How long does it take to cook chicken pieces

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.

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.

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.

Comments

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This simple chicken recipe is, far and away, the easiest way to cook our favorite poultry that I know. You hardly need a recipe: just toss a mix of chicken breasts, thighs, and drumsticks with a bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper, then roast for about a half an hour. No flipping, no fussing, no nothing — and you can pile everything on a serving tray without the bother of pulling out the carving board. So smart.

This is the kind of recipe that belongs in your core arsenal as a home cook. It’s perfect for a crowd or when you want to cook a bunch of chicken for meals during the week, and it’s very easy to mix it up with fun spices or marinades. Here’s our step-by-step recipe for roasting chicken pieces.

Why This Method Works

As much as I love roasting a whole chicken, I’ve found that it’s not always the best if you’re cooking for more than a few people or if you want leftovers for other meals. In so many ways, roasting a bunch of chicken pieces is so much more practical — it’s faster (only taking about 30 minutes), everyone gets what they want (no fighting over drumsticks), there’s no carving required, and there are plenty of leftovers. You can also buy a bunch of chicken pieces when they’re on sale, stash them in the freezer, and then quickly thaw and roast for an easy weeknight dinner.

You can use a mix of chicken breasts, thighs, and drumsticks, or just cover a whole sheet pan filled with your favorite. With thighs and drumsticks, you can buy bone-in, skin-on pieces or boneless, skinless pieces; the meat is rich and fatty enough to cook fine either way.

If you’re cooking chicken breasts, however, definitely buy bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts.Boneless, skinless chicken breasts just become dry and stringy with this cooking method. For juicy results, you’re much better off baking skinless chicken breasts in parchment paper.

How Long to Cook Chicken Pieces

Cooking time is generally 20 to 30 minutes, or until the chicken registers 165°F in the thickest part. Amazingly, all the chicken pieces wind up cooking at about the same rate — dark meat pieces cook a bit slower than white meat, but the thickness of the breast meat means everything finishes around the same time.

If the chicken finishes cooking before the skin is as crispy as you like it, run the baking sheet under the broiler for a few minutes. This will get the skin golden and crispy without severely overcooking the meat.

Ways to Switch It Up

The recipe below is very basic — just olive oil, salt, and pepper. It’s fantastic, but if you make chicken on any regular basis, you’ll want to switch things up. You can marinate the chicken in a bit of olive oil and vinegar, or throw in any blend of spices that strikes your fancy. A few of our favorite combinations are in the box below.

You can also roast some vegetables along with the chicken for a very easy sheet-pan dinner. The vegetables roast in the chicken fat and juices, becoming tender and oh-so-succulent. Use less chicken (around 3 pounds) to be sure there’s enough room on the tray for the veggies. I love doing this with butternut squash, potatoes, broccoli, and cauliflower.

Favorite Additions to Make Basic Chicken Amazing

• Minced garlic + cider vinegar + fresh rosemary + honey
• Honey + mustard
• Lemon + minced garlic
• Honey + chili powder + cider vinegar
• Yogurt + cumin + coriander
• Soy sauce + miso + ginger + minced garlic + sesame oil