If you love spiced apple cider and jump for joy at the thought of a quick & easy chicken dinner, you’ll flip for this generously spiced apple cider chicken dish. It’s wonderfully savory, and has a kiss of sweetness from the apple cider and brown sugar. FALL IN LOVE!
Here’s Why You’ll Love This Apple Cider Chicken
Quick and easy 1-pan meal Extra tender, juicy chicken Basically fall in a skillet 😉 Cozy warm spices with salty, sweet, and savory flavors Apple cider and butter obviously make a delicious pan sauce Undeniably crowd pleasing, so you’ll want to make again and again
If there’s one stand-out meal you make during the fall season… one that will have everyone talking and demanding you make on repeat… it’s this. See my list of 30 delicious fall dinner recipe ideas for even more inspiration. The best part of this dish, obviously besides its ease and the FABULOUS apple cider pan sauce, is the robust mix of spices. I adapted this dish from a Cooking Light recipe I found, and added quite a bit more spice so the flavors really stand out. If you’ve made this maple-roasted squash kale salad before, you already have most of these spices in your kitchen! You also need chicken, a little butter and olive oil, a touch of brown sugar, apples (no need to peel), shallots, and… the star of the show… apple cider. Be sure to use apple cider, the nonalcoholic beverage, and not apple cider vinegar. You’ll be deeply disappointed with that mistake! A little tip: Fresh apple cider typically appears in grocery stores and farm markets around late summer, but can get harder to find by the end of the year. To ensure I can make this cozy recipe all throughout the winter, I like to freeze some apple cider in an ice cube tray, then defrost a couple of frozen cider cubes whenever I want to make it. You can also use it to make this baked apple cider French toast and honeycrisp apple sangria throughout the season. Or try making your own homemade apple cider!
Success Tip: Use Chicken Thighs Instead of Chicken Breasts
Start the Chicken, Then Make the Pan Sauce
Ideally, you want a pretty big skillet for this recipe, and I usually use my 12-inch cast-iron skillet. This is the same skillet I use to make creamy garlic chicken and walnut crusted chicken. If your skillet is small, you can cook the chicken in batches. You can also use a Dutch oven. But for best results with this recipe, I strongly recommend chicken thighs. Sprinkle the spice mixture on both sides of the chicken thighs, then cook the chicken in a little oil, flipping once, until both sides are golden-brown and the internal temperature has reached 165°F (74°C). Remove the chicken and set aside. Add the butter to the pan (don’t wipe it out first—you want the flavorful spices and drippings from the chicken in there for the pan sauce!), and swirl to coat. Add the apple and shallot slices and sprinkle with the remaining salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until they start to soften. Pour in the apple cider, and cook until the apples are crisp-tender, and the sauce has thickened a bit. Finish up by adding the cooked chicken back to the pan—just for a couple minutes, to warm it back up and mix everything together. The process is a lot like my reader-favorite cilantro lime chicken and this creamy lemon thyme chicken (one of my all-time best dishes!). I like to garnish the dish with more thyme, plus some fresh rosemary if I have it on hand. To serve, place the chicken thighs on plates, then top each piece of chicken with a big scoop of apples and shallots, along with that delicious apple cider pan sauce. My best apples for baking also applies here. 😉
What to Serve With Apple Cider Chicken
But this apple cider chicken is also tasty with potatoes or sweet potatoes, a fresh green salad, dinner rolls or brown butter sage dinner rolls, asiago-crusted skillet bread, sweet potato dinner rolls, or cornbread. If you’re feeding a larger crowd and want some more substantial side dish options, try green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, mushroom puff pastry tarts, or zucchini casserole. Have leftover apples on your hands? Try apple cobbler or apple turnovers for dessert!
