How long to bake a 6 pound chicken

Chicken is perhaps the easiest and most versatile main ingredient you can cook for the family. So if you arrived on this page and already have a chicken recipe in mind or want to simply bake chicken for weekly meal prep, you're in the right place. Here you'll find out how long to roast a chicken and all the cooking times you need for meaty chicken pieces or quarters.

Table of Contents Show

How Long to Cook a Whole Chicken
How Long to Cook Chicken Breast and Other Meaty Pieces
Is it better to bake a whole chicken at 350 or 400?
How long does a 6 lb chicken take to cook at 400?
How long does a whole chicken take to cook at 350?
How long does it take to cook a 7 pound chicken at 350?

We don't stop at just roasting—we've got the full breakdown of how long to cook chicken in a skillet, under the broiler, and even by boiling. No matter which method you prefer, you'll find how long to cook a chicken.

Andy Lyons

Try Our Asian-Inspired Roast Chicken Recipe

How Long to Cook a Whole Chicken

Roast chicken is juicy and delicious. Check out our complete instructions and tips for cooking a whole chicken. Knowing how long to roast a chicken is key. Listed here are the exact cooking times by weight. The chicken is done when a meat thermometer reads 175°F in the thigh muscle or until drumsticks move easily in sockets.

How long to roast a chicken at 375°F:

2½- to 3-pound chicken: Roast 1 to 1¼ hours
3½- to 4-pound chicken: Roast 1¼ to 1½ hours
4½- to 5-pound chicken: Roast 1¾ to 2 hours

Fire up your grill and cook a whole chicken with these times and weights in mind:

For a 2½- to 3-pound chicken, grill for 1 to 1¼ hours
For a 3½- to 4-pound bird, grill for 1¼ to 1¾ hours
For a 4½- to 5-pound chicken, grill for 1¾ to 2 hours

You can also cook a whole chicken by boiling (poaching) and make a stock from the bones using our recipe.

How Long to Cook Chicken Breast and Other Meaty Pieces

In addition to chicken breast, meaty pieces include drumsticks and thighs. Doneness should be determined with an instant-read thermometer ($15, Target): 165°F for breast meat and at least 175° for thighs and drumsticks.

Bake chicken at 375°F for 45 to 50 minutes. View the full range of times and temperatures for chicken legs and quarters and breast meat in our detailed guides.
Grill chicken thighs for 12 to 15 minutes and chicken breast halves 15 to 18 minutes. Get our full guide on grilling chicken.
Broil chicken pieces 25 to 35 minutes. Learn all the steps to easily broil chicken.
Sauté chicken breast 12 to 15 minutes (6 to 8 minutes for flattened chicken or tenders) and 14 to 18 minutes for chicken thighs. Learn how to sauté chicken like a pro with tips from our Test Kitchen.
Boil (poach) boneless chicken breast halves 12 to 15 minutes (bone-in chicken breast should cook for about 30 minutes). We've got a guide to boiling chicken, too.

Get Our All-Time Favorite Chicken Recipes

Craving chicken yet? Practice cooking a whole chicken, chicken breast, or meaty pieces using any method with an easy chicken recipe or healthy chicken dinner tonight. You can make some crispy fried chicken in the oven or roast a whole chicken with herbs or a homemade rub. Bring the heat with a spicy chicken recipe if you like a little kick in your meals. The possibilities are endless.

This recipe comes to us from FDP team member Bri DeRosa, who first shared it on her Red, Round and Green blog. We always make two chickens when we have Sunday chicken — it seems like a lot, and it is, but it means that a) you’ll be prepared for unexpected guests; and b) you’ll have enough leftovers to make several lunches, or to pop into a whole second dinner (chicken pot pie, anyone?). I also save the carcasses for making homemade chicken stock, so nothing goes to waste.

2 whole roasting chickens, approximately 4-5 pounds each
3 tablespoons softened unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, finely minced, or 1 tablespoon of garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste (remember to be relatively generous with the seasoning — you’re salting and peppering two whole chickens)

Optional: Herbs — fresh or dried — any combination you like. We often like dried herbs de provence in the wintertime; for fresh herbs, rosemary, thyme, parsley, fennel, and even basil or dill can be used. You’ll need a few tablespoons of minced fresh herbs, or one tablespoon of dried.

Something to stuff into the cavities of the birds — we usually quarter a lemon, an orange, and a whole onion (don’t bother peeling anything), and stuff the cavities with a mixture of the fruits and onion.

Is it better to bake a whole chicken at 350 or 400?

You can roast or bake anywhere between 325 and 450 degrees F. When roasting a whole chicken, a nice rule of them is to start at 400 to 425 degrees F and then turn the oven down to 350 after 15 minutes and cook until the internal temp of the chicken is 165 – 175 degrees F on an instant read thermometer.

How long does a 6 lb chicken take to cook at 400?

Generally speaking, a whole chicken should be roasted at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes per pound. So, if you have a 4-pound chicken, you would roast it for 80 minutes. If your chicken is stuffed, you will need to add an additional 15 minutes to the roasting time.

How long does a whole chicken take to cook at 350?

It takes roughly 65 to 80 minutes to bake or roast 2.5 to 3 pounds of a whole chicken in an oven that has been preheated to 350 degrees; however, it takes approximately 80 to 95 minutes to bake 3.5 to 4 pounds of a whole chicken in the same oven at the same 350 degrees temperature.

How long does it take to cook a 7 pound chicken at 350?

Regular-heat method: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Roast whole (thawed) chickens for 20 minutes per pound, plus an additional 15 minutes.