Tender and juicy, Whole Roasted Mexican Chicken with Peppers, Onions & Carrots is loaded with flavor and is good enough for Sunday dinner but easy enough for weeknights. Crispy skin flavored with Mexican spices gives the traditional roasted bird a delicious flair!
This Mexican Chicken is a great dish to serve alongside my Homemade Mexican Rice, Grilled Mexican Street Corn, and Horchata!
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There is something about a whole roasted chicken that is so comforting and satisfying. A good whole roasted chicken is one of those skills that every home cook needs up their sleeves.
If you have never roasted a whole chicken before, it’s much easier than you might think and a really versatile method of preparation since you can use the same technique and just switch out the herbs and spices for a whole different flavor profile for your chicken!
I chose to use spices that are typically found in Mexican cooking when roasting this chicken, which is why I’m calling it a Whole Roasted Mexican Chicken. While I can’t make any claims to authenticity or allude to this being a method of preparation commonly used South-of-the-Border, I can certainly attest to it’s deliciousness!
Roasting in the oven is one of my favorite methods of preparing foods. If you haven’t already tried my Slow Roasted Oven BBQ Beef Brisket, it’s one of my favorite roasted main dishes, and my Oven Roasted Asparagus with Garlic, Parmesan & Lemon is one of the most popular recipes on this blog.
Roasting brings out the natural juices and flavors in meat and allows them to develop slowly. And it does amazing things to most vegetables too!
The onions, peppers and carrots in this one pan meal almost seem to caramelize as their natural sweetness is brought out through the roasting process.
Plus, while most of the meal is roasting in the oven, you can be cleaning up so that by the time dinner is ready, your kitchen is clean too! Or making some Mexican Rice to go along with your meat and vegetables.
Speaking of cleaning, one of my favorite kitchen tools is a mesh cleaner that I use for cleaning my cast iron pans like the one I roasted this chicken in. It looks like a square of chainmail from the middle ages and it is perfect for cleaning pots and pans!
I haven’t seen them in stores, but you can order them here on Amazon (affiliate link). This post isn’t sponsored by the company that makes these chainmail scrubbers, but they seriously makes cleaning up cast iron pans a breeze and everybody who has been to my house and used it loves it because it works so well so I just had to share it with you!
If your chicken is slightly larger, adjust the temperature accordingly. It’s one of the reasons why I prefer to use a digital meat thermometer (affiliate link) to check the doneness of my chicken when roasting it in the oven.
Just make sure that the internal temperature of the thigh part of the chicken is 160°F and that the chicken juices are running clear and your chicken will be roasted to perfection! Let the chicken rest for 15 to 20 minutes before carving it so that the juices can redistribute.
One Pan Whole Roasted Mexican Chicken with Peppers, Onions & Carrots
Achiote (or Annatto) Powder
One of the spices I’m using here might be less familiar to some readers, but it’s called Achiote (or Annatto) powder (the names are used interchangeably).
It’s a dark reddish-orange powder that is common in many Latin American dishes and I can usually find it in the Hispanic aisle at my grocery store. But if you have a hard time locating it there, you might try a local Mexican or Latin American market or just order it online here.
Achiote gives that nice reddish color to the skin of the chicken and adds an earthy sort of flavor that’s hard to describe. You could probably replace the achiote with paprika in half the amount called for, since paprika has a stronger flavor, but I haven’t personally tried that and think achiote is likely more of an authentic flavoring, which is why I like to use it.
Cook Once, Eat Twice
Honestly, I almost always roast two chickens at the same time if I have room in my oven so we can eat one one night and I can take all the meat off the second chicken and use it for enchiladas or pasta or some other dish the second night! It takes all of 2 extra minutes to double the amount of vegetables and spices to make two chickens at once, so why not, right?
I hope you give this One Pan Whole Roasted Mexican Chicken with Vegetables a try soon! If you do, I would love to hear what you think!
More Easy Chicken Recipes You’ll Love
- Slow Cooker Applesauce Pulled Chicken Sandwiches
- Chicken Spaghetti Casserole
- Hawaiian Teriyaki Chicken Skewers
- Smoky Chicken Tinga Tacos
- Best Chicken Salad Recipe
- Grilled Cilantro Lime Chicken Thighs
- The BEST Homemade Chicken Pot Pie Recipe
- Chicken Madeira
- Creamy Apple Cider Chicken Skillet
- Cheesy Chicken Broccoli and Rice Casserole
Did you make this recipe?
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
One Pan Whole Roasted Mexican Chicken with Peppers, Onions & Carrots
Ingredients
- 1 3 1/2- to 4- pound whole chicken
- 1/4 cup oil
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 teaspoon achiote powder
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
- 2 red or yellow bell peppers membrane and seeds removed and sliced into large chunks
- 1 onion cut into wedges
- 2 carrots peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
- 5-6 garlic cloves unpeeled
Instructions
- About 30 minutes before cooking, pull the chicken out of the refrigerator and let it sit on the counter to start to come up to room temperature. Pat the skin dry with paper towels and preheat the oven to 425°F.1 3 1/2- to 4- pound whole chicken
- Combine the oil, lemon juice, lime juice, achiote powder, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, cumin, and chipotle chili powder together in a bowl. Whisk to combine.¼ cup oil, Juice of 1 lemon, Juice of 1 lime, 1 teaspoon achiote powder, 1 teaspoon Kosher salt, ½ teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon black pepper, ½ teaspoon cumin, ¼ teaspoon chipotle chili powder
- Place the peppers, onion wedges and carrots in the bottom of a dutch oven or large oven-safe skillet. Set the chicken on top of the vegetables, then drizzle the spice mixture over the chicken, rubbing it around to coat the skin. Stuff the cavity of the chicken with garlic cloves and the leftover lemon and lime peels from juicing the lemon and lime. Tuck the wingtips under the body of the chicken and tie the drumsticks together with kitchen twine.2 red or yellow bell peppers, 1 onion, 2 carrots, 5-6 garlic cloves
- Place the chicken into the oven and roast in the oven until the skin is golden and a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reaches 165°F, about 50 minutes to 1 hour. You can tent the chicken with foil if it seems to be browning too quickly. Larger chickens may require additional cooking time.
- When the chicken is cooked through, remove it from the skillet to a cutting board and let it rest for 20 minutes before carving. Transfer the vegetables to a serving platter with a slotted spoon, and arrange the carved chicken on the same platter to serve, if desired.
I am making this for the 3rd time today because our grocery store has whole chickens on sale for $.88/lb and there were a couple with 50% off stickers! The only change I make to the seasoning is to zest both the limes and the lemons before juicing and add the zest to the seasoning mix. I also rub the seasoning under the skin as well as on top. So good! Thanks for sharing.
Wow, that’s an amazing deal on chicken! I’m going to have to try using the zest next time! Thanks, Amber!
Wonder about making this with cut-up chicken? Would you change anything in the recipe or directions?
You could certainly do that, although the cooking time shouldn’t be as long if the chicken is broken down. Just cook until it registers 165 degrees F when tested with a digital meat thermometer.
This was so good! I made this for my husbands birthday and everyone loved it!
I didn’t have a chance to get that one specific Seasoning but want to Get it for next time. Thank you!
I can not believe that I just found you. Marvelous recipes! Thank you so much.
Sam
Four stars for the recipe. One star for your website – annoyingly intrusive adverts, especially the toothpaste one. Won’t ever buy Sensodit ever ever, put me right off the product.are you a cook or an advertiser – I know what I’d rather be known as! But I guess you made your choice.