My easy buttermilk roasted chicken recipe marinates chicken in a simple buttermilk mixture then roasts it to perfection in the oven!
When you think of buttermilk chicken, I bet you think of fried chicken recipes or air fryer chicken dishes. Well, you can make roasted chicken too by marinating the chicken to get an unbelievable flavor and a moist, tender texture. All the flavor, none of the fat!
Serve it with your favorite rich sides or eat it as leftovers in a sandwich — this buttermilk roasted chicken recipe is a dinnertime classic!
What I Love About This Recipe
Who doesn’t love a chicken dinner? It’s homey, flavorful, and filling, in all the most soul-comforting ways!
- Easy to make — marinade and roast!
- No messy fryer to deal with
- Perfect chicken every time!
- Goes great with any sides
- Crowd-pleasing WOW!
How To Make Buttermilk Roasted Chicken Recipe
Start by mixing together your buttermilk, oil, garlic, salt, pepper, rosemary, and honey. Then divide your chicken into two plastic bags and pour half of the buttermilk mixture into each bag. Seal, place on a rimmed plate or dish, and refrigerate for up to two days.
When you’re ready to cook, heat your oven to 400, and take your chicken out of the fridge. Let the marinade drain off and line a baking pan with foil. Put your chicken in a single layer and roast for 45 minutes, then turn off the oven — this is important! — and allow the chicken to continue to cook for 7-10 minutes.
Serve with hearty sides, and enjoy!
Buttermilk Roasted Chicken Ingredients
- Marinade: The most important thing to do for this roasted chicken to be a success is to plan ahead and marinate it for 2 days. Buttermilk is a slightly more acidic dairy product, so letting your chicken sit in it will let the acid break down the meat, which gives you that wonderfully tender texture later on.
- Chicken: Because this recipe roasts the chicken instead of baking it, I think using bone-in chicken with skin on works significantly better. You get far more flavor from the bone, plus it helps keep your chicken moist!
- Dark Meat: If you use dark meat chicken pieces, after roasting the chicken for 45 minutes at 400, turn down the oven to 350 and continue to cook until chicken is done and juices run clear about 7-10 minutes.
- Rosemary: Ah, the aromatic herb! I use fresh rosemary when I can — it goes so beautifully with the chicken! — but dried works too. Know that you’ll need to use much less dried herb than you would fresh though. Don’t over-season!
Storing + Freezing + Make-Ahead
- How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge? Once fully cooked, this chicken will keep in your fridge for 3-4 days.
- Can You Freeze This? Yes, this can be frozen. Thoroughly cool the chicken completely and store it in the freezer for 6 months
- Make-Ahead Tips: This recipe has make-ahead magic built right in! You must let the chicken marinate at least a day, preferably two. So go ahead and let your chicken get cozy in the fridge!
- Food Safety: If you’d like more info on food safety check out this link.
Serving Recommendations
My very favorite way to serve this roasted chicken recipe is with some delicious sides! Go for my crockpot creamed corn, au gratin potatoes, brown sugar roasted carrots, roasted green beans to carry that roasted flavor through.
Add on KFC Coleslaw, tomato cucumber salad, a light sweet strawberry spinach salad ,or broccoli salad to balance out the baked flavors.
At our dinner table there’s always a side of bread. Try my Bisquick cornbread (if you like sweet cornbread, it’s the best!), Southern cornbread (if you’re a traditionalist), buttery crescent rolls, butter swim biscuits, or easy Bisquick biscuits.
Your dinner guests will be satisfied and happy!
More Chicken Favorites
- White Chicken Enchiladas
- Million Dollar Chicken
- Shoyu Chicken
- Chicken And Dumpling Casserole
- Italian Dressing Chicken
- Chicken Francaise
- Campbells Chicken and Rice
- Smothered Chicken
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Buttermilk Roasted Chicken
Ingredients
- 6 chicken breast halves, bone-in
- 3 cups buttermilk well shaken
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil divided
- 4 garlic cloves crushed
- 1 1/2 tablespoons salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary chopped
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 3 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped (optional)
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix together buttermilk, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, garlic, salt, pepper, rosemary, and honey until salt is dissolved.
- Divide the chicken pieces into 2- 1-gallon ziplock bags. Pour half of the buttermilk mixture in each bag. Press out as much air as possible and seal bags. Place on a rimmed dish or plate in case bag leaks. Refrigerate overnight or preferably for 2 days. Flip bag halfway through marinating time.
- Heat oven to 400 degrees. Take the chicken out of the ziplock bags and place on a wire rack so any extra marinade will drip off. Line a baking pan with aluminum foil and place the chicken in a single layer on the pan. Drizzle chicken with remaining oil. Roast chicken at 400 degrees for 45 minutes, then turn off the oven, and allow the chicken to continue to cook (just in the remaining heat-don't open the door) for 7-10 minutes more or until chicken is done.
- Allow chicken to rest for about 7-10 minutes then serve.
Fans Also Made:
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RATE THIS RECIPESource: Slightly adapted from Nigella Lawson via The New York Times
Hello, can I use a whole chicken for this recipe? Please let me know, thank you 🙂
Hi, Kathleen. I haven’t tried this for a whole chicken. The cooking time will differ.
I didn’t Pre read the instructions, and am having a dinner party tonight, i will only be able to marinade for 12 hours…. Is that enough? Should I do anything different?
I think that’ll be fine. Let us know how it turns out!
I’m going to use a cut up whole fryer chicken.. what temp and timing do you recommend?
If you use dark meat chicken pieces, after roasting the chicken for 45 minutes at 400, turn down the oven to 350 and continue to cook until chicken is done and juices run clear about 7-10 minutes.
The Buttermilk Roasted Chicken was something I tried making after a long time due to my busy schedule. The experience was pretty refreshing and then what greeted me at the table was divine indeed! I am going to try it again because I just cannot have enough of the dish.
Hi, Clara! Yaaay, I’m glad you like this roasted chicken. Thanks for your positive feedback 🙂
Can you cook this in an air fryer? Same temperature and for 45 minutes? Boneless, skinless chicken breast.
Hi, Lynne. I have an air fryer chicken recipe, I’m pulling the instructions from there:
-Preheat air fryer to 390 degrees for 5 minutes.
-Place coated pieces of chicken in a single layer in the bottom of the air fryer. Set the air fryer to 390 degrees for 18-30 minutes (depending on size of chicken pieces and brand of Air Fryer) or until an instant-read thermometer registers 165 when inserted into the thickest part of the chicken, not touching the bone.
I’m making it with bone-in thighs…how long should I cook them?
Dark Meat: If you use dark meat chicken pieces, after roasting the chicken for 45 minutes at 400, turn down the oven to 350 and continue to cook until the chicken is done and juices run clear about 7-10 minutes.
I made this tonight and WOW… delish!! I marinated 2 very large bone-in, skin-on breasts for 1.5 days. Baked for 45 and I had to open the oven to check internal temp. Since they were at 160 degrees I took them out instead of keeping them in with the oven off. I rested them 15 min covered in foil and they were perfect!!! So juicy! That all said, I don’t usually buy chicken breasts that large, but it was all they had at Whole Foods. Smaller breasts would clearly take less than 45 mins so I really recommend using an instant read thermometer. This will be in our regular rotation. Plus great leftovers as a bonus for salads and sandwiches.
Thanks for your feedback Marta! So glad you enjoyed! 🙂
Hi! Sounds delicious however I am not a rosemary fan. Any ideas for a substitution?
Thank you!
Maybe fresh thyme.
Can this be made with skinless chicken?
Hmmm, this is better with bone-in skin-on chicken, but I think skinless will work great. Let us know how it turns out!
Can I use olive I as vegetable oil ?
Yes!
Hi…newbie cook here. Thanks for the recipe! I made it last week, tasted great but I have a question. When baking it in the oven, there were 2-3 times that I used a napkin to soak up the water/juices that came out of the chicken while cooking. I did this b/c I wasn’t sure if it would dry up on its own or whether it would have ruined the meal. Did I do the right thing? Should I just let the water/juices sit?
Hi James. I just let the juices sit!
i made this recipe, it had a great flavor . However it was on the dry side Any suggestions on getting the meat more tender next time? Bone in chicken is very thick pieces, so maybe a different type of chicken cut???
Honestly, Angela, I think the chicken had to be slightly overcooked. It should have been wonderfully moist!
Hi Kathleen,
I wanted to find out if I could grill the chicken instead of baking?
Hi, Lannie! That a great idea. I pulled the instruction from my Pollo Asado recipe:
-Prepare grill. Remove chicken from marinade and discard marinade. Cook the chicken over the hotter part of the grill l until it’s lightly browned all both sides, 6 to 8 minutes for a charcoal grill or 10 to 14 minutes for a gas grill.
-Turn the chicken skin side down on the cooler part of the grill, cover and cook until chicken is cooked through and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat, but not touching the bone, reaches 165°F.
Let us know how it turns out!
Grilling worked great! I added some oregano to the recipe but very good! Thank you!!
Yaaay! I’m glad it turned out great! Thank you too for your update 🙂
I wondered if I can use a fryer chicken cut up and if so how would the timing differ if at all?
Hi, Kat! I haven’t tried this with Air Fryer. But I grabbed the instructions from my Air Fryer Chicken Recipe:
1. Preheat the air fryer to 390 degrees for 5 minutes.
2. Place coated pieces of chicken in a single layer in the bottom of the air fryer. Set the air fryer to 390 degrees for 18-30 minutes (depending on size of chicken pieces and brand of Air Fryer) or until an instant-read thermometer registers 165 when inserted into the thickest part of the chicken, not touching the bone.
anything to be done with leftover mainade? it smells delicious … wonder if i can add some wine and boil to a safe sauce …?
Sounds like a great idea!
I routinely purchase boneless skinless chicken breasts. I read above about marinating the boneless breasts maximum 24 hours but what about cooking time? Thanks I also purchase a lot of boneless skinless thighs so would appreciate the cooking time on those. Thank you for sharing this great recipe,
This is my go to chicken recipe! Thank you for sharing this deliciousness with the world.
Thank you so much too, Betsi!
Is this made with skin on or skinless? Can it be made without the skin? Can’t wait to try it .
Hi, Marla! I make this with skin on. Yes, you can make this skinless. Let us know how it turns out. Enjoy!
I’m not a fan of vegetable oil what could I substitute for that?
Hi, Angela. Any oil you have will do (palm, corn, coconut, olive, etc)
Can I use chicken thighs bone in skin on
Hi, Diane. Yes. If you use dark meat chicken pieces, after roasting the chicken for 45 minutes at 400, turn down the oven to 350 and continue to cook until the chicken is done and juices run clear about 7-10 minutes.
This sounds delicious! I am not fond of bone in chicken breasts. Could this be made with boneless? Thanks!
Hi Holly. Yes, you can but reduce the marinating time to a maximum of 24 hours.