Seven great roast chicken recipes to revamp your Sunday lunch
Let's talk about roast chicken , shall we? It's the stalwart of British Sunday lunches and roast dinners , the aromatic centrepiece of family gatherings, and – when done right – a testament to simplicity elevated.
The beauty of roast chicken lies in its versatility. Whether you crave the smoky warmth of chorizo , garlic , and rosemary, or prefer a fiery Thai satay twist, there's a version here to make your oven – and taste buds – sing. This roundup pulls together the most tantalising roast chicken recipes , from the reliably golden and juicy to the wildly inventive, each one designed to satisfy every comfort-craving whim.
Take Emily Scott's chorizo-infused beauty, for example. This is roast chicken at its buttery, golden finest, with lemon, rosemary, and new potatoes mingling to create a delicious one-pot wonder. Or dive into Sebby Holmes' Thai-inspired satay roast, where peanut, coconut, and chilli meld into a sticky, lip-smacking glaze. For those after a taste of the Levant, Yasmin Khan's sumac-sprinkled chicken will leave you wondering why you haven't always roasted with spice.
Each recipe here is a masterclass in taking the humble bird and giving it depth, character, and a little something extra to make your roast truly unforgettable.
Roast chicken with chorizo, garlic and rosemary
Recipe by: Emily Scott
There is nothing more comforting than a roast chicken – a go-to every week and something my family are always happy to see. The chorizo, lemon and rosemary create a wonderful gravy of buttery golden juices; with the potatoes and garlic, it really is a delicious one-pot recipe.
: 4
:
50-100g (2-31⁄2oz) unsalted butter, softened
300g (10 1⁄2oz) chorizo, thickly sliced
Cornish sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
:
'Time & Tide' by Emily Scott (Hardie Grant, £28).
Satay roasted chicken
Recipe by: Sebby Holmes
Lamb roasts may be synonymous in the UK with Easter Sunday, but that shouldn't stop you from exploring less traditional options. Chicken is always a great go-to meat when it comes to a hearty Sunday meal.
Looking for something different to spice up your roast? Try my Thai twist on roast chicken, marinated in sweet, fragrant satay sauce, guaranteed to have you going back for a second plate.
Satay is commonly eaten across Asia and is traditionally used to marinate meats or vegetables before skewering and barbecuing over an open flame. It takes a little dedication to make the curry paste but once you have, marinating and roasting the whole chicken is a breeze.
: 4
:
Large pinch coarse salt
:
1. Firstly, make the paste. In a large pestle and mortar proceed to pound all ingredients one at a time first. Individually pound each ingredient until the mixture begins to resemble a paste, then remove from the pestle and place to one side. Start with the dried chilli, ginger, garlic, shallots, peanuts, and coconut, using salt as an abrasive if needed. Once all ingredients have had a good bashing, continue to add all the ingredients together in the pestle and mortar until they have all become one paste. It is normal for this process to take quite some time to complete properly. Because of the coconut content, this paste will only last a week or so, so keep the container it's wrapped in airtight – and refrigerate or freeze.
2. Now cook out the satay curry. In a large non-stick pan add the coconut oil and heat to a high heat. Add the paste and continue to cook out using a metal spoon so you can scrape the paste as it will want to stick to the pan, continue to fry the paste for around 15-20 minutes until the paste darkens slightly and the smell becomes one. I always find when cooking out a curry that you can smell the individual ingredients cooking in turn, until it all blends into one smell once all the ingredients are cooked and fused together. At this stage add the palm sugar and turn the paste down to a medium heat, continue to stir and scrape until the sugar caramelises and the paste begins to darken. When this happens add the fish sauce – adding this moisture to the paste will deglaze any paste that has stuck a little to the pan. Next, take off the heat, add the coconut cream and mix well.
'Cook Thai' by Sebby Holmes (Kyle Books, £19.99).
Roast chicken with truffled gnocchi and sage butter
Recipe by: Gizzi Erskine
: 6
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Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the truffled gnocchi:
50g Italian "00" flour, plus extra for dusting
Quarter teaspoon fine sea salt
For the sage and truffle butter:
A handful of sage leaves
:
5. Bring a pan of salted water to a boil, add the gnocchi and cavolo nero and cook for 1–2 minutes, or until the gnocchi have risen to the surface. Strain, add to the butter sauce and fry until the gnocchi are coated and catching in places. Carve or portion the chicken and arrange the gnocchi and cavolo nero on plates. Pile the chicken on top and spoon over the chicken juices from the tin to finish.
'Skinny Weeks and Weekend Feasts' by Gizzi Erskine (Quadrille, £19.99).
Roast chicken with sumac and red onions
Recipe by: Yasmin Khan
Mussakhan is a classic Palestinian dish eaten in villages throughout the region. Traditionally the meat is laid out on a giant piece of bread with the flavoursome roasting juices poured over it, so that they seep into the dough. This platter is then placed on the table for everyone to pull off sections of bread and chicken: a wonderful sharing meal. As it can be challenging to find such large pieces of flatbread in most shops, I've suggested using individual naan breads instead... But, of course, if you can, seek out traditional sheets of Arabic taboon bread from Middle Eastern stores. If you are avoiding gluten, the chicken is just as delicious on its own or served with rice or a salad.
: 4
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1⁄2 teaspoon ground cumin
1⁄2 teaspoon ground allspice
1⁄4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
11⁄2 tablespoons sumac, plus more to dust
Juice of 1 lemon
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Naan or Arabic taboon bread, to serve
Chopped parsley leaves
:
1. Slash the flesh of each piece of chicken diagonally a few times, around 2cm apart, and then place the meat in a large bowl or plastic food container. Pour over the extra virgin olive oil, spices, lemon juice, garlic, 11⁄2 teaspoons salt and 1⁄4 teaspoon pepper and rub this into the meat. Add the red onions and toss everything together well. Cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for 1-3 hours.
'Zaitoun: Recipes and Stories from the Palestinian Kitchen' by Yasmin Khan (Bloomsbury, £26).
Pan-roasted chicken thighs with pears and fennel
Recipe by: Julia Platt Leonard
"It is, in my view, the duty of an apple to be crisp and crunchable, but a pear should have such a texture as leads to silent consumption." Food writer Edward Ashdown Bunyard (1878-1939) had a point. While we'd happily pluck an apple off a tree and munch away, we wouldn't with a pear because it's not ripe.
A pear picked fresh off the tree is too hard and hasn't developed the mellow sweetness we want. But give it a bit of time to ripen off the branch and it's something altogether different.
While pears are a joy to eat raw, they're not too shabby cooked either. Some heat and a pear's honeyed tones are revealed nicely.
We're spoiled for choice with pears in autumn so it's the perfect time to serve them up in sweet and savoury combinations.
This recipe matches them with bone-in chicken thighs and wedges of fennel that add a nice aniseed bite to the dish. A healthy hit of butter mingled with the juices from the chicken don't hurt either.
: 3-4
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Juice of 1 lemon
Handful of parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper
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Roast chicken with chilli, ginger and lemon
In under 55 minutes create this zesty baked dish made with leg and thigh meat and flavoured with a kick of chilli and ginger.
: 4
Prep time: 15 minutes | Cooking time: 40 minutes
:
Small thumb of ginger, ground
Juice of 2 lemons and zest of 1
:
verylazy.com
Brick roast chicken and braised chipotle cabbage
Recipe by: John Torode and Lisa Faulkner
Chicken and just five other ingredients equals a crowd-pleaser with little fuss. You don't have to use a brick, any heavy weight will do (the brick keeps the chicken flat so the skin stays crisp), but what a great story to tell around the family table – oh yes I got a brick and cooked you a chook!
: 4-6
:
Juice of 2 limes
Olive oil, for cooking
For the chipotle cabbage:
A little oil, for frying
To serve (optional):
Oven fries
:
: You can use a fire brick in the oven as they are better at withstanding higher temperatures. They can be purchased from DIY stores and online. If you do not have a suitable brick, a cast-iron lid will work.
'John & Lisa's Kitchen' by John Torode and Lisa Faulkner (Quadrille, £25).
