This easy roasted cinnamon chicken is the perfect recipe if you want your house to smell like Thanksgiving day.
The combination of cinnamon with crispy chicken skin and buttery sweet potatoes is a real winner.
We sometimes cook this in the middle of summer just to feel like Christmas in July. All you need is a green salad with an acidic dressing to pair it with. And don't forget the warm crusty bread to dip in the sauce.
How to make cinnamon chicken
It is a super easy-no-fuss recipe that tastes delicious! You can also use Cornish hens instead of a whole chicken, one for each portion. Just season the poultry, add a generous portion of olive oil all over and sprinkle lots of cinnamon. Roast the chicken the way you usually do and voila! A really lovely meal that will wow everyone at your table without too much effort.
Ingredients
- A whole chicken
- Sweet potatoes
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Cinnamon
- Cumin
- Sea salt
- Freshly ground pepper
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Rinse the chicken inside and out. Pat the outside dry.
Rub the outside of the chicken with half of the olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt. Season the chicken cavity with a little salt and freshly ground pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine.
Cut the sweet potatoes in half and quarter. Place them around the chicken. You need enough sweet potatoes to fit snuggly together around your chicken.
Pour the rest of the olive oil it all over the sweet potatoes.
Abundantly sprinkle cinnamon all over sweet potatoes and chicken. The whole pan should be covered with a layer of cinnamon. Sprinkle 1 tsp ground cumin all over the potatoes and chicken.
Cover the pan with aluminum foil and place it in the oven.
Roast covered for 60 min, remove foil and roast for another 45 min of until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear.
Serve next to a green salad with an acidic dressing.
Tips & substitutions
- You can use a whole cut up chicken, or just chicken breast or thighs for this recipe. Adjust baking time accordingly.
- For example, if you are using skinless, boneless chicken thighs most probably they will be done ahead of the sweet potatoes. Remove chicken from the pan and continue roasting the sweet potatoes. Same goes if you are using breasts. Keep an eye on the chicken and don't over roast.
- You can substitute coriander for cumin or omit from the recipe all together if not available.
- This herb chicken recipe is juicy and full of flavor.
- The lemon chicken soup – kotopoulo soupa avgolemono is a much loved traditional Greek soup.
Check all the pantry items a Greek kitchen wouldn’t go without.
If you’ve tried this recipe or any other on The Greek Foodie, then don’t forget to rate it and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it.
Ingredients
- 1 whole roasting chicken
- 3-4 sweet potatoes Depending on the size. You need enough potatoes to fit snuggly around the chicken.
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- sea salt
- freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Rinse the chicken inside and out. Pat the outside dry.
- Rub the outside of the chicken with half of the olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt. Season the chcicken cavity with a little salt and freshly ground pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken.
- Cut the sweet potatoes in half and quartered. Place them around the chicken. You need enough sweet potatoes to fit snuggly together around your chicken.
- Pour the rest of the olive oil it all over the sweet potatoes.
- Abundantly sprinkle cinnamon all over sweet potatoes and chicken. The whole pan should be covered with a layer of cinnamon. Sprinkle 1 tsp ground cumin all over the potatoes and chicken.
- Cover the pan with aluminum foil and place it in the oven. Roast covered for 60 min, than remove foil and roast for 45 min of until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear. Skin should be nice and crisp and sweet potatoes soft and buttery.
Notes
- I don't use too much salt for this recipe. Just a very light salt seasoning for the chicken. I don't season the sweet potatoes apart from the cinnamon and the cumin. Feel free to tweak to your liking.
Nutrition
I am so trying this! I have never thought about mixing cinnamon and chicken before, but this sounds so good!
It makes the house smell like Thanksgiving! Hope you will like it Dave! Thanks so much!
I made this last night using chicken breasts, as opposed to a whole chicken (my wife has not been able to eat chicken on the bone since her last pregnancy for some reason) and it came out great! I was sort of concerned about the flavor (because of so few ingredients) but it came out great! Easy prep, simple ingredients...I will definitely be making this again!
That's so good to hear Dave! I do the same sometimes, I just throw in skinless boneless thighs or chicken breasts with the sweet potatoes and it works every time. Thank you! x Jenny
I don't know why I've never thought to use cinnamon in more savory dishes, but it totally makes sense.
The cinnamon went so perfect with the chicken- who would have known?! I'm so happy I tried this recipe. I can't wait to have the leftovers for lunch and dinner today. Thank you! 🙂
I just had to make this with it being the first official week of fall, and it turned out beautifully! I love the cozy vibes the cinnamon added -- total perfect fall comfort food!
Wow this is such an interesting recipe. I've never used cinnamon with chicken but am dying to try it now! It looks great!
MMMM this is a definite Fall comfort food! The warm notes of cinnamon roasted on this chicken are outstanding! It's total comfort food for sure! Thank you so much for sharing
Thank you so much Lori!
I can smell it! What an interesting recipe with cinnamon. Very creative. I will try this soon for my family
Thanks so much Kushigalu!
I think it's a great idea to use sweet potatoes with roasted chicken, instead of regular potatoes. It must smell amazing with cinnamon and cumin!
It does smell amazing! Thanks so much Veronika!
What a beautiful recipe. I initially was nervous but reading through this it looks pretty easy to make. I so appreciate that!
Thanks so much Leslie!
I've never thought to add cinnamon to chicken! What a great idea, and I'm quite sure it smells amazing as it cooks. This looks like such an easy and delicious Fall recipe
Thanks so much Karyl!
Oh my we loved this chicken recipe. I have a large family so we made 2 whole chickens. Some of my kids prefer white potatoes so we made one chicken per the recipe and replaced the sweet potatoes with white potatoes in the second. Both were fabulous. The cinnamon adds the perfect zing of flavor to the chicken and potatoes.
Thanks so much Eileen! So happy you enjoyed it!