Cranberry Apricot Chicken
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This apricot chicken made with dried cranberries was an all time favorite of mine growing up! The excitement I have about this chicken recipe is a little over the top but you’ll see why once you try it!
My mom shared with me that this was a recipe my dad fell in love with one year when she made it for him on Valentines Day. Ever since then, we’ve been making it for weeknight dinners!
We are big fans of easy chicken recipes, like this pesto stuffed chicken, healthy orange chicken, and these baked sesame chicken strips.
But I’ve never made anything like this recipe with dried fruit! I love it because it requires such few ingredients but it delivers big on flavor.
It’s a delicious back pocket dinner recipe for busy nights and takes 15 minutes or less to gather ingredients and get on the stove.
Ingredient Notes
Most cranberry chicken or apricot chicken recipes use apricot jam/apricot preserves or dry onion soup mix to make a sauce but this recipe uses just a few simple ingredients to make a tasty sauce!
You can scroll down to the recipe card for the full list of ingredients and measurements.
- Chicken: I’ve only ever made this recipe with boneless, skinless chicken breasts but chicken thighs will work just as well for this recipe too.
- Cranberry Juice: this recipe gets a lot of flavor from the juices. Be sure to use a 100% cranberry juice.
- Orange Juice: freshly squeezed for best flavor, but a store bought juice is just fine in a pinch!
- White wine: a dry white wine works best.
- Chicken broth: more liquid to make the sauce.
- Dried apricots and dried cranberries: I love how the fruit cooks and softens as the chicken is cooking. It’s perfect for spooning over the chicken.
- Orange zest: adds the perfect orange touch!
- Cornstarch: needed to thicken the sauce.
Step by Step Directions
Be sure to scroll down to the recipe card for the full recipe instructions.
- Pour chicken broth, juices, white wine, and zest into a large frying pan. Stir to gently combine.
- Add chicken to pan. Bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to low, cover with a lid and cook for ~20 minutes or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
- Remove chicken to a plate and set aside.
- Bring sauce to a boil. Whisk in cornstarch slurry to thicken sauce. Allow to simmer so sauce can thicken, about 3-5 minutes.
- Spoon sauce over chicken. Serve with rice, couscous and your favorite vegetables.
Tips and Variations
- The cornstarch is key to thickening the sauce. I’ve found 1 Tbsp. cornstarch + 1 Tbsp. water is enough to thicken the sauce to our liking, but feel free to add a little more to get the sauce to the consistency you prefer.
- Use chicken thighs in place of chicken breasts, if preferred. You’ll likely need at least 2 lbs. chicken thighs.
- Serve with roasted broccoli, asparagus, sweet potatoes, couscous, rice pilaf, orzo pasta, dinner salad, etc.
- Seasonings: add salt and pepper as desired and red pepper chili flakes for a spicy finish!
- Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days. It’s delicious to have for leftovers!
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Cranberry Apricot Chicken
Ingredients
- 3-4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
- 1/2 cup cranberry juice
- 1/4 cup dry white wine, such as a chardonnay
- 1/2 cup slivered dried apricots
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries
- 2 tsp. orange zest
- 1 Tbsp. cornstarch mixed with 1 Tbsp. water
- Garnish: green onions and slivered orange peel, optional
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Instructions
- In a large frying pan, combine broth, orange juice, cranberry juice, white wine, apricots, cranberries and zest. Whisk gently to combine.1 1/2 cups chicken broth, 1/2 cup fresh orange juice, 1/2 cup cranberry juice, 1/4 cup dry white wine, such as a chardonnay, 1/2 cup slivered dried apricots, 1/3 cup dried cranberries, 2 tsp. orange zest
- Add the chicken to this mixture and bring to a boil. Cover with a lid, reduce heat to simmer until the thickest part (the middle usually) of the chicken is no longer pink. (15-20 minutes).3-4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Transfer chicken to a plate and cover to keep warm.
- Bring the liquid in the pan back to a boil, uncovered. Next stir in the cornstarch and water mixture and whisk until thickened. (Season to taste with salt and pepper if desired).1 Tbsp. cornstarch mixed with 1 Tbsp. water
- Spoon sauce over the chicken. Garnish with green onions and slivered orange peel if desired. Serve with couscous, pilaf, pasta, etc. and your favorite veggies.Garnish: green onions and slivered orange peel, optional
Video
Notes
- I like to serve this chicken with couscous or rice and a veggie – like asparagus or broccoli!
Nutrition Information
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is automatically calculated. It should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Kroll’s Korner can’t make any guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
This was so good! I used chicken thighs, had no wine so added a splash of mirin instead, and added about 1/2 tsp cumin, and it was so tasty I wish I’d made a double batch. Guess I’ll just have to make it again lol
This is one of our favorites, too! Love the changes you made. Thank you! 🙂
I love sweet and sour dishes, especially those with chicken so this seems the perfect dish for me. Lovely presentation by the way 🙂
thank you so so much!!
I love cranberry chicken and the addition of apricot sounds delicious.
Thank you so much! 🙂
Never thought about using apricots with chicken but they sound like a great combo and the dish looks really good. I’m definitely going to have to try this when I find dried apricots in my local supermarket again!
the dried apricots are a lovely addition! Thanks so much! 🙂
Oh my goodness, I can imagine the taste just by reading this recipe! Thanks for sharing this! Will definitely add this on my menu!
Yay! Thank you so much!
This chicken dinner is perfect for the weeknights. I know I can sip a little wine then throw it into this one pan delight with the rest of the apricots and cranberries!
hehe love it! Thank you!
I love adding sweet condiments to chicken! I usually add mango salsa so adding cranberry and apricots just seems appropriate!
Yummmm I’ll have to try mango salsa sometime soon! 🙂
Such a stunning flavor combo!! I love pairing fruits with chicken!
Thank you! Me too I want to do it more often:)
This sounds seriously delish! I love a good sweet/savory combo. I’m definitely scheduling a Pin for later 😀
Thank you! It’s an all time fav in my family 🙂 enjoy!
What a pretty and delicious dish. And easy too! Love adding dried fruit to recipes – apricots, cranberries, and plums (aka prunes) are my faves!
Thank you! Mmmmm yes me too, love when the sauce reduces !