Whole Baked Chicken – Thanksgiving

Whole Baked Chicken, Can I get an amen?

This is the perfect recipe for a smaller gathering on Thanksgiving. You want a turkey but the size of the turkey just doesn’t make sense for the crowd? This whole baked chicken is perfect for you. It is juicy and flavorful.

The New Series

Ahhh, welcome to our first Thanksgiving post ever? So excited to start it out with this chicken recipe! The last series was super delicious, I did a soup series on 5 nutrient dense soup recipes. I will link them at the bottom if you are interested!

I also am now an Amazon affiliate, so I want to disclose that I do have links to products I use in case you guys are curious! Now here’s the part in which I drop all my links to my socials for you. Appreciate you!

If you don’t already know, all the videos to these recipes are on my IG. I also share a lot about nutrition and my day-to-day life on my stories. It’s also a great spot to get in touch with me via DM. They are always open!

Pinterest. If you’re not already I would super appreciate a follow from you guys it really helps me out!!

If Instagram isn’t your thing and you’re more of a YouTube kind of person. That is totally understandable.
I also have a YouTube I share a lot of content and will be starting long form content very soon! I am going to be doing recipes and teaching you in real time. My heart is so excited about this.

Thanksgiving Inspo

Of course I had to make it a whole baked chicken because I can’t count the amount of Friendsgiving’s I’ve done and served chicken because either my oven was too small at the time or I didn’t have enough people coming to warrant a huge turkey. So, we have this recipe.

As far as the inspo for the flavoring, I chose a classic butter rub for the chicken and laid her down on a bed of onions, carrots and celery. I tucked in roasted garlic in there too and whole shallots. They married so well with the whole dish.

More Thanksgivings recipes to come. All are mostly healthy with a few traditional desserts and such thrown in there. One of my many mottos is, “eat everything, just make it from scratch”.

What You Will Need:

• Deep cooking pan
• Baster
• Meat thermometer
• Dry white wine

Health Benefits:

Highlighting 2 ingredients from this Whole Baked Chicken Recipe and their health benefits.

Chicken Health Benefits:

• High-Quality Protein: Which is essential for building and repairing tissues, producing enzymes and hormones, and supporting muscle health. Protein is also important for immune function and overall growth.
  
• Rich in B-Vitamins: Especially niacin (B3) and vitamin B6. These vitamins help with energy production, brain function, and red blood cell formation. Vitamin B6, supports immune health and the production of neurotransmitters.
  
• Supports Muscle Growth and Repair: The protein content in chicken is beneficial for muscle building and repair.
  
• Good for Bone Health: Good source of phosphorus, an essential mineral that works with calcium to support strong bones and teeth. Phosphorus also plays a role in energy production and cell repair.
  
• Boosts Immunity: The vitamin B6 in chicken supports the production of red blood cells and immune function. It also helps in the production of serotonin, which plays a role in regulating mood and sleep.
  
• Rich in Selenium: An essential trace mineral that acts as a powerful antioxidant. Selenium helps protect cells from oxidative damage, supports thyroid health, and strengthens the immune system.

Butter:

• Rich in Healthy Fats: Saturated Fats: While butter is high in saturated fats, the type of saturated fat it contains is considered more heart-healthy compared to industrial processed fats. Saturated fats can support hormone production, healthy cell membranes, and help with the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins.
  
• Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Butter from grass-fed cows contains a higher concentration of omega-3 fatty acids, which are beneficial for heart health, reducing inflammation, and supporting brain function.
  
• Supports Vitamin Absorption: Butter is a good source of fat-soluble vitamins like Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, and Vitamin K2.
  
• Boosts Brain Health: Butter is rich in butyrate, a short-chain fatty acid that has been linked to better brain function. Butyrate helps support the gut-brain axis and may reduce inflammation in the brain, potentially improving cognitive health and mood.
  
• Improves Skin Health: The Vitamin A and fatty acids in butter contribute to healthy, glowing skin by supporting cell turnover, moisture retention, and reducing inflammation. Vitamin A, in particular, is essential for skin repair and rejuvenation.
  
• Supports Gut Health: Butyrate, found in butter, also plays an important role in gut health. It helps nourish the cells of the gut lining and supports the gut microbiome, promoting a healthy digestive system and reducing inflammation in the gut.
  
• Promotes Bone Health: The Vitamin K2 in butter (especially from grass-fed cows) is essential for bone health. Vitamin K2 helps direct calcium to the bones and teeth, supporting bone density and helping prevent calcification of arteries.
  

The Recipe:

Ingredients:

• Whole Chicken – About 4lb-5lb – Cut down the rib to lay chicken flat
• 5 Medium/Large Carrots
• 4 Celery Sticks
• 1 Yellow Onion – Largely chopped
• 2 Garlics – Whole for roasting
• 3 Shallots – Halved and dry skin removed
• 4 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  Kosterina is the one I use and LOVE (This link gives you 15% off) or this code: BRITTANY57373
• 1/2 Cup of Dry White Wine – I used a Chardonnay I had in the fridge

For the garlic herb butter:

• 1 Stick of Salted Butter
• 2 Cloves of Garlic – Minced
• 3 Tbsp Cilantro
• 5 Sprigs of Thyme – De-sprigged

Method:

The Garlic Herb Butter (Thank me later).

1. First we are going to remove our butter from the fridge and let it get to room temperature. Or if you’re like me, and you forgot to do that, heat it up in the microwave just enough so it does not turn into a soup.
2. Now gather your cilantro, thyme and garlic.

3. Chop your cilantro very fine and add it to the butter.
4. Then grab your thyme and de-sprig it into the butter.

5. Now we add the garlic. Mince it very small and add it to the butter mixture and mix until it is fully combined. This is what we are going to rub our chicken with but it can also be used directly on bread. So good!

The Chicken Recipe:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400F or 204C.
2. We start by taking our chicken out of the packaging and tap drying it with paper towels.
3. Then we are going to place it breast side down and cut from the spine to the anus, all the way. Set it aside while we chop our vegetables.
4. Prepare your vegetables. You will need an onion, carrots, celery, shallots and garlic.

5. Grab your cleaned celery and chop it on an axis into big chunks. As pictured above.
6. Take your carrots, peel the skin and chop them like you chopped the celery.

7. Place the carrots and celery at the bottom of a deep, wide baking dish. Mine is amazing, it’s this one.
8. Chop up your onions large, as pictured above. Add them to the dish.

9. Now you are going to butterfly your chicken open (as pictured above). Drizzle olive oil over the chicken and vegetables.
10. Pour 1/2 cup of dry white wine over the chicken and vegetables.

11. Take your shallots and take the dry skin off, maybe 2 layers? Then cut it long ways once, as pictured above.
12. For the garlic. Take the garlic and get the layers of flaky skin off. Take a knife and cut the tops of the garlic but keep the garlic intact.

13. Grab your garlic herb butter and pour more than half over your chicken and rub it all over. Under the skin if you can as well. When it is done, it should look something like the photo above.

14. Take a little piece of foil and put the garlic on top. Then you are going to wrap the garlic in the foil just enough so the bottom is covered and so it gives it a nice even cook.

15. Finally we are going to add our shallots, garlic and extra thyme.
16. Now place your chicken in the oven for 1 hour and 30 minutes, basting every 30 minutes. When the chicken is done cooking, the inner temperature should be around 160F/165F or 71C.

17. Your whole baked chicken is done!! Wait 10 minutes after you pull it out of the oven so all the juice settles. Enjoy!!! Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you enjoyed this recipe and I hope you make it for Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving and nourish your family, friends and loved ones. Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Here are the Soup recipes from the series!!

Roasted Pumpkin Soup – The first in the series! So creamy and delicious.
Loaded Miso Soup – Blue Zone Inspired Soup that is so dang good.
Pozole Verde, My Way – My take on a traditional Mexican soup. I dare say, it turned out very good.
Italian Meatball Soup – This one is my husbands favorite soup. Perfect for the holidays.
Italian Penicillin Soup – Now this soup is my personal favorite and a favorite at the table.

Comments/Questions?

I love hearing from each and every one of you. So please feel free to comment below how this worked out for you, if you have a question, or if you just want to say hi!
Don’t forget to share your creations on Instagram and tag me so I can see your delicious thanksgiving recipes!
Thank you so much for being here! I appreciate you all and your support!