Roast Split Chicken Breasts with Potatoes and Shallots
With crispy, golden skin and a medley of herbs, buttery Roast Split Chicken Breasts with Potatoes and Shallots is a one-pan wonder that delivers a comforting, satisfying meal with minimal effort. Whether you’re preparing a cozy Sunday dinner or a fuss-free meal for guests, this easy yet elegant dish will surely impress! Make it a meal with Garlic Green Beans, Baked Cabbage with Garlic and Parmesan.
Why This Recipe is a Keeper!
Few dishes embody comfort and simplicity quite like perfectly roasted chicken. With just a handful of ingredients and a little time in the oven, you can make this showstopping centerpiece that tastes like it took hours to make.
Picture this: Juicy, golden-crisp chicken breasts with skin perfectly seasoned and crisp, nestled alongside tender fingerling potatoes and sweet shallots—all brought together by a luscious herb butter that melts into every bite.
Whether you’re a seasoned home cook or novice, this recipe delivers big flavor without the fuss—because who doesn’t love a meal that looks like you worked harder than you did?
This roast split chicken breast recipe is:
- Easy yet impressive with no complicated cooking techniques required!
- Make ahead! Every part of this roast chicken breast recipe can be prepped beforehand. You can make the luxurious herb butter and stuff it under the skin a day before, peel and halve the shallots, and even halve the fingerling potatoes. Just keep them immersed in water so they don’t discolor, drain them, and pat them dry.
- Versatile! Vary the veggies with carrots, sweet potatoes, turnips, and other root vegetables.
How to Make Roast Split Chicken Breasts:
Recipe Ingredients:
Here’s everything you’ll need to make this roast split chicken breast recipe. The recipe card below has the exact quantities.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions:
- Split Chicken Breasts: Split chicken breasts are a whole breast split in two, each half still having the skin and bone attached. Some can be quite large so smaller appetites may be able to share one breast and have one left over. Chicken left on the bone with skin will be more tender and juicy than anything boneless and skinless. You can also use bone-in skin-on chicken thighs.
- Fresh Herbs: There’s no substitute for fresh herbs in this roast split chicken breast recipe.
- Butter: Use salted or unsalted and adjust the salt level to your taste.
- Fingerling Potatoes: Fingerling potatoes are 2 to 4 inches long, come in various colors and are considered “waxy” like Yukons or red potatoes. You can also use baby Yukons or red potatoes in this roast split chicken breast recipe.
- Shallots: Shallots, a member of the onion family, are widely used in French cuisine. They grow in clusters or bulbs, resembling a head of garlic but with fewer cloves.
Step-By-Step Instructions:
- Gather and prep all the ingredients.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Have a roasting pan or another deep baking dish ready to go.
- Combine the parsley, rosemary, thyme, minced garlic, half the lemon juice, salt, and black pepper in a bowl. (Not all the lemon juice will get incorporated into the butter. Save to use later.)
- Gently separate–but do not remove–the skin from the chicken to form a pocket.
- Place equal amounts of the herb butter under the skin and spread the skin out to cover the butter.
- Season the chicken with salt and black pepper.
- Toss the potatoes and shallots with the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil and season with salt and black pepper.
- Spread the potatoes and shallots out in the pan and push them toward the outside of the dish.
- Place the chicken breasts in the center.
- Drizzle any lemon juice not incorporated into the butter over the chicken, then drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil.
- Bake for 1 hour or until an instant-read thermometer registers 165 degrees in the center of each chicken breast.
- Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes or so so the juices redistribute.
- Transfer to a platter, pour the buttery drippings into a gravy boat and serve with chicken.
Chef Tips and Tricks:
- Although any baking dish will work for this roast split chicken breast recipe–even a sheet pan–a roasting pan or another baking dish with high sides works the best so the butter doesn’t splatter in your oven.
- Allowing the chicken breasts to rest for five minutes after taking them out of the oven allows the juices to redistribute, which keeps the chicken moist.
Recipe FAQs:
The time it takes to bake bone-in chicken breasts will depend on their size. The chicken breasts in this roast split chicken breast recipe were large, taking an hour at 400 degrees. Smaller bone-in chicken breasts may take less time. It’s essential to watch them and check the internal temperature, which should be 165 degrees for safe consumption.
Yes, much of it can be. You can make the herb butter and stuff it under the skin a day before, peel and halve the shallots, and even halve the fingerling potatoes. Just keep them immersed in water so they don’t discolor, drain them, and pat them dry.
Remove the chicken from the bone and refrigerate along with any leftover buttery drippings. When ready to reheat, you may need to let the leftover buttery drippings come to room temperature as they probably solidified. Then, slice the chicken into 1/3 to 1/2-inch slices. Drizzle some of the drippings over the chicken and reheat at 350 degrees in the oven or toaster oven until heated back up to 165 degrees.
You can freeze any leftover chicken with the drippings, but I don’t advise freezing the potatoes.
Storage:
- Store any leftovers in the refrigerator and enjoy within five days.
- To reheat leftovers, remove the chicken from the bone and refrigerate along with any leftover buttery drippings. When ready to reheat, you may need to let the leftover buttery drippings come to room temperature as they probably solidified. Or, spoon some over chicken after you slice it. Then, cut the chicken into 1/3 to 1/2-inch slices. Reheat at 350 degrees in the oven or toaster oven until heated back up to 165 degrees.
Serve with:
- Asparagus Cordon Bleu
- Roasted Asparagus with Walnut Gremolata and Goat Cheese
- Cream Cheese Corn Casserole
- Cheesy Green Bean Casserole
More great easy chicken recipes you’ll love!
- Baked Cajun Chicken Drumsticks
- Thai Red Curry Chicken Legs
- Baked BBQ Chicken Thighs
- Sheet Pan Roast Chicken with Potatoes and Green Beans
Get all my chicken recipes at Chicken Recipes – From A Chef’s Kitchen.
Roast Split Chicken Breasts with Potatoes and Shallots
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Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
- 4 cloves garlic - minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice - (approximately 1/2 small lemon), divided
- 1/2 stick unsalted butter - softened
- 1/2 teaspoon salt - plus more to sprinkle over the potatoes and shallots
- Freshly ground black pepper - to taste
- 2 split chicken breasts - on the bone with the skin
- 3/4 pound fingerling potatoes - halved
- 5 large shallots - peeled and halved
- 3 tablespoons olive oil - preferably extra virgin, divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Have a roasting pan or another deep baking dish ready to go.
- Combine the parsley, rosemary, thyme, minced garlic, half the lemon juice, salt, and black pepper in a bowl. (Not all the lemon juice will be incorporated into the butter. Save to use later.)
- Gently separate–but do not remove–the skin from the chicken to form a pocket. Place equal amounts of the herb butter under the skin and spread the skin out to cover the butter.
- Toss the potatoes and shallots with the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil and season with salt and black pepper.
- Spread the potatoes and shallots out in the pan and push them toward the outside of the dish.
- Place the chicken breasts in the center. Drizzle any lemon juice not incorporated into the butter over the chicken, then drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Season with salt and black pepper.
- Bake for 1 hour or until an instant-read thermometer registers 165 degrees in the center of each chicken breast.
- Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes or so so the juices redistribute. Transfer to a platter, pour the buttery drippings into a gravy boat and serve with chicken.
Recipe Notes
- You can also use bone-in skin-on chicken thighs.
- Baby red or Yukon gold potatoes can be used instead of fingerling potatoes.
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- A roasting pan or another baking dish with high sides is best for preventing butter from splattering in the oven.
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- Let the chicken breasts rest for five minutes or so after taking them out of the oven so the juices redistribute, which helps keep the chicken moist.
- Make the herb butter and stuff it under the skin a day before, peel and halve the shallots, and even halve the fingerling potatoes. Keep them immersed in water so they don’t discolor, drain them, and pat them dry. Assemble and roast as desired.
Nutrition
These are estimated values generated from a nutritional database using unbranded products. Please do your own research with the products you’re using if you have a serious health issue or are following a specific diet.