Herb Roasted Chicken with Carrots and Potatoes is an easy roasted chicken recipe with crisp skin and tender vegetables cooked together in one roasting pan. Chicken leg quarters roast above potatoes, carrots, and onions, allowing the seasoned drippings to flavor the vegetables as they cook. Serve it with a simple green salad or warm dinner rolls for a hearty family dinner.
If you like this recipe, you may also love our Greek Lemon Chicken and Potatoes or our Cajun Roasted Chicken.
Herb Roasted Chicken Recipe at a Glance 🔎
- 🕒 Prep Time: 10 minutes
- ⏱️ Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- 👥 Servings: 6
- 🔥 Cook Method: Oven Roasted
- 🍽️ Cuisine (or General Category): American
- 👩🍳 Pair With: Green salad, dinner rolls, or Air Fryer Green Beans
- ⭐ Difficulty Level: Easy
Need an AI‑Friendly Version? Summarize or save this recipe.
Disclaimer: AI summaries may vary and are not guaranteed to match the original recipe provided here.
Cutting the potatoes into similar-sized pieces makes a real difference here; serve them straight from the pan with the seasoned chicken drippings. ~Jami
Jump to:
Why We Love This Recipe
- Crispy Skin and Tender Chicken: Starting the chicken at 425°F helps render the skin before lowering the heat so the leg quarters can finish cooking until tender.
- Vegetables Cook in the Drippings: Roasting the chicken above the vegetables lets the seasoned chicken drippings fall directly onto the potatoes, carrots, and onions.
- Simple Hands-Off Dinner: Once everything is seasoned and arranged in the roasting pan, the oven does most of the work.
- Made for Dark Meat: Chicken leg quarters handle the longer roasting time well and become increasingly tender.
Key Ingredients
- Chicken Leg Quarters: Leg quarters are ideal for this roasting method because the dark meat stays juicy during the longer cooking time needed to brown the skin and vegetables. Pat them very dry before seasoning. Surface moisture works against browning and can leave the skin softer.
- Chef Potatoes: Small to medium potatoes work best because they can be halved and still cook through alongside the chicken. Try to keep the pieces close to the same size.
- Carrots and Onion: Cut the carrots into substantial pieces so they don't become overly soft during the long roasting time. Onion wedges can handle the heat and become browned around the edges while absorbing some of the seasoned chicken drippings.
- Garlic: Roasting half a head of garlic cut-side up softens the cloves and takes away their raw sharpness.
- Dried Herbs: Italian seasoning, thyme, and rosemary give the chicken its herb-forward flavor without requiring fresh herbs. Rub the seasoning evenly over the chicken so you don't end up with heavily seasoned patches.
- Adobo and Chicken Bouillon: These provide much of the savory seasoning in the recipe. Because both products can contain a significant amount of sodium, additional salt isn't necessary before roasting.
- Lemon: Lemon is used twice for a reason. The first addition seasons the vegetables before roasting, while the final squeeze adds fresh acidity after the chicken comes out of the oven and balances the richness of the pan drippings.
A full ingredient list with exact measurements can be found in the recipe card below.
Substitutions & Variations
- Chef Potatoes: Yukon Gold or small red potatoes can be used in their place. Keep the pieces approximately the same size so they finish cooking together.
- Yellow Onion: Sweet onion will also work. Red onion will retain a little more texture and has a slightly different flavor once roasted.
- Dried Herbs: You can adjust the herb mixture based on what you have. Rosemary and thyme are especially well suited to roasted chicken, so I'd keep at least one of those in the blend.
- Flavor Fresh rosemary or thyme can be added to the roasting pan, but don't replace the dried herbs measure-for-measure because fresh herbs are less concentrated.
- Kid-Friendly: Keep the seasonings as written but serve the chicken removed from the bone with potatoes and carrots alongside it.
How To Make Herb Roasted Chicken with Potatoes and Carrots
STEP ONE: Prepare the Chicken and Seasoning
Preheat the oven to 425°F and set a roasting rack inside a large roasting pan. Pat the chicken leg quarters thoroughly dry with paper towels before adding oil or seasoning.
Combine the Adobo, chicken bouillon powder, Italian seasoning, thyme, rosemary, paprika, and black pepper in a small bowl.
Rub the chicken with half of the olive oil and half of the seasoning mixture. Arrange the leg quarters skin-side up on the rack.
STEP TWO: Prepare the Vegetables
Place the potatoes, carrots, and onion in the bottom of the roasting pan. Toss them with the remaining olive oil and seasoning mixture, then squeeze half of the lemon juice over the top.
Nestle the halved garlic head among the vegetables with the exposed cloves facing upward. Spread the vegetables out rather than piling them deeply in the center of the pan. More contact with the hot roasting pan means better browning.
STEP THREE: Season and Roast the Chicken
Arrange the seasoned leg quarters skin-side up on the rack.
Roast at 425°F for 30 minutes. The initial high heat begins rendering fat from beneath the skin and encourages browning.
Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F and roast for another 40 to 50 minutes.
Halfway through this portion of the cooking time, rotate the pan and gently stir the vegetables.
STEP FOUR: Check, Finish, and Rest
Check the thickest portion of the thigh with an instant-read thermometer without touching the bone. The chicken is safe to eat once it reaches 165°F, but leg quarters benefit from additional cooking. For this recipe, 190°F to 195°F produces much more tender dark meat.
The skin should be deeply browned and the potatoes should pierce easily with a fork. Remove the roasting pan from the oven and squeeze the remaining lemon juice over the chicken and vegetables.
Rest the chicken for 10 minutes before serving.
Save This Recipe 💌
Enter your email below and we'll send it to your inbox. Plus, you'll get new recipes from us each week!
Expert Tips for Success
👩🍳Jami's Pro Tips: Want to take this recipe to the next level? Check out my expert tips below for the best flavor, texture, and meal prep hacks!
✔️ DO Pat the chicken completely dry before adding the oil and seasonings.
✔️ DO Cut the potatoes into evenly sized pieces so they finish cooking at approximately the same time.
Storage
Store leftover chicken and vegetables in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. For longer storage, remove the chicken from the bones and freeze it in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Reheat the chicken and vegetables in a 350°F oven until hot throughout.
Herb Roasted Chicken Recipe FAQs
Rosemary and thyme are two of the best herbs for roasted chicken because their earthy flavor holds up well during longer cooking. This recipe also uses Italian seasoning, which adds another layer of dried herbs without requiring several individual seasonings.
Both temperatures can roast chicken successfully, but higher heat produces faster browning while lower heat gives dark meat additional time to become tender. This recipe uses both approaches, beginning at 425°F to encourage crisp skin and then reducing the oven to 375°F to finish the chicken.
Choose a cut suited to roasting and use internal temperature rather than cooking time alone to determine doneness. Chicken leg quarters contain more fat and connective tissue than chicken breasts, making them much more forgiving during a longer roast.
Chicken is considered safe at 165°F, but dark meat often has a better texture at a higher internal temperature. Taking leg quarters to approximately 190°F to 195°F gives connective tissue additional time to break down, resulting in meat that pulls away from the bone more easily.
More Chicken Recipes You'll Love ♥️
Did You Try This Recipe?
Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating and comment below. Don't forget to share it on Instagram, Facebook, & Pinterest. Thank you! 💛
📖 Recipe
Herb Roasted Chicken with Carrots and Potatoes
Equipment
- Large roasting pan
- Roasting rack
- Small Mixing bowl
- Large spoon or spatula
- Instant-read meat thermometer
Ingredients
- 5 pounds chicken leg quarters patted dry
- 2 pounds small to medium chef potatoes (about 8 to 10) halved
- 4 carrots peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1 large yellow onion cut into wedges
- ⅓ cup olive oil divided
- ½ head garlic cut horizontally to expose the cloves
- 1 teaspoon Adobo seasoning with pepper
- 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 lemon juiced and divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Place a roasting rack inside a large roasting pan and lightly grease the bottom of the pan.
- In a small bowl, combine the Adobo seasoning, chicken bouillon powder, Italian seasoning, thyme, rosemary, paprika, and black pepper. Rub the chicken leg quarters all over with half of the olive oil and half of the seasoning blend.
- Arrange the potatoes, carrots, and onion in the bottom of the roasting pan. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil and seasoning blend. Toss until the vegetables are evenly coated.
- Squeeze half of the lemon juice over the vegetables. Nestle the garlic among the vegetables with the cut side facing up.
- Arrange the chicken skin-side up on the roasting rack above the vegetables. Roast at 425°F for 30 minutes to begin rendering the chicken fat and crisping the skin.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F (190°C) and continue roasting for 40 to 50 minutes. Rotate the roasting pan and gently stir the vegetables halfway through this second roasting period.
- The chicken is ready when the skin is deeply golden and crisp and the thickest part of the thigh registers 190°F to 195°F on an instant-read thermometer without touching the bone.
- Remove the roasting pan from the oven. Squeeze the remaining lemon juice over the chicken and vegetables. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Save This Recipe 💌
Enter your email below and we'll send it to your inbox. Plus, you'll get new recipes from us each week!
Video
Notes
- Start the chicken at 425°F to encourage browning and begin rendering the skin.
- Cut larger potatoes into quarters so all the vegetables become tender at roughly the same time.
- Keep the chicken skin-side up throughout roasting so it stays exposed to the dry oven heat.
- Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Comments
No Comments