‘Tis the season for apple cider…and apple cider recipes!
After making these delicious caramel apple cider cookies earlier this month, I thought it would be fun to make some sort of main dish with my favorite homemade apple cider. So after picking up some simple (and very inexpensive!) ingredients, I ended up with this amazing apple cider baked chicken recipe!
It only takes about ten minutes to prep (perfect before work in the morning), and then after marinating all day, you just pop everything in the oven. And voila! This simple and healthy dish — celebrating the goodness of baked apples, chicken, potatoes, lemons and herbs — will be ready to go.
(And did I mention that your home will smell absolutely amazing?!?)
Definitely a fantastic meal to bookmark for apple cider season!
Apple Cider Baked Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 large onion, peeled and cut into eighths
- 1 large lemon, sliced into thin rounds
- 2 cups apple cider, homemade or storebought
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme, plus more for garnish
- 2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp. Dijon mustard
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 6-8 chicken legs or thighs
- 2 large apples, each sliced into eighths
- 1 lb. small, red or Yukon Gold potatoes, halved
Instructions
- Place a gallon size heavy-duty zip-top bag into a large bowl. Place the onion and next 10 ingredients into the zip-top bag, combining well. Add the chicken to the marinade. Close the bag, place in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange the chicken pieces in a large roasting pan skin-side up. Pour all of the marinade, including onions and lemons over and around the pieces. Tuck the apples and potatoes around the chicken. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring once halfway through to re-coat everything with the marinade.
- Arrange chicken and potatoes on a platter and sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves.
Notes
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!Ali’s Tip:
Feel free to add some mushrooms, red peppers and/or other favorite vegetables to this!
Source:
Adapted from the U.S. Apple Association.
I know it might be a little late in the season for this dish but I had to try it and it was definitely good. I used my cast iron skillet, just like in the picture, that thing is amazing, I love it! Any way, I followed the recipe exactly as posted except that I doubled the apple cider vinegar because I’m a vinegar fan and I wanted to taste it a bit more. All in all this is a great recipe, nice mix of flavors and perfect to prepare the night before or in the morning and fix for dinner later on.
Yum, thanks!
I made this last month and loved it. I could not get enough of the baked lemons. My largest pan is 9×13, which is not large enough, so I cooked my potatoes separate and added them at the end. I don’t know if everyone else loved it as much I did, but I’m going to make it again this weekend away.
I made this dish for my fiance and we both loved it!! It was wonderful – the perfect meal for a crisp fall day. Thank you for sharing!!
I made this and it was delicious, but a little too sweet. I think I would up the cider vinegar next time to give it more contrast. Also, it didn’t look nearly as pretty as yours! My apples turned to mush, and I had to throw the potatoes into the oven by themselves to cook a little more. All in all, I’d say it was good, but maybe I did something differently than you. :(
Made this last week. The smell was awesome but the taste didn’t really live up to my expectations :( It was a bit too sweet and the potatoes was just not really necessary. If I had to make this again, I would omit the potatoes.. thicken up the sauce and make it a bit more savory and serve it with rice.
Looks so delicious and easy to make!
What kind of apple would you recommend? Looks great !
That. Looks. So. Good. I’m. Freaking. Out. A. Little. Bit.
Bet this would be awesome with a pork loin too! Thanks for posting!
Total comfort food and I love a one pot meal! Especially one that you can prepare in the morning and throw together just before dinner. What a lovely combination and perfect for fall.