Buttermilk Roasted Chicken

Buttermilk roasted chicken two pieces.

It’s so nice to have an arsenal of quick and easy weeknight meals that don’t taste like they were quick and easy to make. I want to serve my family healthy, real food during the week, but I don’t always have the time to make something elaborate. I have a boatload of easy week-night meals in my repertoire, and this chicken dish is one of those. This is one of those chicken dishes that you will make at least once a month, if not more. It’s one of my favorite chicken recipes because you can throw the marinade together in less than 10 minutes and then let it sit anywhere from 8 to 24 hours. It’s a great make-ahead dish, perfect for a weeknight dinner or fancy enough for a dinner party.

My kids LOVED this dish as well as John and I. The buttermilk gives the chicken a wonderful and tangy flavor and the chicken stays so moist and tender. Zoe kept commenting that the chicken was so tender in contrast with the crispy skin. I wanted a mixture of dark and white meat, so I had my butcher cut 2 chicken breasts in half so that the marinade could seep into each chicken piece, and I also added in 3 chicken thighs for Eli and John, as they love dark meat. It was perfect because we all got our own piece of chicken with some crispy skin, and Eli even got to use a knife for the first time to cut his chicken thigh. I tell you, he was one happy camper.

I could also see throwing some chicken legs in the mix as well.  If you think 3 1/2 pounds is too much chicken, then feel free to cut the recipe in half (chicken and marinade).  This was the perfect amount for us, because we got 2 dinners out of it. The chicken makes great leftovers for lunch or dinner and even tastes great cold!  I’ve used the leftover chicken to top my kid friendly caesar salad for an easy lunchtime meal. We served this up with some roasted fingerling potatoes (so easy to whip up) and my kid friendly caesar salad, (dressing was made ahead of time and lettuce was pre-washed and ready to go) and I tell you, it was a simple weeknight meal that felt like an elaborate weekend meal. You see, weeknight meals don’t have to taste like weeknight meals. Note: the top photo shows two whole breasts that I cooked up one time using the marinade. I have to say that we preferred the breasts when they were cut in half because the breast meat absorbed more of the buttermilk marinade.  Below is a pic of how the chicken looked when the breasts were cut in half.

Roasted chicken

Buttermilk roasted chicken

recipe from Everyday Food: Fresh Flavor Fast: 250 Easy, Delicious Recipes for Any Time of Day (Everyday Food (Clarkson Potter))ir?t=marmamcoo 20&l=as2&o=1&a=0307405109Everyday Food
serves 4-6

  • 3 1/2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces, such as breasts, thighs and legs – I used 2 chicken breasts that the butcher cut in half, as well as 3 chicken thighs.  If you’re going to use breasts, make sure you cut them in half so the buttermilk gets absorbed into the meat, it doesn’t work as well with whole breasts.
  • 2 cups buttermilk
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Zest up your lemon and wash and chop up your dill.

Buttermilk marinade ingredients

In a medium sized bowl, pour in the 2 cups buttermilk, lemon zest, 2 tablespoons chopped dill, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper.  Stir to combine.

Buttermilk marinade for chicken

Put the chicken pieces into a gallon sized ziploc bag (or you can just throw the chicken in the same bowl as the buttermilk mixture, but make sure it’s a large bowl).  Add in the buttermilk mixture, and zip up the bag.  Make sure to shake or turn the bag a bit so that all of the buttermilk gets on and seeps into all of the chicken pieces. Refrigerate the chicken for 8 hours or up to 24 hours. If you’re using a bowl to marinate the chicken in, make sure to cover the bowl tightly with either plastic wrap or a a tight fitting lid.

Chicken marinating in bag

After the chicken has marinated, pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees.

Remove the chicken pieces from the marinade and pat each one dry.  Put the chicken pieces on a rimmed baking sheet.  Mmmm, raw chicken pieces, sorry for the photo guys.

Raw chicken

Roast the chicken until cooked through (or internal temps for both the breasts and thighs reaches 165 degrees on an instant read thermometer), about 25 -30 minutes. Some of the smaller chicken pieces might be done before the larger ones, so make sure to pull off the smaller pieces if they are done ahead of time, while you finish cooking up the larger pieces.  If you want to crisp up the skins a bit more, throw them under the broiler for a few minutes. I did not throw the below chicken pieces under the broiler, as I wanted you to see how they will really look. 

Roasted chicken

I’ve had some readers throw the marinated chicken on the grill and have it be a great success, so feel free to throw the chicken on the grill for another option, especially when it’s too hot to turn the oven on. Below is a photo that one of my readers, Melinda Sahli, took of her grilled buttermilk chicken. I saw her photo on Instagram and asked her to email it to me because her grilled chicken looked scrumptious and I thought it would be great for readers to see how the chicken looked grilled. I just love Melinda, she has made a few recipes of mine and always lets me know what her faves are.  We follow each other on Instagram and I really enjoy the relationship that we have built on something like Instagram. Instagram is just an easy and fun way to stay connected. Thanks Melinda!

Roasted chicken

That’s seriously it. We usually serve this up with some roasted fingerling potatoes and my kid friendly caesar salad. I could also see my mashed potatoes with kale being a great side as well.

With love Jackie

Buttermilk Roasted Chicken

0.0 from 0 votes
Recipe by Jackie

    Ingredients

    • 3½ pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces, such as breasts, thighs and legs - I used 2 chicken breasts that the butcher cut in half, as well as 3 chicken thighs. If you're going to use breasts, make sure you cut them in half so the buttermilk gets absorbed into the meat, it doesn't work as well with whole breasts.

    • 2 cups buttermilk

    • zest of 1 lemon

    • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

    • 1½ teaspoons salt

    • 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

    Directions

    • Zest up your lemon and wash and chop up your dill.

    • In a medium sized bowl, pour in the 2 cups buttermilk, lemon zest, 2 tablespoons chopped dill, 1½ teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Stir to combine.

    • Put the chicken pieces into a gallon sized ziploc bag (or you can just throw the chicken in the same bowl as the buttermilk mixture, but make sure it's a large bowl). Add in the buttermilk mixture, and zip up the bag. Make sure to shake the bag a bit so that all of the buttermilk gets on and seeps into all of the chicken pieces.

    • Refrigerate the chicken for 8 hours or up to 24 hours. If you're using a bowl to marinate the chicken in, make sure to cover the bowl tightly with either plastic wrap or a a tight fitting lid.

    • After the chicken has marinated, pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees.

    • Remove the chicken pieces from the marinade and pat each one dry. Put the chicken pieces on a rimmed baking sheet.

    • Roast the chicken until cooked through (or internal temps for both the breasts and thighs reaches 165 degrees on an instant read thermometer), about 25-30 minutes. Some of the smaller chicken pieces might be done before the larger ones, so make sure to pull off the smaller pieces if they are done ahead of time, while you finish cooking up the larger pieces. If you want to crisp up the skins a bit more, throw them under the broiler for a few minutes. I did not throw the photographed chicken pieces under the broiler, as I wanted you to see how they will really look.

    • I've had some readers throw the marinated chicken on the grill and have it be a great success, so feel free to throw the chicken on the grill for another option, especially when it's too hot to turn the oven on.

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      33 thoughts on “Buttermilk Roasted Chicken”

      1. Yum! I like that you cut up the chicken breast. I’m a dark meat kind of gal so I’m with the guys, I’d be grabbing up the thighs! It works out well because both my boys like the chicken breast so we’re very efficient in using the whole chicken that way. LOL! Funny what you said about the raw chicken picture – that made me chuckle. It’s not the most attractive, but it is reality! I had a roommate in college who would not touch raw chicken – whenever we had it for dinner, I had to cook it up. I think it was her excuse to not have to cook. haha!
        Alright girl, hope you have a good Wednesday! xoxo, Sharon

        1. So funny that you’re a dark meat kind of gal and the boys are the ones who like the white meat. Can you say role reversal? Ha ha! I use to be squeamish around raw chicken as well, but I still cooked it. I think your roommate was using that as an excuse, she was smart because it worked 🙂 Have a great day girl! xoxo, Jackie

        1. Yaay! Great news Annie. I’m so glad you made it and loved it. It’s truly an easy dinner that gets rave reviews, and one that you can add to your weekly menu and not get sick of. Thanks for stopping by and letting me know how it turned out 🙂 xoxo, Jackie

        1. Hi Kriss. You could try finely chopped chives in place of the dill or even chopped fresh rosemary or thyme. 🙂

        1. Hi Carolyn. I think the kiddo’s and hubby would approve of this and it’s something you can throw together in the morning before hitting the slopes and then roast up after a nice long day of skiing. Serve this with a pre-made lacinato kale salad and you can just chill with a glass of wine in the hot tub while the chicken is cooking away. Ok, I so want that day! 🙂

      2. Super delish!! When I made it, hubs ended up with a work dinner and kids tried to weasel out of eating what I made. When they saw it hurt my feelings, they tried the chicken… and loved it!! Even my picky oldest, who had his braces tightened (and was in pain and geared up for a liquid dinner) nibbled away at small pieces and declared them tasty!! I had extra chicken I couldn’t fit on my pan, so saved it… it’s been marinating for 2 days now and we’re grilling it tonight (Seattle sunshine, yeah!!). I’m confident it will work out fine. Serving it with lacinato kale salad and a skillet cookie, of course. It’s a MarinMama Dinner!!

        1. Hi Kyla! Awesome. I’m so excited that the chicken was a hit, especially with your pickiest eater who wasn’t even feeling up to solid foods. I think Eli is going to love the liquid diet part of braces, when he eventually gets them that is. I love that you served this all up with the salad and skillet cookie. You rock Kyla. It was truly a Marin mama dinner at your house. Woo hooo! Makes my day girl! So I have to ask, how was the chicken after marinating for 2 days? Was it still tender, or did the small amount of lemon zest make it a bit rubbery? Please share. Also, how was it grilled up? I have only made it via the oven but would be curious to know how it tastes via the grill. Thanks so much for commenting and letting me know how it turned out. Not only does it help me, but it helps my readers as well! Have a great day Kyla! xoxo, Jackie

          1. Hi Jackie! The chicken was just fine after marinating for extra time — I didn’t notice a rubbery texture at all. I only had legs and thighs, and I turned my husband loose on the grill. I thought it grilled up well and the skin was nice and crispy (tasty if you wanted to indulge, fell right off if you wanted to skip). I ate a thigh and declared it awesome!! Oh, and I’ve served the skillet cookie several times now for BBQs (we top it with vanilla ice cream and home-made fudge sauce) and it’s a real crowd-pleaser. Love love love your blog!! And I have so many meals I need to try!!

            1. Awww, thanks Kyla! Hearing words like yours inspires me to keep blogging on the days when I want to throw in the towel 🙂 Don’t worry, I’m not planning on it, sometimes you just have those days! Thanks for letting me know how they turned out. Great to know that the chicken can marinade for a bit longer. I love the skin on these, so we definitely treat ourselves and eat it. You know what’s funny? I almost made the skillet cookie today, but I was out of brown sugar, so I made brownies instead. Can’t wait to hear what you make next! Have a great night girl! xoxo, Jackie

      3. I made this (along with your kale mashed potatoes and some roasted brussel sprouts) for my family on Saturday night and it was a HUGE hit. It was the perfect quick and simple recipe for a busy holiday weekend. Thanks Jackie!

        1. Hi Jessica. Yaay! I’m so glad to hear that the chicken was a success with your family as well as the Brussels and the kale mashies. Sounds like a perfect, comforting and healthy dinner. Thanks so much for stopping by and letting me know that you liked it. I love to hear from readers and I know my readers love to hear that something is a success before they attempt it! This is truly one of those easy but tasty dinners. I think I may try your dinner combination next! Have a wonderful Easter Jessica 🙂 xoxo, Jackie

      4. Hi! This looks delicious. I have chicken breasts in the fridge right now, as well as some buttermilk that needs to be used, but the breasts are skinless. Does that matter?

        1. Hi there Towles! I think it will be fine to marinate the chicken in the buttermilk sans the skin. The whole point of the marinade is really to moisten and add flavor to the chicken. The skin does add to the overall flavor of the chicken and helps keep the breasts moist as they’re cooking, but give it a try. Let me know how they turn out. I would also recommend taking a butcher knife and cutting the breasts in half, (see above photos) so that they absorb the marinade better. My breasts were so much better when I cooked them the 2nd time after the butcher cut them in half. Have a great night! xoxo, Jackie

      5. I modified the recipe as follows:

        1. I used a whole chicken instead of chicken pieces.

        2. I stuffed the cavity with dill and cut up lemons, oranges, and limes.

        3. I slow cooked the chicken on the grill.

        1. Hi Kevin. Thanks for sharing your recipe modifications with my readers and I. It sounds amazing 🙂

        1. Hi Donalyn! This is super easy to make and that’s what I love most about it. I hope you give it a try and love it as well 🙂

      6. Just made buttermilk chicken…I have no words!!! Husband and son devoured it! It was the most tender chicken I have ever had!!! Just found your blog and all I can say is THANK YOU!!!

        1. Hi Andrea! Yaay! I’m super happy that you found my blog and that you have a new favorite chicken dish to serve up your family! So happy that you all loved it and thanks for stopping by and letting me know 🙂 xoxo, Jackie

        1. Hi Jocelyn! Awesome! I’m so happy to hear that the chicken turned out wonderful for your family! I’m going to try it on the grill next 🙂 xoxo, Jackie

      7. I came across this recipe a while back and in the course of making it for a picnic ran short of time in the ovem so I turned out the chicken… marinade et al into a pot and brought it to a boil then reduced to medium temp and let the chocken cook and the butter.milk poduced this creamy layer all over my chicken and i was wonderingnif you ever tried it this way… I did t feel as guilty as I might have wasting all that lovely buttermilk!

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