I am very picky about my chicken. With chicken being one of the healthiest and most affordable proteins, I am always looking for new recipes that I enjoy. The key to flavorful and moist chicken? Bone in and skin on. Yes, it takes more time to cook but I promise you will get a flavorful piece of chicken, perfectly cooked and delicious!

Roasting is a great opportunity to add lots of colorful vegetables. Eating “the rainbow” is important as the different colors in produce provide different vitamins and minerals. Using rainbow carrots is a simple way to add more health benefits to this recipe. Bonus – it looks pretty! 

• Orange carrots promote vitamin A in the body which is essential for healthy eyes.
• Yellow carrots contain xanthophykks and lutein. Xanthophylls is a plant based nutrient that supports your reproductive system.
• Red carrots are rich in lycopene, which is one of the most powerful antioxidants in the world.
• Purple carrots are rich in anthocyanins, the antioxidant compounds that give them their distinctive blue and purple color. These pigments can improve memory, enhance vision, protect against heart attacks, act as anti-inflammatories, and even help control weight.

Source: https://www.petespaleo.com/blogs/blog/5-amazing-health-benefits-of-rainbow-carrots

Prep Time: 15 min / Cook Time: 50 min / Servings: 6-8 people

Ingredients

• 3 lbs chicken pieces (bone in and skin on!) 
• 3 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 lb rainbow carrots 
• 3 celery stalks (chopped into 2-inch pieces)
• 1 large onion (cut into 2-inch cubes) 
• 5 garlic cloves (roughly chopped)
• Fresh rosemary (5-6 sprigs)
• Salt & pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
2. Chop the onions and celery into 2-inch pieces.
3. Lay all vegetables in a roasting pan (carrots, onions, celery, garlic). Top with 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary. Do not chop the rosemary.
4. Drizzle vegetables with 1 tsp of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
5. Top the seasoned vegetables with the 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary. Set aside.
6. Rinse chicken off with water and completely dry with a paper towel. This step is very important for a crispy skin – the skin needs to be completely dry before seasoning.
7. Drizzle chicken with remaining 3 tsps olive oil and season with salt and pepper on both sides.
8. Lay chicken on top of vegetables/rosemary sprigs.
9. Chop the remaining 2 rosemary sprigs and sprinkle on top of the roasted chicken.
10. Bake for 45 – 50 minutes until the chicken reads 160 degrees on a meat thermometer.
11. TIP – if the chicken skin still doesn’t look crispy,  but the thermometer is reading 160 degrees, turn the oven to broil for 1-2 minutes. Do not continue to cook the chicken as you may risk overcooking it.
12. Let the chicken rest for 15 minutes before serving. (This is an important step to keep the chicken juicy. If you cut it too soon, the juices will run out and you will have a dry piece of meat. Plus the juice is where the flavor is! 🙂 ).
13. Enjoy!