Orange and Cardamom Roast Chicken

By Zainab Shah

Updated March 13, 2026

  • Ghazalle Badiozamani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Media 1 of 1
Ready In
1 hr 40 min
Rating
4(152)
Comments
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This roast chicken is built on layers of warmth and citrus, which provide a balance of spice, bitterness and brightness that transforms a simple bird into something deeply aromatic. Butter infused with orange zest, dried peel and cardamom seeps into the skin, flavoring the meat as it roasts over a bed of onions. A halved orange and head of garlic tucked into the cavity infuse it from within, while black pepper and cloves lend depth and a touch of heat. The result is a bird that’s burnished and fragrant, with a pan sauce brightened by fresh orange juice. Add carrots and potatoes to the roasting pan (see Tip), and your meal is complete.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings

  • 2 to 3 oranges (any variety)

  • 4 tablespoons salted butter 

  • 2 tablespoons dried orange peel (optional)

  • 1 tablespoon ground cardamom 

  • 2 ½ teaspoons kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)

  • 1 whole (3½- to 4-pound) chicken (giblets removed), patted dry (see Tip)

  • 1 head of garlic, cut in half crosswise 

  • 1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper 

  • 1 teaspoon ground cloves

  • 1 large Spanish or white onion, halved and thickly sliced into slabs

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Finely grate 2 tablespoons zest, then halve the oranges and juice enough to yield ¾ cup.

  2. Step 2

    Add butter, grated orange zest, dried orange peel (if using) and half the cardamom to a medium saucepan. Turn the heat on to low. Let the butter melt, then cook, stirring occasionally, until it’s infused with the spices, about 5 minutes. (Be careful not to let the butter bubble.) 

    1. Step 3

      Salt the chicken inside and out. Place the cut head of garlic and half an orange (preferably an unsqueezed piece, if there is one remaining) inside the chicken’s cavity. Brush the infused butter generously all over the chicken. Sprinkle the chicken with the pepper, cloves and remaining cardamom. (The chicken can be seasoned and refrigerated, uncovered, up to 24 hours in advance.)

    2. Step 4

      In a Dutch oven, 10-inch cast-iron skillet or other large ovenproof pan, scatter the sliced onions in a single layer. Place the chicken on top, breast side up, and roast, uncovered, for about 1 hour, until the juices run clear when you cut between the leg and thigh. 

    3. Step 5

      Transfer the chicken to a cutting board. Loosely cover with aluminum foil and let it rest while you prepare the sauce. Return the Dutch oven or pan to the stove. Add the orange juice and cook on high heat, scraping the bottom of the pan, until the juices are slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.

    4. Step 6

      Carve the chicken and spoon the pan juices over it. Serve the onions on the side. 

Tips

  • If possible, remove the chicken from the refrigerator about 1 hour before you’d like to roast it to ensure even cooking.

  • If you want to roast vegetables with the chicken, use a 12-inch pan and add 8 small new potatoes (or a couple handfuls of baby potatoes) and 4 carrots, cut diagonally into quarters, to the onions. Place the chicken on top of the vegetables for roasting.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
152 user ratings
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Comments

RudisHuman

As for the dried orange peel... simply keep vs tossing the peels from an orange (or tangerine, etc) and leave on a plate on your kitchen counter. I do it every time I eat one, dries in a few days. Then it'll get cut up finely in a food processor or coffee/spice grinder. Save it, labelled, in a jar, preferably with 1 of those silica packets you've saved from vitamins, meds, whatever, and it will keep forever to add something special to any dish. Voila! Free and easy. Or... go eat a fresh orange and proceed with the peel

Spiz

This recipe has the kind of flavours I like and will definitely try it. Cardamon and orange go nicely together. One point needs making, though. Cutting a head of garlic in half and using it to flavour food is terribly wasteful. It seems to relate more to Youtube, Instagram and Ticktock cooking than the reality of need. If two or three cloves do the same work as a head cut crossways, then do that.

Peter S.

What is the point of publishing a comment from someone who has not tried it yet, such as the one from Spiz? "I think it might be good" is not helpful.

Susie

Incredibly flavorful! Best new chicken recipe in a long time. I cut down the salt, and put 5 garlic cloves and 1/8 of an orange in the cavity. The carrots and potatoes are a must, and I left the carrots in the pot when making the absolutely divine sauce. The orange zest and spices on the surface did burn somewhat (the picture shows that!) so next time I will cover for the first 1/2 hour then uncover for the rest. Think you can just as easily make this with cut up chicken parts. A keeper.

Bonnie

So, I've read many of the comments, & agree on the garlic head. I love garlic and could barely detect any garlic flavor. Tossing peeled loose cloves in would work much better I think. My main problem, however, was that my 4 lb bird stuffed with half an orange and the split head of garlic took nearly two full hours to cook, not the one hour in the recipe. The flavor was good, but I will definitely cut the orange into pieces and separate the garlic cloves if I do it again.

Terese

Delicious….. BUT…. A half orange and a head of garlic barely fit inside my 3-1/2 lb chicken and made it take much longer to cook. Next time, I’ll use maybe one slice or a 1/4 wedge of orange and 3-4 cloves garlic. Or, maybe not stuff the cavity at all.

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