How long to cook chicken, by cut and weight
1 hr 15 min to 1 hr 30 min
In the oven at 3:20 pm to serve at 5:00 pm: 1 hr 30 min plus 10 min to stand.
Pounds, with decimals or fractions — 14.5 or 14 1/2. Kilograms work too.
A 4 lb whole broiler-fryer chicken roasts for 1 hr 15 min to 1 hr 30 min in a 350 °F oven, until the innermost thigh reads 165 °F.
Source: USDA FSIS, Chicken from Farm to Table, read Oct 6, 2026.
The times are the USDA FSIS roasting chart at 350 °F, read as printed: a whole bird as a total range for its size class, not a figure per pound. Dinner at 5:00 pm with a 4 lb whole broiler-fryer chicken means the oven at 3:20 pm, counting the top of the range and a 10-minute rest. The pieces — bone-in breast halves, drumsticks, legs or thighs, wings — are fixed ranges in the chart below, each cooked to 165 °F.
How the time is worked out
- Oven at 350 °F for every cut on the chart.
- Done at 165 °F in the innermost part of the thigh and wing and the thickest part of the breast, measured with a food thermometer.
- Whole birds: the chart gives one total time range for the size class, not minutes per pound; a 3 to 4 lb broiler-fryer and a 5 to 7 lb roasting hen each have their own range.
- Standing time of 10 minutes for bone-in chicken, 5 minutes for a boneless breast; the oven time counts 10 minutes of rest.
- The oven time uses the top of the range plus the rest, rounded back to 5 minutes: a bird that is done early can wait, a late one cannot.
- Pieces are fixed ranges in the chart: bone-in breast halves, drumsticks, legs or thighs and wings, each to 165 °F.
USDA FSIS chart: approximate chicken cooking times at 350 °F
Roasting at 350 °F, to 165 °F, as FSIS prints the chart: whole birds as a total range by size, pieces as a fixed range.
| Chicken | Size | Roasting time | Done at |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whole broiler-fryer | 3 to 4 lb | 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 | 165 °F |
| Whole roasting hen | 5 to 7 lb | 2 to 2 1/4 | 165 °F |
| Breast halves, bone-in | 6 to 8 oz | 30 to 40 minutes | 165 °F |
| Drumsticks | 4 oz | 35 to 45 minutes | 165 °F |
| Legs or thighs | 4 to 8 oz | 40 to 50 minutes | 165 °F |
| Wings or wingettes | 2 to 3 oz | 30 to 40 minutes | 165 °F |
Where these numbers come from
The chart is USDA FSIS, Chicken from Farm to Table (fsis.usda.gov), read on October 6, 2026; FSIS last updated that page on September 30, 2024. What this page takes from it: Approximate chicken cooking times at 350 °F: whole broiler-fryer and roasting hen as a total range by size, and bone-in breast halves, drumsticks, legs or thighs and wings as fixed ranges, cooked to 165 °F. The figures are copied as printed; the calculator multiplies by your weight, rounds to 5 minutes and counts back from your serving time.
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