Follow these expert guidelines to cook flavorful, juicy chicken, including how long to cook a whole chicken and how long to bake chicken pieces.
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.
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 LyonsHow 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.
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.
The proper cooking time and the correct cooking temperature are extremely important when preparing any type of poultry. The optimum flavor and tenderness of turkey, chicken, duck, or any other type of poultry can be consistently achieved when care is taken to follow the recommended cooking time and temperature guidelines.
Using the recommended time and temperature guidelines will ensure that the meat is cooked to the minimum safe internal temperature, which is critical in preventing food-borne illness that can be caused by undercooked poultry. Using an accurate meat thermometer is the best way to ensure the proper doneness of poultry.
Use the following chart as a cooking time and temperature guide for various types of poultry that are oven baked or roasted, stewed, grilled, or are inserted into an oven bag prior to cooking. See the articles, "Chicken - Checking Doneness" and "Turkey Doneness" for additional information on determining the proper doneness of these types of meat.
POULTRY Cooking Times and Temperatures | ||||
Oven Baked or Roasted Poultry
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Type of Poultry | Oven Temperature | Weight | Approximate Cooking Time | |
Unstuffed | Stuffed | |||
Chicken | 350°F | 2 1/2 - 3 lbs. | 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 hours | 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 hours |
Chicken | 350°F | 3 - 4 lbs. | 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 hours | 1 3/4 - 2 hours |
Chicken | 350°F | 4 - 6 lbs. | 1 3/4 - 2 hours | 2 - 2 1/4 hours |
Cornish hen | 350°F | 1 - 2 lbs. | 1 - 1 1/4 hours | 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 hours |
Capon | 325°F | 5 - 6 lbs. | 1 3/4 - 2 hours | 2 1/2 - 3 hours |
Capon | 325°F | 6 - 8 lbs. | 2 1/4 - 3 1/2 hours | 3 - 4 hours |
Turkey (whole) | 325°F | 8 - 12 lbs. | 2 3/4 - 3 hours | 3 - 3 1/2 hours |
Turkey (whole) | 325°F | 12 - 14 lbs. | 3 - 3 3/4 hours | 3 1/2 - 4 hours |
Turkey (whole) | 325°F | 14 - 18 lbs. | 3 3/4 - 4 1/4 hours | 4 - 4 1/4 hours |
Turkey (whole) | 325°F | 18 - 20 lbs. | 4 1/4 - 4 1/2 hours | 4 1/4 - 4 3/4 hours |
Turkey (whole) | 325°F | 20 - 24 lbs. | 4 1/2 - 5 hours | 4 3/4 - 5 1/2 hours |
Turkey breast (half) | 325°F | 2 - 3 lbs. | 50 - 60 minutes | |
Turkey breast (whole) | 325°F | 4 - 6 lbs. | 1 1/2 - 2 1/4 hours | |
Turkey breast (whole) | 325°F | 6 - 8 lbs. | 2 1/4 - 3 1/4 hours | |
Turkey drumsticks | 325°F | 3/4 - 1 lb. | 2 - 2 1/4 hours | |
Turkey thighs | 325°F | 3/4 - 1 lb. | 1 3/4 - 2 hours | |
Turkey wings | 325°F | 6 - 8 oz. | 1 3/4 - 2 1/4 hours | |
Goose | 350°F | 10 - 12 lbs. | 2 3/4 - 3 1/4 hours | 3 - 3 1/2 hours |
Duck | 350°F | 4 - 5 lbs. | 2 - 2 1/2 hours | 2 1/2 - 2 3/4 hours |
Note: Start with meat at refrigerator temperature. Remove the meat from the oven when the | ||||
Stewed Poultry
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Type of Poultry | Weight | Approximate Cooking Time | ||
Unstuffed | Stuffed | |||
Whole chicken, broiler fryer | 3 - 4 lbs. | 1 - 1 1/4 hours | 1 1/4 - 1 3/4 hours | |
Whole chicken, roaster | 5 - 7 lbs. | 1 3/4 - 2 hours | 2 - 2 1/2 hours | |
Whole Cornish hens | 18 - 24 oz. | 35 - 40 minutes | 50 - 70 minutes | |
Breast half, chicken (bone-in) | 6 - 8 oz. | 35 - 45 minutes | ||
Breast half, chicken (boneless) | 4 oz. | 25 - 30 minutes | ||
Leg or thigh, chicken | 8 or 4 oz. | 40 - 50 minutes | ||
Drumstick, chicken | 4 oz. | 40 - 50 minutes | ||
Wing or wingette/drumette, chicken | 2 - 3 oz. | 35 - 45 minutes | ||
Grilled Poultry
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Type of Poultry | Weight | Approximate Cooking Time (internal temperature 180°F) | ||
Unstuffed | Stuffed | |||
Whole chicken, broiler fryer (indirect heat) | 3 - 4 lbs. | 60 - 70 minutes | 1 1/4 - 1 3/4 hours | |
Whole chicken, roaster (indirect heat) | 5 - 7 lbs. | 18 - 25 minutes per lb. | 23 - 55 minutes per lb. | |
Whole cornish hens (indirect heat) | 18 - 24 oz. | 45 - 55 minutes | 1 - 1 1/2 hours | |
Whole turkey (indirect heat) | 8 - 12 lbs. | 2 - 3 hours | ||
Whole turkey (indirect heat) | 12 - 16 lbs. | 3 - 4 hours | ||
Whole duckling (indirect heat) | 4 1/2 lbs. | 2 1/2 hours | ||
Whole goose (indirect heat) | 8 - 12 lbs. | 18 - 20 minutes per lb. | ||
Whole capon (indirect heat) | 4 - 8 lbs. | 15 - 20 minutes per lb. | ||
Breast half, chicken (bone-in) | 6 - 8 oz. | 10 - 15 minutes per side | ||
Breast half, chicken (boneless) | 4 oz. | 8 - 10 minutes per side | ||
Breast half, chicken (boneless) | 6 - 8 oz. | 10 - 15 minutes per side | ||
Leg or thigh, chicken | 8 or 4 oz. | 10 - 15 minutes per side | ||
Drumstick, chicken | 4 oz. | 8 - 12 minutes per side | ||
Drumstick, chicken | 8 - 16 oz. | 10 - 15 minutes per side | ||
Wing or wingette/drumette, chicken | 2 - 3 oz. | 8 - 12 minutes per side | ||
Note: When grilling with Indirect Heat generally the coals (or burners on a gas grill) are heated to a high heat. When grilling with Direct Heat the coals (or burners on a gas grill) are heated to a medium heat. Use these heat settings unless you have a recipe that states something different. See how to test the grill temperature. | ||||
Poultry Cooked at 350°F in an Oven Bag
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Type of Poultry | Total Weight | Approximate Cooking Time | ||
Regular-Size Oven Bag 10" x 16" | Large-Size Oven Bag 14" x 20" | Turkey-Size Oven Bag 19" x 23 1/2" | ||
Whole turkey (unstuffed) | 8 - 12 lbs. | 1 1/2 - 2 hours | ||
Whole turkey (unstuffed) | 12 - 16 lbs. | 2 - 2 1/2 hours | ||
Whole turkey (unstuffed) | 16 - 20 lbs. | 2 1/2 - 3 hours | ||
Whole turkey (unstuffed) | 20 - 24 lbs. | 3 - 3 1/2 hours | ||
Whole turkey (stuffed) | 8 - 12 lbs. | 2 - 2 1/2 hours | ||
Whole turkey (stuffed) | 12 - 16 lbs. | 2 1/2 - 3 hours | ||
Whole turkey (stuffed) | 16 - 20 lbs. | 3 - 3 1/2 hours | ||
Whole turkey (stuffed) | 20 - 24 lbs. | 3 1/2 - 4 hours | ||
Turkey breast (bone-in) | 4 - 8 lbs. | 1 1/4 - 2 hours | ||
Turkey breast (bone-in) | 10 - 12 lbs. | 2 1/4 - 2 3/4 hours | ||
Turkey breast (boneless) | 2 1/2 - 3 lbs. | 1 1/4-1 3/4 hours | ||
Turkey breast (boneless) | 5 lbs. | 2-2 1/4 hours | ||
Turkey breast (boneless) | 8 - 12 lbs. | 3 - 3 1/2 hours | ||
Turkey drumsticks | 1 1/2 - 2 lbs. | 1 1/2-1 3/4 hours | ||
Turkey drumsticks | 2 - 3 lbs. | 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 hours | ||
Chicken pieces | 2 - 2 1/4 lbs. | 45 - 50 minutes | ||
Chicken pieces | 2 3/4 - 3 lbs. | 45 - 50 minutes | ||
Chicken thighs | 1/2 - 1 1/2 lbs. | 35 - 40 minutes | ||
Chicken thighs | 1 1/2 - 2 1/4 lbs. | 35 - 40 minutes | ||
Chicken drumsticks | 1 - 1 1/2 lbs. | 35 - 40 minutes | ||
Chicken drumsticks | 2 - 2 1/2 lbs. | 35 - 40 minutes | ||
Chicken breast half (bone-in) | 1 1/2 - 2 lbs. | 40 - 45 minutes | ||
Chicken breast half (bone-in) | 2 - 2 1/2 lbs. | 40 - 45 minutes | ||
Chicken breast half (boneless) | 3/4 - 1 lbs. | 25 - 30 minutes | ||
Chicken breast half (boneless) | 1 - 1 1/2 lbs. | 25 - 30 minutes | ||
Whole chicken | 3 1/2 - 4 lbs. | 1 - 1 1/4 hours | ||
Whole chicken | 5 - 7 lbs. | 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 hours | ||
Cornish hens | 1 1/2 - 3 1/2 lbs. | 40 - 45 minutes | ||
Cornish hens | 4 - 7 lbs. | 55 - 60 minutes | ||
Oven Bag Instructions: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Add 1 tablespoon flour to the oven bag and distribute evenly on the inside of the bag prior to inserting the poultry. Brush the poultry with vegetable oil or butter. Remove the poultry from the oven when the meat thermometer reaches 180°F. If using a turkey-size oven bag for poultry smaller than 12 lbs., gather the oven bag loosely around the meat allowing room for heat circulation; then close the bag with a nylon tie, and cut away any excess oven bag. |