Butterflied roast chicken with red onions is my “I don’t want to cook” meal. It’s fast and requires very little hands-on preparation.
To prepare – I butterfly the chicken, brush it with ghee, add some onions, season with coarse grey Celtic sea salt and freshly ground pepper, put it in the oven and walk away. About one hour later I have a beautiful chicken with roasted onions!
Here are step-by-step instructions on how to butterfly a chicken. It’s super easy!
If you’ve never roasted red onions, you’re in for a treat. The high heat brings out the sweetness of the onion and those last bits on the edges of the pan are the best!
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 or kombucha, and you’re done!
I 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. Roast chicken done easy. Welcome to delicious, organic “fast-food”.
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.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Category: Main Dish
- Diet: Gluten Free
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
- Preheat oven to 450°F and adjust oven rack to medium position.
- 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.
- 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.
