How Long to Bake a Whole Chicken at 350

How long to bake a whole chicken at 350 so it’s juicy and tender with crispy skin on the outside! Roasted healthy meal, cheaper than cut into pieces. We will share how to cook a whole frozen chicken in oven and fresh with light seasonings or your favorite dry rub. Get tender meat and crispy skin, the perfect dinner choice.

How Long to Bake a Whole Chicken

Ok so of course there will be a bit of fluctuation (about 30 minutes) to the cooking time depending on it’s weight. In general you should set aside 60-100 minutes to get this done. Ours was right at 80 minutes and 4 pounds total. I do think there is a big difference between organic free range and “others”. Choose what you like but I will share my opinion on this.

This goes for pieces or the whole bird, it’s worth it to pay the extra money. I have done A LOT of experimenting and will say it goes way beyond just health benefits for us. The cheaper versions are much fattier and the meat isn’t nearly as tender. I think it’s because they get the birds to grow so fast that it has a bit of “grit” to it. Just sayin……

How to Cook a Whole Chicken in Oven

SO for what it is worth, when making any and all of our quick and easy chicken recipes I buy organic free range birds. Period. Ok moving on from there you should use seasonings of your choice but what we used is listed below, and simple. Garlic, salt, pepper and oregano are kinda’ our easy go tos.

Beyond that you could use a chicken dry rub of ours that is sweet and savory if you didn’t want to use a sauce at the end. There is sugar in that one though so if that isn’t for you just season lightly to give it flavor, then brush some bbq sauce or something on at the end.

Roasted Whole Chicken

When you start, first see if there is a bag of “stuff” inside. If there is just throw it away unless you want to make chicken dripping gravy out of it or something.

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken 4 lbs was used
• Salt and pepper are a given
• Garlic powder or granulated garlic works too
• Dried or fresh chopped basil is a great one
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• Thyme
• Olive oil will help the skin to crisp and get the herbs to stick nicely
• instant read thermometer is handy to have
• and a sharp knife to carve the chicken

I usually toss it myself but you do you. My kids usually attack the wings and drumsticks while my husband’s favorite are thighs and I like breasts so everyone is happy.

You should use a pan large enough for your whole chicken. If you don’t want the bottom sitting in it’s juices then put a rack underneath it. If you don’t have one that fits you can wad up a piece of foil, make it like 1″ flat and sit it on top of that. This will allow the bottom sides to crisp up a bit too at the end.

Is it better to bake a whole chicken at 350 or 400?

We think lower is better. To get it as moist and juicy as possible you want to give it more time at 350 degrees F. ideally. Don’t rush it, sit it in a roasting pan so you have lots of juices to make gravy with when done and get ready for a delicious melt-in-your-mouth bite.

How to Cool a Whole Chicken in Oven

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a bowl, mix spices, herbs, salt, and olive oil.
• Rinse the chicken inside and out, dry with napkins so skin is dry.
• Rub all over with marinade of oil and spices.
• If you have time, you can leave the chicken for half an hour or an hour to marinate it in the fridge on a plate covered with plastic wrap.
• Next, transfer coated chicken to a roasting pan or baking dish, tuck the wings underneath, and cover the top with foil.
  • or make dutch oven whole chicken and just keep the lid on
  • if you don’t have either of those pans you can make bundt pan chicken this way
• Roast for 40 minutes baking time this way.
• Then remove the foil and bake the chicken for another 40 minutes uncovered to brown.
• Check the temperature inside the middle of the chicken breast or thighs
• The finished chicken should be 165 degrees F internally to be safe to eat.
• Remove and allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

You never want to cut a piece of meat right away, the juices will flow right out and dry it out. Instead wait 10-15 minutes and they will remain inside so it stays mouth watering. Not only for eating it fresh but also keeps it tender for leftover chicken recipes.

How Long to Cook Whole Chicken per Pound

In general you it will take 20 minutes long to roast per pound of meat. As I said it will vary depending on other factors such as fat content, how steady your oven temp is etc… but typically chicken cooks at this rate if left whole. The exception to the rule would be slow cooker whole chicken frozen or if it’s fresh. It’s closer to 6-7 hours for those but worth it.

Another I guess would be if you are boiling a whole chicken, but that is usually used for making soup. If you don’t have this long until everyone gets hangry you can cut it into pieces.

That will cut the overall timing down quite a bit. You can cook them frozen this way too. I have several roasted chicken recipes if separated. Quickest of all is a fried whole chicken!

For reference I have a few other recipes you can follow if you decide to cut it up. One of our favorites is baking frozen chicken wings in oven here. You can add seasonings halfway thru so it sticks to the thawed wings at that time. You broil at the end to still get that crispy chicken skin and you’d never know they were rock hard to begin with this way.

What should you serve with whole chicken in the oven?

What should you serve with this once it is done? You can go with easy with a bagged salad from the store or bought Hawaiian rolls. Mashed potatoes can be made relatively quickly in a pressure cooker during the last 15 minutes this is in or you can use your air fryer for even more choices. Personally I like to pair protein with a healthy vegetable.

I don’t think there haven’t been any roasted air fryer vegetables we haven’t liked this way. I tend to mix things that cook at the same rate like zucchini, squash, mushrooms and onions together. With a bit of seasoning, olive oil and a dash of lemon juice when done I swear these don’t last long in our house. Healthy doesn’t have to be boring or tasteless y’all.

What can I do with the carcass of a chicken?

I mean you can throw it away, just saying. I’ve done it before and probably will again. BUT there is still meat on this baby and flavors that will be leached out if you boil it and turn it into chicken noodle soup! I mean you don’t leave the bones in there, you boil it with the broth, meat and veggies and allow the small pieces on there to come loose…then get rid of it.

Make bone broth out of it if you want, that is actually really healthy to drink. Another great thing to do before throwing it away is to put it into your compost bin instead. Helps to break down everything else so you make terrific soil for your garden.