You may be catching on by now — if you've read my last few posts — that I love a dish that's quick, low-mess, and big on flavor. This whole roasted orange chipotle chicken recipe is no exception. It requires only one dish, just a few minutes of active prep, optional marinade time, and ingredients you probably already have on hand. The end result? A juicy, tender roasted chicken that's weeknight-easy but dinner-party-worthy — fantastic on its own, or as the star of taco night, a burrito bowl, or on a plate of roasted cabbage and black beans (this version described below, one of my favs). Really, however you fancy.
A whole roasted chicken can feel intimidating, I get that — but really, it makes for such a quick and easy dinner that pretty much anyone (as long as you eat chicken) will find satisfying. That said, my usual roasted chicken — simple salt, pepper, and lemon — while delicious and so repeatable, can feel, well, a little boring at times. So what do you do? Literally spice it up. This whole roasted orange chipotle chicken could not be easier or more hands-off, and chances are you already have most of the ingredients hanging out in your spice rack and/or the back of your fridge — and if you don’t, you can easily find them at pretty much any grocery store.
For a complete meal, I love to slice a whole cabbage into rounds and place it under the chicken — it gets schmaltzy, caramelized, sweet, and so tender, and packed with flavor from all the chicken juices. It’s an easy way to get your veggies and fiber in while keeping dinner simple and cleanup minimal. Then crack open a can of black beans, and voilà — dinner is served.
The not-so-secret secret to this recipe is time. Cooking the chicken low and slow gives you juicy, tender, flavorful meat and crispy, crackly skin — and lets you go do something else while dinner cooks itself. Letting the chicken cook for nearly 2 hours at 350 gives you a rotisserie like chicken that is so full of flavor and so not dry. So, without further ado, here is the recipe:
Recipe:
Serves 4-6 people | 10 minutes active prep time + 30min-12hr marinating time (optional) + 90-120min cooking time
Ingredients:
Juice of one large orange, approximately 1/2 cup orange juice
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp paprika (not smoked)
2 tsp chipotle powder
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
5 garlic cloves minced/crushed/grated
1 Tbs olive oil
1 whole chicken
Instructions:
Combine the spices, orange juice, garlic, and olive oil in a small bowl — or in a gallon ziplock bag or sealable container if you're planning to marinate.
Slather the chicken inside and out with the spice mixture. If you're marinating, do this directly in your marinating vessel; if you're going straight into the oven, you can skip ahead and do this in step 6 to cut down on dishes.
If you have time, let the chicken marinate for 30 minutes up to 12 hours.
When you're ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350°F.
While the oven preheats, slice one whole onion and one whole orange and lay them in an even layer in your baking dish. Alternatively, if you're roasting with cabbage, remove the outer leaves, wash, and slice into 1"-thick rounds. Lay the cabbage rounds over the onions, squeeze a little orange juice over top, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Place the chicken on top of the onion-and-orange layer (or onion-and-cabbage layer, depending on your version). If you skipped marinating, massage the spice mixture over the bird now. If you did marinate, scrape every bit of the marinade out over the chicken.
Roast at 350°F for about 2 hours, or until the internal temperature at the thickest part of the chicken reaches 160°F and let rest for at least 15 min before diving in
I like your sentiment - quick, easy, delish 💖