Herb Baked Chicken with Gravy is what you make when you need to feed a crowd! It tastes and looks like your favourite roast chicken – except it’s far easier to make. Let’s call it a shortcut EASY roast chicken!
Handy to make loads, reheats JUICY and comes with an incredible fuss-free gravy for chicken. This recipe is a lifesaver for holiday entertaining and feeding groups!!
Herb Baked Chicken
This is a chicken recipe that we made last weekend when catering a Christmas Lunch for my mother’s friends. Just 40 or so people! 😂 We were specifically after a chicken dish that met the following criteria:
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easy to make loads – can roast a double batch at the same time
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no advance preparation eg. brining or marinating
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simple to reheat in big batches – and stays juicy
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looks fabulous piled up on a platter – and tastes even better (of course!)
So we came up with this baked chicken recipe with a really terrific herb flavour, adapting slightly from this butterflied roast chicken from Serious Eats from which we took tips for how to make baked chicken as juicy as possible.
It’s so simple to make, I really urge you to consider making this fresh on the day because you’ll get a bonus CRAZY golden brown crispy skin – wait until you HEAR it in the video!
What you need for this Herby Baked Chicken
Remember I promised easy? I did not exaggerate! There are VERY few recipes on my website that call for zero chopping whatsoever – not even mincing garlic!
(PS In case you’re wondering, there is no garlic in this because it’s cooked at a high temperature which makes garlic burn. Burnt garlic = bitter = not very nice)
What type of chicken to use?
Use thigh and drumsticks for an easy option – this is what I opted for in the video.
Use butterflied/spatchcock chicken if you want some breast meat as well the dark meat (thighs, drumsticks etc). Either cut your own (use scissors to cut down either side of chicken spine, open up and crack bone to flatten) or buy already butterflied. We butterflied our own chicken for the lunch because we knew some people would want breast.
This baked chicken is great for scaling up because you can roast a double batch at the same time!
How to make it
And here’s how to make this Herb Baked Chicken. The key in this recipe is patting the skin dry, just a BIT of oil and roasting at a high temperature which seals the juices in!
To clarify, you DO lose the crispy skin when reheated the next day. But it’s not unappetisingly soggy. And honestly? No one even thinks about crispy skin once they taste the gravy…..
Simple way to make Gravy for Chicken
Most of my traditional roast recipes call for gravy to be made using the roasting pan set on the stove. It usually involves man handling a large pan, setting it over a couple of burners and some sort of straining.
I skip all of that for this baked chicken recipe! I use my “simple” roast chicken gravy which merely involves:
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Scraping pan juices into saucepan – it slides right off the paper!
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Mixing in flour then whisking in chicken broth
Voila! An incredible gravy with an intense chicken flavour from all the fat / juices on the pan and hint of herby flavour!
Secret tip: how to make gravy brown
Gravy made with chicken broth is pale rather than a rich deep brown that we all know and want.
You can buy gravy browning liquids and granules specifically to deepen the colour of gravy. But the easier way to deal with it is to just add a tiny splash of dark soy sauce – as in 1/2 a teaspoon. Not only does it change the colour from pale to a rich brown (see Before and After below), it adds a touch of flavour too. Not Asiany at all, it’s just salty with extra flavour!
How to serve this roast chicken
If this chicken is part of a banquet or buffet, cut it into smaller pieces, like pictured. I cut the chicken thighs into half along the bone, and the breast into 3 pieces (from the butterflied chicken). Pile it all on a platter, plonk on a few sprigs of parsley (for presentation!) and serve the gravy on the side.
I like how cutting up the chicken like this makes it look like a platter piled high with pieces of roast chicken – hence why I call this the easy way to make roast chicken!
What to serve on the side
Because today’s baked chicken recipe is one that I’m sharing with gatherings in mind, the side dishes I’m suggesting are things for a spread, as opposed to a family dinner for fewer people.
Suggested sides
These are all also things that either don’t need reheating, or can be reheated at the same time as the chicken or by using the microwave. Practicality and deliciousness CAN co-exist happily, without compromise! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Crispy Herb Baked Chicken with Gravy
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil (or canola or peanut oil, NOT butter or olive oil, Note 1)
Choose ONE chicken (Note 2):
- 1.8 kg / 3.6 lb whole chicken, butterflied / spatchcocked
- 1.8 kg / 3.6 lb large chicken thighs with bone in, skin on AND drumsticks (mix)
Herb rub (Note 3):
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried sage (or 1/2 tsp ground sage)
- 3/4 tsp dried marjoram
- 1 tsp salt (coarse / kosher salt, OR 1 3/4 tsp sea salt flakes)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Gravy
- 3 tbsp flour
- 1 1/2 cups (375ml) chicken stock/broth , low sodium
- 3/4 tsp dark soy sauce or gravy browner liquid
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Fridge dry skin (optional, for extra crispy skin):
- Pat chicken skin dry with paper towels. Leave chicken in fridge overnight, uncovered, to dry skin out.
Cooking:
- Preheat oven to 240°C/ 465°F (220°C fan).
- Line tray with foil then baking / parchment paper, place rack on tray (Note 4)
- Mix Rub in a bowl.
- Pat chicken skin dry with paper towel.
- Drizzle with oil and rub all over, then sprinkle with Rub. Use hands to rub herbs all over the chicken, getting right into all the cracks and crevices. Place on rack.
- Thigh + drumsticks - Arrange thigh pieces skin side up, and for drumsticks the side with the most skin up.
- Butterflied/spatchcocked - Arrange breast side up with tail end of chicken pointed back towards back of oven, neck end closest to door.
Roasting:
- Thighs + drumsticks - roast for 35 minutes or until internal temperature is 75°C/165°F, or juices run clear when pierced in the middle.
- Butterflied/spatchcocked - roast for 45 minutes, or until internal temperature is: 66°C / 151°F for the breast AND 75°C/165°F when inserted into the joint between the leg and the thigh.
- Extra browning - if skin isn't browned/crispy enough, flick grill/broiler on high for 1 - 3 minutes. CAREFUL - browns super quick!
- Tent VERY loosely with foil (to preserve crispy skin) for 5 minutes.
Gravy:
- Scrape every bit of juice, fat and all the brown stuff off the tray into a saucepan.
- Turn stove onto medium. Once juices are bubbling, add flour and whisk to combine.
- Slowly pour in broth, whisking as you go.
- Add soy sauce or gravy browner and pepper.
- Continue stirring for 3 to 5 minutes - as it becomes steamy, gravy will thicken.
- Once it becomes a syrupy consistency (see video), remove from stove. Adjust salt to taste right at end, then pour into jug.
Serving:
- Carve up the chicken as you would a roast chicken. Cut breast into 3 or 4 pieces. Cut thighs in half along the bone.
- Pile it all up onto a plate, garnish with parsley or other fresh herbs. Serve with gravy!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
What I made using leftover fondant from Wednesday’s Christmas Cake. The poor snowman lost his torso 2 seconds after this photo was taken, with me screeching trying to get it out of Dozer’s mouth (“NO Dozer, too much sugar!!”) 😂
Delicious. I had one of those “family packs” of chicken — two breasts on ribs and four drumsticks — and wasn’t sure about the time, so decided to roast for 40 minutes and then cut the heat off but leave the chicken in there for another 15 minutes or so (I don’t actually know how long it was–other things were happening!). It came out great. I propped up the chicken parts on onion wedges since I didn’t have a rack, to give them some air circulation underneath at the beginning. The house smelled so good. Unfortunately I butterfingered the drippings transfer and half of it ended up on the stove and not in the gravy pan… so I added some meatball drippings I had in the fridge. That gravy was delicious, let me tell you. I liked the dark soy sauce trick. I served this with plain jasmine rice to soak up gravy, and coleslaw. Everyone loved it. Thanks again, Nagi 😀
Hi Nagi, instead of spatchcocking a chicken for breast meat, could I add bone in chicken breasts? Most of my family prefers white meat. Thanks!
My ALL Time FAVORITE recipe. We love this herb mix and use it on our baked chicken all the time (I even add a little to the gravy). I’ve passed your recipe on to all my siblings and they all love this. Better than anything I’ve ever gotten in a restaurant!
Hi! Love all your recipes. Quick question. Under cooking it days 465 degrees. Under roasting it days 165 degrees. Is 165 a typo?
Now that´s what I call crispy skin, I even did the trick that you do in your video “crrrrrr-tap-tap” (that´s scraping it with a fork and then tapping it sounds) All 4 of us loved it and will make many more times, I did make way too much so got left overs, gona shred that and make your Creamy pasta bake “formula” make with anything tonight, can´t wait,. You are such a life saver in my kitchen and you have tought me/us so much, keep’em coming Nagi, cuddles to Dozer x
I tried this recipe tonight and it was perfect! The chicken was moist and succulent inside and perfectly crisped and flavoured outside…the gravy was the perfect complement, it all turned out so well! Thanks so much for this, Nagi!
That’s great Shay!! I am glad you liked it! N x
Made with Cornish hens, using backbones to make broth. Added sprinkling of herbs to gravy. Served with mashed potatoes. Excellent,
Making latter in month for husbands birthday, 15 guests.
I bet it is great with Cornish hens! N x
Literally just finished licking my fingers, when my husband rang and asked if he should get a salad on the way home to have with the left over chicken from last night…….ummmmm.
This recipe is so good and so bloody easy! Probably should ask him to pick up some chicken Maryland and I’ll start all over again.
Oooops!! N x
Hey Nagi, can I use your brining recipe on the chicken then cook it spatchcocked as in this recipe?
Hi Jenni – it might be too salty if you brine and then use the rub from this recipe, plus I haven’t tested a spatchcocked version of the brined one so not sure if the cook times would be the same (I suspect not). Let me know how it goes if you try it! N x
Hi Nagi…once again another fantastic recipe and it turned out crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. Question: why do you line with both aluminum foil and parchment paper? I found that at thr end when broiling, the parchment caused fire alarm to go off because it browned/burnt a bit and thought maybe just foil was sufficient. ??
Hi Catherine – it keeps it from sticking to the foil. You could slide the parchment out before broiling if it sets off your fire alarm or use baking paper which is less likely to burn. N x
Didn’t have sage or marjoram, so added to the other 3 instead.
Big hit. We do this regular now.
I found sage and marjoram later and added it, but the family didn’t like it the same.
Everyone has their tastes, I guess, but it’s still a great recipe!
Can we used mixed or Italian herb
Hi Reny, sure – it will have a different flavour but you can sub with 5 tsp of mixed if you like! N x
Could chicken breasts be used for this recipe? Would the cooking time have to be adjusted?
Hey Nagi! If I were to make double the amount, or say 3kg of chicken, would I need to adjust the cooking time to double? Or just a little longer? X
Hi Rachel, no need to adjust the cooking time as it’s not one piece of meat, you’re cooking the pieces which will take the same time no matter if you have 1 or 3kg of them 🙂 N x
I am so incredibly pleased with how this turned out! Everything from flavor to crispy skin to juicy chicken to gravy were spot on! I ran out of dried rosemary so I used 2 teaspoons of fresh rosemary from my herb box. Absolute winner of a dish!
Wahoo, that’s awesome ahp!! N x
Just made this fir dinner with the crispy potatoes and put pumpkin, zucchini and carrot under the chicken. It was delicious. Really tasty and not dry. Make sure you do dry the chicken well. Gravy was easier and super delicious.
This is the best chicken! and I honestly loved the gravy so much, cannot believe I never thought of adding soy sauce for the colour.
Super easy and so much flavour, thanks Nagi.
I have not made this yet but it looks delicious for Christmas dinner. Would boneless chicken breast and/or thighs still work? Would I alter the time baked?
This looks simple and amazing! I’m new to baking and roasting and I’m intending to make this for my inlaw on her birthday. A question here is the roasting part where you mentioned 35mins but what temperature should I set at 35mins, 220c?
Hi Jerelyn, the temperature of the oven is listed in step 1 of “cooking” 🙂 I hope you love it! N X
It was amazing! My first roast chicken was a success and my whole family love it! Thanks so much for this!
This is legit one of my fave dinners!! I have it with roast potatoes and greek salad – tastes just like charcoal chicken (An aussie takeaway)! I leave the marjoram out because its (weirdly) not at my local supermarket, but its still amazing without it! I also use boneless skin on thigh fillets and its so unbelievably good. Huge hit!