Lidia Bastianich's Easy Roast Chicken with Rosemary & Lemon Is Perfect for Dinner Tonight

When you’re getting back into the swing of work, school and all those other items on your weekly calendar, a simple dinner recipe can really be a lifesaver. In January, we tend to rely on a lot of tried-and-true dinner recipes (these are some of the go-to recipes we lean on). And it seems like we’re about to add a new recipe from Lidia Bastianich to our regular rotation.

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The cooking show host and cookbook pro hopped on Instagram this week to share her recipe for Lidia’s Simple Roast Chicken, and we cannot wait to try it. As Lidia wrote in her caption, it’s a family-favorite dish in the Bastianich household. With such simple directions and just eight ingredients (plus staples like salt, pepper and olive oil), it’s bound to be a favorite of any busy home cook.

This gorgeous, easy roast chicken recipe comes from Lidia’s most recent cookbook, Lidia’s From Our Family Table to Yours, which is packed with more than 100 family-friendly dishes including this Spicy Crispy Roasted Cauliflower. (You can also see her make the recipe on her show, Lidia’s Kitchen, if it airs in your area.) But luckily for all of us, Lidia has also shared all the details on her website.

For this recipe, you’ll need a roasting chicken of about 4 or 5 pounds, plus fresh rosemary, lemons, garlic powder, salt, pepper, olive oil, carrots, red potatoes, white wine and chicken broth. Lidia starts by loosening the skin on the chicken breast. You’ll want to do it carefully, so you don’t break the skin as you loosen it. Combine chopped rosemary, garlic powder and lemon zest in a small bowl and use your fingers to season the breast under the skin. Use about half of your mixture under the skin, then spread the remaining seasoning on the rest of the chicken.

Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper according to your taste—Lidia recommends about 2 teaspoons of salt to start. Then rub the chicken with olive oil. Stuff the chicken’s cavity with your spare rosemary sprigs and some lemon wedges. To keep the chicken breast from drying out, truss the chicken legs together. You can use cooking twine to secure the legs, or opt for Lidia’s method and cut a small slit on both sides of the breast cavity, then tuck each leg into the opposite slit.

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In your roasting pan, add all the veggies and toss with salt and olive oil. Pour in your white wine and chicken broth, then set your bird on top, with its wings tucked underneath. Roast the bird and veggies at 400°F for between 75 and 90 minutes. Baste once, when the chicken is about halfway cooked. When you think the chicken is ready, check the internal temperature with a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, without touching the bone. When it reads 165°F, the bird is ready to go. Simply let it rest on a cutting board for 15 minutes before dishing it up.

Since you can serve the chicken with the pan sauce and the carrots and potatoes, you’ve basically got a complete meal ready to go in just one pan. If you want to round it out with another veggie dish to feed a crowd, make our Balsamic-Parmesan Sautéed Spinach while the chicken rests. You could also pair the chicken with a flavorful salad, like our Pear, Gorgonzola & Walnut Salad or Kale Salad with Balsamic & Parmesan.

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Whether you pair this chicken with good wine, a fresh salad or just great dinner companions (or all three!), the recipe promises to be a low-stress meal with tons of flavor. After all, if there’s one thing we can count on from a Lidia recipe, it’s that we’ll want to savor every bite.