Home
>
Blog
>
Food & Drink

The most amazing Sunday roast chicken dinner recipe ever

Roast chicken with ingredients and a photo of Lucie.

Guest contributor: Lucie’s Wholesome Kitchen

Growing up with a single mother and two siblings, weeknight dinner always looked a bit hectic at our house. We usually ate anywhere between 8–10pm. I would be sitting in my soccer uniform post practice doing my homework as I ate my dinner.

At the end of the week, my mom would cook this amazing feast. My siblings and I have fond memories of this roast chicken dinner she would make. It was one of the first recipes my mom taught me. I often say "This roast chicken recipe is where it all started."

While it always impresses a guest, what should really impress you is just how simple and quick this recipe is to pull together.

Sunday Roast Chicken Dinner Recipe

Ingredients:

1 (4–5) pound whole chicken, trimmed

Garden Herb Oil (below)

Herb Butter (below)

1 tablespoon of EVOO

Kosher salt and crushed black pepper

1-2 pounds baby golden potatoes

For the Garden Herb Oil and Herb Butter, they both start with, in my opinion, the holy trinity of fresh rosemary, sage, and thyme.

Garden herb oil:

6 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce

3 tablespoons EVOO

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 shallot, minced

4 tablespoons of the holy trinity (fresh rosemary, sage, thyme)

Kosher salt, crushed black pepper

Herb butter:

2 sticks of high-quality butter, softened to room temperature

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 shallot, minced

Kosher salt, crushed black pepper

How to make:

In one bowl, mix all the ingredients together for the garden herb oil and set aside.

In another bowl, mix all ingredients together for the herb butter and set aside.

To prepare the chicken: Remove chicken from original packaging, place on a wire rack on top of a sheet pan and place in the fridge uncovered overnight to allow the skin to air dry. This ensures very crispy skin.

One hour before you begin roasting the chicken, remove it from the fridge to allow the chicken to warm to room temperature for even roasting. If present, remove the neck and tail using kitchen shears along with any excess fat on the chicken.

Your hands are the best tools in the kitchen, gently use your fingers to separate the skin from the chicken and begin rubbing the herb butter all over the chicken, including between the skin and the meat. Be careful not to tear the skin.

Pour over the garden herb oil and rub this all over the chicken as well. Using kitchen twine, tie the chicken's legs together, securing them tightly against the breasts.

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Wash and rinse your potatoes, place in a casserole dish or sheet pan, and then place the chicken on top of the potatoes.

Place your chicken in the oven once preheated, and keep a close eye—if you see the skin becoming too dark before the internal temperature reaches 155 degrees, cover the chicken with foil.

All ovens heat differently. After 45 minutes of roasting, begin temping the chicken every 15 minutes until the internal temperature of the breast reaches 155 degrees.

Tent the chicken with foil for 10-15 minutes and allow to rest before carving.

Once rested, carve as you please, and plate with the potatoes and chicken drippings, and enjoy your Sunday Roast Chicken Dinner.

Tips & tricks:

The garden herb oil is significantly better if you can make it a day ahead. The flavors are able to meld and coincide wonderfully together with time.

I always buy my whole chickens from Costco; they come in a pack of two and the organic chickens cost about $15 each ($30 for the pack), and nonorganic cost between $8–$9 ($16–$18 for the pack).

I highly suggest investing in quality butter. I used to be a huge Kerrygold fan until Costco came out with their Kirkland Signature Grass-Fed butter. I truly believe this is even better than the Kerrygold butter, and it is less of a financial investment to enjoy quality butter.

Ok, some of my friends call me a snob for this, but I will die on this hill. Fresh cracked pepper is far superior to pre-ground pepper. If you have a mortar and pestle, I highly recommend cracking your black pepper as needed—it really just takes your cooking to the next level. Pepper is just as important as salt when it comes to seasoning your food.

Kosher salt. If you have table salt, save that for the table. Kosher salt is the best to cook with—it has a larger grain, giving you more control when seasoning, and is less salty than most salt, giving you plenty of grace.

If you are shopping in Southern California like I am, I recommend buying your fresh herbs from Ralphs or Whole Foods. I dislike buying my herbs in those tiny, expensive plastic boxes—the quality is so much lower. Both stores offer herbs in the produce section in bundles, and you'll save money while getting high-quality herbs.

Lucie of Lucie’s Wholesome Kitchen has been helping families with meals and catering and knows first-hand how difficult it can be for busy parents to create a wholesome meal on weeknights. She loves being able to bring families meals that are delicious and easy, and families love being able to focus on spending time together instead of shopping, cooking and cleaning up. For more delicious meal ideas, check out her website and follow her on Instagram!

No items found.

No items found.

No items found.

No items found.

No items found.

No items found.

No items found.

All of the products we feature are hand-selected by our editors! You see only what we love and what we think you'll love too. If you buy something through links on our site, Evite may earn a commission. Prices are subject to change.

No items found.

No items found.

What makes Evite SignUp Sheets different from other signup tools?

Developed hand-in-hand with community organizers, PTA presidents, parents and teachers, Evite's signup sheets are designed to make organizing volunteers a breeze. Here are a few ways SignUp Sheets are different than other signup tools:

  • 100% free: SignUp Sheets are free to use.
  • Ad-free: No popup ads ever! Our signup sheets remain clutter-free, keeping your volunteers focused on signing up.
  • No extra login required: Seamlessly use your Evite account to create and manage your signup sheets, keeping all your events in one convenient location.
  • Automatic reminders and notifications: Stay on top of your event with automated reminders and notifications for you and your participants. Perfect for busy parents, teachers and anyone juggling multiple commitments.
  • Customization options: Tailor your signup sheets to your specific event, whether it's a school fundraiser, potluck, volunteer opportunity or team activity. Add custom tasks, time slots and requirements for smooth coordination.
  • User-friendly experience: Our intuitive interface makes creating and sharing signup sheets simple for everyone, regardless of tech experience.
  • Real-time updates: Get instant notifications whenever someone signs up or makes a change, so you always know where things stand.

Choose Evite SignUp Sheets for the easiest, most streamlined way to get volunteers and signups for your next event!

What is a SignUp Sheet?

Signup sheets are the perfect way to streamline scheduling, volunteer recruitment, class parties, snack duty, potluck organization, parent-teacher conferences and more! You can think of them as your digital assistant for coordinating events and tasks and ensuring that your event is a success.

Evite SignUp Sheets offers parents, teachers and event planners customizable online forms that organizers and volunteers can access and update effortlessly. Volunteers can choose their preferred time slots, sign up for tasks or indicate what they'll bring to the event. It only takes organizers a few minutes to create a signup sheet and send it out with a shareable link, so they can get the word out via text, email or social media—whichever way they prefer! 

Long story short, SignUp Sheets save everyone involved tons of time, avoid scheduling headaches and ensure everything runs smoothly before and during the event.

How do I create a SignUp Sheet?

Creating a signup sheet has never been easier than with Evite! Here’s how to create a sheet that’s sure to make your event an absolute success:

  1. Go to Evite SignUp Sheets and choose the template that best fits your needs. Evite offers multiple signup sheet templates perfect for every occasion, including:
    • Signup sheets for one day events (without different time slots), perfect for when you’re organizing a class party, potluck or end-of-season party.
    • Signup sheets for single or multiple day events (with time slots), perfect for when you’re organizing concession stand volunteers, fundraisers, parent-teacher conferences, meal train, post-game snack duty or during appreciation week.
  1. After selecting your sheet template, create a title for your signup sheet and add the date, the location, the time (if applicable), who the organizer is, the organizer’s phone number or email and an optional note describing the event to your volunteers. You can also change your signup sheet background and title image if you wish!
  1. Next, create slots for your signup sheet. If you aren’t logged into your account, you will need to do so at this point, but luckily, you can use your existing Evite account (no need to create yet another login!). What you’ll include here will depend on what your event needs, but you can include a list of what’s needed (along with optional descriptions), how many volunteers are needed, and dates and times.
  1. After creating your slots, you can then add a wish list from any retailer or include supply suggestions from Evite’s retailer partners. These are to help your volunteers find and purchase supplies quickly and easily.
  1. Finally, review your sheet, copy your shareable link and send it out to everyone on your list! Every time a volunteer signs up for a slot on your signup sheet, Evite will email you. We will also send reminders to you and your volunteers before your event so no one will forget about it, and we’ll even let volunteers know if you remove their slot or cancel your event sheet so you don’t have to!

What information should be included on a SignUp Sheet?

When it comes to signup sheet information, there are some essentials to include regardless of what you’re organizing:

  1. A title for your signup sheet. Tip: Aim to keep your signup sheet title concise but clear. You want volunteers to read it and have a general understanding of what your event is about, and also make it easy for them to look for later if they need to reference your sheet again. You have the option to include a more descriptive note in a different field about your event, so save the more in-depth details for that!
  1. When and where the event is taking place. 
  1. The organizer’s name and phone number.
  1. Slots for volunteers to choose from. Once you choose the SignUp Sheets template that fits the occasion, the slots you’ll need for your sheet will be right there and ready for you to add the relevant info, such as dates, times, items to bring and tasks to complete. 

When adding your slot information, clearly define what people are signing up for, especially for a what-to-bring list or role assignments. If you want someone to bring healthy snacks for kids to enjoy after a game, specify that. You want your volunteers to feel confident in what they’re bringing and to make it easy for them to know what’s expected of them. It will save them time and stress (and you, too!). That being said, if you make your ask too specific (for example, asking for a hard-to-source item or something expensive), you may not end up with a volunteer for it. So be clear about what you expect, but also be reasonable!

Aside from providing the basic signup information, you can also add optional descriptions to both your entire signup sheet and individual slots. While not required, they can help guide your volunteers further and provide more information. You can add information about allergies, preferences and general info about the event. You can also add a wish list to make it easier for your volunteers to bring exactly what you need!

What are the benefits of using a SignUp Sheet template?

Signup sheet templates offer a ton of advantages for both organizers and volunteers and with Evite SignUp Sheets, you'll enjoy even more benefits than other digital and paper signup sheets! Some benefits our signup sheet templates offer include:

  • A 100% free experience (no subscriptions required!).
  • Shareable links for quick and easy sharing.
  • No need to create another login—you can use your existing Evite account.
  • The option to add a wish list to help your volunteers out.
  • Automatic reminders—we’ll remind everyone on your behalf.
  • An easy-to-use experience with eye-catching guided templates.
  • Clean, modern designs with no pop-up ads.

With Evite SignUp Sheets, you can enjoy organizing and coordinating all your events with ease. Signup sheets streamline the signup process for everyone involved, ensuring that everything will go to plan on the day of your event while saving you precious time in the process.

View More Articles

View All