This Apple-Bacon Roasted Chicken is full of sweet and smoky flavors. It's a super cozy meal that's both impressive enough for a dinner party, and easiest enough for a busy weeknight.
While I do love the sunshine, I also appreciate the cooler weather as an excuse to cook warming foods with longer cooking times, that have the wonderful scent of dinner wafting through the house.
Roasting a whole chicken with aromatic flavors is a great way to create a delicious, comforting and cozy family dinner -- or, an impressive dinner for a group of friends.
The cooking time may seem a bit long though most of it is inactive. While the chicken in the oven you can make a salad or a phone call. 😉
This chicken dinner is always a crowd pleaser.
Some Ingredient Notes
- whole chicken - If possible, a pasture-raised chicken is best. When selecting a fresh chicken, choose one with little to no odor.
- bacon - My favorite bacon is applewood smoked, and it's especially good in this recipe.
- hard apple cider - This is apple cider with alcohol, and its flavor is sharper than a non-alcoholic cider. I used the hard cider, but you can use either one.
- apples - Some of the best apple varieties for cooking are Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, Jonathan, Crimson Gold - they are all usually crisp, tart, and hold their shape well when cooked. Use your favorite or a combination. I usually use Granny Smiths.
- onion - Try to choose firm onions that are heavy for their size.
- garlic - Look for firm heads of garlic without any soft spots or green shoots, which are an indication it's old and likely bitter. (Pro tip: If there are green shoots in your garlic cloves, slice them in half, lengthwise, and remove the green root with the tip of a knife. The rest of the clove should still be good.)
- unsalted butter - It's usually best to cook with unsalted butter, so you can better control the final amount in the recipe.
Serving Suggestions
I love adding lentils or brown rice to the pan when the chicken is done -- both will soak up the tasty juices and add so well to this hearty, warming and comforting dinner.
Apple roasted chicken is lovely with a salad and rice or pasta. Below are a few delicious ideas...
- Grapefruit Avocado Salad
- Fried Lemon Caesar Salad
- Roasted Garlic Basil Brown Rice
- Lemon Thyme Spaghetti
More Must-Try Chicken Dinner Recipes
I hope you love this as much as my family and I do.
Apple-Bacon Roasted Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 strips applewood smoked bacon
- 1½ cups hard apple cider
- 2 cups (about 1 large or 2 small apples) Granny Smith apple, washed and dried, cored, and thinly sliced (about ½-inch slices)
- 1 cup yellow onion, super thinly sliced
- 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- olive oil for drizzling
- 5½ pound whole chicken
Instructions
- Set the oven and cook the bacon. Preheat the oven to 500° F. Place a paper towel on a plate and set it aside.In a large, ovenproof skillet, over medium-high heat, cook the bacon until it's crispy, about 3 minutes per side. (A cast iron skillet is perfect.) Turn the heat off, remove the bacon, and place on the paper towel-lined plate to drain.
- Cook the apples and onion. With the heat off, add the hard apple cider to the pan and let it sit for a few minutes. Then turn the heat to medium-low and add the apple, onion and garlic. Crumble the bacon and add it to the pan too. Let it simmer gently for about 10 minutes. Then add the butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Truss the chicken and begin roasting. Lightly drizzle a 9 x 13 x 2-inch baking pan with olive oil. Remove the insides of the chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Season the inside and outside of the chicken with salt and pepper and truss it. (Here's how.) Then place it breast side up in a in the baking pan and drizzle with olive oil.Place the pan in the preheated 500° F oven and roast until the chicken is golden brown, about 25 minutes. Remove the chicken from the oven and reduce the heat to 350°F.
- Turn chicken over, add the apple mixture, continue roasting. Arrange the apple mixture around the sides of the skillet, so there's space enough for the chicken in the center. Very carefully, use tongs, heat resistant cooking gloves or your hands, to flip the chicken over so it's now breast side down, in the center of the skillet, surrounded by the apple mixture. Place the skillet in the 350° F oven and continue to roast until the internal temperature is 155 degrees F -- this should take about 1 hour. The final internal temperature will be about 165 degrees, as the chicken will continue to cook for several minutes outside of the oven. You can use a meat thermometer to check the temperature. You'll also know it's done when the juices run clear and the legs should move easily when it's done. Baste the chicken with the cider-butter mixture every 15 minutes or so.
- Rest, season and serve. Wait at least 15 minutes before carving, to allow the juices to settle. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper. (Here's How to Season to Taste.) Serve!
NOTES
NUTRITION
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romi
Every dish looks gorgeous! Your blog is superb and I must say, I'm having such a joy reading your witty quips and cheerful stories.
Libby Bratton Butler
I cooked this recipe tonight and my daughters (and I) LOVED IT! The bacon was their favorite part. The chicken was so tender and full of flavor. Thanks for sharing. This is a winner that I will add to my rotation :0).
valentina
Libby, that's great! I'm so happy the girls enjoyed it, and that it made your rotation! :-)!!
Cathy
WOW! That looks amazing. I'm putting it on my list of things to make. Were the apple and bacon flavors prominent in this dish?
valentina
The bacon flavor for sure, and the apples, too -- they add a subtle sweetness.
David @ Spiced
What a fun idea to use apples in the roasting process! I can see how the sweetness combined with the salty (and delicious) bacon would yield an excellent dinner. And lucky for us, it's apple season in the northeast...and I might have picked like 50 pounds of apples the other day. haha!
valentina
Lucky you to go apple picking and get so many! I imagine there might be a pie on a windowsill somewhere at your house. 🙂 And yes the sweet-salty mix is delicious. Thank you!
Suzy
Oh I love the apple addition in this roast chicken! Perfect for the fall.
valentina
Thanks so much, Suzy!
Helen of Fuss Free Flavours
A delicious way to serve chicken, a perfect combination of flavours. Ideal for a warming and tasty Fall meal.
valentina
Thanks Helen. Hope you try it. 🙂
Thanh | Eat, Little Bird
I love roast chicken and the apples must taste divine after baked in all of the chicken juices! Yum yum!
valentina
They do indeed! 🙂 Thank you!
Heidy L. McCallum
How can one go wrong with a recipe as delciously good as Apple-Bacon Roasted Chicken? I think you have a winner on your hands and I sure can't wait to taste this juicy recipe.
valentina
Thanks so much, Heidy! I hope you love it!
Marisa Moore
These flavors go so well together. It's perfect for fall too!
valentina
Thank you! 😀
Christina
What a perfect recipe for autumn! I always have hard cider in the fridge, so this is definitely a recipe I'd love to try. I mean, it's got bacon, too! Winner, for sure! Thanks, Valentina!
valentina
Why thank you! I hope you love it! 🙂
Nancy Buchanan
You had me at bacon!! Throw in the apples and oh my!!!!! Seriously delicious fall fare Valentina!!!
valentina
Thank you, Nancy. I know, I'm loving apples right now. 🙂
David
Looks just amazing, and I do love the combination of bacon and apples. It was a favorite sandwich of mind from my youth!
valentina
Well, now I'm just going to have to make the sandwich.Can't wait. Thx! 🙂