Middle Eastern Roast Chicken with Vegetables
Flavorful roast chicken rubbed with a homemade Middle Eastern spice blend and roasted alongside vegetables and potatoes. This one-pot dinner is packed with flavor!
I’m back! I’m back! This post is more delayed than I initially intended. Yikes. We just adopted a new furry friend, who has unequivocally (and self-admittedly) captured all of my attention and love these past few days. I’ll do a formal introduction soon, promise.
First. Spatchcocked chicken! I told you guys all about how to spatchcock a chicken on Friday. It didn’t take long, because it really is that easy. It has easily become my new (most favorite) way to roast a whole chicken.
It is just one of those techniques that you try and wonder why you haven’t been doing forever, you know? Saves time and produces even better results. What’s not to like, right?
Truthfully, you could spatchcock a chicken, rub some olive oil on it, season it liberally with kosher salt and pepper, stick it in the oven, and stop right there. I’m a big fan of seriously simple roast chickens. But I’m an even bigger fan of this Middle Eastern spatchcocked roast chicken complete with roast potatoes, caramelized leeks, and carrots.
It’s one of those dinners that just takes care of itself. Everything comes together in one roasting pan with minimal clean up and effort.
Add a side salad (or loaf of crusty, good-quality bread) and you’re good to go.
The trick to this recipe is the spice rub. This Middle Eastern spice rub is everything. It’s delicate, warm, and incredibly tasty – and was inspired and adapted from this cookbook.
It does require quite a few spices (nine in total!), but these are everyday spices that I (and most likely you) keep on hand already. Ground cumin, coriander, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, paprika, allspice, cloves, and turmeric.
Nothing too complicated or difficult to find.
I’ve literally been putting a version of this spice mixture on almost everything that comes out of my kitchen lately. The recipe below makes just enough for this roast chicken recipe, but I highly recommend making a double, triple, or quadruple batch of it.
I keep a little bag of it in my spice drawer for roast vegetables, chicken, and all sorts of things. I also made a version of these chicken pitas with simple, grilled chicken breasts (sprinkled with this rub) – and it was perfection. It’s incredibly versatile, and is such an easy way to add depth of flavor to all sorts of dishes.
Tender leeks, carrots, and red potatoes are tossed in the bottom of the roasting pan to make the meal even more complete. I don’t even peel the carrots. Just a little bit of a scrub under the sink, and they’re good to go. The vegetables and potatoes become perfectly tender in the amount of time it takes to roast the chicken (this recipe calls for a 4.5 to 5 lb bird – if you use a smaller chicken, simply cut the potatoes or carrots into smaller or pieces).
Lastly, I remove the roasting rack with the chicken, and allow the vegetables to finish roasting and caramelizing as the chicken rests. The leeks become silky and soft, the potatoes are creamy and tender, and the carrots are sweet and concentrated. Doesn’t get better than that, right? Dinner is served.
Middle Eastern Roast Chicken
Ingredients
Middle Eastern Spice Rub:
- ½ teaspoon ground sweet paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
Roast Chicken and Vegetables:
- 1 (4½-5 lb) organic whole chicken, without giblets see recipe notes
- extra virgin olive oil for brushing
- 1 batch of Middle Eastern spice blend see recipe above
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 3 medium red potatoes quartered (roughly 1 lb)
- 4-5 medium carrots scrubbed well, sliced lengthwise, and cut into 3-4 inch pieces (roughly ½ lb)
- 2 medium leeks, white and light green parts only sliced lengthwise in half
- ¾ cup (180 mL) low-sodium chicken broth plus more if needed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C) with a rack in the center position. Combine the spice blend ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
- Remove the chicken from its packaging and pat dry with paper towels. Spatchock the chicken using this guide. Place the chicken, skin side up, on a large cutting board. Drizzle the chicken with olive oil and rub on the skin. Sprinkle and rub the Middle Eastern spice blend (reserving 1 teaspoon for the vegetable mixture) over the chicken and season it liberally on both sides with salt and pepper. Note: It is best to remove the chicken from the fridge at least 1 hour before roasting, this will help produce crispier skin.
- Combine the vegetables in a small to medium roasting pan. Drizzle them lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with the remaining teaspoon of the spice blend. Pour the chicken broth over the vegetables, and spread the vegetables and potatoes into an even layer. Set a roasting rack on top of the vegetables, and place the spice-rubbed chicken, skin-side up, on the rack. It should lay mostly flat.
- Roast until the skin is crispy and golden brown, and the thickest part of the breasts and legs read 157°F (70°C) with an instant thermometer. The temperature will increase 8°F to 10°F as the chicken rests.
- Carefully remove the roasting rack with the chicken and set on top of a large, clean cutting board. Stir the vegetables and place the roasting pan back in the oven to roast for an additional 12 to 15 minutes as the chicken rests or until caramelized and fork tender. Note: If the pan looks too dry, add an additional ¼ cup (60 mL) to ½ cup (120 mL) of chicken broth before putting back in the oven.
- Once the vegetables are nearly done roasting, carve the chicken. Using a sharp carving knife, remove the legs. Using the breastbone as a guide, remove each chicken breast from the bone. Slice each breast against the grain into ½-inch to ¾ inch-thick pieces. Serve hot with the warm roasted vegetables on the side.
32 Comments on “Middle Eastern Roast Chicken with Vegetables”
I belong to a CSA and we get two whole chickens each month so I’m always looking to switch up chicken prep. This whole meal was so delicious! The chicken was flavorful, but those veggies I’m still thinking about weeks later 🤤 so good and easy!
Fabulous. Came out really good. I would just add more broth and vegetables but that may be because my pan may have been too big. It was a hit; and so easy. Chicken came out tender, too! Thank you
I’m preparing this dish tonight in Qatar as a Christmas eve dish, but lack a thermometer. Would an hour do for cooking this dish? I’m doing two 650 g chicken with veggies but also do not have rack and will have to place the spatchcocked chicken on the bed of veggies…
Honestly it very much depends on the size of your chicken – I can’t a precise time – it’s very temperature dependent. I recommend Gooling “how to tell chicken is done” and look for other signs (clear running juices etc).
Thanks, that’s what we’ll do, these are smallish chickens here…its more the veggies I’m looking forward to anyway….
Made this with just chicken thighs for my husband and myself. He was blown away! It was so delicious and so satisfying. The juices from the chicken dripping into the vegetables with the oil and the chicken broth make for such a great taste. He said it was in his top 3 chicken dishes. High praise, believe me!! Next time maybe I’ll try the whole chicken.
Wow! That is such a high compliment, thank you. I Loe that you tried it with chicken thighs too. Such a great idea and glad it came out nicely. Thanks for the feedback Gina!
Such a good recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you !! I included this recipe on my December Menu Plan Recipe Roundup!! It’s so tasty!
http://saltsugarspice.com/2019/12/01/december-2019-meal-plan/
We had this for dinner yesterday and it was delicious! We don’t eat potatoes so had twice the amount of carrots. My husband said to make sure to keep this recipe so we can have it again. Thank you from both of us.
WOW…. I have been trying for years all the many spice combinations to replicate the food I was eating while serving in Iraq. This is it!
I may have over cooked my 3.5 lb bird as i cooked at temperature for 70 mins …… oh well. My meat was juicy, my skin was krispy, my vegetables were amazingly perfectly soft moist and flavorful.
Thank you for posting this article and I know I am years behind but this is a keeper and just what I have been looking for .
I quartered a sweet onion instead of the leak.
Now to find a flat bread and rice recipe.
Do you recommend keeping the rub on the chicken for some time before roasting it? I usually like to marinade (or apply a rub) to chicken before roasting or grilling for several hours or even overnight.
How long will it take to roast the chicken (4.5-5lbs) in 425 oven?. I don’t have an instant thermometer .. will a roasting thermometer work?
As a use for ground cardamom – try it in your coffee. Great treat and popular in the Middle East.
I have spent 30 minutes trying to get the recipe. I almost gave up!! The ads are invasive and the featured recipe chased you around. It was a nightmare! Your recipe finally printed and I did get it through much perseverance! NOT SURE i WILL EVER RETURN TO YOUR WEB SITE NO MATTER HOW GOOD THE RECIPES ARE! I know my computer and my computer skills are not up to par but couldn’t you make it easier! i do plan on trying this recipe.
I’m sorry you had a negative experience. Unfortunately, advertising is how I cover the costs to keep this blog going, continue to share free recipes, and support my family. I haven’t had other complaints of this nature in the past, regarding how long it took to get to the recipe – but I appreciate the feedback. Happy holidays!
I made it last night and it came out absolutely delicious and so simple to make!
I can’t believe I failed to comment on this recipe. I was a little skeptical at first if my wife and I would enjoy the seasonings but agreed we’d give it a go. I’m so happy we did! It was absolutely delicious. We didn’t have nutmeg and I didn’t use cinnamon but, other than that, I did what I was told. Wow… absolutely flavor packed.
One tip I tried, and couldn’t believe, was dry brining the chicken. After spatchcocking the chicken, I sprinkled quite a bit of kosher salt on both sides and left it uncovered in the refrigerator for six hours. The salt pulls the moisture out of the chicken and then infuses it back into the chicken. It was, by far, the moistest chicken I ever had in my life AND IT WASN’T SALTY AT ALL. I had 1/2 the chicken left and gave it to my daughter and son-in-law and they said it was “off the charts.” Well done Laura!
Brilliant!!
I had some lamb chops marinating in a Mediterranean sauce and didn’t know what to serve it with. So I now have my veg in the pan and will place the chops on top, with the marinade dripping down onto my veg. Thank you for the inspiration. Now to search for more of your recipes.
Noelene
I was looking for something interesting and different for Easter dinner. I going to try this dish and see what my friends think. I know I will like it!
We just made this tonight. It was so amazing. We grilled it on the barbecue instead of baking in the oven and served with a couscous salad and grilled vegetables tossed with olive oil and one teaspoon of the spice rub. So tasty – we will make all summer!
So thrilled to hear that!
This is so stunning! I love cardamom, too, and can tell I will adore this spice blend. I’ve been meaning to spatchcock a chicken forever and have felt a little intimidated, but I can tell this will be worth it . Off to find a roasting rack…
Oh my goodness… thank you for this… It looks divine, and adding a chicken to my weekly shopping list to spatchcock and roast… this is my kind of meal!
Looks incredibly delicious!! Love the spice rub. Yum 🙂
Looks delicious! Will try this very soon! Seems like a wonderful way to add a bit of a change to a roast chicken! Gorgeous photos!
Oh my gosh, whoa!! This looks totally amazing and I love the sound of that spice rub! Honestly, I need to try making chicken this way, it looks kind of scary, but SO GOOD! 🙂
Looks delicious!
Was just wondering though..wouldn’t the stock steam in the oven and dry out the chicken?
It’s very little liquid, especially in that size roasting pan, so no! It simply moistens the vegetables and prevents them from burning. It also helps create a small amount of pan sauce to serve with the chicken. Hope that helps clarify! Thanks!
That rub looks amazing! I can’t wait to try this recipe!
Nailed the flavors and seasonings! This look delicious x10!
I haven’t had middle eastern food before and so I’m really anxious to try that rub, it sounds delicious!! Can’t wait for the dog introduction post…I’ve loved his cute face on Snapchat!!! 🙂