Whole Chicken Roasting Time Calculator

How this works

A whole chicken's roast time scales with its weight because heat has to penetrate all the way to the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone, without drying out the breast. This calculator uses standard minutes-per-pound rates for common oven temperatures, but always confirm doneness with a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, avoiding the bone — USDA guidance requires poultry to reach 165°F internal.

Source: Based on standard USDA and poultry-industry roasting guidance (similar to Butterball's whole-chicken roasting charts) of about 20 minutes per pound at 350°F for an unstuffed bird.