Learn how to roast a whole chicken from frozen. That’s right. It is possible. Straight from the freezer, to the oven, to your mouth. No defrosting required!
I have to admit to a little lazy obsession of mine. You see, a couple of years ago I was hired by a company to come up with a recipe that involved cooking fish from frozen. That’s right, directly from the freezer and into the oven. I was skeptical that it would work. But it really did. It’s now one of my favorite ways to cook fish. These days, I always have some frozen fish fillets on hand to pop straight into the oven on a busy weeknight.
That method was so convenient that I started experimenting with other things, like frozen chicken. A few months ago I shared with you about how to cook frozen chicken breasts. They turn out sooo good and it really is so easy.
And now today I’m getting a little crazier and I’m going to explain how to cook a whole chicken from frozen. Yes, this is a perfectly safe thing to do. Even according to the USDA. Oh, but as they caution over there, do not ever cook frozen chicken in a slow cooker. It doesn’t get up hot enough to kill any bacteria and actually leaves the chicken sitting for too long at unsafe temperatures. Just use the regular oven for this. Let’s do it!
How to Roast a Whole Frozen Chicken
All of the info you need to cook a whole chicken safely and deliciously from frozen is below.
Here’s my video showing how to cook a whole chicken straight from frozen:
Cooking Temperature
You’ll roast the chicken at 350ºF for most of the cooking time and then boost it up to 450ºF for the final 15 minutes to get the skin nice and brown. Note that you roast the chicken uncovered the entire time. If you covered the roasting pan, the chicken would steam and not brown.
Cooking Time
The general rule is that frozen chicken takes 50% longer to cook than when it’s thawed to start. You can therefore consult a reliable source for chicken cooking times and multiply that by 1.5. The chicken pictured here is 4 lbs., which would normally take 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours to cook. When frozen it will take between 1 3/4 to 2 1/4 to cook through.
Roasting Tools
To cook a whole chicken from frozen it’s important to use a roasting pan that gives the chicken space. You don’t want it wedged in there but want room for the hot air to circulate around. SImilarly, you need to use a rack inside of your roasting pan. This is because you want the hot air to get under the chicken too so that it is defrosting and cooking evenly. So put a rack in the roasting pan. Then put the chicken, breast-side-up on the rack.
Seasoning and Stuffing
Drizzle the top of the chicken with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and then sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. You can optionally add garlic powder and/or poultry seasoning or whatever you would normally put on a chicken when you roast it.
You can’t put a bread or rice type stuffing inside of a frozen chicken because it won’t cook safely. But you can go in with some aromatics. Just don’t stuff it too full. You want air to circulate in there too. Two lemon quarters, two small onion quarters and a sprig or two of rosemary and/or thyme are perfect. If the chicken is frozen in such a way that you can’t get into the cavity, no worries. Just roast it for 30 minutes and then try again. Things should be soft enough to get in there.
Now, if the chicken came with that packet of giblets inside of it and you froze it with them in there, you can’t get them out now while everything is frozen solid. Not a problem. Let the chicken roast until the center has softened enough that you can remove the packet with a pair of tongs.
When is the Chicken Cooked?
I use two methods to test for chicken doneness. The first is just a quick test that my mom taught me. You grab hold of the end of a drumstick and give it a jiggle. If it moves easily in the socket, almost coming loose a bit even, then the chicken is probably done. I don’t rely on that as a final metric though. That’s just to know if I should bother taking the chicken out of the oven to test it with a thermometer.
If the drumstick moves a bit for me, then I take the chicken out of the oven and test it with an instant read thermometer. I go into the breast and into the thigh. Both should be at 165ºF. If they’re there, then your chicken is done. If not, put it back in for a little while.
If it is done, remove it from the roasting pan and put it on a carving board. Let it rest there for 10-15 minutes. If lots of juices are coming out, catch them to make gravy (my method for perfect gravy every time is here) or at least to make sure they don’t spill all over your counter.
A weird note: The last time that I tested this method of cooking a whole chicken from frozen, I got a 165ºF reading but when we carved it, there was quite a bit of pink/red near the leg joints. I was concerned so I put those pieces on a plate and microwaved them a minute at a time until the pink was gone. This had never happened before so I’m not sure what was up. Instead of the microwave, if your oven is still heated and you’re not in a hurry, you could put those pieces in a pan and continue roasting them for 10-15 minutes until they’re done. If any meat is red/pink or juices aren’t running clear (they’re tinged with red) the chicken is not safe to eat so please do take this extra step if you notice this problem.
Podcast Episode: Roasting A Whole Chicken From Frozen
Listen to me explain briefly about how to make this roast chicken, along with some other great tips, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
PrintRoasted Whole Chicken From Frozen
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Total Time: 2 hours 5 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
DESCRIPTION
Learn how to roast a whole chicken from frozen. That’s right. It is possible. Straight from the freezer, to the oven, to your mouth. No defrosting required!
Ingredients
- 1 (4 lb.) frozen chicken
- 1/2 lemon (optional)
- 1/2 small onion (optional)
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary (optional)
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme (optional)
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1/2 tsp. coarse salt
- 1/4 tsp. coarse black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF.
- Put a rack in a large roasting pan. Put the chicken breast-side-up on top of it. If there are giblets inside of the chicken, see if you can remove them. If not, it’s okay. Proceed with the remaining steps. If you can access the inside cavity of the chicken, put the lemon, onion, rosemary, and thyme inside, if using. If you cannot access the cavity, it’s okay. Proceed with remaining steps.
- Drizzle the top of the chicken with the olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Put in oven uncovered and roast for 90 minutes. If there are still giblets in the chicken, remove them when you can using tongs and wearing oven mitts (you should be able to after 30-60 minutes). If you wanted to add lemon, onion, rosemary, and/or thyme to the chicken cavity but couldn’t before, you should be able to now. Return chicken to oven and continue to roast .
- Increase oven temperature to 450ºF to help brown skin. Roast until drumsticks loosen easily when jiggled and all meat is cooked to 165ºF according to an instant read thermometer inserted into various places in the chicken (breast and thigh are best), 15-30 minutes.
- Transfer chicken to a carving board. Let rest 10-15 minutes. Carve. If there is any pink or red meat, return those pieces to the oven or microwave them for 1 minute at a time until white.
Perfect instructions and very tasty! Thank you for this.
You’re welcome, Maribet! I’m so glad you loved it.
Worked great for me when I was on a one day schedule!!! Delicious
Glad you loved it, Teresa!
Today is my third chicken using your method. It has worked perfectly every time, AND I got the crispy skin I love.
Sometimes you just want some chicken after a long day, and this way I have time to shower and cook sides and make salad by the time the bird is done.
Absolutely, Faith! I’m so happy it works so well for you and fits into your life.
I have roasted chicken from frozen before and never had issues. Using this recipe I had raw chicken. ☹️
Ginger, I’m not sure what went wrong for you. It’s possible your chicken could have needed a little bit more time but it shouldn’t have been raw.
Here are the calculations for the timing, for your reference: According to the USDA, at 350F, you roast a fresh (unfrozen) 3-8 pound chicken for 20-25 minutes per pound. This recipe calls for a 4 pound chicken, so it would need 80-100 minutes if it was fresh. The USDA’s guidelines for frozen poultry is for you to cook it 1.5 times as long as fresh. So for a frozen 4 pound chicken, that would be 120-150 minutes. I’ve tested this recipe over 20 times in the past 8 years. My chickens have never needed more than the 120 minutes. I think that’s because the last part of the roasting is done at a higher temperature. I also use an oven thermometer inside of my oven to make sure that the temperature in there is accurate. Ovens are notoriously uncalibrated, which can make a big difference for this kind of recipe. You can get a very inexpensive oven thermometer to see if that helps you.
Having said all of that, I’m going to add a note to the recipe with the above USDA times so that others don’t run into the same problem that you have.
Would be nice to be able to read this without the page glitching with ads or pop up ads. I’ll find another one that’s possible to read. How aggravating.
I’m sorry the ads were frustrating for you, June. I’ll look into that and see if they need to be reduced.
I’m still worried about Shawn . You ok man? Did you eat the bag of no return giblets ?
OK, This was the craziest thing I ever tried, but I found myself in that “Shoot I forgot to take out the chicken” moment and I panicked and turned to google. I found this recipe. Thank you, Christine! I really appreciate your honesty, the “weird note”, and that this actually worked. It was not the best chicken I’ve ever cooked, by far. BUT I made your gravy recipe too, and once it was all on our plates, it was fine, and it was ready in time for dinner which would not have been possible if I had tried to thaw it out first. I will be trying to remember to take the chicken out from now on, but if ever I find myself in this situation again, I know where to turn. And I’ve bookmarked your site to come use it for more recipes too!!!
Charlene, You are soooo welcome! I’m really happy it worked out for you, and that you’re planning to visit again.
How can I be 100% sure that the bag of giblets were not in the frozen chicken? What happens if I cooked them in there and ate the bag along with my chicken?
It’s unlikely that you’d eat the bag, Shawn. If it’s there, it will be inside the chicken, separated by the meat but bone. It’s usually a papery bag, also, so you would see it and feel it. If you’re unsure, partway through roasting, take the chicken out of the oven and look inside of it. If there is anything at all in either cavity (neck or bottom) remove it.
Great post! Thanks for sharing. Exactly all the information I needed :)
Glad it was helpful, Mary!
Rich is dumb as hell. Use a little bit of common sense folks.
Thanks for the recipe, have my oven preheating now ??
I have a Steggles brand whole frozen chicken in Australia and it definitely says ‘Handling chicken safely’ Always thaw frozen chicken completely before cooking. Must be different health regulations in America!
Yes, the USDA very clearly says that chicken can be cooked from frozen in the oven or on the stove, but not in a slow cooker or microwave. Here is the link https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/connect/ad74bb8d-1dab-49c1-b05e-390a74ba7471/Chicken_from_Farm_to_Table.pdf?MOD=AJPERES
Thawing meat in warm water is not recommended due to the environment it creates for bacteria to grow. However, running it under the water for a few minutes right before putting it in the oven is not a problem.
Ok…ran across this recipe and am excited to try to roast my very first whole chicken. Question: I don’t have a rack to put the chicken on and I’ve heard about placing aluminum foil balls under a chicken so it will not sit in its grease and so it will be crispy. Is this for cooking in a crock-pot only or can this be applied to roasting in an oven? Also, IF the aluminum foil can be used in an oven roasting situation, could I wrap potatoes in that aluminum foil and place my chicken on top?
Help! Thanks in advance for your help!
-Newbie, Beginner, Amateur
Tonya,
I’ve never tried balls of foil nor potatoes wrapped in foil. THey both seem like they would work to me though. Let me know how it turns out! Good luck!
Trying this for the first time tonight due to the’ “OMG, I forgot to take the chickens out the freezer” scenario :-D.
Fingers crossed. I have every confidence this will work out or there will be hungry Friars going to bed with no eats :-( lol.
I have roasted the bird for an hour and I’m having issues finding the bag with the giblets etc. Do some not have a giblets bag? There’s still ice inside the cavity ahhhh. Can’t locate my meat thermometer. Hope we survive lol.
Megan, not all chickens come with giblets. I hope it all turned out for you!
I preheat oven at 375 and in a cooking pot…for the oven…drizzle some olive oil, throw in sliced onions (2) some sliced potato (3) and a carrot if I have any. Splash garlic seasoning, kosher salt and pepper on that. Then take the frozen bird and pack it ontop. I season with whatevs is on hand (cayenne pepper mix my nephew made for me this time). I also added 4 little chorizos or sausages for flavor. Put the top on and into the oven, same temp, for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Comes out perfect, no checking it or anything. Enjoy!
That’s great, Carol. Thanks!