This easy recipe for roasted buttermilk chicken is a great way to make super tender, super flavorful chicken with only a few ingredients!
We are smack at the point of the year where I am really, really, REALLY missing the outside grill, and while the Southern husband would cheerfully stand in the snow and grill me anything I want, I have trouble sending him out into the cold dark night to cook dinner. And what I especially miss is our old favorite recipe for rosemary grilled chicken. So it finally became NECESSARY for me to figure out an oven version of it, which leads me to this recipe for roasted buttermilk chicken. Tender and juicy and just the thing to get us all through these last weeks of winter. Ready for a taste of summer from your warm cozy kitchen? Let’s make it!
As with the summertime version, the key to this delectable chicken is buttermilk, which makes it all kinds of tender, and rosemary, which makes it all kinds of flavorful. I toss these two ingredients into a zipper plastic bag along with a little garlic and some salt and pepper and pop in the chicken breasts. You want bone-in chicken for this, and if the chicken breasts are gigantic, I like to cut them into quarters with my handy kitchen shears.
Now let that bag full of deliciousness lounge around in your fridge overnight – I tend to put this together an a Sunday night along with whatever I am making for Sunday dinner, and when busy Monday night comes around the next day the chicken just needs to be roasted.
So then you want to roast it up until it is done (I always like to check it with my trusty oven thermometer, which should read 165 degrees for nicely cooked chicken), pop it on some warmed plates, and drizzle the sauce on top along with some chopped parsley. We like this with brown butter mashed potatoes on the side, or if we are being super healthy some whipped cauliflower and green beans with walnuts.
And I promise grilling season will be here before we know it. THINK SPRING!
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Roasted Buttermilk Chicken
Prep Time: 10 minutes- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 4 servings 1x
Category: Dinner
Method: Oven
Cuisine: Southern
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeIngredients
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh rosemary
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 4 bone-in chicken breasts, cut in halves or quarters depending on the size
- Chopped fresh parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Put buttermilk, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper in a zippered plastic bag, seal and shake. Add the chicken, re-seal the bag and turn over and over until chicken is well coated. Put the bag in the fridge and marinate overnight.
- Preheat oven to 400 and line a roasting pan with non-stick foil. Place the chicken in the pan, pour the buttermilk mixture on top and roast until chicken is done, about 35-40 minutes or until an instant read thermometer reads 165 degrees.
- Divide the chicken among warmed plates, drizzling the pan sauce on top and sprinkling with parsley.
Hi there! I’m Kate, and I’m a recipe writer, food photographer and devoted bacon lover. I started Framed Cooks in 2009, and my mission is to create and share family-friendly recipes that make cooking both easy and fun…yes, I said FUN! My kitchen is my happy place, and I want yours to be that place too. And if you make this recipe, I would love you to tag @FramedCooks on Instagram so I can see the deliciousness!
Boom, excellent recipe yet again!
Ha! And thanks!! :)
Yum! Love me some roasted chicken! And rosemary is such a homey, cozy flavor. Who needs to grill when there are great oven dinners like this? :)
You are RIGHT, sister! :) :)
What a lovely and light chicken dish! I’ve never tried buttermilk, I would love to.
Hi Adina!! Buttermilk is one of my favorite ingredients for so many things!
Kate,
Another amazing recipe. It was like a Thanksgiving dinner here tonight! I am going to freeze the remaining buttermilk in 1cup portions (purchased 1 quart) for future uses for this amazing recipe. We usually prefers thighs; how do think your recipe would work with thighs?
Thank for making my family think I am a great cook????
Aw, thanks Ellie! Thanksgiving in March is the best. And I think thighs will work just fine – you might need to give them another 5-10 in the oven.