Deliciously Organic

Organic, Grain Free, Gluten Free, Paleo Recipes and Thyroid Health

Butterflied Roast Chicken with Red Onions

Roast Chicken is my 'I don’t want to cook' meal. It’s fast and requires very little hands-on preparation. I butterfly it, brush it with ghee, add some onions and another vegetable or two, season with salt and pepper, put it in the oven and walk away.

Roast Chicken is my “I don’t want to cook” meal. It’s fast and requires very little hands-on preparation. I butterfly it, brush it with ghee, add some onions and another vegetable or two, season with salt and pepper, put it in the oven and walk away. About one hour later I have a beautiful chicken with roasted vegetables.

If you’ve never roasted red onions, you’re in for a treat. The high heat brings out the sweetness of the onion and the kids are usually fighting over who gets the last bits out of the pan. I’ve made this multiple times for company – two chickens, onions, and a big salad. Throw in some fudgy chocolate tarts, and maybe a glass of wine, and you’re done!

We usually have some chicken left over for lunch the next day and then I use the bones for homemade chicken stock. Even in the heat of summer, I don’t mind turning the oven on, because I’m not standing over it to cook. Turn it on, pop in the food, and walk away. Welcome to delicious, organic “fast-food”.

Serves 4-6

Butterflied Roast Chicken with Red Onions

This is a variation of a recipe from my cookbook, Deliciously Organic . Other vegetables that you can use are: zucchini, cauliflower, squash, bell pepper, etc.

Photo credit: Helene Dujardin - Used with Permission.

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Ingredients

    For the Chicken:
  • 1 (4-5 pound) chicken, butterflied
  • 4 tablespoons ghee , at room temperature
  • 2-3 tablespoons fresh thyme
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Celtic sea salt, divided
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
    • For the Onions:
  • 2 large red onions, cut into wedges
  • 1 tablespoon ghee, melted

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 450°F and adjust oven rack to medium position.
  2. Pat chicken with a dry cloth to make sure the skin is dry. Stir together softened ghee (clarified butter) , thyme, and 1 teaspoon sea salt in a small bowl. Gently lift the skin and rub herbed butter under the skin of breasts, thighs, and legs. Season the entire chicken generously with sea salt and pepper.
  3. Place chicken in roasting pan. Toss red onion wedges, melted ghee, remaining 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Pour onions around chicken in roasting pan. Roast chicken for 30 minutes and then rotate pan 180 degrees. Continue to roast, about 25 minutes, until crisp and golden brown, and when a thermometer reaches 160°F when inserted in the thickest part of the breast. Remove from the oven and before serving, let the chicken rest for about 15 minutes to allow juices to redistribute.
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https://deliciouslyorganic.net/roast-chicken-recipe/

 

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40 Comments

    • Deliciously Organic

      Thanks! Olive oil has a medium smoking point, so I don't recommend it. But, you could lower the temp to 375 and use olive oil. It will take about 1 1/2 hours to cook, but then you can substitute the ghee.
      Reply to this comment

  3. Liz

    Just had something almost exactly like this last night! variations: Heat the oven to 450 but turn in down to 400 when you put the chicken in. Cooks in 60-90 minutes, depending I don't butterfly the chicken (going to try it though!) but I stuff a pricked lemon and a bunch of thyme and rosemary into the cavity (1 each) In addition to red onions, I do a few cloves of garlic, carrots, celery and sometimes potatoesI love this meal!
    Reply to this comment

  7. yumgoggle

    Just now, I have realized I have never roasted red onions. Not that I did not want to, I just perhaps never got around doing it. I know somewhere somehow I have encountered a recipe needing roasted red onions, but may be the recipe was not inspiring enough. This I've really gotta try. This is definitely a " relaxation weekend with the family" type of dish. Yummy! Anyhoo, we have just recently launched a food photo submission site, Yum Google that allows you to showcase all your great work and share it with all of our visitors. Your phenomenal photos have caught our attention. We’d be proud to have your work as part of our growing collection to continue to have a larger reach and further inspire all fellow food lovers out there! (sorry for the blatant shameless plug)!
    Reply to this comment

  9. Jenn

    I actually found this recipe in your cookbook over the weekend and decided to make it last night. It was DElicious! Butterflying the whole chicken made it look pretty too - and the roasted red onions...yum! Thanks for sharing the recipe - I'm sure I'll be making it again soon!
    Reply to this comment

  11. meredith

    I made this last night and perhaps got it from your meal plans? Not sure, but it was your recipe. Added summer veggies and a quartered lemon and it was so delish! It's now a regular here.
    Reply to this comment

  15. Jill

    This is the second time I'm making this. Butterflying helps with the cooking time. I always had trouble getting the whole chicken done evenly before. I used small white potatoes, whole carrots, and the onions (LOVE red onion any way you use it) and put the chicken on top. As it cooked, I lifted it to stir the veggies around some. They come out tasting so incredibly rich and flavorful. My hubby said he can hardly wait for leftovers tomorrow! Maybe next time I'll do some sweet potatoes. I used a huge cast iron skillet, which is my fave cookware. And Lodge Cast Iron is still made in the USA. I have cast iron pieces more than 100 years old, and they just add to the look of this gorgeous dish. Thanks a million for this one!
    Reply to this comment

  16. Selah

    I make this chicken all the time using the recipe from your cookbook-- which is slightly different and uses coconut oil. The coconut oil always "spits" in the oven causing my smoke alarm to go off- which is a little annoying but not enough to get me to stop making this since it is the best roasted chicken I have ever had!But I'm wondering, will the ghee prevent the smoke or should I just use a slightly lower temperature (425 perhaps)?
    Reply to this comment

    • Deliciously Organic

      I've had the same issue lately. My girls are used to opening the doors and windows when I roast the chicken. Ha! I've found the ghee is actually worse. I've read in a few places to put a few tablespoons of water in the bottom of the pan to prevent the splattering. I haven't tried it yet, but it seems like a good idea!
      Reply to this comment

  18. Mel

    This recipe is FANTASTIC! I have made it several times and have added cauliflower to the onions. I save the bones for stock- which is awesome because you also have great soup recipes here :)! Keep up the great work!
    Reply to this comment

  19. Teri Nagy

    I made this tonight. I added some halved baby potatoes to roasting pan. After drying the chicken, I salted it and let it sit for a few hours in the fridge. And, instead of putting the herb butter (which I added garlic salt, & greek spice too) onto the chicken before roasting, I brushed it onto the finished chicken.That chicken was absolutely spectacular. The skin was crispy and bursting with flavor. The potatoes were perfectly dark and caramelized on the outside and creamy on the instead. The onions were a perfect compliment with deep caramelization.Thank you for sharing this, its easily one of the best roasted chickens I have ever tasted!
    Reply to this comment

  20. debi

    I have made chicken this way for years. You can use extra virgin olive oil that is what I use and dont have a problem. I use Italian seasoning for mine. I also put lemon slices under the skin. I only buy 3 to 31/2 lb chickens only takes 45 minutes.
    Reply to this comment

  21. Natalia

    Hi! This recipe is delishious! This is the second time I made it and it has been such a success with the whipole family. I wanted to add my variations for insight for others... I used thyme and rosemary and also put potatoes, zucchini, and carrots in the roasting pan with the chicken. This makes it a one pot meal and makes life that much easier. All the veggies come out tasting amazing!Thanks Carrie!
    Reply to this comment

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