Looking for an easy holiday dinner idea? This no fuss roasted lemon chicken is an easy way to bring a little cheer to your table. Even if you’re having a quiet holiday at home!
My husband is a huge fan of brining our holiday chicken/turkey. It’s unclear where he learned this technique, but after all these years, it’s become a hard-core family tradition.
I can’t complain! Whether we’re hosting Thanksgiving or Christmas, the turkey always comes out perfectly tender and seasoned. But it’s left him as a bit of a poultry snob!
So he was absolutely flabbergasted when I threw a dry chicken in the oven. He must have asked me at least three times if I was sure it would come out nice and juicy. It seemed like it was really stressing him out, to be honest.
So, no surprise, he was snooping around our kitchen as I was carving. After a few stolen bites, he was hooked!
The fresh lemon not only adds a beautiful flavour to this recipe, it also steams your birdie from the inside out. Leaving you with mouthwateringly tender, lemon-infused meat. I honestly can’t get enough of this recipe and I think it will be a new holiday favourite in your house too!
Keep it FODMAP friendly
This easy low FODMAP roasted lemon chicken will be the talk of your table! Check out the notes below for tips on keeping this recipe FODMAP friendly!
First up, chicken! Since chicken is a protein, it doesn’t have any FODMAP (unless you add them)s. That means it won’t add anything to your FODMAP load.
Next up, fresh lemon juice. According to Monash University, lemon juice is low FODMAP in servings of 1/2 a cup (125 g) per sitting. Servings of 3/4 cups (187 g) or more are high in the FODMAP fructan.
We’ll be using the juice of one lemon, which works out to about 3-5 tbsp (48 – 80 g) on average. This works out to roughly 12 – 20 g per serving, which won’t add anything notable to your FODMAP load.
Last but not least, leeks. According to Monash, the green part of a leek is low FODMAP in servings of 2/3 of a cup (54 g) per sitting. Servings of 1 cup (75 g) or more are high in the polyol mannitol.
We’ll be using 1 cup of leeks, but PLOT TWIST, you won’t be eating them! So while they’ll infuse all of their tasty flavour into this mouthwatering chicken, they won’t add anything notable to your FODMAP load.
The remaining ingredients also won’t add anything notable to your FODMAP load, so you’re good to go!
Pick your sidekick!
Want to dress your lemon chicken to the nines? Try pairing it with starches like these epic low FODMAP roasted “garlic” mashed potatoes, this low FODMAP creamy polenta, or these easy low FODMAP seasoned carrots.
Spice up your greens with these tasty low FODMAP green beans, these low FODMAP roasted oyster mushrooms, or this savoury low FODMAP make-ahead stuffing!
FODMAP math
You are what you eat! Check out the notes below to see how many servings of each FODMAP group are in 1/4 of this recipe.
Fructose = 0
Lactose = 0
Fructan = 0.1
GOS = 0
Polyol = 0
Want to try this tasty recipe? Don’t forget to save it for later!
Low FODMAP Roasted Lemon Chicken
- Total Time: 5 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
This simple low FODMAP roasted lemon chicken will be a holiday favourite in no time!
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken (3–4 lbs)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tsp fresh rosemary, minced + 1 sprig
- 1 lemon, cut in half
- 1 cup leeks – green part only, chopped
Instructions
- Pat your chicken dry with a paper towel and season the skin and the inside of the chicken with salt and pepper. Pop the chicken in your fridge (uncovered) and let it chill for at least 4 hours (overnight is fine). The chicken will need to hang out at room temperature for 30 minutes before roasting.
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
- Combine the butter and minced rosemary in a small bowl. Make sure your chicken is breast side up, then take a deep breath and stick your fingers underneath the skin of the chicken to gently make a little space between the skin and the meat. Put half of your butter on a spoon and slide it under the skin of the chicken. Then hold the butter in place while you remove the spoon. Repeat on the other side and pat the butter down so it’s distributed evenly over the breasts.
- Squeeze each lemon half into the cavity of the chicken. Then put one half of the lemon in, followed by the rosemary sprig and leeks, and using the other lemon half to keep everything in.
- Place the chicken on a roasting rack and pop them in a roasting pan. Cook until the chicken skin is golden brown and the meaty part of the thigh has reached a temperature of 170 degrees (about 1h to 1h 15 min).
Notes
Recommended low FODMAP serving size – 1/4 chicken per sitting
- Prep Time: 4 hours 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: dinner
- Method: roasting
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 chicken
- Calories: 331
- Sugar: 1 g
- Sodium: 79 mg
- Fat: 19 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 1 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 3 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 35 g
- Cholesterol: 15 mg
Keywords: Low FODMAP Roasted Lemon Chicken
You might also like one of these:
- Low FODMAP Trout with Dill and Chives Looking for a healthy dinner that’s ready in a flash? This simple packet fish will be the talk of your table!
- Low FODMAP Rosemary Pork Tenderloin Looking for some serious comfort food? Savour this tasty low FODMAP ramen with charred pork right from home!
- Low FODMAP Shepherd’s Pie With a rich meat filling and a gluten-free potato crust, you’ll crave this shepherd’s pie all year long!
If you like this post, don’t forget to share it! Together we’ll get the low FODMAP diet down to a science!
