With the potential to take on a variety of flavours (salty, spicy, herby, fruity – you name it!), chicken is one of the most versatile meats around. If you need proof, just take a look at our collection of fabulous roast chicken recipes, from simple traybake suppers to midweek meals like sticky chicken wings. There's a dish for every occasion, even if that occasion is just dinner.
Click or scroll through our gallery to discover 36 delicious roast chicken recipes anyone can make.
When you fancy a change to classic roast chicken, this decadent dish is the answer. Gnocchi are great fun to make and taste fantastic smothered in truffle-spiked brown butter, while the chicken – with its crisp, golden skin and juicy, tender meat – adds another layer of flavour and texture. Serve with plenty of wilted cavolo nero, making sure you spoon the juices from the roasting tray over the chicken to finish.
Here, skin-on chicken pieces (or a whole chicken, if you prefer) are cooked in a rich tomato, wine, lemon and tarragon sauce. The tarragon really lifts the dish, but you could also make a version using flat-leaf parsley or shredded sorrel leaves, depending on what you have to hand. Serve it with mashed potatoes, rice or crusty bread for your daily dose of carbs.
Get the recipe for roasted chicken, tomatoes and tarragon here
To make this Mediterranean-inspired dish, chicken thighs are roasted with potatoes, peppers, onions and carrots, with optional chorizo (which adds an extra layer of salty deliciousness). Tomatoes and olives are added 15 minutes before the dish is ready, which really ramps up those sunshine flavours. The recipe serves four, but you could double it up if you're feeding a crowd.
Get the recipe for Mediterranean roast chicken, potatoes and peppers here
In this recipe, a garlic, rosemary and smoked paprika butter is pushed under the skin of a spatchcocked chicken, ensuring that the bird turns out extra juicy and flavoursome. Meanwhile, sautéed morel mushrooms add an indulgent twist. The chicken is roasted on top of a layer of potatoes, so the juices trickle down and give the whole dish oodles of flavour. Serve it with greens on the side for a balanced meal everyone will love.
This Malaysian-inspired roast sees a whole chicken marinated overnight in a creamy, fragrant, spicy coconut rub – resulting in tender, flavour-packed meat. Happily, you can easily blitz up the marinade in a blender. For wonderfully crispy skin, leave the marinated bird at room temperature for two hours before roasting. This dish would be delicious served with rice and stir-fried greens, or with all the trimmings as a twist on the usual Sunday roast.
Get the recipe for coconut and lemongrass roast chicken here
This roast with a difference is served with a creamy, herby lemon and Parmesan sauce instead of traditional gravy. The spatchcocked chicken is roasted on a rack over the backbone, giblets and wing tips, which combine with the chicken juices to help form the foundations of the flavourful sauce.
Get the recipe for roast chicken with lemon, herb and Parmesan sauce here
This one-tray wonder is perfect for a delicious yet hugely simplified Sunday lunch. To serve four, put 1.7lbs (750g) peeled and quartered potatoes into a roasting tray with eight skinless, boneless chicken thighs, 5oz (150g) diced chorizo, two roughly chopped red peppers, a roughly chopped onion and three chopped carrots. Drizzle with olive oil, mix well and season. Cook in a 220°C/200°C fan/425°F/gas mark 7 oven for 30 minutes – then mix well, add 20 cherry tomatoes and a handful of olives, and cook for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are golden and the chicken cooked through.
Ancho chillies are commonly used in Mexican cooking, bringing a mild to medium heat and plenty of fruity, smoky flavour. Here, they're combined with fresh orange, sugar and spices to make a paste to spread on chicken – which is then roasted with garlic, ginger and more orange. The result is tender, slightly spicy meat, which is delicious served with crunchy coleslaw.
In this Mediterranean-style recipe, spatchcocked chicken is marinated in lemon, garlic and herbs, roasted, then served with a crisp salad. The chicken cooks in around 40 minutes, but it's important to baste it regularly to ensure moist and flavoursome results. Here's a clever tip: try rubbing salt and baking powder into the skin prior to cooking, and leave the chicken to rest for at least 20 minutes to make it crispier.
Starring tender chicken thighs, this easy one-pan traybake takes just 25 minutes to cook – and a combination of sweet apples, chestnuts, sage, Savoy cabbage, yeast extract and stock make up the deliciously savoury sauce. You can play around with this dish too, adding kale, different nuts and extra protein (such as beans or chickpeas) depending on what you have to hand.
Get the recipe for chicken thighs with red onion, apple and chestnuts here
The recipe title says it all! Here, chicken wings are baked in the oven until crisp, then coated in a hot, sweet sauce to make them irresistibly sticky (a final blast in the oven will help the glaze to stick). There are a couple of tricks you can use to achieve perfection here. Firstly, add bicarbonate of soda to the dry rub to make the wings super crispy. Secondly, don't preheat the oven – putting the wings in cold will help to slowly render the fat as the oven heats up.
Looking for a new midweek meal to add to your repertoire? This dish of succulent chicken thighs, cooked in white wine with mushrooms, bacon, cream and fresh herbs, is the perfect candidate. Made in one pot, it takes just 15 minutes to prepare – and it also freezes well for even easier meals in the future. Alternatively, you could make it a day ahead, then add the mushrooms, cream and crisp sage leaves when reheating. Serve your casserole with rice or new potatoes for a filling meal.
The oven does most of the work required to make this tasty one-pot dish. Here, tender chicken breasts are roasted in stock with herbs, garlic, tomatoes and chunks of pumpkin (use squash if pumpkins are out of season), with balsamic vinegar adding some delectable sweet and sour notes, and a lovely stickiness. If you don't fancy chicken breasts, you could also make your traybake with chicken wings or thighs.
'Nduja is a fiery pork sausage from southern Italy, with a soft, spreadable texture. Here, it's mixed with butter, garlic and lemon, then melted over a delicious combination of roasted chicken fillets, aubergines and avocados (this dish is a great way to use up avocados that are a little underripe, as roasting will soften them). When your traybake is ready, scatter some fresh herbs over the top, then serve with lots of crusty bread – it'll mop up the spicy butter perfectly.
Get the recipe for roast avocado and chicken with 'nduja butter here
Dukkah is an Egyptian spice blend based on hazelnuts and coriander seeds, and you can buy it ready-made at many large supermarkets. In this tasty recipe, chicken is roasted on a bed of preserved lemons, fresh rosemary and chilli, with pomegranate mixing with the juices from the bird to create a sweet, spicy gravy. Rest the chicken for half an hour or so before scattering with dukkah to serve.
You don't have to add potatoes to this one-tin wonder – but if you don't, you'll be missing out on some of the tastiest potatoes you've ever tried. Not only will they soak up the delicious Middle Eastern flavours and juices, but cooking them alongside the chicken in the oven will give them a wonderful crispiness, too. Of course, the fragrant chicken thighs are the stars here, stuffed with a nutty, herby, spicy lemon filling. When cooked to perfection, they'd be lovely served with a fresh salad or green beans.
Get the recipe for herb, garlic and chilli–stuffed chicken thighs here
In this recipe, a long, slow cooking time helps to create chicken legs and wings that are wonderfully tender and flavoursome. The sauce is made with a mixture of wine and stock – with almonds, olives, dried fruit, garlic and sherry vinegar giving the whole thing a sweet, salty and pleasantly sour taste. Try it with couscous or wholegrain rice for a supremely comforting, filling meal.
Get the recipe for braised chicken with almonds, olives and raisins here
With layer upon layer of fragrant spice to get stuck into, this is the perfect dish for chilli lovers. To make it, a whole spatchcocked chicken is rubbed with harissa paste and smoked paprika, cooked in the oven, then served with a fiery peri peri sauce. It's super easy to do; the chicken is simply open roasted on the oven shelf over a tray of potatoes, roasted onions and chillies.
The national dish of Palestine, wonderfully tender, beautifully spiced chicken musakhan makes the perfect sharing platter for four. Here, chicken pieces are roasted in a fragrant spice mix, then served on toasted flatbreads with melty spiced onions, toasted pine nuts and fresh herbs, with lemon wedges and thick yogurt on the side. Chicken musakhan is meant to be eaten with your hands – simply tear off pieces of bread to scoop up the heavenly chicken and sauce.
Taleggio is a semi-soft Italian cheese with a mild, fruity flavour that melts to perfection – and in this easy yet crowd-pleasing one-pan recipe, it's mixed with pesto, basil and cream cheese, spooned over chicken breasts, then covered with crunchy crumbs. Ripe cherry tomatoes are added towards the end of cooking, allowing them to soften and sweeten in the most delicious way. For a balanced meal, serve your oven-baked creation with greens and new potatoes on the side.
Get the recipe for chicken with pesto, Taleggio and roasted tomatoes here
To make this tandoori dish, chicken legs are marinated in spicy yogurt, cooked in a hot oven until beautifully crisp, then served with a cooling coriander and garlic raita. The yogurt marinade acts as a tenderiser and imparts plenty of flavour, so do try to marinate your chicken for at least 30 minutes before cooking (or overnight, if possible). The recipe for the raita calls for black salt, though sea salt would work just as well.
Here, a simple tray of chicken drumsticks and wings is transformed with a garlicky baste of hot chilli, sharp lime, sweet orange and honey, making the skin wonderfully sticky. Our top tip? Line the roasting tin with oiled foil to save on washing up (the honey will stick to the tray and make a bit of a mess otherwise). When your chicken is ready, serve it with rice or flatbreads, with a mixed salad on the side.
Get the recipe for chicken with lime, orange and jalapeño here
This easy recipe, inspired by classic Jamaican dish jerk chicken, uses shop-bought seasoning – so there's no need to make your own. It's topped with mild chillies, so it's moderately hot rather than fiery, though you could dial things up by using hotter varieties (such as the traditional Scotch bonnet) instead. Served with spicy, chunky chips and a delicious spring onion gravy, it's perfect for a Friday night treat.
Packed with flavour, this easy, colourful Indian-inspired dish makes an ideal midweek meal. After sitting in a spiced yogurt marinade, the chicken is cooked in one pan along with onions, potatoes and fresh spinach – so no other sides are needed. A final squeeze of lemon really makes this dish zing, and it's on the table in under an hour.
These irresistible chicken wings are deep-fried until crispy, coated with hot, zingy butter, then popped into a hot oven to finish off. The depth of flavour from the gochujang – a Korean paste made from fermented chillies – makes this a dish an incredibly moreish crowd-pleaser. You could also try roasting the wings on the barbecue (though they'll be at their crunchy best if deep-fried first). Serve them with toasted flatbreads to soak up the buttery juices.
Get the recipe for chicken wings with gochujang, lime and herb butter here
Think of this as roast chicken, Southeast Asian style. Before roasting, it's rubbed with a marinade of honey (use dark runny honey for the best flavour), soy, lemongrass, chilli, ginger and orange. Give the chicken an occasional baste while it's in the oven so the flavours can really penetrate. When it's done, serve it with stir-fried rice or lemony roast potatoes.
To make this easy one-pan meal, chicken is marinated in a warm, garlicky rub, stuffed with a lemon and garlic butter, then baked in a roasting tin with fresh herbs and vegetables. The chicken is spatchcocked, which simply means that the backbone is removed for faster, more even cooking. Just cut it out with kitchen scissors, then flatten it on a chopping board (or ask your butcher if they can do it for you).
This gorgeous dish is a complete meal in one tray. To make it, chicken thighs are roasted with bell peppers, tomatoes, sweet potatoes and olives – and chorizo and fresh chillies give the whole thing a kick of heat. Cajun seasoning also adds warmth; follow our recipe to make it from scratch, or buy a spice mix to save time. Top tip: leaving the chicken to marinate in the spices for up to an hour before cooking will give it extra punch and depth of flavour.
You really can't beat a tray of hot, sticky Buffalo wings, served with cooling celery sticks and a blue cheese dip. This is a really simple recipe; just remember to marinate the wings overnight in their garlicky rub for the best flavour. The wings are then baked in a sweet, hot Buffalo sauce, resulting in the perfect finger-licking snack or party food.
There's a lot to love about this elegant yet simple dish. Chicken breasts are stuffed with mozzarella and basil, wrapped in Parma Ham, then roasted until crispy on the outside and wonderfully juicy on the inside (thanks to all that melted cheese). The potatoes are roasted in the same tin as the chicken – meaning there's less washing up to do afterwards – and ripe cherry tomatoes are added towards the end of cooking time. The whole dish is ready in an hour.
Pot-roasting chicken ensures flavoursome, tender, juicy results every time – and it's pleasingly easy to do. In this Spanish-inspired recipe, a whole chicken is rubbed with oil and smoked paprika, placed on a bed of vegetables and fennel seeds, then cooked in white wine and a little sherry vinegar. Serve it with rice or oven-roasted sweet potatoes, which will really complement the smoky spices.
Maftool is also known as giant couscous – and it's perfect in this refreshing, zingy herb salad, served with chicken. This dish sees chicken legs marinated in za'atar, a spice mix comprising dried aromatic herbs (such as marjoram and zesty sumac) and creamy sesame seeds. Once you've rubbed it into the chicken, leave the bird to rest for a couple of hours, then roast it until it's crispy on the outside and buttery soft in the centre.
Get the recipe for warm maftool salad with za'atar chicken here
This simple yet flavoursome one-pot dish sees chicken legs gently baked with potatoes, peppers, white wine, herbs, garlic and tomatoes. Much of the fragrant heat comes from the addition of piments d'Espelette, or Espelette peppers (chillies grown in southwest France, which have a mild and fruity taste). You can substitute them with chilli flakes if you can’t get hold of any, though.
Inspired by the traditional Sunday roast dinner, our version comes complete with a classic apple and herb stuffing, which helps to keep the breast meat moist – and there's even a recipe for a delicious gravy to drizzle over the top. All you'll need to add are roast potatoes and plenty of vegetables for the perfect family lunch.
The sweetness of honey and the saltiness of chorizo come together with delicious results in this recipe's homemade stuffing, giving traditional roast chicken a decadent twist. When you've roasted your bird to perfection, you could serve it up with the usual trimmings, or try it with a fresh, crunchy salad on the side – the choice is yours.
Get the recipe for roast chicken with honey and chorizo stuffing here
Before the chicken in this recipe is roasted, its skin is rubbed with smoked paprika and ground ginger to add a touch of spice – and when it's ready, it's served with a homemade mayonnaise flavoured with peppery watercress and sweet stem ginger. You could simply add the flavourings to shop-bought mayonnaise (using around six tablespoons) or, if you like, you could try adding chopped rocket leaves instead of the watercress. Any leftovers would be incredible in a salad, or served with Thai-style noodles.
Get the recipe for roast chicken with ginger mayonnaise here
Now discover these brilliant one-tray recipes
Last updated by Emily Shardlow-Price.