Roasted spatchcock chicken with herb garlic butter and umami-packed secret ingredient. Quick, juicy, crispy, and absolutely delicious. You will never roast chicken any other way!
Jump to: ℹ️ Overview | 🛒 Ingredients | 📷 How To Make | 📹 Watch The Video | 👩🍳 Recipe Tips | 🥗 Serving Suggestions | 📝 Full Recipe Card | 🍽 More Similar Recipes
What’s So Good About This Chicken Recipe
Roasted spatchcock chicken is everything you want in a roast chicken dinner but faster and juicier. By removing the backbone (a.k.a. butterflying or spatchcocking), the chicken cooks evenly, with crispy skin and tender meat.
Slathered with a luscious herb and garlic butter, infused with a secret ingredient—chicken stock powder (so much umami!) — it’s bursting with savory, rich flavor.
Toss in some veggies, and you’ve got a complete one-pan meal that’s easy enough for a weeknight but impressive enough for guests. It’s definitely my favorite way to roast a whole chicken!
Each serving offers a balanced profile of protein and healthy fats with a satisfying roasted aroma. Add to it some veggies and you have a nutritious meal for the whole family.
👩🍳 You might also like my Greek roast chicken, my lemon oregano chicken thighs, or this easy chicken potato bake.
What You’ll Need
Here is what you’ll need for this roasted spatchcock chicken recipe. Find the full measurements in the recipe card below.
For the chicken (and vegetables, if using):
- A whole chicken that we’re going to butterfly. This allows it to cook faster and ensures crispy skin. If you’re too intimidated to do this yourself, ask your butcher to butterfly the chicken for you. If you have any leftover chicken, you can use them to make my chicken salad wraps.
- Salt and pepper: essential for seasoning.
- Vegetables: Potatoes, carrots, and onion, or any other you love. A little olive oil, salt and pepper.
Herb and garlic butter:
- Butter adds richness and helps crisp the skin. I used salted butter. I also like to add a splash of olive oil to prevent burning.
- For flavor: fresh parsley, garlic, and lemon zest for those bright and aromatic notes, plus some dried herbs for some earthy tones.
- Chicken stock powder is my umami bomb that deepens every bite. I use Vegeta stock powder but any brand will work here. Vegetarian stock powder will also work here.
How To Spatchcock A Chicken
Find the full recipe and nutritional information below. Here are some handy step-by-step photos and a video for how to butterfly the chicken and how to cook it.
Prepare Herb and Garlic Butter First
- In a small bowl, mix the herb and garlic butter ingredients, mashing with a fork or a spoon.
- Cut up the veggies and set aside, if planning to use.
- Preheat the oven to 420°F (210°C).
Butterfly The Chicken
- Place the chicken breast side down, thighs towards you. Remove the backbone with kitchen shears. Open the rib cage and score down the sternum with a heavy knife—this makes it easier to pop the breastbone and flatten the chicken. Season inside and out with salt and pepper.
- Flip the chicken breast side up and place it on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Press firmly on the breastbone to flatten, then gently loosen the skin over the breast and thighs with your thumbs.
- Spread a quarter of the butter on the inside of the chicken, half of the butter under the chicken skin, and dot or spread the remaining butter over the chicken. Season the top of the chicken with a little extra salt and pepper
Roast The Chicken & Vegetables
- Arrange potatoes, carrots, and onions around the chicken. Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
- Bake at 420°F (210°C) for 45-50 minutes or until the chicken’s internal temp hits 160°F (71°C).
- Let the chicken rest for 5-10 minutes, then carve and drizzle with juices. You can garnish it with some fresh parsley.
Watch The Video
Expert Tips
- Why butter under the skin? It bastes the meat as it cooks, keeping it juicy and flavorful.
- Use a large enough baking sheet so the chicken and veggies roast evenly. Mine wasn’t big enough so I had to roast carrots and onions in a cast-iron pan on the bottom of the oven.
- Place the tray on the middle shelf, not too close to the broil as that’s the hottest part of the oven and can burn the skin.
- Don’t skip resting the chicken; it helps the juices redistribute for maximum tenderness.
- Make ahead: Prep the herb butter up to 2 days ahead and refrigerate. Butterfly and season the chicken a day before roasting; make sure the chicken comes to room temperature before putting it in the oven.
- Storage tips: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Freeze carved chicken for up to 2 months.
The term “spatchcock” likely comes from a combination of words in 18th-century Ireland or England. It’s believed to be a shortened form of “dispatch cock,” which referred to quickly preparing a bird for cooking by removing the backbone and flattening it. This method made it easier to cook the chicken quickly and evenly, often over an open flame. Over time, the word “spatchcock” became the go-to name for both the method and the prepared chicken. So, it’s both a technique and a little nod to food history!
Spatchcocking refers specifically to butterflying a whole bird by removing the backbone and flattening it, while butterflying is a general term for splitting and flattening any cut of meat.
No, you don’t need to flip a spatchcock chicken! Since it’s flattened, the skin stays facing up the entire time, allowing it to crisp up beautifully while the meat cooks evenly underneath.
Yes, if you want to make a dairy-free version, use a similar amount of olive oil or avocado oil. You can also add a little lemon juice to cut through the richness of the oil.
Yes, it’s not going to be AS delicious as my version, but you can definitely go without. You will need to add ½ to 1 teaspoon of salt.
Serving Suggestions
Here is what to serve with Spatchcock chicken:
- I love a simple side salad and crusty bread to mop up the juices. You can also try cucumber tomato and feta salad, which also pairs well. Alternatively, make some lemon garlic asparagus or pan fried broccoli.
- For a cozy vibe and if you’re not roasting veggies in the same pan, serve with sour cream mashed potatoes or make a side of roasted butternut squash cubes.
- I like to serve a bowl of my quick sauerkraut drizzled with a little oil for extra probiotics, crunch, and tang.
💬 If you’ve tried this spatchcock chicken recipe or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube and or sign up to my Newsletter to see more of my delicious food.
Want to Save This Recipe?
Enter your email & I’ll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Cooked & Loved
Ingredients
For the chicken
- 1 whole chicken butterflied, see step-by-step photos and video above
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Herb and Garlic Butter
- 3 oz 90 grams salted butter, softened
- ⅓ cup parsley chopped (about 10-12 grams)
- 3 cloves garlic grated or minced
- Zest of ½ lemon
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon chicken stock powder e.g., Vegeta
- 1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs e.g. Italian herbs
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Veggies
- 4-5 potatoes cut into wedges
- 2 carrots sliced
- 1 red onion cut into wedges (optional)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 420˚F (210˚C).
- Mix the butter: In a small bowl, mix the herb and garlic butter ingredients, mashing with a fork or spoon.
- Butterfly the chicken: Place the chicken breast-side down with the thighs facing you. Using kitchen shears, cut through the ribs along both sides of the spine (backbone) to remove it. Open the rib cage and score down the sternum with a heavy knife—this makes it easier to pop the breastbone and flatten the chicken. Season the inside of the chicken with ½ tsp salt and a pinch or two of black pepper. Please see the photos above to how to do this.
- Flip the chicken breast-side up and place it on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Use the palm of your hand to press firmly on the breastbone, flattening the chicken completely. Gently loosen the skin from the meat over the breast and thighs using your thumbs.
- Spread a quarter of the butter inside the chicken, half under the skin, and the rest over the top.
- Arrange the prepared vegetables around the chicken on the baking sheet and drizzle them with olive oil. Season the vegetables with salt and black pepper to taste. You can also add a little more seasoning to the chicken.Note: My baking sheet wasn’t big enough to fit both the potatoes and carrots, so I placed the carrots and onions in a cast-iron pan and roasted them alongside the chicken. You can also add other vegetables like pumpkin or squash.
- Bake uncovered at 420˚F (210˚C) for about 45 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken breast reads 160˚F (71˚C). Tip: Place the tray on the middle shelf, not too close to the broil as that’s the hottest part of the oven and can burn the skin.
- Remove from the oven and let it rest uncovered on a cutting board for 5–10 minutes before serving.
- Move the chicken to a cutting board, cut off the thighs and wings, and slice up the breast. Serve with the cooking juices drizzled over the top
After using this spatchcock method, I don’t think I’ll make chicken any other way. It’s really good cooked, shredded, and frozen too so I’ve made a habit of doubling it.
I made this for the family the other night and they loved it! It came together so much easier than I thought as well 🙂