Roasted Half Chicken with Cherry Sauce
plus Lemon Ricotta Crostini, Mashed Potatoes & Asparagus
- Milk
- Tree Nuts
- Soy
- Wheat
This elegant, cozy Mother's Day meal starts with lemon-ricotta crostini drizzled with honey and sprinkled with pistachios. Meanwhile, a half chicken roasts to juicy perfection along with tender asparagus. A savory cherry pan sauce is drizzled over the chicken along with a side of creamy mashed potatoes—the perfect finishing touch!
Ingredients
3 tablespoon
Sour Cream
(Contains: Milk)
1 unit
Cherry Jam
½ ounce
Pistachios
(Contains: Tree Nuts)
1 unit
Chicken Stock Concentrate
1 unit
Lemon
4 ounce
Ricotta Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
8 ounce
Asparagus
4 teaspoon
Honey
1 unit
Half Chicken
2 unit
Scallions
1 teaspoon
Garlic Powder
1 unit
Demi-Baguette
(Contains: Soy, Wheat)
5 unit
Potatoes
Not included in your delivery
teaspoon (tsp)
Salt
1 teaspoon (tsp)
Olive Oil
2 teaspoon (tsp)
Cooking Oil
2 tablespoon (tbsp)
Butter
(Contains: Milk)
teaspoon (tsp)
Black Pepper
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
-
Adjust rack to middle position (middle and top positions for 4 servings) and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash and dry produce.
-
Slice baguette crosswise into 8 rounds (16 rounds for 4). Zest and quarter lemon. Roughly chop pistachios.
-
Place baguette rounds on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Toast on middle rack until golden, 5-10 minutes.
-
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine ricotta, juice from one lemon wedge (two wedges for 4), and as much lemon zest as you like; season with salt and pepper. Spread toasted baguette rounds with ricotta mixture and drizzle with honey. Garnish with pistachios.
-
Serve lemon ricotta crostini while you finish cooking the rest of the meal.
-
Trim and discard woody bottom ends from asparagus. Dice potatoes into ½-inch pieces. Trim and thinly slice scallions, separating whites from greens.
-
Line a second baking sheet (second and third baking sheets for 4 servings) with aluminum foil.
- Pat chicken* dry with paper towels and season generously all over with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. (TIP: See a feather? Simply grip the end using a paper towel and pull!) Place chicken, skin side up, on one side of prepared baking sheet.
- Roast on middle rack until chicken is cooked through and skin is browned and slightly crispy, 40-50 minutes. TIP: If skin begins to brown too quickly, loosely cover chicken with foil. To ensure chicken is cooked through, insert a thermometer into the innermost part of the thigh and breast (avoiding any bones). Once chicken is cooked, the bones may still appear pink—this is OK!
-
When chicken has 12 minutes left, remove sheet from oven and carefully toss asparagus on empty side of sheet with a drizzle of oil, salt, and pepper. Return to middle rack and roast until chicken is cooked through and asparagus is browned and tender, 10-12 minutes. (For 4 servings, leave chicken roasting on middle rack; toss asparagus on the other prepared baking sheet and roast on top rack.)
-
Meanwhile, place potatoes in a medium pot with enough salted water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil; cook until tender, 10-15 minutes. Reserve ½ cup potato cooking liquid (1 cup for 4), then drain and return potatoes to pot. Add half the sour cream and 1 TBSP butter (2 TBSP for 4); mash with a potato masher or fork, adding splashes of reserved potato cooking liquid as needed, until smooth and creamy. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
-
Keep covered off heat until ready to serve.
-
When chicken is almost done, heat a drizzle of oil in a medium pan over medium-high heat. Add scallion whites and cook, stirring, until softened and fragrant, 1 minute.
-
Stir in jam, stock concentrate, and ¼ cup water (⅓ cup for 4 servings). Cook, stirring, until thickened, 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in remaining sour cream and 1 TBSP butter (2 TBSP for 4). Season with salt and pepper.
-
Sprinkle chicken and mashed potatoes with scallion greens.
-
Serve chicken, asparagus, mashed potatoes, and pan sauce family style.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Sep 2026- Flavor: The cherry pan sauce and lemon ricotta crostini were standout hits 🎉; some found the sauce sweeter than expected, more like a jam than a savory gravy.
- Ease of prep: The meal involves several simultaneous components, so expect a hands-on cook time and significant cleanup.
- Suggestions: If you prefer more meat, consider deboning the chicken before serving or substituting two chicken breasts for easier eating.
- Leftovers: Portions were generous enough for some, but a few found the half chicken light on meat once bones were accounted for.
- Asparagus: Roast asparagus only in the final 10–12 minutes as directed; one reviewer found boiling and finishing with butter also worked beautifully.
Reviews from our home cooks
Amazing. As suggested for Mother's Day. The crostini's were spot on! The cherry sauce was amazing as well. Perfect for a couple to share. Good job Hello Fresh!
The cherry sauce was amazing. Roast chicken was easy and delicious.
This is the third or fourth time I've ordered these half chicken meals, and I seem to be getting a little better at handling the chicken. I wish Hello Fresh would go back to the chicken leg meals--a lot easier to bake and eat. Nevertheless, this was a good mother's day meal.
We enjoyed the taste of this meal and found it easy to cook. The quantity of the meat for most meals is decent for 2 people, but we found the 1/2 chicken was not as filling - mostly because the weight was in the bones - consider adding double meat.
We enjoyed the cherry chicken this evening, and it was wonderful. Instead of roasting the asparagus, I chopped it up and boiled it and then put butter on it. It was amazing!
A little disappointed on the lack of meat on the half of chicken. But it was a great dish!
I think if I do this on my own though, I would not use a 1/2 chicken but two chicken breasts. It was delicious.
I would get it again however I would try cooking the asparagus in the microwave instead of in the oven. In oven they came out as burnt sticks of ash.
It was good but took me a while to prep & cook. But it was very good!
I've really enjoyed these 1/2 chicken meals. Please continue to include them in the weekly menus.
