In this 40-clove garlic chicken, garlic becomes soft and sweet roasted alongside this whole chicken, imparting a mellowed garlic flavor for everyone’s favorite chicken dinner.
In This Post
The stinking rose. Dracula’s repellant. A bad blind date’s breath mint. This is the beauty of garlic.
I don’t recall where I first read about a recipe calling for 40 cloves of garlic, but I do remember being somewhat shocked by the fact it was actually a recipe and not a misprint. It was when I first really started exercising my cooking chops and exploring things in the kitchen other than my mom’s spaghetti or our favorite Parmesan noodles.
40 cloves of garlic sounded so contrary, there must be a secret! I mean, I’m a real garlic lover, but 40 cloves of garlic loving? That might be stretching things a bit.
But after making this dish over and over through the years, there’s really no mystery to it. Except for the fact that roasted garlic becomes soft, buttery, and surprisingly sweet, making it a perfect roast chicken dinner everyone will wonder why you don’t make more often.
What’s in 40-Clove Garlic Chicken?
Based on the title of this recipe alone, I bet you can already guess what the star ingredients are. Here’s what you’ll need to make this oven roasted garlic chicken:
- Whole chicken
- Kosher salt and pepper
- Garlic
- Onion
- Celery
- Carrot
- White wine
- Butter
- Dried tarragon
How to Make Roasted Garlic Chicken
Whether it’s for weekday meal prep, Sunday family dinner or any night when I can take the guess work out of cooking, roasting a whole bird in the oven has become one of my all-time favorite dinners to make. Watch out Ina, I’m on your tail.
It’s so simple to do when you follow a simple formula that I explain here. The key is loosely stuffing the cavity with your choice of aromatics (garlic, celery, onion, lemons, leeks, carrots, etc.) and creating a butter rub under and over the skin for a juicy bird every time. This time around I kept my aromatics simple and let the garlic rise to the occasion.
Once the bird’s been properly flavored and rubbed every which way with butter, it goes into the oven for a little over an hour. I turn the oven roasted whole chicken halfway through and continually baste it in its own juices to keep it moist and add flavor.
Can I Omit the Wine?
If you prefer not to cook with wine, you can sub chicken broth instead. Just keep in mind that the alcohol cooks out and is just a flavoring agent.
Tips for Making 40-Clove Garlic Chicken
If you use a bird weighing more than 4 pounds, add about 10 to 15 minutes cooking time per pound and use an instant read thermometer to check for doneness at 160-165 degrees (the chicken will continue to cook as it rests) and when juices run clear.
You can purchase already peeled garlic for the convenience. I used both pre-peeled and unpeeled garlic in my version, along with a whole garlic head cut in half to make for a pretty presentation. You’ll find that the garlic roasted in the peel becomes softer and more buttery than the peeled version.
So, depending on your objective—a soft garlic smash on toasted crostini, or mashed into the juices for gravy, or let’s just hurry up and get ‘er done—any which way will infuse your chicken with the perfume of nature’s beautiful stinking rose.
More Whole Chicken Recipes You’ll Gobble Up
- Oven Roasted Chicken with Lemon Rosemary Butter
- Cast Iron Skillet Whole Roasted Chicken with Potatoes
- Slow Cooker Whole Chicken
- Chicken Grilled Under a Brick with Harissa
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment below or take a photo and tag me on Instagram or Twitter with #foodiecrusheats.
40 Cloves of Garlic Roast Chicken
Ingredients
- 1-4 pound whole chicken
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt , divided
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper , divided
- 3 heads garlic , or 40 cloves peeled
- ½ onion , quartered
- ½ rib celery ,cut into 3-inch pieces
- ½ carrot , cut into 3-inch pieces
- ½ cup white wine or sherry
- 4 tablespoons butter , softened at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Remove the neck and giblets from the whole chicken, rinse with cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Place in a roasting pan and season the inside of the chicken with ½ teaspoon of the kosher salt and ½ teaspoon of the freshly ground black pepper. Stuff the chicken with the onion, celery, carrot and 6 garlic cloves. Truss legs with cooking twine and tuck wings under bird.
- In a small bowl, mix the butter, the remaining kosher salt and black pepper and the tarragon until blended. Gently work your fingers under the skin of the chicken breasts and rub half of the butter mixture under the skin, then rub the rest of the butter over the top of the chicken skin.
- Scatter the remaining garlic cloves around the chicken and pour the wine or sherry into the pan.
- Roast the chicken for 30 minutes or until the breast is firm and just beginning to brown in spots. Using tongs, turn the chicken breast-down, baste with juices and roast for 20 minutes longer, until the skin is lightly browned.
- Using tongs, turn the chicken breast-side-up and baste again. Add a ½ cup of water if the pan is looking dry. Roast for about 20 minutes longer, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the inner thigh registers 160° to 165° and juices are running clear.
- Transfer the bird to a cutting board and tent with foil. Carve the chicken and serve with the roasted garlic.
Nutrition
More Easy Chicken Recipes You’ll Love
- One-Pot Creamy Chicken and Rice Casserole
- Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
- Lemon Chicken Stew
- Honey Mustard Chicken
- Chicken Tortilla Soup
Thanks for stopping by, and here’s to getting into the kitchen to cook something good.
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KitchenAid sent me a slow cooker and blender to add to my small appliance collection. As always, thank you for reading and supporting companies I partner with, which allows me to create more unique content and recipes for you. There may be affiliate links in this post of which I receive a small commission. All opinions are always my own.
Ramyasree
Thanks for sharing the yummy recipe with us. After reading this blog I cooked Chicken Ordered from Ellvin Fresh and it was tasty. My Children’s loved it. The packing and delivery was outstanding.
Edna Glenn
I made your 40 clove roasted chicken for dinner tonight. It was so easy to do and turned out so delicious! My kitchen smelled wonderful while it roasted. I will definitely made this again. Thank you for sharing
Susan
I have tried several recipes for this classic chicken and yours by far is the best! The only modifications I made were to substitute were to use fresh thyme in the butter mixture for the tarragon (not my favorite) and I removed the whole garlic cloves from the pan after about 45 minutes as they were getting very brown.
Also, if one is trying to reduce cholesterol Earth Balance can be used in place of butter and it still tastes wonderful.
Ashley @ Foodie Crush
Thank you so much! I am sure glad that this is a new favorite for you!!
Mark
Wow this recipe looks amazing. Chicken is one of my favorite dishes to prepare as it is a lean protein. I love that this is a baking recipe as well. I will try this out this week. Thanks!
Ashley @ Foodie Crush
Thank you so much, Mark!
Peter
Wow, this recipe looks great! Garlic has so many health benefits. I look forward to trying this this delicious recipe.
Travis
I love it! What kind of camera do you use?
Fabian
Roasted garlic is delicious, especially when it’s fresh from the garden. If you have a garden, wood chips and leaves make a great mulch and compost.
Brijesh
chicken is my favorite…… this looks very delicious yummy..Thnx… Foodiecrush
sujith
super
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joanne dahlquist
I just want to roast a whole chicken stuffed with 40 cloves of garlic in the body cavity.
Josefina
Good one. Can anyone tell me if I can cook this recipe in my Philips Airfryer (read about model here: https://bestairfryer.reviews/). I just want to do it the right way. thanks)
ED MEDICATION
What’s happening, neat web page you’ve here.
Roberto Santerre
Hello everyone, friends. You can offer very interesting and delicious recipes here.
I ate the grilled chicken and forgot that the essay was writing. I had to order from Eleanora Wit.
Roberto Santerre
Hello everyone, friends. You can offer very interesting and delicious recipes here.
I ate the grilled chicken and forgot that the essay was writing. I had to order from Eleanora Wit
Top 10 Mehndi designs
Roast chicken is my favorite this looks very delicious yummy..
Top 10 Mehndi designs
Roast chicken is my favorite this looks very delicious yummy.
Carmen
Roast chicken is one of my favorites, and I am definitely going to try this recipe as butter and garlic roasted chicken sounds amazing!
Kathryn
Can it be cooked as in an air fryer?
Sooraj Krishna
Hi ,
Thanks for sharing the delicious recipe with us. I cooked chicken delivered by licious and it was yummy. My kids loved it. The packaging and delivery was excellent. It was delivered in thirty minutes.
fallen riders memorial fund
Amazing work…Its really delicious item. i like it.Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Laura | Tutti Dolci
You can never go wrong with chicken plus all the garlic. What a great fall meal!
Christina
I’m making this tonight! Serve garlic as a side? Did I read that right?! Eat the roasted garlic or put along side for look/ smell?? Hmmm:). Thanks!
Dave
I like garlic but I would be surprised too if I read 40 cloves of garlic on a recipe sheet. It sounds like so much but since, like you said, it melts down I can see why the number is so high. Either way a little extra garlic is just fine with me!
– Dave King
http://www.kitchensoaktanks.com
Thanks for the comment Dave, and the garlic does get nice and buttery.
kristy
your recipes always leave my mouth watering and my stomach growling. will definitely try this on turkey day. are there any caveats/suggestions for using a gobbler?
Thank you so much Kristy. I would think that turkey would be amazing with this recipe. If you give it a try, let me know how it works for you.
El
The last [and only] time I ever roasted a whole chicken was over 35 yrs ago, when I was in university. Didn’t know how to carve the darn thing … used my anatomy text book as a guide. Although I do cook a great turkey, I still can’t carve a bird worth a damn. This recipe sounds so wonderful, that I shall attempt to overcome the “trauma” of my earlier chicken experience and try it! MTF [sorry – More To Follow] on this adventure! Thanks for all of the wonderful recipes – I salivate just reading them!!
Yes! Can’t wait to hear how it turns out!!
Rony Jahid
I love garlic & made with garlic recipe. The marinate is beautiful, when the roast was made then outside color was very nice. I always like this type of grill chicken & want to make it. Really nice post.
Ami@NaiveCookCooks
Wow this look so good and so doable! I have always been scared of handling a whole chicken but this looks like something I can manage!! Totally giving this a try soon!
Luke's House Cleaning Marietta
Wow! I love garlic and union and this recipe has so much garlic in it! I will definitely try it this night. What I loved the most is that it is pretty easy recipe and my wife will be happy because the kitchen won’t look horrible after me :) So less time for cleaning, more for enjoying the night :)
Sarah | Broma Bakery
FORTY?! I LOVE IT. Like, can this be my Thanksgiving dinner tho.
Karen @ Seasonal Cravings
I love all your detailed directions on this classic chicken dish. This has always been a favorite in my house. My kids love anything garlicky!
Rony Jahid
#Karen, my children also love this type of recipe. Its really delicious item. Do you follow her recipe always & do you have any relevant blog?