I have been roasting two chickens at once ever since I found this recipe, and I honestly cannot go back to making just one. Martha Stewart’s Double Roast Chicken puts two whole 4 to 5-pound birds on a bed of onions, beets, potatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes, and acorn squash in a single roasting pan, stuffs the cavities with lemon, thyme, and onion, spreads butter over the skin, and roasts everything at 425 degrees for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
This Martha Stewart roast chicken recipe is designed so you eat one chicken for dinner tonight and use the second one all week for sandwiches, soups, and salads. It is one of Martha Stewart’s best chicken recipes for anyone who likes to cook once and eat well for days. The roasted vegetables underneath soak up all the drippings and practically become a side dish on their own. A real Martha Stewart chicken dish that turns a Sunday afternoon into a full week of meals.
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Why You Will Love This Double Roast Chicken:
- Two chickens, same effort: If you are already heating the oven and prepping vegetables, roasting two birds takes no more work than roasting one. I always think “why did I ever make just one?” when I pull both of them out golden and crispy at the same time.
- The vegetables roast in the drippings: Beets, potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, and acorn squash all cook underneath and around the chickens. By the time the birds are done, the vegetables are caramelized and soaked in chicken fat. I eat them straight from the pan.
- A whole week of meals: Martha designed this so you get dinner tonight plus leftover chicken for soups, salads, and sandwiches all week. I pull the second chicken apart on Sunday night and use it through Thursday without cooking anything else from scratch.
Getting The Vegetables Right
The one thing to watch is the beets. People who have made this recipe for years say the beets cook faster than the potatoes and sweet potatoes, so I cut them into larger pieces than the other vegetables. That way everything finishes at the same time and nothing turns to mush. If you want to skip the acorn squash, the recipe still works perfectly without it.
Double Roast Chicken Ingredients
- 6 medium onions, peeled and quartered
- 6 beets, peeled and quartered
- 8 new red and white potatoes, halved
- 8 carrots, peeled
- 4 sweet potatoes, peeled and quartered
- 1 acorn squash, sliced into 1-inch rounds and halved
- 2 chickens (4 to 5 pounds each), giblets removed, rinsed and dried
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 lemons, quartered
- 8 sprigs fresh thyme
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
How To Make Martha Stewart Double Roast Chicken
- Arrange the vegetables and chickens: Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Arrange about half of each of the vegetables in a 12-by-18-inch roasting pan. Place the chickens over the vegetables in the pan. Sprinkle the cavities with salt and pepper. Fill each cavity with onion, lemon, and thyme. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine. Arrange the remaining vegetables around the chickens.
- Season the chickens: Spread the softened butter over both chickens. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.
- Roast: Roast until the skin is deep golden and crisp and the juices run clear when the skin is pierced, tossing the vegetables occasionally as they cook, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the breast should read 180 degrees. Remove from the oven and serve.
Recipe Tips
- Cut the beets bigger than the rest: Beets cook faster than potatoes and sweet potatoes. I cut them into pieces about twice the size of the potato chunks so they finish at the same time. This one small adjustment makes a big difference.
- Try Meyer lemons if you can find them: People who have made this recipe for 20 years say Meyer lemons give a better flavor inside the cavity. I have tried both and the Meyer lemons are sweeter and more fragrant. Regular lemons still work perfectly fine.
- Toss the vegetables during roasting: Martha says to toss the vegetables occasionally while the chickens cook. I do this about twice during the roast, once at 30 minutes and once at the hour mark. It keeps them from sticking and ensures even browning.
- Use a big enough pan: Martha calls for a 12-by-18-inch roasting pan, which is a full sheet pan size. Two chickens plus all those vegetables need the space. I tried cramming everything into a smaller pan once and nothing browned properly because it was too crowded.
What Goes Well With This Double Roast Chicken
The roasted vegetables are already the side dish, so I just put a loaf of sourdough bread on the table for mopping up the pan juices. A jar of cranberry sauce adds a tart pop that goes well with the sweet roasted beets and carrots.
If I have time, a batch of yorkshire pudding puffs takes this from Sunday dinner to a full event. But honestly, most weeks the chicken and the vegetables are enough.
How To Store Leftovers
Pull all the meat off the second chicken while it is still warm and store it in an airtight container. The vegetables go in a separate container. Everything keeps 4 to 5 days. The chicken freezes well for up to 3 months, and the roasted vegetables freeze fine too.
Martha says to use the leftovers for chicken salad, sandwiches, and soup, and I do all three. Monday is usually sandwiches, Tuesday is soup with the leftover vegetables stirred in, and by Wednesday I toss the last of the chicken over greens with whatever dressing is in the fridge.
FAQs
- Why does the recipe say 180 degrees instead of 165? This is an older recipe from Martha Stewart Baby 2000. The 180-degree reading in the breast was the standard recommendation at the time. Modern food safety guidelines say 165 degrees is safe for poultry. I pull mine at 165 in the thigh and let carryover cooking bring it up during the 10-minute rest.
- Can I skip some of the vegetables? People who make this regularly say you can swap or skip vegetables freely. The acorn squash is the easiest to leave out. I have also made this without the beets when I could not find good ones. The recipe is very flexible.
- Do I really need a 12-by-18-inch pan? Yes. Two chickens plus all those root vegetables need a full sheet pan or large roasting pan. If your pan is too small, the food steams instead of roasting and nothing gets that golden caramelized finish. I would not try to squeeze everything into anything smaller.
- How do I know when two chickens are done? I check both chickens with a thermometer because one might be slightly larger than the other. Insert it into the thickest part of the thigh on each bird. I pull them at 165 degrees and let them rest for at least 10 minutes before carving.
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Nutrition Facts
(1 serving, serves 8)
- Calories: 680
- Total Fat: 28g
- Saturated Fat: 10g
- Cholesterol: 180mg
- Sodium: 520mg
- Total Carbohydrates: 52g
- Protein: 55g
Martha Stewart Double Roast Chicken Recipe
Description
I have been roasting two chickens at once ever since I found this recipe, and I honestly cannot go back to making just one. Martha Stewart’s Double Roast Chicken puts two whole 4 to 5-pound birds on a bed of onions, beets, potatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes, and acorn squash in a single roasting pan, stuffs the cavities with lemon, thyme, and onion, spreads butter over the skin, and roasts everything at 425 degrees for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
This Martha Stewart roast chicken recipe is designed so you eat one chicken for dinner tonight and use the second one all week for sandwiches, soups, and salads. It is one of Martha Stewart’s best chicken recipes for anyone who likes to cook once and eat well for days. The roasted vegetables underneath soak up all the drippings and practically become a side dish on their own. A real Martha Stewart chicken dish that turns a Sunday afternoon into a full week of meals.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Arrange the vegetables and chickens: Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Arrange about half of each of the vegetables in a 12-by-18-inch roasting pan. Place the chickens over the vegetables in the pan. Sprinkle the cavities with salt and pepper. Fill each cavity with onion, lemon, and thyme. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine. Arrange the remaining vegetables around the chickens.
- Season the chickens: Spread the softened butter over both chickens. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.
- Roast: Roast until the skin is deep golden and crisp and the juices run clear when the skin is pierced, tossing the vegetables occasionally as they cook, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the breast should read 180 degrees. Remove from the oven and serve.
Notes
- Cut the beets bigger than the rest: Beets cook faster than potatoes and sweet potatoes. Cut them about twice the size so everything finishes at the same time.
- Try Meyer lemons: People who have made this for 20 years say Meyer lemons give a better, sweeter flavor inside the cavity.
- Toss the vegetables during roasting: Toss about twice during the roast to prevent sticking and ensure even browning.
- Use a big enough pan: Martha calls for a 12-by-18-inch roasting pan. Two chickens plus all those vegetables need the full space.