This easy Cranberry Chicken combines juicy chicken thighs with a sweet and tangy cranberry sauce, fresh cranberries, balsamic vinegar and thyme. It's a simple, high-protein chicken dinner that looks impressive enough for Christmas but is easy enough to make for a midweek meal.
I love recipes like this during December, when there always seems to be so much going on. It has all those lovely festive flavours without needing hours in the kitchen, and the cranberry sauce is perfect for spooning over a big portion of creamy mashed potatoes.
This is one I tend to save for a festive date night or when we're having friends over, rather than our usual family dinners. It feels a little bit special without requiring much extra effort.
Recipe update: This recipe was originally published on 30 November 2020 and was fully retested in October 2026 to check the cooking time and ingredient quantities. The original recipe still worked well, but I've expanded the instructions, tips and FAQs.
For some more festive chicken recipes, try our Christmas roast chicken or our ham and chicken pie.
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Why You'll Love It
- Perfect for Christmas - The fresh cranberries and thyme make this a lovely festive chicken dinner, whether you're entertaining or want something different from turkey.
- Easy to make - Just brown the chicken, blend the cranberry sauce ingredients and finish everything in the oven.
- High in protein - Using chicken thighs makes this a filling, protein-rich meal, with plenty of flavour.
- Delicious sauce - The combination of cranberry sauce, balsamic vinegar and maple syrup gives you a rich, sweet and tangy sauce that's perfect with potatoes or vegetables.
Recipe Overview
- Cooking method: Brown the chicken thighs in a frying pan, then finish them in the oven with the cranberry sauce.
- Flavour: Sweet and tangy cranberry and balsamic sauce, balanced with garlic and fresh thyme.
- Servings: Makes 3 generous portions using 6 chicken thighs (2 per person).
- Equipment: You'll need a large frying pan, a blender and an ovenproof dish big enough to hold the chicken in a single layer. A meat thermometer is also useful.
Ingredients and Substitutions
A full ingredients list, along with US Customary and Metric measurements, can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Chicken thighs - We use bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs as they have plenty of flavour and stay lovely and juicy. You can use skinless thighs or chicken breasts instead, but you will need to adjust the cooking time.
- Cranberry sauce - This forms the base of the sauce. Smooth, chunky or homemade cranberry sauce will all work, as everything gets blended together.
- Fresh cranberries - These add little bursts of tartness and make the finished dish look beautiful. Frozen cranberries work too, or you can leave them out if you're making this outside cranberry season.
- Balsamic vinegar - Adds depth of flavour and balances the sweetness of the cranberry sauce. Use a balsamic vinegar that you enjoy the flavour of.
- Maple syrup - Adds sweetness to balance the tart cranberries. You can adjust the amount depending on your cranberry sauce.
- Chicken stock - Loosens the cranberry sauce to make a gravy-like consistency. Vegetable stock works too, and reduced-salt stock is a good option when cooking for younger children.
- Garlic - Adds savoury flavour to balance the sweetness.
- Fresh thyme - Gives the chicken a lovely herby flavour and adds a festive finish. Fresh rosemary also works really well.
- Olive oil, salt and pepper - For browning and seasoning the chicken.
How To Make Cranberry Chicken
- Prep: Preheat your oven to 190°C/170°C fan/375°F/Gas 5.
- Brown the chicken: Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the chicken thighs, skin-side down, and cook for 3 minutes. Turn them over and cook for another 2 minutes to brown both sides.
- Make the cranberry sauce: Add the cranberry sauce, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, garlic, chicken stock, salt and pepper to a blender. Blend until smooth.
- Add the sauce: Pour half of the cranberry sauce mixture into an ovenproof dish.
- Add the chicken: Arrange the browned chicken thighs in the dish in a single layer.
- Add the sauce and cranberries: Add the remaining cranberry sauce, fresh cranberries and thyme around the chicken, spooning some sauce over the meat.
- Cook: Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked. The thickest part of each thigh should reach 75°C/167°F, without the thermometer touching the bone. Larger thighs may need longer.
- Allow to rest: Leave the chicken to rest for a few minutes, then serve with the cranberry sauce spooned over the top. Remove any woody thyme stalks before serving.
Cranberry Chicken Variations
Add vegetables: For some extra vegetables, fry a few sliced shallots, mushrooms and spinach, then add them beneath the chicken in the baking dish. Stick to vegetables that cook quickly, rather than raw root vegetables, which need much longer in the oven.
Make it in the slow cooker: You can also adapt this recipe for the slow cooker. Brown the chicken first, then add it to the slow cooker with the cranberry sauce mixture, fresh cranberries and thyme.
Reduce the amount of stock, as liquid won't evaporate in the same way. Use around 80ml/⅓ cup. Cook on high for approximately 3-4 hours, checking that the chicken reaches 75°C/167°F. The skin will be softer than with the oven method.
Serving Suggestions
We originally served this cranberry chicken with our creamy mashed potatoes and slow cooker green beans. The mashed potatoes are especially good because they soak up all that lovely cranberry sauce.
For an easy dinner, you could also serve it with Instant Pot mashed potatoes, vegetable mash or baked carrot fries. Add some garlic spring greens or roasted tenderstem broccoli for extra vegetables.
For a Christmas dinner, serve it with some of our favourite festive side dishes:
- Easy roast potatoes - Crispy roast potatoes are always a winner with the cranberry gravy.
- Slow cooker red cabbage - A lovely festive side that can be prepared ahead.
- Roasted Brussels sprouts with garlic - Perfect if you want some extra greens.
- Honey roasted parsnips - Their sweetness goes really well with the tart cranberries.
- Air fryer stuffing balls - An easy way to add a traditional Christmas side.
- Easy cauliflower cheese - A creamy, comforting addition to a festive dinner.
If oven space is limited at Christmas, our air fryer roast potatoes or slow cooker roast potatoes are useful alternatives.
Storage and Leftovers
Store: Allow the cooked chicken to cool and transfer it to an airtight container, along with the cranberry sauce. Refrigerate within 2 hours and eat within 2 days.
Freeze: The cooked chicken can be frozen with the cranberry sauce in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months for best quality. Allow it to cool before freezing.
Defrost: Defrost thoroughly in the fridge overnight before reheating.
Reheat: Reheat the chicken and sauce in a covered ovenproof dish or in the microwave until steaming hot throughout. Add a splash of stock if the sauce has thickened too much. Only reheat leftovers once.
Leftovers: This cranberry chicken makes a delicious festive sandwich. Remove the meat from the bones and add it to some crusty bread with brie, rocket and a little extra cranberry sauce.
You can also serve the cold cooked chicken over spinach and watercress with crumbled goat's cheese, fresh cranberries and pine nuts, provided it has been stored and cooled safely.
Dannii's Top Tips
- Choose your cranberry sauce - Smooth or chunky cranberry sauce both work because the sauce is blended before cooking. Homemade cranberry sauce is fine too.
- Balance the sweetness - Taste the blended sauce before adding it to the chicken. If your cranberry sauce is very tart, add a little more maple syrup to taste.
- Add orange zest - A little finely grated orange zest blended into the sauce gives this cranberry chicken an extra festive flavour.
- Swap the herbs - Fresh rosemary works just as well as thyme. You could also use a mixture of the two.
- Use reduced-salt stock - Chicken stock adds flavour, but vegetable stock works too. Reduced-salt stock is a useful option if you are serving younger children.
- Brown the chicken first - This gives the skin more colour and flavour. You can skip this step and cook the chicken entirely in the oven, but the skin won't brown as well and the cooking time may be longer.
- For more golden skin - Try to keep some of the sauce around the chicken rather than completely covering the skin. Once coated in sauce, the skin will naturally soften.
Troubleshooting Guide
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Sauce is too thin | The stock and chicken juices haven't reduced enough during cooking. | Transfer the sauce to a saucepan and simmer until thickened. Alternatively, add a little cornflour mixed with cold water and simmer until thickened. |
| Sauce is too tart or too sweet | Cranberry sauces vary in sweetness, and fresh cranberries can be quite sharp. | If too tart, add a little more maple syrup. If too sweet, add a small splash of balsamic vinegar. Taste and adjust gradually. |
| Chicken skin is soft | The skin has been covered in sauce while baking. | Brown the chicken well first and keep most of the sauce around, rather than over, the skin. It won't be as crispy as roast chicken without sauce. |
| Sauce is getting too dark | The sugars in the cranberry sauce and maple syrup are catching around the edges of the dish. | Add a splash of stock and loosely cover with foil if the chicken needs longer to cook. |
| Chicken isn't cooked after 30 minutes | The thighs are larger or thicker than those used in the recipe. | Return to the oven and continue cooking until the thickest part reaches 75°C/167°F, without the thermometer touching the bone. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Boneless chicken breasts are a good alternative if you prefer a leaner cut of chicken. They will cook differently from bone-in thighs, so adjust the cooking time and use a meat thermometer to make sure they are cooked through without drying out. Boneless chicken thighs are another option if you don't want to deal with bones.
Frozen cranberries work well and can be added to the baking dish instead of fresh ones. You can also leave the fresh cranberries out entirely, as the cranberry sauce provides plenty of flavour. One of our readers has successfully used dried cranberries instead. Dried cranberries are usually sweeter and have a chewier texture, so start with a smaller amount rather than replacing the fresh cranberries gram for gram.
You can blend the cranberry sauce ingredients ahead of time and keep the mixture covered in the fridge for up to 24 hours. For the best result, brown and bake the chicken just before serving, as reheating can soften the skin and dry out the meat. If you do cook it ahead, cool it promptly, refrigerate it and reheat thoroughly with the cranberry sauce until steaming hot throughout.
Absolutely. Homemade cranberry sauce works just as well as shop-bought. Depending on how sweet or tart your sauce is, you might need to adjust the maple syrup slightly.
More Cranberry Recipes
If you've tried this cranberry chicken recipe, let us know how you got on in the comments below.
Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy and use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.
Recipe
Cranberry Chicken
Recipe Video
Ingredients
- 900 g (2 lb) of Chicken thighs - bone-in, skin on - (about 150g/5¼oz each)
- 180 g (⅔ cup) of Cranberry sauce
- 150 g (1 ½ cups) of fresh cranberries
- 2 Garlic cloves
- 10 g (¼ cup) of Fresh thyme
- 2 tablespoons of Olive oil
- 80 ml (⅓ cup) of Balsamic vinegar
- 120 ml (½ cup) of Chicken stock - use gluten-free stock if needed
- 2 tablespoons of Maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon of Fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon of Ground black pepper
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat your oven to 190°C/170°C fan/375°F/Gas 5.
- Brown the chicken: Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the chicken thighs, skin-side down, and cook for 3 minutes. Turn them over and cook for another 2 minutes to brown both sides.
- Make the cranberry sauce: Add the cranberry sauce, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, garlic, chicken stock, salt and pepper to a blender. Blend until smooth.
- Add the sauce: Pour half of the cranberry sauce mixture into an ovenproof dish.
- Add the chicken: Arrange the browned chicken thighs in the dish in a single layer.
- Add the sauce and cranberries: Add the remaining cranberry sauce, fresh cranberries and thyme around the chicken, spooning some sauce over the meat.
- Cook: Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked. The thickest part of each thigh should reach 75°C/167°F, without the thermometer touching the bone. Larger thighs may need longer.
- Allow to rest: Leave the chicken to rest for a few minutes, then serve with the cranberry sauce spooned over the top. Remove any woody thyme stalks before serving.
Recipe Notes
- Choose your cranberry sauce - Smooth or chunky cranberry sauce both work because the sauce is blended before cooking. Homemade cranberry sauce is fine too.
- Balance the sweetness - Taste the blended sauce before adding it to the chicken. If your cranberry sauce is very tart, add a little more maple syrup to taste.
- Add orange zest - A little finely grated orange zest blended into the sauce gives this cranberry chicken an extra festive flavour.
- Swap the herbs - Fresh rosemary works just as well as thyme. You could also use a mixture of the two.
- Use reduced-salt stock - Chicken stock adds flavour, but vegetable stock works too. Reduced-salt stock is a useful option if you are serving younger children.
- Brown the chicken first - This gives the skin more colour and flavour. You can skip this step and cook the chicken entirely in the oven, but the skin won't brown as well and the cooking time may be longer.
- For more golden skin - Try to keep some of the sauce around the chicken rather than completely covering the skin. Once coated in sauce, the skin will naturally soften.
- Check the temperature - Chicken thigh sizes vary, so use a meat thermometer to check that the thickest part has reached 75°C/167°F. Don't rely on the colour of the cranberry sauce or juices.
- If the sauce is too thin - Transfer the finished sauce to a small saucepan and simmer for a few minutes to reduce it. For a thicker gravy, stir in a little cornflour mixed with cold water and simmer until thickened.
- Watch the sauce towards the end - Cranberry sauce and maple syrup contain sugar, so check the dish towards the end of cooking, especially if your oven runs hot. If the sauce is reducing too quickly, add a splash of stock.
Nutritional Information
Where nutritional information is provided, it is approximate and calculated using online tools. Values can vary depending on the ingredients and brands used, but we endeavour to be as accurate as possible.
All timings are a guide and may vary depending on the ingredients, equipment and, where relevant, the appliance used. Changing the serving size may also affect the time needed.
Emily Dennick says
Would this work in a slow cooker?
Dannii says
Yes, it would but you would need to reduce the amount of liquid used as it doesn't cook off in the slow cooker.
Tammy says
Absolutely divine
I used juicy infused dried cranberries instead of fresh… delishcious
Debbbie says
Looking forward to trying this it looks delicious. One small point though, your method does not state what to do with the maple syrup and garlic? Video confirms my assumption it goes into gravy.
Dannii says
Yes, it does. Sorry, will edit that.
Noelle says
Such great flavors added to this chicken! Loved it
rika says
What a great combo. I love chicken and cranberry! Yum!
Beth says
Yum! My wife is going to love this recipe! I can't wait to show her this!
Maria says
That looks scrumptious! Will definitely give it a try this weekend!
Tara says
Such a beautiful meal with all of those cranberries! I love the minimal prep and how the chicken comes together in 30 minutes.
Cathleen says
You just made chicken so much more festive!! I am definitely making this over the holidays, thank you so much for this recipe!!
Ben M says
This recipe tastes really good and it is such a great recipe for celebrating cooler months and getting the most out of those cranberries. It looks beautiful and tastes really good. Thanks for sharing.
Michelle says
Looove this for using up leftover cranberry sauce. Goes so beautifully with the chicken
Kushigalu says
One of the best holiday recipe with cranberries so delicious. Thanks for sharing