Make this simple roast chicken recipe: Healthy Baked Lemon Chicken that’s juicy, low calorie and uses two ingredients. Ready in one hour or less.
Dinner doesn’t get any easier than this simple whole roasted chicken recipe: Healthy Baked Lemon Chicken. It’s simple to prepare and best of all it’s low calorie. And, you only need two ingredients: chicken and lemon.
The lemon does all the hard work and makes the chicken succulent, no matter if you love eating white or dark meat.
The secret is to spatchcock the chicken. This means that you cut out the backbone and “flatten” the chicken. Doing so allows the meat to cook evenly. (See images below.)
Then, the only thing difficult is to decide which side dish to serve with your chicken. (See below.)
RELATED: 16 Simple and Easy Roasting Recipes
How to Make Healthy Baked Lemon Chicken
Start with a large roasting chicken, approximately 4 lbs.
Preheat oven to 375 °F (190 °C) and use sharp kitchen shears or knife to cut the backbone on either side. Remove and discard.
Next, slice the lemon in thin, even slices.
Grab the skin gently, try to work your hand all the way around the breast meat and thigh area. (You may have to cut the connective tissue by the breast meat with the shears, then the area will open up nicely.)
Slide the lemon slices up under the skin, starting in the thigh area on each side of chicken and then up into the breast area.
Depending upon the size of the bird, you will probably use one lemon slice for each thigh and four slices (two in the back, two in the front) for the breast area.
Any extra lemon slices, place these on top of the chicken skin. Place in preheated oven, uncovered. Roast chicken time is approximately one hour.
Be sure to check at this point the doneness of the chicken.
The roast chicken temperature should register on the meat thermometer 165 °F (73.9 °C) in breast or thigh. Be sure not to overcook.
Once the baked Lemon Chicken has been taken out of the oven let rest for at least 10 minutes. This will allow the juices to go back into the meat. Then, it’s time to slice and serve.
What to Serve with Lemon Chicken
Here are my favorite sides to serve with this Healthy Baked Lemon Chicken recipe:
- Easy Apple Stuffing
- One Pan Roasted Winter Vegetable Medley
- Easy Creamed Peas
- Sautéed Sugar Snap Peas with Pistachios
Healthy Baked Lemon Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 lbs whole chicken approximately
- 1 lemon sliced thinly
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C)
- Using sharp kitchen shears, cut the backbone on either side. Remove and discard.
- Using a clean, sharp knife on another cutting board, slice the lemon in thin, even slices.
- To dress the chicken, grab the skin gently and work your hand all the way around the breast meat and thigh area. (You may have to cut the connective tissue by the breast meat with the shears, then the area will open up nicely.) Wash your hands after handling the chicken.
- Take the lemon slices, one by one, and slide them up under the skin starting in the thigh area on each side of chicken and then up into the breast area. Depending upon the size of the bird, you will probably use one lemon slice for each thigh and four slices (two in the back, two in the front) for the breast area.
- Any extra lemon slices, place these on top of the chicken skin. Place in the oven, uncovered. Bake for approximately one hour or until meat thermometer registers 165°F (73.9°C) in breast or thigh. Be sure not to overcook.
- Once chicken has been taken out of the oven, let rest for at least 10 minutes. This will allow the juices to go back into the meat. Slice and serve. Enjoy!
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