‘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.
We found this very bland!
I followed the recipe exactly. The chicken roasted perfectly in an 8″x13″ glass pan, uncovered. All the liquid made it so that it wasn’t as brown as roast chicken usually gets, but the chicken did turn out incredibly moist. Couldn’t taste the apples in the meat much at all, but a lot in the potatoes – so much so that my husband jokingly said he couldn’t tell if he was eating a potato or a really soft apple. If I make this again, I will probably leave the potatoes out altogether. Still a nice alternative to my usual olive-oil-and-lemon routine.
In the picture it looks like you used an iron skillet. Was that for the picture or did you bake the chicken in the skillet?
Really want to try this one.
I used 2 bone in chicken breasts (cut in thirds) because that’s what I had. I smelled good, but My family couldn’t taste all the flavors in the marinade, it just tasted a bit sweet and a tad bitter from the lemon.
This is so, so good! The combinations of flavours is nice and refreshing. It’s my two year old’s newest favourite. She was begging for more! An added bonus is that your kitchen smells awesome after cooking. Thanks for the great recipe!
I was searching for chicken and apple cider recipes, and came upon this one. I thought it sounded great…but it ended up being a decidedly disappointing meal. I had halved everything as I was just cooking for myself, WAY too much liquid to add to the roasting pan (I removed most of it about 20 minutes in). And I actually *did* cook the chicken for about 1 hr, 15 min. as the recipe originally suggested (I had ticked up the heat and shortened the cooking time). But if all that liquid had remained in the roasting pan, the chicken skin wouldn’t have browned nor would have the potatoes.
I didn’t get much of an apple cider and/or lemon flavor from either the chicken or potatoes, although the potatoes absorbed some of the liquid and had a bit of flavor. But the chicken was very moist. But I won’t be making this again, I’m afraid.
I am trying this recipe but crock potting it… Let you know how it turns out
Michelle, how did this turn out in the crock pot? I am thinking of doing this tomorrow. How long did you cook it for?
Thanks!
how did crock potting go? I’m curious to try it this way. thanks :)
when the meal goes into the oven should it be covered? Thanks
Oh my god, yum!! I have to try this. Thanks