A good roast chicken is delicious on its own, and perfect for shredding, slicing, or dicing to use in other dishes. But a simple sauce can transform a simple roast chicken into an irresistible meal.
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Whether you make a classic Roast Chicken, Air Fry a Whole Chicken, or cook a Whole Chicken in an Instant Pot, these sauce recipes will take it over the top. Here are just a few roast chicken sauce recipes to try.
Lemon
Lemon is often added to chicken as it can help tenderize the meat due to its acidity. While you can drizzle lemon juice on chicken or inject it under the skin to achieve this effect, a lemon sauce can provide a much greater boost of flavor. This lemon cream sauce recipe could be one sauce option worth trying if you’re looking for something creamy. Lemon can also be mixed with chilli or garlic if you want to add more of a kick.
Honey garlic
Honey garlic sauce is a popular chicken marinade often served with roast chicken in many Mediterranean countries. You can make this sauce by mixing honey, garlic, butter and dijon mustard. For an Asian twist, you can also add soy sauce to the mix. Honey garlic chicken goes well with rice and salads, but can equally be served with roast vegetables.
Red wine
Red wine is often added to chicken in France – particularly in the iconic dish coq au vin. It helps tenderize the meat, while also moistening the chicken. Red wine can be turned into a tasty sauce by mixing it with tomato and butter. You can also add garlic for an authentic taste of France. French fries, boiled potatoes, fried mushrooms or sprouts all make good sides to have with this dish.
Creamy mushroom
Creamy mushroom sauce can bring a kick of umami to your plate. You can make your own creamy mushroom sauce by mixing mushrooms, cream, parsley and white wine. Alternatively, you can simply use a can of creamy mushroom soup to save time. Many sides work well with creamy mushroom chicken including sauteed spinach, zucchini fries or roasted broccoli.
Mustard
Mustard sauces can also work well with chicken. They bring a fiery tang to the meat, while also helping to crisp up the skin. Combine dijon mustard, cream, chicken stock and black pepper for a creamy mustard sauce. Serve this with asparagus and rice for a tasty flavor combo.
Red Chile
Made from scratch with whole, dried red chiles, this Mexican Red Chile Sauce is soul-tinglingly delicious and really simple to make. I love it on enchiladas filled with shredded roast chicken, but you can skip the shredding and tortilla filling and just serve the sauce drizzled over the chicken.
Lime Ginger
Lime ginger is a popular Asian marinade. There are a few ways to make this sauce, but one of the most common ways is to combine lime juice, soy sauce, sesame oil, minced ginger and red pepper flakes. This is best served with sticky rice if you want to maintain an Asian spin, although you can serve it with roasted vegetables.
Lechon Manok
Lechon manok is a Filipino roast chicken dish. It uses a marinade made from garlic, onion, black pepper, bay leaf, soy sauce, patis or fish sauce, and brown sugar. The chicken is traditionally stuffed with lemongrass and roasted over charcoal, but you can still enjoy this dish cooked in the oven and not stuffed with lemongrass.
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