Juicy Buttermilk Roast Chicken

This buttermilk roast chicken recipe with garlic and herbs delivers perfectly golden, juicy chicken every time. Chicken dinner done right!

Ingredients

Full recipe with amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

• Chicken. I used chicken legs but chicken thighs, breast on the bone or even a whole, butterflied chicken will work too.
• Buttermilk.
• Salt and pepper.
• Lemon juice. 
• Fresh thyme. 
• Fresh sage. 
• Garlic cloves. 

How to make buttermilk roast chicken

1. Marinate the chicken: Mix together the buttermilk, salt, pepper and thyme leaves. Pour over the chicken, cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours but ideally overnight.
2. Roast the chicken: Remove the chicken from the marinade then blot off any excess marinade with paper towels. Place the chicken in a roasting dish then drizzle with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Add thyme, fresh sage and garlic cloves. Place in the oven and allow to roast for 20-30 minutes (roasting time will differ if using smaller or larger pieces of chicken) until the chicken is golden brown, crisp and cooked through. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes then serve.

Can I make this ahead?

The chicken can be marinated up to 24 hours before cooking. Chicken can be roasted up to 2 hours before serving and kept warm until you’re ready to serve. Leftover roast chicken can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

What to serve with buttermilk roast chicken

• Parmesan garlic mashed potatoes
• Bacon garlic sauteed green beans
• Easy garlic lemon sugar snap peas

Roast chicken recipes

1. Lemon Za’atar Air Fryer Chicken
2. Indian-spiced roast chicken
3. Lemon roasted chicken