Dry Rub Spice Roasted Chicken
Prepare your tastebuds for the juiciest most flavorful chicken dinner. Our Dry Rub Spice Roasted Chicken is so simple to prepare and makes the perfect Sunday Supper. And the best part is it only takes 15 minutes to get it into the oven.
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Table of contents
Why We Love This Dry Rub Spice Roast Chicken
There is something so comforting about roasting a whole chicken. The house fills with a cozy baked chicken aroma. Is there anything better? Well, now there is! This dry-rubbed chicken takes things to a whole new level and smells and tastes amazing while it roasts. Plus it is so juicy and tender thanks to our foolproof roasting method.
Recipe Highlights
- The easy Spice Rub for chicken is made with simple pantry staples you can find in your spice cabinet including cumin, chili powder and a little cinnamon.
- This makes enough for four plus leftover chicken for another meal. Or you can serve it to a crowd for Sunday Supper.
- Pair it with Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes, Succotash and Sauteed kale for a family-friendly meal.
If you are looking for a classic roast chicken recipe, try our Herb Roast Chicken. We use the same low and slow technique to yield super moist results.
Ingredients For This Spice Rubbed Baked Chicken Recipe
- Whole Chicken: You will need a whole chicken that weighs about 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 pounds for this recipe.
- For The Spice Rub: We used a blend of chili powder, kosher salt, ground cumin, dry thyme, cinnamon, cayenne, black pepper
- Melted butter and Olive Oil: A blend of butter and oil will help your dry rub stick to the chicken skin. It also helps the chicken brown and makes the skin crispy.
- Garlic: For additional seasoning
Step By Step Instructions For Roast Chicken with Dry Rub
Step 1: Prepare Oven and Pan
Make sure to set the oven rack in the lower third of the oven before you turn it on. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. If you want to use a roasting rack, place it in your roasting pan. Coat the rack and pan with cooking spray.
Step 2: Pat Chicken Dry
Place chicken on the work surface and remove giblets and chicken neck. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Loosen the skin by running your fingers between the skin and the breast meat.
Step 3: Make Spice Mix
Mix salt and pepper with the chili powder, cumin, thyme, cinnamon and cayenne in a small bowl. Mix the butter, oil and garlic in a second small dish. Sprinkle a little of the dry dub inside the cavity of the chicken and rub between the skin and meat and in the cavity.
Step 4: Brush with Garlic Butter and Add Spice Rub
Brush the garlic, oil and butter mixture over the outside of the chicken. Sprinkle and rub the spice mix over the entire outside of the chicken.
Step 5: Tie Legs Together
Tie the chicken legs together with kitchen twine (or truss with your preferred method ) if desired. Place the chicken on the rack or directly on the surface of the roasting pan. Pour in 1 cup water around the chicken (or under the rack.)
Step 6: Roast Chicken
Transfer the chicken to the oven and roast for 20 minutes. Without opening the oven, reduce the heat to 325 and continue roasting.
Step 7: Temp and Rest
Bake chicken until an instant-read digital thermometer registers at least 165 degrees when inserted into the thickest part of the thigh meat, 1 hour 20 minutes to 2 hours 10 minutes.
Tip: Times will vary depending on the weight of the chicken and the thickness of the breast meat. In testing this recipe and our Roasted Turkey Recipe we found that pastured poultry has more dense breast meat that takes longer to roast.
Step 8: Carve Chicken
After the chicken is cooked, make sure to let it rest for 20 minutes before carving. To carve, remove the legs at the thigh joint. Cut into drumstick and thighs. Cut through the breast meat to the wishbone. Remove the wings, leaving drummet attached if desired. Then cut along the sternum of the chicken and slide knife along the rib bones to debone the chicken breast. Remove the baked chicken breast and set it on the cutting board. Slice into two or three slices or thinner if desired.
Expert Tips and FAQs
What To Do With The Leftover Bones
You can use the leftover chicken bones to make a flavorful broth that can be used in soup. Because the spices are bold, use it in recipes like our Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup or Creamy White Chicken Chili.
- Cover the bones with cold water and bring to a simmer.
- Simmer gently until the connective tissue at the joints and along the sternum dissolves, about two hours.
- Season with celery, onion and carrots in the last hour if desired.
Leftovers and Reheating
This recipe makes enough for dinner for four, with enough leftovers for another meal. You can use the leftover chicken in another recipe such as Chopped Salad with Chicken or our Mexican Chicken Casserole.
Store leftover dry rub roast chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days. Reheat in a casserole dish with a little chicken broth or water covered with aluminum foil. Bake in the oven set at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
Alternatively, reheat an individual serving in the microwave for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes or until steaming hot.
What Else Can I Use This Spice Dry Rub For?
- It is great with pork too. Try it on baked bone-in pork chops.
- Use it to coat boneless chicken breast
- Sprinkle it over browned beef for taco filling
- Use for slow roasted pork shoulder
- Rub on steaks for grilling
Tips For Getting The Juiciest Dry Rub Roast Chicken
We discovered that roasting the chicken at a relatively lower oven temperature results in ultra tender and juicy chicken meat. We start the roasting process at a higher temperature (450 degrees) for a short time to crisp the skin and help with browning. Then the roasting process continues at a much lower temperature (325 degrees) for the remaining time.
Can I Stuff The Chicken?
We do not recommend stuffing roasted poultry for food safety reasons. Read more about how to safely stuff chicken or poultry here.
If you do stuff the chicken make sure that the stuffing reaches a safe temperature of at least 165 degrees F. However, this will likely cause your chicken meat to be overcooked and dried out.
We suggest cooking your stuffing on the side. Here is our favorite Cornbread Stuffing Recipe that can be baked alongside this chicken.
Serving Suggestions
If you are planning your menu, make sure to check out our guide What To Serve with Roast Chicken.
More Roasted Chicken Recipes
At Healthy Seasonal Recipes, we specialize in cooking with fresh veggies and creating weeknight meals. Sign up HERE to get more produce-forward dinner ideas for FREE! If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought! Happy Cooking! ~Katie
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Dry Rub Spice Roasted Chicken
- Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 2 pounds cooked chicken 1x
Description
Prepare your tastebuds for the juiciest most flavorful chicken dinner. Our Dry Rub Spice Roasted Chicken is so simple to prepare and makes the perfect Sunday Supper. And the best part is it only takes 15 minutes to get it into the oven
Ingredients
- 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 pound whole chicken
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon dry thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne (or to taste)
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
Instructions
- Set oven rack in lower third of the oven. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Place roasting rack in roasting pan, if using, and coat the rack and pan with cooking spray.
- Place chicken on work surface and remove giblets. Pat dry with paper towels. Loosen skin by running fingers between the skin and the breast meat.
- Mix chili powder, salt, cumin, thyme, cinnamon, cayenne and pepper in a small dish. Mix butter, oil and garlic in a second small dish.
- Sprinkle about half of the dry dub inside the cavity of the chicken and rub between the skin and meat and in the cavity. Brush the garlic, oil and butter mixture over the outside of the chicken. Sprinkle and rub the spice mix over the entire outside of the chicken.
- Tie the chicken legs together or truss with preferred method with kitchen twine if desired. Place the chicken on the rack or directly on the surface of the roasting pan. Pour in 1 cup water around the chicken (or under the rack.)
- Transfer the chicken to the oven and roast for 20 minutes. Without opening the oven reduce the heat to 325 and continue roasting until an instant read digital thermometer registers at least 165 degrees when inserted into the deepest part of the thigh meat, 1 hour 20 minutes to 2 hours 10 minutes. Times will vary depending on the weight of the chicken and thickness of the breast meat.
- Let the chicken rest for 20 minutes before carving.
- Remove the legs at the thigh joint. Cut into drumstick and thighs. Cut through the breast meat to the wish bone. Remove wings, leaving drummet attached if desired. Then cut along the sternum of the chicken and slide knife along the rib bones to debone the chicken breast. Remove the chicken breast and set it on the cutting board. Slice into chunks.
Notes
Leftovers and Reheating
Store leftover chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days. Reheat in a casserole dish with a little chicken broth or water covered with aluminum foil. Bake in the oven set at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
Alternatively, reheat an individual serving in the microwave for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes or until steaming hot.
To Make A Broth With Bones
- Cover the bones with cold water and bring to a simmer.
- Simmer gently until the connective tissue at the joints and along the sternum dissolves, about two hours.
- Season with celery, onion and carrots in the last hour if desired.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4 ounces
- Calories: 204
- Sugar: 0 g
- Fat: 10 grams
- Carbohydrates: 0 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 28 grams
Can I make this in a crockpot?
I haven’t tried that yet. I bet it would work well actually. The skin won’t be crispy but the garlic butter and spices will give it great flavor! Let me know if you do try it.
I doubled this for my Sunday night dinner for 12. I usually roast my chicken on the BBQ with the lid closed at a high heat. It’s done in one hour and pretty good with lots of aromatics in the cavity and trussed. I must say that this recipe came out far more moist and very tasty. After the high heat time mine was done in 1 hour 10 minutes. I used two 5 pound chickens.
Woohoo! I am glad you tried it for your Sunday Supper! I appreciate the feedback on the timing. Another reader had a similar experience so I think I will adjust the range on the timing to account for that. Much appreciated.
This roasted chicken was just as described-so moist and delicious! We thoroughly enjoyed every bite. And with only 2 of us, we have plenty for leftover uses. Yum yum! Thanks for an easy and delicious recipe.
That’s awesome! I am glad yours came out well. Thank you for the feedback! I appreciate it!
FIVE STARS FOR ME & MY HUBBY!!! Absolutely outstanding!! Thanks a million for sharing this recipe!!
I am so happy the two of you enjoyed it Helene. Thank you for coming back by to rate and review!
The chicken got done WAY too soon. 6 lbs. Everything was SO tasty until I hit a bite of the cinnamon. Had to put it down and not finish. I thought the cin. would disappear with cooking but just didn’t like it, sorry.
Thanks for your honest feedback Marti. I happen to love cinnamon in savory dishes but I realize it is not for everyone. I’m curious what you mean by the chicken was done too soon. How long did you roast it at 325? When I tested this I used mostly pastured birds which do take longer than “conventional” chicken. Im wondering if that was a factor. When I developed my turkey recipe I found that pastured birds took much longer. So I would love to have the data point from your recipe. Thanks for your help.