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This spatchcock chicken is perfectly cooked with a crispy and buttery skin! It’s seasoned with fresh herbs, garlic, shallots, and just a bit of lemon juice for brightness. This spatchcock chicken with garlic-herb butter tastes great alongside roasted veggies for a delicious, healthy, and low-carb dinner!
What Makes This Recipe So Good
- It includes step-by-step instructions on how to quickly and easily spatchcock a whole chicken! What was once an intimidating task is surprisingly simple. You’ll start by removing the backbone, flattening out your chicken, then slathering it in an irresistible garlic-herb butter – that’s it!
- It’s incredibly versatile and can be enjoyed however you’d like! Slice then serve this spatchcock chicken with garlic-herb butter alongside your favorite veggies, roasted potatoes, or even in a soup. I shredded my chicken and served it over salads for an easy and healthy lunch!
- The garlic-herb butter is totally customizable, allowing you to include your favorite flavors! Feel free to use whatever dried herbs you’d like. I used a combination of thyme, rosemary, and sage and it was delicious!
Key Ingredients
Whole Chicken – Purchase an entire chicken ranging from 4 to 5 or even up to 6 pounds. Be sure to check the inside of your chicken for a bag of giblets before using it in this recipe. Once you remove the giblets, you’ll then remove the backbone. I highly recommend holding on to this backbone and using it to make a homemade bone broth with the other chicken bones!
Fresh Parsley – Just two tablespoons of fresh herbs make this spatchcock chicken with garlic-herb butter extra special. Not to mention how incredible your kitchen will smell while it cooks!
Chef’s Tips
- Tuck the tips of the chicken wings underneath your chicken before transferring it to the oven. This part of the chicken can burn when exposed to high heat over a long period of time. Therefore, to avoid burning, gently tuck them underneath the spatchcock chicken with garlic-herb butter before baking.
- Use very sharp kitchen shears to remove the backbone from your chicken. Cutting out the backbone is the hardest part of this entire spatchcock chicken with garlic-herb butter recipe. Sharp kitchen shears will make this task a whole lot easier!
- For extra crispy skin, dab the chicken dry with a paper towel before slathering it in garlic-herb butter. Drying out the skin will help it crisp up while it cooks!
More Delicious Chicken Recipes
- Chicken Salad with Grapes
- Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole
- Keto White Chicken Chili
- Chicken Burgers with Chipotle Aioli
- Buffalo Chicken Salad
- Marry Me Chicken
- Shredded Chicken Tacos
- 30 Whole Chicken Recipes
- Easy Chicken Recipes for Dinners with Few Ingredients
Spatchcock Chicken with Garlic-Herb Butter
Equipment
- Kitchen shears
- Small bowl
- Baking dish
Ingredients
- 5 pound whole chicken
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh herbs of choice chopped
- 1 ½ teaspoons garlic
- 2 tablespoons shallots chopped
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425° Fahrenheit.
- Place the chicken breast-side down on a cutting board and remove the backbone with kitchen shears.
- Turn chicken over and open the back so that the legs face inward. Then press firmly on the center of the breastbone until you hear a crack, allowing the chicken to lay flat.
- Mix together the butter, parsley, herbs, garlic, shallot, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a small bowl.
- Tuck the wings underneath the chicken and gently pull skin away from the chicken then rub half the butter mixture underneath the skin. Rub the remaining butter over top of the entire chicken.
- Bake chicken for 40-45 minutes or until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken reads 165° Fahrenheit. Remove from the oven and let rest for at least 10 minutes before serving.
- Make it Dairy-Free: Use dairy-free butter instead of regular butter in this recipe.
- Fresh Herbs of Choice: I used fresh rosemary, thyme, and sage but any fresh herbs will work!
Approximate Information for One Serving
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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I wish I had heard of this years ago. It is the best was to roast a chicken, ever…not brined with salt. Always moist, even leftover!!!
We’re so glad it’s become a favorite! Thanks for sharing, Donna!
Beautiful color on the finished product; very tasty. Had a few difficulties:
1) Hard to take the backbone out as instructed.
2) No instructions/suggestions on the pan or how to prepare it.
3) Had a hard time spreading the butter mixture on the bird.
Hi there! We’re so sorry you had some difficulties. We’ll be sure to make note of pan suggestions. As for the butter, it helps a ton to have it softened to room temperature- that way, it spreads super easily! Be sure to let us know if you try it again!
came out perfect! everyone devoured it. thank you!!
We’re so happy to hear! Thanks for sharing, Angie!