Cranberry Chicken

5 from 18 votes

A simple and tasty chicken dish, with all flavours of Christmas. Crispy chicken thighs smothered in a cranberry "gravy" with bursts of fresh cranberries and thyme.

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Total Time35 mins

Course: Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: British, Christmas

Diet: Gluten Free

Allergen: Meat, Sulphites

Servings: servings

Calories: 692kcal

Author: Dannii

Ingredients

6 chicken thighs (about 150g/5oz each)
180 g cranberry sauce
150 g fresh cranberries
2 garlic cloves
10 g fresh thyme
2 tablespoon olive oil
80 ml balsamic vinegar
100 ml chicken stock
2 tablespoon maple syrup
1 pinch sea salt and black pepper

UK Metric Measures - US Customary Measures

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas 5.
Heat the oil in a large frying and add the chicken, skin side down and cook for 2 minutes. Turn the chicken thighs over and cook for a further 2 minutes.
2 tablespoon olive oil, 6 chicken thighs
Put the cranberry sauce, balsamic, maple syrup, garlic, stock and salt and pepper in to a blender and blend until smooth.
180 g cranberry sauce, 2 garlic cloves, 80 ml balsamic vinegar, 100 ml chicken stock, 2 tablespoon maple syrup, 1 pinch sea salt and black pepper
Pour half the sauce in to an ovenproof dish.
Add the chicken to the dish.
Top with the rest of the sauce, the fresh cranberries and thyme.
150 g fresh cranberries, 10 g fresh thyme

Video

Notes

You can use a chunky cranberry sauce with whole cranberries, or smooth one. It doesn't really matter because it is all going to be blended anyway.
Add some extra flavour with some grated orange zest added at the same time as the cranberry sauce.
We used chicken stock for this dish, however you could use vegetable stock instead. If you are making this for younger kids, then use a reduced salt stock.
You could swap the thyme for fresh rosemary instead.
Test the cranberry sauce before you add it to the dish. If it is still a little too tart for you, you could add some more maple syrup and blend it up again.
Use a meat thermometer to ensure that your chicken is cooked fully throughout.
You could skip the first steps of frying the chicken and just do it all in the oven. You wouldn't get as crispy skin and cooking times would vary.

Nutrition