Dutch Oven Whole Chicken

This is how to make a dutch oven whole chicken! It’s super easy and flavorful using this method. Tender oven baked whole chicken inside a cast iron pot is the only way to go for me now that I have cast iron pans. You’ll never go back after you’ve tried this and other cast iron recipes.

I am new to using a dutch oven but LOVE it already! The first thing I tried was this dutch oven whole chicken that turned out tender and moist with literally no effort from me (other than prepping it). Using fresh vegetables I had at home I stuffed the cavity full to absorb the juices while it was cooking, and those came out really flavorful as well. (affiliate links present)

This is all you need to make a dutch oven whole chicken

1. Dutch oven (I have this 7 quart)
2. Whole chicken
3. Vegetables (I used celery, onion, and carrots)
4. Herbs and salt
5. 4-5 potatoes to use as a stand, and eat when it’s done

This is what it looked like once I prepped it with all the herbs and spices I used. I don’t really measure when it comes to adding herbs on a chicken, but approximated 1 tbsp of each in the recipe below. I generally just sprinkle each one on until the whole thing is covered to enhance the flavor of the chicken skin and permeate the chicken itself a bit while it is cooking, they are great on the vegetables as well.

Like I said above, Instead of using a trivet I like to use medium sized potatoes as a stand to keep the chicken off the bottom of the dutch oven so it doesn’t sit in the juices while it cooks. This makes the potatoes flavorful as they are in the drippings, but doesn’t make the bottom of the chicken so wet that it’s texture is altered.

If you’re looking for more dutch oven recipes we have many others including this too:

• dutch oven stew
• dutch oven peach cobbler
• dutch oven chili

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Dutch Oven Whole Chicken

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

3 hrs

Total Time

3 hrs 10 mins

 

This dutch oven whole chicken recipe is amazing! Perfectly baked in the oven or cooked over a campfire, it comes out moist and juicy every time.

Course: Entree, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings: 5

Calories: 395 kcal

Author: The Typical Mom

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken
• 4-5 medium potatoes
• 2-3 carrots
• 2-3 stalks celery
• 1 onion
• seasonings for chicken

Instructions

1. Rinse your chicken. Take items, if any, out of cavity and discard.

2. Poke your potatoes and put them in the bottom of your dutch oven in the middle so your chicken can sit upon them and not fall over. 

3. Rinse vegetables, take top layer of onion off and cut in fourths. 

4. Put 2 pcs of onion inside chicken cavity as well as a few pcs of veggies, enough to fill cavity. 

5. Put remaining on the outside of your chicken inside the dutch oven. Season outside of chicken with seasonings of your choice (I use Lawry's, oregano, garlic salt).

6. Put your lid on and put in the oven at 300 degrees for approximately 3 hours

7. Check after 2.5 hrs to see if chicken is at a safe 170 degrees using a meat thermometer and putting it inside the breast area. 

8. You don't want to overcook it, and 3 hrs is perfect for our oven but each one differs slightly so just check. 

9. Then remove your lid and cook with lid off for 15 minutes to brown the skin. 

Nutrition Facts

Dutch Oven Whole Chicken

Amount Per Serving

Calories 395 Calories from Fat 171

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 19g 29%

Saturated Fat 5g 25%

Cholesterol 96mg 32%

Sodium 137mg 6%

Potassium 1097mg 31%

Total Carbohydrates 26g 9%

Dietary Fiber 5g 20%

Sugars 2g

Protein 28g 56%

Vitamin A 86.6%

Vitamin C 30.4%

Calcium 8.5%

Iron 37.7%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.