Crispy on the top and juicy all the way through, this is a summer staple at our house! Perfect for weekend lunches and leftovers during the week.

If possible, use an organic chicken so you can use the leftovers to make a broth which is lovely for supporting your gut and immune health. I have a chicken broth recipe here

Italian lemon chicken ingredients

1 whole chicken

4 lemons

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

3 tablespoons of dairy free butter

3 tablespoons of chopped thyme

olive oil

vegetables of your choice (I use onion, sweet potato, carrots and potatoes)

salt to taste

Italian lemon chicken method

Preheat your oven to 180c fan/220c without a fan

cut and place the veggies of your choice on a roasting dish, around the chicken

mash together the garlic, juice of 2 lemons, butter and thyme

push the butter mixture under the chicken skin. This step is really what makes this recipe so delicious, the butter melts through the layers of the chicken so it is super juicy but still crispy on top

drizzle with olive oil

slice the remaining lemons and put them on top of the chicken

add about 1/3 cup of water to the bottom of the tray, this helps to prevent the chicken from drying out and gently ‘steams’ the veggies which stops them getting too crispy and dried up

cook the chicken in the oven for about 75 minutes, until it is crispy on top

enjoy with summer veggies and use the juices that have collected at the bottom of the roasting tray as a gravy