Cook super juicy and tender Italian roast chicken and potatoes with no oil at all! It’s dry roasted in the oven to perfection, leaving you with the ultimate crispy skin. It’s the set and forget roast dinner recipe you’ve been looking for.

Why We Love This
There’s nothing better than smelling a Sunday roast in the oven and having the family over for dinner. Especially one that’s pretty hands off when it comes to roasting.
With no oil required, it’s a matter of coating the chicken in salt and herb goodness, before popping it in the oven and waiting for that magic crispy skin to emerge.
Related: Super Creamy Cauliflower Cheese / Italian Fennel & Orange Salad

What is Italian Roasted Chicken?
Italian Roast Chicken is dry brined in salt and herbs with no oil at all. This results in a very crispy skin and succulent meat, cooked to absolute perfection. The herbs used are sage and rosemary, accompanied with a hit of garlic and black pepper.
Where We Learned This Recipe
This was a discovery in the heart of Naples, right amongst all the dough and fried pizza we were feasting on.
We were feeling pretty lucky to have summer dresses packed away in our travel bags suitable for a last minute invite to our first Italian wedding! They could pass, if you squinted, as something suitable to wear to such a big occasion.
So there we found ourselves sitting down at a table surrounded by our new Italian family, happily extending plate after plate of homemade Italian fare. Between courses of savoury pizza scrolls, roast chicken, and more refreshing salads than you could poke a fork at, we sipped glasses of red wine and toasted the bride and groom.
Ida’s Uncle soon joined our table, taking the last seat left next to us, and in true Italian fashion our conversation quickly turned to food.
“I have an amazing recipe, much better than this stuff,” he mumbled between mouthfuls of roast chicken. “But I will not share it with you. Haha. Oh no. TWENTY YEARS it took for my friend to get my secret recipe from me! You won’t get it that easily.”
We took one look at each other and grinned. Challenge accepted. >> Fast forward 10 minutes >>
“Okay. Okay, I will tell you this special recipe bella.” Success! We made sure to write down every word. Huzzah! Secret Italian Roast Chicken recipe acquired. While we have made a few adjustments, the recipe really did turn out absolutely incredible.
What You’ll Need
Get out your roasting pan, it’s time to cook up a storm!
- Chicken – We’re roasting a whole chicken today! Our recipe is based on a 1.5kg (3.3 lb) chook, but you can adjust your cooking time to suit a bigger or smaller bird.
- Coarse Salt – Coarse salt works best, as it’s easier to brush off of the skin once the chicken is ready to cook.
- Herbs – Fresh is the most fragrant and will really help to soak the flavours into the skin and meat. Gather up fresh rosemary, sage and garlic and chop!

How to make Italian Roast Chicken:


For the Seasoning:
- Pour the coarse salt into a bowl, then add in your chopped garlic, sage and rosemary, and mix well.1/4 cup coarse sea salt, 4 cloves garlic, 1 handful fresh sage, 1 handful rosemary
To Prepare the Chicken:
- Massage the herb and salt seasoning all over the chicken skin, making sure it’s well and truly coated.1.5 kg whole roasting chicken
- Cover and pop in the fridge for 3 hours. Take it out of the fridge 1 hour before cooking to help bring it back up to room temperature.


To Roast the Chicken:
- Preheat oven to 250˚C (480˚F). Yep. That is going to be one hot oven for roasting this chicken.
- Meanwhile pop your potatoes and onions into a roasting pan and use them to create a nice base for your chicken.1 onion, 5 potatoes
- Brush all the salt off the chicken. Place the chicken on top of the potatoes (breast side down to start) then pop the tray into the oven. Allow half an hour of cooking per 500 g (1.1 lb) of chicken, so 1.5kg (3.3 lb) = 1.5 hours. We’re cooking the chicken on top of the potatoes to stop the skin sticking to the pan and to flavour the potatoes with all that gorgeous roasting jus.
- At the halfway point, flip the chicken and vegetables over then pop it back in the oven. This will allow that gorgeous skin to turn into crispy, golden brown deliciousness.
- Once the chicken is done, take it out of the oven and wrap it up in some aluminium foil. For the juiciest, tastiest and most tender chicken ever, allow it to rest for at least 10 minutes covered in aluminium foil before you dive in. 😉
Wandercook’s Tips
- Chicken Size – Allow half an hour of cooking per 500 g / 1.1 lb of chicken.
- Hot Oven – This is crucial. We really do mean 250°C (480°F)! Get that oven hot guys – that’s what gives you a crispy chicken skin while keeping the moisture in the chook!
- Timing (Based on 1.5kg Chicken) –
- 11:30am: Prepare the seasoning to allow the flavours to develop.
- 12:30pm: Massage the salt into the chicken, then pop into the fridge to dry brine for 3 hours.
- 3:30pm: Remove the chicken from the fridge to bring up the meat temperature.
- 4:30pm: Pop the chicken into the oven and prepare any other side dishes or salads to go with dinner.
- 6pm: Serve and eat!
- Perfect Pairs – Make a quick Greek salad or shopska salad to serve alongside.
FAQs
Dry brining is the method of salting meat and allowing it to rest. In doing so, it causes the meat to release more moisture for a super succulent result once cooked.
Allow the chicken to dry brine for a minimum of 3 hours, and a maximum of 24 hours. This will ensure enough of the salt has been absorbed for the best flavour and moisture result.
No need to rinse off the salt. Just brush it all off before cooking.
No oil required for this recipe!
The best desserts would be light and refreshing, easy to make, yet impressive to serve! Try following it up with chocolate ripple cake, easy chocolate mousse, pavlova roll, or a platter of sweet Italian cantucci biscotti.
Variations & Substitutes
- Switch up the Protein – You can use this recipe with lamb, beef or pork if you prefer.
- Herbs – While we’ve used rosemary and sage in our recipe, feel free to experiment with other herbs like oregano, thyme or a sprinkling of ground black pepper.
- Leftover Chicken? – Use it up in homemade chicken pasta bake.

Italian favourites to cook up in the kitchen next:




★ Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating below!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1.5 kg whole roasting chicken skin-on
- 5 potatoes medium size, peeled and halved
- 1 onion peeled and quartered
For the Seasoning
Instructions
For the Seasoning:
- Pour the coarse salt into a bowl, then add in your chopped garlic, sage and rosemary, and mix well.1/4 cup coarse sea salt, 4 cloves garlic, 1 handful fresh sage, 1 handful rosemary
To Prepare the Chicken:
- Massage the herb and salt seasoning all over the chicken skin, making sure it’s well and truly coated.1.5 kg whole roasting chicken
- Cover and pop in the fridge for 3 hours. Take it out of the fridge 1 hour before cooking to help bring it back up to room temperature.
To Roast the Chicken:
- Preheat the oven to 250˚C (480˚F). Yep. That is going to be one hot oven for roasting this chicken.
- Meanwhile pop your potatoes and onions into a roasting pan and use them to create a nice base for your chicken.1 onion, 5 potatoes
- Brush all the salt off the chicken. Place the chicken on top of the potatoes (breast side down to start) then pop the tray into the oven. Allow half an hour of cooking per 500 g (1.1 lb) of chicken, so 1.5kg (3.3 lb) = 1.5 hours. We’re cooking the chicken on top of the potatoes to stop the skin sticking to the pan and to flavour the potatoes with all that gorgeous roasting jus.
- At the halfway point, flip the chicken and vegetables over then pop it back in the oven. This will allow that gorgeous skin to turn into crispy, golden brown deliciousness.
- Once the chicken is done, take it out of the oven and wrap it up in some aluminium foil. For the juiciest, tastiest and most tender chicken ever, allow it to rest for at least 10 minutes covered in aluminium foil before you dive in. 😉
Video
Recipe Notes
- Chicken – We’re doing a whole roast chicken today! Our recipe is based on a 1.5kg (3.3 lb) chook, but you can adjust your cooking time to suit a bigger or smaller bird. Allow half an hour of cooking per 500 g / 1.1 lb of chicken.
- Hot Oven – This is crucial. We really do mean 250°C (480°F)! Get that oven hot guys – that’s what gives you a crispy skin while keeping the moisture in the chook!
- Timing (Based on 1.5kg Chicken) –
- 11:30am: Prepare the seasoning to allow the flavours to develop.
- 12:30pm: Massage the salt into the chicken, then pop into the fridge to dry brine for 3 hours.
- 3:30pm: Remove the chicken from the fridge to bring up the meat temperature.
- 4:30pm: Pop the chicken into the oven and prepare any other side dishes or salads to go with dinner.
- 6pm: Serve and eat!
- Switch up the Protein – You can use this recipe with lamb, beef or pork if you prefer.
- Herbs – While we’ve used rosemary and sage in our recipe, feel free to experiment with other herbs like oregano and thyme.
Nutrition

24 Comments
Mary Sweeten
25/05/2022 at 8:49 amTerrific method. Only thing I would add is a little olive oil under the potatoes to keep them from sticking — I used cast iron.
Wandercooks
26/05/2022 at 3:40 pmGood idea Mary if you don’t have a non-stick roasting pan. 🙂
Rebecca Daniels
29/11/2021 at 9:06 amThis is the best roast chicken recipe I’ve ever used! I love how much flavour the meat gets from the dry brine and the skin gets so crispy – but make sure you brush off all the salt before cooking!
Wandercooks
29/11/2021 at 9:48 amAmazing Rebecca! Thanks so much for cooking our recipe and the awesome feedback. 😀
Jeff Gardner
27/08/2021 at 11:27 pmSorry, but myChicken was a total failure. I followed the recipe precisely and it came out so salty that I couldn’t eat it, and it was not crispy at all. I was very disappointed. Perhaps I can skin thechicken and make a (salty?) chicken salad from the overcooked meat.
Wandercooks
29/10/2021 at 12:21 pmHey Jeff, sorry to hear it didn’t turn out. It may be you used a fine salt, which soaked into the skin too much or you didn’t brush enough off. Coarse sea salt is what you need for this recipe, otherwise if you prefer less salt, only use 1-2 tbsp instead.
meeronamac
24/02/2017 at 5:44 pmYes!!! Thank you so much! I tried this last night and it was delish! My husband really enjoyed it and that’s quite rare. The dishes were actually minimal which I loved, some one pot recipes are a massive mess to get to the one pot part. Thanks again!
Wandercooks
03/03/2017 at 2:25 pmAww so glad to hear he enjoyed it, you’re very welcome! It’s so nice to cook something like a roast in one pan – normally you’d end up with a pile of dishes so it’s nice to minimise the washing up, and even better that you end up with amazing flavours through your veggies too!
Edda
30/12/2016 at 1:25 amHi! This looks great! One doubt: in #4 you say “Place the chicken on top of the potatoes (breast side down to start) then pop the tray into the oven.” but you don’t say if the chicken is turned breast side up at any time… how is the golden skin in the breast achieved?
Wandercooks
05/01/2017 at 11:49 amEdda thanks so much for stopping by and letting us know we missed that step (eeep). For the best results, you should flip the chicken over at the half way point of cooking. I’ve updated the recipe to include this step now. Hope you enjoy!
Linz
20/11/2016 at 6:41 amThe picture looks like it has kosher salt (the bigger flakes) is that what Australian cooking salt.? Being in the States, I want to try the recipe but am not sure if I should use kosher salt or regular table salt (the fine granules of salt). I’m afraid if I use table salt it will absorb into the chicken and I won’t be able to wipe it off and it’ll make the skin too salty. Has anyone in the U.S. tried this, have any recs?
Wandercooks
20/11/2016 at 8:43 amHey Linz, thanks for stopping by! We actually used Italian sea salt flakes for this recipe which was easy to brush off for less salty but still crispy ‘n delicious skin. If you can’t find any in a supermarket, check out an import store or continental grocer if you have one nearby, or perhaps check out Amazon. Good luck!
Jaclyn
28/09/2016 at 7:41 pmNow that’s what I’m talking about! These look great! And I reckon I could wait a few days! Thanks for the recipe!!!
Wandercooks
29/09/2016 at 9:26 amYou’re welcome Jaclyn. We hope you enjoy it! Love that salty crispy skin. 😀 PS. The wait is definitely worth it.
Deanna
15/07/2016 at 9:53 amIs cooking salt just salt like Mortons? I am just learning to cook at 66 & some things confuse me. Sorry to sound so stupid…lol.
Wandercooks
19/07/2016 at 12:49 pmYep, we’re pretty sure you can use Mortons in the same way as cooking salt. It’s never too late to start and there’s so much deliciousness out there to discover. Hope you enjoy all your cooking adventures, and if you run into any problems hit us up! Always happy to help. 🙂
Trish
16/06/2016 at 3:57 amYUM! Roast chicken is a Winter time staple in our house, but we’ve never tried this salted version before. It looks SO TASTY! Gotta give it a go. 🙂
Wandercooks
16/06/2016 at 3:24 pmYep, neither had we Trish! A new go-to I think, it’s such an easy and non-messy marinade. Gotta love that!
Mandee Pogue
15/06/2016 at 11:19 pmFirst of all, your photography is AMAZING! And this recipe literally made my mouth water! I am going to be trying it soon!
Wandercooks
16/06/2016 at 3:23 pmAww thanks Mandee! Good luck with the cooking, would love to know how it turns out! 😀
Marisa Franca @ All Our Way
15/06/2016 at 5:38 amWe’ve never tried the salt method. We’ve done the chicken under a brick which is a typical Italian recipe along with the little potatoes. We are going to have to try this method. Looks delish!
Wandercooks
15/06/2016 at 11:36 amOh your method sounds interesting too Marisa, would love to give that a try! Very curious to see how that works. 🙂
Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy
14/06/2016 at 11:06 pmThat chicken looks perfectly cooked and I love the crispy roast potatoes that go along with it. Yum!
Wandercooks
15/06/2016 at 11:36 amThanks Dannii! We just couldn’t believe how gorgeously browned the chicken became even without oil. So delish! 🙂