Roasted Cinnamon Chicken & Sweet Potatoes

The cinnamon against chicken fat and olive oil it turns deep and savory, closer to what it does in a Greek kapama or a good stifado. Paired with cumin, it gives you a roast that smells extraordinary from the moment it goes in the oven. This is a genuinely a one-pan dinner: season, cover, roast, uncover, done!

What cooks say: “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!”

Dave (geeky daddy)

Chicken.

A whole roasting chicken, about 4–5 lb / 1.8–2.2 kg. Keep the skin on, it protects the breast during the long roast and crisps beautifully once the foil comes off.

You can also use a cut-up whole chicken, bone-in thighs and legs, or Cornish hens (one per person). Boneless cuts work but will finish well ahead of the sweet potatoes; see the notes below.

Sweet potatoes. About 2 lb / 900 g, cut into large 1½-inch chunks. Big pieces matter — smaller ones collapse over a nearly two-hour roast.

You want enough to fit snugly around the bird so they sit in the fat and spiced oil rather than drying out. Garnet sweet potatoes (sometimes sold as finger yams) work well and are a little less sweet.

Extra virgin olive oil. Half a cup sounds generous and it is.

It’s doing double duty — carrying the spices into the skin and basting the sweet potatoes from below. Use good oil; you’ll taste it.

Cinnamon. The star ingredient.

Ground, and fresher is noticeably better, cinnamon that’s been open for two years tastes like dust. Start with 2 tablespoons total and work your way up to 3 once you know you like it. Three is how we make it at home, but it’s a bold amount and there’s no reason to commit on the first try.

Cumin. Ground.

It keeps the cinnamon from reading as sweet. Ground coriander is a decent substitute, or leave it out, the dish still works. Sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

Salt the cavity as well as the skin; it seasons the bird from the inside as it roasts. STEP 1. STEP 1.

Season the chicken. Heat the oven to 400°F / 200°C.

Pat the chicken dry. Rub it all over with half the olive oil, then season with 1 teaspoon sea salt, 1½–2 tablespoons ground cinnamon and 1 teaspoon ground cumin. Work the oil and spices into every fold and crease.

Season the cavity with ½ teaspoon salt and a good grind of pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine.

STEP 2. Season the sweet potatoes. Cut them into large 1½-inch chunks and put them in a bowl.

Add the remaining olive oil, ½–1 tablespoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon cumin and ½ teaspoon sea salt. Toss until every piece is coated.

STEP 3. Build the pan.

Set the chicken in a roasting pan and pack the sweet potatoes snugly around it. Snug is the goal — gaps mean dry edges.

STEP 4. Roast covered. Cover the pan tightly with foil and roast for 60 minutes.

STEP 5. Uncover and finish. Remove the foil and roast another 40–50 minutes, until the skin is deep golden and crisp and the sweet potatoes are soft.

The chicken is done when an instant-read thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh, not touching bone, reads 165°F / 75°C. STEP 6.

Rest. Let the chicken rest 10–15 minutes before carving. Spoon the pan juices over everything when you serve.

• Start at two tablespoons of cinnamon. If you’ve never cooked chicken with cinnamon before, use 2 tablespoons the first time and go up to 3 once you know you like where it lands. Both amounts work; 3 is just louder.
• Use a thermometer, not the clock. Roasting times swing by 20 minutes or more depending on the weight of the bird and how your oven runs. 165°F / 75°C in the thickest part of the thigh is the only reliable signal.
• Cut the sweet potatoes big. Anything smaller than 1½ inches will fall apart over a long roast. You want chunks that hold their shape and go creamy inside.
• Don’t skip the covered hour. The foil traps steam and keeps the breast from drying out while the sweet potatoes soften. The crisping happens later, uncovered.
• Pack the pan snugly. Sweet potatoes sitting in the fat and spiced oil roast; sweet potatoes sitting in empty pan space dry out.
• Buy fresh cinnamon. Ground cinnamon fades fast. If yours has been open more than a year, the whole dish will taste flat no matter how much you use.
• Save the pan juices. Spiced chicken fat and olive oil with sweet potato starch in it — spoon it over everything, and put out bread.
• Refrigerate: Carve the chicken off the bone and store it with the sweet potatoes in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
• Reheat: Warm on a tray at 350°F / 180°C for 15–20 minutes. A splash of the reserved pan juices keeps the meat from drying out.
• Freeze: Carved chicken and sweet potatoes freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then reheat in the oven — the microwave turns the sweet potatoes watery.
• Make ahead: You can rub and season the chicken up to 24 hours ahead and keep it covered in the fridge. It roasts better for it. Season the sweet potatoes just before they go in the pan.
• Leftover ideas: Shred the chicken into a pita with yogurt and red onion, or fold it and the sweet potatoes into a grain bowl with lemon and herbs.
• MAKE IT A HOLIDAY TABLE. The cinnamon-and-cumin aroma is close enough to a Thanksgiving kitchen that we’ve served this in place of turkey more than once, and cooked it in July just to get the feeling back. If you’re building a full festive spread, our Roasted Turkey Legs and Thighs works alongside it.
• SALAD. a traditional Greek lettuce salad-maroulosalata or horta-Greek boiled greens for a simple yet delicious dinner.
• MAKE IT FAMILY-STYLE. Serve fabulous kalitsounia-Cretan savory hand pies, marinated olives with feta, warm bread with olive oil, and tasty dolmadakia-stuffed grape leaves on the dinner table.
• FOR DESSERT. Finish dinner with Greek coffee and a sweet and savory cheese phyllo pastry from Chania.

Equipment

• large roasting pan
• aluminum foil
• kitchen twine
• Instant-read thermometer

Ingredients

• 1 whole roasting chicken, about 4–5 lb / 1.8–2.2 kg
• 3-4 sweet potatoes, about 2 lb / 900 g, cut into 1½-inch chunks
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 2–3 tablespoons ground cinnamon, divided — start with 2 and work up to 3
• 1½ tablespoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons sea salt, divided
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Instructions

• Heat the oven to 400°F / 200°C.
• Pat the chicken dry. Rub it all over with half the olive oil, then season with 1 teaspoon sea salt, 1½–2 tablespoons ground cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon ground cumin, working the oil and spices into every fold. Season the cavity with ½ teaspoon salt and the black pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine.
• Cut the sweet potatoes into 1½-inch chunks. Toss them in a bowl with the remaining olive oil, ½–1 tablespoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon cumin and the remaining ½ teaspoon salt.
• Set the chicken in a roasting pan and pack the sweet potatoes snugly around it.
• Cover the pan tightly with foil and roast for 60 minutes.
• Remove the foil and roast a further 40–50 minutes, until the skin is deep golden and crisp and the sweet potatoes are soft. The chicken is done when an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, without touching bone, reads 165°F / 75°C.
• Rest the chicken for 10–15 minutes before carving. Spoon the pan juices over the chicken and sweet potatoes to serve.

Notes

• CINNAMON: Start with 2 tablespoons total your first time and work up to 3 once you know you like it. Three is how we make it at home, but it’s a bold amount. –
• CHICKEN CUTS: A cut-up whole chicken, bone-in thighs and legs, or Cornish hens (one per person) all work. Bone-in pieces need roughly 50–60 minutes total. Boneless thighs or breasts will finish well before the sweet potatoes — remove them at 165°F / 75°C, cover with foil, and continue roasting the potatoes until tender. –
• CUMIN: Ground coriander substitutes well, or leave it out entirely.
• SWEET POTATOES: Garnet sweet potatoes (also sold as finger yams) work well and are slightly less sweet. Cooking time is the same. Cut everything to 1½ inches — smaller pieces collapse over a long roast. –
• TIMING: Roasting times vary with the weight of the bird and your oven. Use a thermometer rather than the clock.