Most people think of roasted chicken as a fancy Sunday dinner. The truth is, it’s so simple that you can easily make it on a busy weeknight. The price averages 89 cents a pound at my grocery store, which makes it a pretty frugal meal, too, since we always have leftover dark meat to use in other meals like quesadilas or chicken enchilada soup.

It’s not a quick meal compared to other “quick-fix” recipes — it usually takes about an hour to roast a 5-pound chicken at 400 degrees. But it’s very hands-off. Prep the chicken, and the oven does the work for you.

Here’s Tony’s no-fuss method for roasting chicken with a bonus side dish recipe for roasted rosemary potatoes.

Easy roasted chicken

• 5-8 pound whole chicken
• Kosher salt
• Fresh ground black pepper
• Dried rosemary
• Dried thyme
• Extra virgin olive oil

Rinse and thoroughly dry the chicken. Place chicken with breast-side up in a roasting pan or cast-iron skillet (we prefer the cast-iron skillet, because it makes cleanup easier). Coat chicken with olive oil. Cover with salt, pepper, rosemary, and thyme. Roast at 400 degrees for about an hour or until internal temperature of thigh meat is 165 degrees and juices run clear.

If you’ve never carved a whole bird before, this video will provide you with far better instructions than I could give you.

Roasted rosemary potatoes

• 1 pound potatoes
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Black pepper
• Dried thyme
• Dried rosemary

For this recipe, I prefer to use thin-skinned potatoes like yellow or red potatoes, because they don’t require peeling. This makes things much easier and quicker.

Wash potatoes, and chop into large bite-sized pieces for faster cooking. Spread potatoes in one layer on a baking sheet. Coat with olive oil, salt, pepper, rosemary, and thyme. Roast in 400-degree oven for 25 minutes, turning potatoes halfway through cooking.

If you’ve never roasted a whole chicken, you MUST try it. It is so simple and delicious. It’s one of our favorite go-to meals, and there’s always enough meat left over for at least one more meal later in the week. Plus you can reserve the carcass for homemade chicken stock.