Roast Chicken With Caramelized Zucchini And Leeks

Name: Roast Chicken With Caramelized Zucchini And Leeks
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 1 h 25 min
Total time: 1 h 35 min
Yield: 1 to 4 servings
Ingredients: 1 (3½- to 4-pound) whole chicken, patted dry; Kosher salt and black pepper; 1 bunch thyme; 1 lemon; 3 medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise; 3 leeks, trimmed and quartered lengthwise; ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

By Ali Slagle

Published July 20, 2026

David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist. Simon Andrews. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.

Media 1 of 1

Ready In: 1 hr 35 min
Rating: (0)
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For this five-ingredient roast chicken dinner, stuff a chicken with a whole lemon and a bunch of thyme, then roast it alongside long planks of zucchini and leeks. Sizzling the vegetables in the chicken’s rendering fat yields a sweet, rich, jammy tangle. (The secret to delicious zucchini is to cook it until it’s tender and dark brown.) Squeeze the roasted lemon from the chicken cavity onto the sheet pan to scrape up all the browned bits for a chickeny, lemony pan sauce. Round out the meal with crusty bread and a big green salad. If you can’t find leeks, use two red onions cut into one-inch wedges.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

1 (3½- to 4-pound) whole chicken, patted dry
Kosher salt and black pepper
1 bunch thyme
1 lemon
3 medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise
3 leeks, trimmed and quartered lengthwise
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Heat the oven to 425 degrees. On a sheet pan, season the chicken all over with salt and pepper, about ½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt per pound of chicken. Stuff the cavity with the thyme. Using a fork or toothpick, puncture the lemon all over. Add to the cavity. If time allows, refrigerate the chicken, uncovered, for up to 24 hours, which will lead to crisper skin and juicier meat.
1. Step 2
  Add the zucchini and leeks to the sheet pan, pulling the leeks apart a bit. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle the chicken and vegetables with the oil and rub to coat. Arrange the chicken in the center of the pan and the vegetables in an even, crowded layer around it.
1. Step 3
  Roast until the vegetables are deeply browned and tender (even burnt in spots) and a thermometer inserted into the chicken breast reads at least 155 degrees and the thigh at least 165 degrees in the thickest parts, 50 to 60 minutes. Halfway through, baste the vegetables with the juices.
1. Step 4
  Transfer the chicken to a cutting board to rest for 10 minutes before carving. Transfer the vegetables to a platter. Use tongs to pluck the lemon out of the chicken, cut it in half, and squeeze it (with tongs because it will be hot!) onto the sheet pan. Use a fish spatula or wooden spoon to scrape up the browned bits on the sheet pan. Pour the drippings into a small bowl to serve over the carved chicken and vegetables.