Have you tried garlic chicken roasted in a bag? The bag keeps it so deliciously moist and keeps your oven clean too. It's just the best way to cook a roast chicken dinner!
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A great family friendly one pot meal
Roast chicken makes a great meal in our house. I especially like it as it's so easy to make and there is usually enough leftover chicken to feed us the next day too.
This time I tried a new way of preparing roast chicken. I cooked it in an oven bag with lots of garlic butter and all the vegetables too. After all, who could say no to garlic roasted chicken with buttery vegetables and a buttery garlic sauce? It makes such an easy one pot meal!
Roasting garlic chicken in a bag
It sounds simple and it was. I was trying out my new Look Oven Bags for Roasting and I wasn't disappointed.
The idea behind roasting in a bag is that the meat will stay moist and tender as it cooks. Because everything is in a roasting bag it saves on washing up afterwards too. No more scrubbing away at stubborn burned bits on the roasting tin! And no need to clean the oven either!
How long to roast a chicken for?
In a preheated oven at 180C you should roast a chicken for 45 minutes per kilo plus an extra 20 minutes. I always err on the side of caution and cook my chicken for a bit longer. There's nothing worse than finding out the thighs are a little underdone after you've begun to carve it!
Don't worry about the chicken drying out. The great thing about using roasting bags is that the moisture is trapped inside and so prevents the chicken from drying out.
As the chicken is in a bag you can't insert a skewer to test if it is cooked but you should still be able to pull on one of the legs using an oven glove. If it comes away from the bird easily then the chicken is ready.
Can you cook turkey in an oven bag too?
Yes! You will need to make sure you buy the large bags so that they are big enough to fit the turkey inside. When I cook a turkey I prepare it exactly the same way as when I cook a chicken. Just increase the coooking time depending on the weight of the turkey.
What goes in the oven bag with the chicken?
I put the chicken coated in garlic butter, vegetables and stock into the bag so I had a perfect one pot meal. I just needed to reduce the sauce a little afterward. Normally I would have roasted the potatoes to go with the roast chicken.
We love crispy potatoes and with this method the potatoes aren't crispy. However, they have absorbed the buttery garlic flavours of the sauce as well as the chicken juices. This makes them really tasty, as are the carrots and sweet potatoes.
How can you adapt this recipe?
If you don't want garlic chicken then just use plain butter on the chicken. Or you could use a different flavoured butter. Lemon butter would work really well. Just grate some lemon zest and mix it into some room temperature butter to make a delicious citrus butter.
Why not check out this recipe for lemon and garlic butter? Or you could make this Indian spiced butter that I often use on corn on the cob.
Also, feel free to use different vegetables. Cabbage, brussels sprouts, parsnips and butternut squash all work very well cooked in a bag.
Storing the leftover roast chicken
Any leftover roast chicken can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to three days. I prefer to take all the chicken off the bone and then keep the chicken bones to use for homemade stock.
Can you cook chicken in a bag in the air fryer?
No, this recipe is specifically for cooking in the oven. The oven bags won't work well in the air fryer as they expand and fill with air as they are cooking. The air fryer is not big enough for the bag to expand and for air to circulate. The bag could also end up touching the top of the air fryer and causing damage.
Can you reheat this leftover roast chicken dinner?
Yes of course! If you want to eat the leftovers hot in another roast chicken dinner, just put everything in an oven-proof dish, cover and reheat in the oven. It'll probably take about 15 minutes at 160C.
Alternatively you can reheat everything in the microwave.
What to do with the leftover roast chicken?
Where should I start? There are so many great way to use up leftover roast chicken. Here are just a few recipe ideas I love the day after we've had a roast chicken dinner:
- Cold chicken with a couscous salad
- Leftover roast chicken sandwiches
- Chicken on homemade pizza or added to a bought margarita pizza
- Make leftover chicken quesadillas
- Leftover chicken curry
- Make the chicken into a ragu sauce
And if you want to make something with the leftover roasted vegetables why not try these leftover roasted vegetable gnocchi?
The Look Oven bags
These are the Look oven bags* I use and am happy to recommend them.
*This is an affiliate link
Recipe
Garlic Chicken Roasted in a Bag
Ingredients
- 30 g butter at room temperature
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1.6 kg whole chicken
- 500 g potatoes
- 3 carrots cut in half
- 2 sweet potatoes peeled and quartered
- 50 ml chicken stock
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180C.
- Mash the garlic into the butter and then spread it over the chicken.
- Put all the vegetables into the roasting bag on a baking or roasting tray. Put the chicken in the bag on top of the vegetables. Pour the stock into the bag and fasten the bag using one of the ties that comes with it.
- Put it in the oven for 2 hours. If your chicken is much larger or smaller you may need to adjust the cooking time. As you can't check very easily if the chicken is cooked then it's best to overestimate the time as it will still stay moist in the bag.
- Let the chicken rest for 20 minutes after it comes out of the oven before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
More Chicken Recipes
Chicken is so versatile and there are are so many great recipes you can make with it. Here are just a few of my family's favourite chicken recipes.
Roast chicken is so versatile as you've often got enough leftovers for the next day. If you love batch cooking then do check out my cook once eat twice recipe collection. I hope you find something you like.
If you love roast dinner type meals then why not check out my individual filo wellingtons too?
Keep in touch
Do let me know if you make this garlic chicken roasted in a bag or any of my other recipes. I love to get feedback from readers.
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Eva
What temperature do you cook it in fahrenheit?
Eva
Corina Blum
Hi Eva, it would be about 360 farenheit.
Carla
Hi! Can you substitute butter if dairy free? Do you have a suggestion? Thanks!
Corina Blum
Hi, yes you can use a non-dairy butter substitute. It should work just as well with whatever non-dairy butter you usually use.
Corina
Simone
Thanks for the simple and great recipe. My chicken was 1.45kg and I cooked it for 2 hours and it was perfect. I stuffed the cavity with 1/2 lemon, 1/2 onion and small piece of celery. Under the chicken breast skin area, I stuffed a mix of butter/thyme/rosemary/sage/lemon slices. Made a roux and reduced the gravy once the chicken was done. It was like thanksgiving came early and with a fraction of the fuss! Thanks!
Corina Blum
Thanks for letting me know how well this turned out for you! I'm so pleased you liked the method and I love the flavours you've put under the chicken skin.
Ghulam Mohyudin
It was perfect the first time. I learn so much from you as well! Keep it up great post.
Corina Blum
I'm so pleased the chicken cooked perfectly!
Belle Fuller
Made this simple dish. Great flavours, I did add rosemary and thyme under my vegetables. Thanks for the simple easy to use recipe.
Corina Blum
I'm so pleased you like it Belle! I think it's a great idea to add extra thyme and rosemary.
Tara
So easy and very little mess!
Corina Blum
Thanks Tara! I do love easy meals.
Cliona Keane
This is such a gorgeous family friendly recipe. Everyone around the table will be beyond satisfied!
Corina Blum
That's what I'm always hoping! I do love a good roast dinner.
Elizabeth Leaver
I have never even considered cooking chicken in a bag, I would worry the skin wouldn't go crispy, but yours looks PERFECT. Love that you can keep all the flavours and juices in it too. And if that hadn't sold me, not having to clean the oven so regularly definitely would!
Corina Blum
I know, I was worried that the skin wouldn't crisp up but it did. The veggies didn't because of all the juices but they were so tasty!
Mike Hultquist
This has some really great flavor and it was very easy to make, which I LOVE for during the week when I'm crazy-crazy busy. The garlic flavor really shines through. Great recipe.
Corina Blum
Thanks Mike! It is a great recipe for when you need something with little hands on time.
Traci
A clean oven and moist chicken after cooking? Take my money! What a great idea...I forget this even exists in the world. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Corina Blum
You're welcome! I'm so pleased you like it.
Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook
I love this recipe! I have oven bags but only used it once. I could almost smell it & oh my - delicious!! 😀
Corina
I should use them more often too as this recipe was really delicious!
Honest Mum (@HonestMummy)
How delicious. We love roast chicken here too. Thanks for linking up to #tastytuesdays
Lozza
I made this recipe but didn’t like the potatoes being not crisped up. The became quite sloppy
I must add the potatoes tasted good
Corina Blum
Hi Lozza, I'm so pleased you liked the taste of the potatoes even if you would have prefered them to have crisped up. Next time you could just cook the chicken in the bag and then roast the potatoes in a separate tray so you get them how you like them. Corina
Dragons And Fairy Dust
Love roast chicken. Never thought of the bag preventing the oven needing cleaned Genius
Corina
Thanks
Suppernut
Looks perfect on a cold day. (It's cold here today!)
Eb Gargano
Looks lovely! Very much approve of anything that is liberally coated with garlic and butter!! Did the skin go crispy and brown even inside the bag? Or did you have to give it some time outside the bag? Eb x
Corina
The skin went brown and crispy inside the bag but not quite as crispy as it would have done without the bag. I was still happy to eat it though! I only opened the bag after taking it out of the oven and letting it rest for a little while.