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Move over turkey, my Christmas Roast Chicken recipe is about to take centre stage on the dinner table! With an orange, garlic and mixed spice butter and a crispy skin, this Christmas Chicken is perfect for a smaller gathering or part of a Christmas Dinner spread.
Notes On My Christmas Roast Chicken Recipe
- Great for Small Gatherings: This Christmas roast chicken is an upgrade on a simple roast dinner, which is great for smaller gatherings of 4-6 people. For a larger party, team it up with my Slow Cooker Gammon in Ginger Beer!
- Quick and Easy: This uses just a handful of simple ingredients to flavour the chicken and is ready in under 2 hours – much quicker (and cheaper) than a turkey or turkey crown.
- Top tip: Chuck a chopped onion and carrot into the tray then add the meat drippings my gluten free Make Ahead Gravy. Two recipes for the price of one!
- Serving Suggestions: Serve this Christmas Chicken up with all the trimmings, including sprouts with bacon and chestnuts, gluten free stuffing balls, crispy roast potatoes, honey roast carrots and parsnips and of course, gluten free Yorkshire puddings.
Table of Contents
Ingredients and Substitutions
There’s a printable recipe card below for this festive roast chicken recipe with the full quantities. But here are the main ingredients and ideas for any swaps.
- Chicken: This recipe’s cooking time is based off a medium chicken, but you could use a smaller/larger bird or a chicken crown for a smaller roast. Just be sure to amend the cooking time appropriately.
- Orange: You can use a lemon if you prefer.
- Butter: Use a vegan butter if you need this recipe to be dairy free too.
- Garlic: I use garlic paste for ease but you can use fresh minced garlic too.
- Brown Sugar: This adds a lovely colour to the chicken and gives an almost treacly flavour to the skin – its absolutely worth using. I prefer dark brown sugar.
- Mixed Spice: Similar to pumpkin pie spice in the US, this is a mixture of cinnamon, coriander, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, cloves, and mace.
- Herbs: Fresh herbs gives the best flavour – I use rosemary, thyme and sage. You can swap this for dried herbs or omit any you’re not keen on.
How to Make a Christmas Roast Chicken
There’s a printable recipe card below with the method. But here are some step-by-step photos to show you how easy this gluten free Christmas roast chicken is to make.
Storing and Freezing Instructions
TO STORE: Any leftovers of this Christmas chicken can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat or enjoy it cold, make up some Christmas sandwiches, use it to top a gluten free pizza – or turn it into some other delicious meals.
TO FREEZE: You can freeze any leftover cooked chicken – I like to pick it off the bone, then freeze it in tubs or bags ready to use in recipes when I need it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some FAQs about this easy roast chicken recipe. If you can’t find the answer to your question here or in the post above, please comment and I’ll try answer!
It’s important to not overcook the chicken – once the internal temperature of the thickest part reaches 74C (165F) you can remove it from the oven. Cooking the chicken covered in foil helps to keep it moist, and it’s important not to skip the resting time as this helps make the chicken juicier. A dry bird is usually over-cooked and/or under-rested!
If you have a large air fryer, place the basted chicken into the basket, breast-side-down, and air fry at 180C (356F) for 30 minutes. Turn the chicken the right-way-up and cook for a further 30 minutes at 180C. This cooking time is approximate based on the size of the bird – it’s done when the internal temp reaches 74C. If it’s not done after this 30 minutes, keep going for 10-minutes-at-a-time. And don’t forget to rest it once cooked!
Use any roast chicken leftovers to make delicious dishes like my gluten free Festive bakes, gluten free chicken and ham pie, easy chicken fried rice or gluten free chicken soup. You can also boil the carcass to make homemade chicken stock.
Christmas Roast Chicken Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1.6 kg whole chicken, (medium chicken)
- 1 orange, (using ½ the juice and all the zest)
- 50 g butter, (at room temp)
- 2 tsp garlic paste
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 0.5 tsp mixed spice
- 0.5 tsp salt flakes
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, (finely chopped)
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme, (finely chopped)
- 2 sprigs fresh sage, (finely chopped)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C / 180C Fan / Gas Mark 6. Place the chicken in a roasting tin.
- Mix the butter, garlic, orange zest, juice of half the orange, brown sugar, mixed spice, sea salt flakes and chopped herbs together.
- Carefully separate the chicken skin from the breast meat, then use a spoon (or your hands) to spread the butter under the skin. Stuff the orange halves into the chicken cavity.
- Pour any excess juice/butter over the chicken, cover loosely with foil and place in the hot oven. Roast for approx 1 hr 45 mins, basting 2-3 times during the cooking times with the juices.
- Remove the foil for the final 30 mins of cooking, and cook until the internal temperature of the thickest bit of the breast meat is at least 74’C and the skin is golden brown.
- Remove the chicken from the oven, cover with foil and rest for at least 30 mins at room temp before carving and serving.
Nutrition
More Christmas Dinner Recipes
If you like this Christmas Roast Chicken recipe then make sure you check out these other gluten free Christmas dinner recipes to serve alongside it…
- Crispy Roast Potatoes
- Gluten Free Yorkshire Puddings
- Sprouts with Bacon and Chestnuts
- Pigs in Blankets
- Honey Roast Carrots and Parsnips
- Vegan Miso Gravy
- Gluten Free Cauliflower Cheese
- Bacon Wrapped Stuffing Balls
- Gluten Free Bread Sauce
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