest part of the chicken breast.
- If desired you can broil the chicken for a few minutes to crisp up the skin, but watch carefully! Remove the chicken to a platter and sprinkle with the remaining 1 teaspoon of kosher salt. Let the chicken sit lightly tented with foil for 10-15 minutes before serving. The chicken will reabsorb some of the pan juices and become moister.
- Flip the potatoes over in the pan and bake at 450°F for 5-10 minutes or broil for a few minutes to crisp them up.
- Serve the potatoes and chicken on a large platter. Enjoy!
Notes
- Dry off the chicken very well with paper towels. Whole chickens have a lot of water in them.
- Use a lot of olive oil! It seems like a lot but it will make the chicken moister and just so much better.
- Broiling the chicken during the last few minutes can add a ton of crispiness and color to the skin. It’s important to do this when the chicken is almost done cooking. Doing it after the chicken is already 165°F could make it too dry. You only need to broil it for a few minutes.
- Right when the chicken is finished cooking sprinkle it with some more kosher salt (about 1 teaspoon total). Chicken needs plenty of salt and can absorb it more easily when it comes right out of the oven.
- Let the chicken sit for 10-15 minutes before eating. This will help the chicken reabsorb all the pan juices.
- Leftovers can be saved for up to 3 days in the fridge and can be reheated in the oven or microwave.
Nutrition
Calories: 720kcal | Carbohydrates: 11.8g | Protein: 51.7g | Fat: 51.4g | Saturated Fat: 11.9g | Cholesterol: 159mg | Sodium: 1046mg | Potassium: 676mg | Fiber: 1.8g | Sugar: 0.9g | Calcium: 207mg | Iron: 3mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!Check us out on Instagram at @sipandfeast or tag #sipandfeast!
This was SOOOOO good! And you’re right about the olive oil – don’t be shy!
I was worried one of my family members wouldn’t like the rosemary, but I took a chance and they loved it. The chicken was delicious and the potatoes were to die for. I will absolutely be making this over and over again!
Thanks for another fantastic recipe 🙂
We’re so happy to hear that, Deb! Thanks for the comment!
This will be the first recipe I’m making from all the recipes I’ve watched. It’s much easier than heating up the grill and using foil wrapped bricks to hold down the chicken. I came across your channel while searching something on YouTube about 3 weeks ago and now I’m hooked. I watch your show every day. On one of the shows I watched , you mentioned that viewers were asking about the cookbook that you’re working on, approximately when do you think it will be released????? I’ll have to post the rating after I make this dish, but I’m sure it will get a 5. It’s a quick dish with no cleanup.
It’s a dish I can put together on my busy days. It will be good with a nice ensalada.
Thanks for the comment, Irene, and happy you’re enjoying the videos! Our cookbook will be out mid-2025. We’ll share more info here on our website as it becomes available, but also via email so we suggest subscribing to our email as well so you can stay in the loop.
I’m definitely going to try this recipe soon – it looks wonderful! One of my family members is not a big fan of rosemary. I do understand the change in recipe name and flavor profile if I do this, but do you think it would work with thyme or maybe sage? Which would you recommend? Thanks so much – I LOVE your website and videos!
Hi Deb, yes, you can definitely do this with sage or thyme. Hope you enjoy!
I love you, your family and your recipes are perfect for me.
I’m single and haven’t made chicken for ages.
Can I simply substitute chicken breasts and follow your recipe? Single and hungry
Hi Carolyn, yes, you could use the same ingredients for baked chicken breasts but you’d need to adjust the amounts, and breast should only be cooked to 165° because otherwise they can dry out.
I’ve tried this recipe in the past and was a definite WINNER. Now my wife and me are empty testers, but I’m gonna make it again this week
So happy you enjoyed!
James, or can I call you Jim, seems James is the preferred way on your videos but watching so many of your videos I’m inclined to revert to my “friends” mode…Jim, or even Jimmy! Anyway, love the videos and have started digging deeper to find more. Very fun to see the evolution of the production quality (not having to kneel down to get in the frame, etc…) and the added detail. And, LOVE all the taste-testers, even though I suspect they may be a little biased. How could they not be????
We appreciate the comment, Frank! You can call him Jim or Jimmy – that’s what he goes by 99% of the time.
Two words to describe this meal,
Simple and Delicious!
We’re so happy you enjoyed, Carl!
Looks delicious I have a Bell and Evan’s spatchcock chicken in my freezer can’t wait to try this. question? Does it make a mess of the oven, lol
Hi Lucille, no, it didn’t make a mess. Jim used a half sheet baking pan to do it in and we were all good.
Thank you 😊
Pretty sure I know the answer but need affirmation–can I spatchcock a turkey breast and roast it this way? Recipe sounds so delicious!
Hi Christine, no, you can’t spatchcock a breast. The breast stays intact when spatchcocking. If you’re looking for the best way to make just a breast, here’s Jim’s recipe: https://www.sipandfeast.com/dry-brined-turkey-breast/
The hardest part about making this dish is cutting up the cooked chicken. Super easy and simply delicious.
We’re so happy you enjoyed, Jane!
Another marvelous recipe. We have basically given our cookbooks away and use Sip & Feast almost exclusively. Recipes are excellent and step by step directions are most easy to follow.
Thanks again, James & family.
Best to you,
Bob Seyfried
We’re so happy you enjoyed the recipe, Bob! Don’t give up on cookbooks though – we’re coming out with one in 2025!