Healthy Roast Chicken Marinade – Take-away Style

If you love the flavours of take-away roast chicken but want a healthier version, this simple healthy roast chicken marinade is your go-to. It’s quick to prepare and turns any roast chicken into a juicy, delicious meal that’s perfect for a Sunday roast or weeknight dinner. Plus, with a few basic ingredients, you can easily recreate that irresistible “take-away” taste at home.

This healthy roast chicken marinade recipe is so simple you will never buy a pre-cooked, take away chicken again. Gluten-free, sugar-free, additive and vegetable oil free, you will not be disappointed – it’s perfection on a plate!

A budget and time friendly organic meal, lunch, and healing broth…

I pay less than $20 for a large whole organic chicken. With it, I make a roast chook for dinner most Sunday nights and I have plenty of leftover meat for healthy school lunches during the week. For a very large family, you might like to roast two chickens at once. I then use the carcass and all of the leftover bones to make a super healing, flu busting, gut healing, pain reducing chicken broth – waste not want not! Broth is perfect for soups, casseroles, curries and all your cooking needs. Get your ‘too easy’ bone broth recipe here.

Health benefits

By using quality ingredients like protein rich free-range chicken, macadamia nut oil or butter, and real spices, this roast chicken is not only delicious but also packed with healthy fats, essential vitamins, and minerals. Opting for homemade marinades means avoiding unhealthy additives, preservatives and large amounts of sodium often found in store-bought versions.

Ingredients

This recipe calls for a handful of pantry staples like butter (or macadamia oil), honey, smoked paprika, thyme, sea salt, and black pepper. These simple ingredients combine to create a rich, smoky flavour that makes this roast chicken unforgettable.

How to make this Healthy Roast Chicken

Making this whole roasted chicken couldn’t be easier! Mix your marinade ingredients, baste your chicken, and roast it in a roasting pan the oven. Baste halfway through to ensure every bite is full of flavour, and cook until golden and juicy. It’s that simple – minimal prep, maximum taste. If you happen to have a rotisserie in your oven or BBQ, this is the perfect baste for you.

Serving suggestions and how to store

Serve this roast chicken with your favourite root veggies (potato, sweet potato, parsnip, carrots etc)– roast them in the same pan for easy cleanup. While the chicken is baking, I often prepare steamed greens (like beans or broccoli) or a delicious side salad. I also love to drizzle the pan juices over the meat.

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge, and reheat gently in the oven. It’s great for meal prep, too as cold meat can be repurposed into another meal or added to sandwiches, rolls or wraps for lunch. Or use it to make a delicious Chicken Salad or soup.

Vary this healthy roast chicken marinade to suit

To make this chicken recipe nut-free, simply swap the macadamia nut oil for melted butter (or olive oil). For a fructose-free version, use rice malt syrup as your sweetener. If you’re looking for a different cooking method, try slow cooking it for an even more tender result – perfect for busy days!

Take a look at the variations (below the main recipe) for suggestions to alter the recipe to suit many specific dietary requirements.

Healthy Roast Chicken Marinade - Take away style

Prep 10 minutes minutes

Total 10 minutes minutes

Serves: 4

This is my take on a healthy 'takeaway' BBQ chicken - this marinade recipe is so simple and delicious you will never need to buy a pre-cooked, take away chicken again.  

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Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken (preferably free-range or organic)

Marinade ingredients (for one large chicken)

• 50 g butter or macadamia nut oil (¼ cup)
• 1 tbsp rice malt syrup or honey
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 2 tsp sea salt - or to taste
• ground black pepper - to taste

Method

• In a small bowl, mix the ingredients together until well combined.
• Baste your chicken all over with half of the mix.
• Place your chicken breast side up in a preheated oven or on a rotisserie if you have one.
• After 30 minutes of cooking, remove from the oven and baste again with the remaining marinade.
• Return to the oven and roast until the chicken is cooked to perfection.
• The time this takes will vary depending on the size of your chicken, but work off 20-30 minutes per 500gram at 180℃/350°F. I use a meat thermometer to check my chicken is cooked to perfection.
• Once cooked, rest the chicken for 5-10 minutes uncovered, then carve and enjoy!

Also…

• Add lots of vegetables and also slices of lemon to your roasting dish too.  You may also like to stuff your chook? I personally keep it quick and simple and wedge lemon pieces and any herbs I can rummage from my herb garden.

Slow cooked…

• Toni messaged me on Facebook to say she had slow cooked this with a 10/10 husband and kids rated result! She cooked it for 8 hours on low, basting it with the marinade every 2-3 hours with great success. A great option if you like to slow cook!

Serve

• Serve with roasted vegetables, steamed greens (like broccoli or beans) or even Cauliflower Cheese.
• Or a delicious salad.

Store

• Store in an airtight container in the fridge or freeze the chicken for up to three months.
• Re-heat in a low oven (covered) until just hot.

Variations

Nut-free

Replace the macadamia nut oil with melted butter.

Fructose-free

Choose the rice malt syrup as your sweetener.

 

Do you like a roast or BBQ style chook?  Do you normally buy it or cook your own?

 

 "We made this a few weeks ago and you're not wrong - it really does taste like {better than} BBQ chook!" Emma

Course: Main Course

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