Roast chicken dinner made healthier

Author: Bronwen King - NZ registered nutritionist

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You can't beat the delicious simplicity of a roast chicken. This healthier version has all the trimmings, including roast vegetables and stuffing. This makeover recipe has fewer calories and less saturated fat than traditional roast chicken recipes. Dig in!

Serves: 6

Time to make: 1 hr 40 mins

Ingredients

More weights & measures

Chicken
1 size 16 chicken
2 cloves garlic, crushed
bunch fresh herbs, chopped
1 lemon, cut in quarters
1 medium oven bag
Stuffing
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
½ cup chopped parsley
2 cups fresh wholemeal breadcrumbs
rind of ½ lemon, grated
1 teaspoon dried basil or oregano
3 tablespoons slivered almonds or pine nuts
1 egg
Healthy roast vegetables
4-6 cups vegetables – we used kumarasweet-potatoX, onion, pumpkin, parsnip, yam, potato and beetrootbeetsX
Garlic roast vegetables
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
1 teaspoon lemon pepper
herbs, fresh or dried
Honey and balsamic roast vegetables
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
Healthy gravy
3 tablespoons fat-free cooking juice (see tips)
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon mustard
2 cups salt-reduced chicken stock (if you have extra fat-free juice, use this and make up to stock amount)

Instructions

1 Preheat oven to 180ºC. Remove excess fat from chicken. Rub skin with crushed garlic. Fill cavity with herbs and lemon pieces, or make stuffing (see below). Place in oven bag. Tie bag. Pierce to let the steam out. Place in an oven dish.

2 Cook for about 1 hour 40 minutes or until juices run clear when chicken breast is pierced.

3 Remove from oven, rest for 5 minutes. Cut a corner off the bag and allow juices to empty into a jug. Remove skin before serving chicken.

With stuffing

4 In a bowl, combine all stuffing ingredients. Fill chicken cavity and cook as above.

Garlic roast vegetables

5 Place vegetables in an ovenproof roasting dish. Mix flavour ingredients and stir through vegetables.

6 Cook at 180ºC until tender. Small chunks take about 30 minutes, bigger chunks, longer.

Healthy gravy

7 Place juice in a small saucepan with flour and mustard. Mix well.

8 Slowly add stock and cook until thickened. Season to taste. If lumpy, strain before serving.

HFG tip

Fat-free cooking juice

You can freeze fat-free cooking juice and use it as stock or in gravy.

Step 1 Refrigerate cooking juice from chicken in a jug or bowl. The fat will sit on the juice’s surface.

Step 2 Separate fat from the liquid using a fat separator. This has a spout at the base of the vessel (available through kitchen shops). Or pour slightly cooled juices into a strong plastic bag, snip a tiny piece off the corner and allow stock to pour out. Stop pouring before fat comes out.

Why this roast chicken dinner is healthier

Traditional roast chicken dinner (per serve):

Total energy per serve 3420kJ
Total fat per serve 51g (18g saturated fat)

HFG roast chicken dinner (per serve):

Total energy per serve 2320kJ
Total fat per serve 25g (7g saturated fat)

Note: Nutritional analysis based on roast chicken with stuffing, garlic roast vegetables and healthy gravy.

Nutrition Info (per serve)

Calories 554cal

Kilojoules 2320kJ

Protein 50g

Total fat 25g

–Saturated fat 7g

Carbohydrates 35g

–Sugars 8g

Dietary fibre 6g

Sodium 610mg

Calcium 100mg

Iron 5.5mg

Note: This nutrition analysis is a guide only. Nutrition composition will vary depending on the exact ingredients used. See our guides on your optimal daily nutrition intake, and supermarket shopping.

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