READY IN ABOUT 1¼ hrs

Best Cranberry Chicken

Read Reviews (32)

"My mom found this recipe years ago, and now it's become a cheap and easy weeknight favorite at my house." — misscarolb

Directions

Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Place the butter and onion in a 9x13 inch baking dish, and bake in the preheated oven, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, about 15 minutes. Remove the dish from the oven, push the onion over to one end, and place the chicken thighs in the dish in a single layer. Return to the oven and bake for about 25 minutes.
Stir together the ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, mustard powder, and cranberry sauce in a bowl. Remove the chicken from the oven, and scoop the cooked onions into the cranberry mixture. Spoon the mixture over the chicken thighs, and return to the oven.
Bake until the cranberry mixture is slightly caramelized and the chicken is done, about 20 more minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted near the center should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).

Kitchen-Friendly View

PREP 10 mins
COOK 1 hr
READY IN 1 hr 10 mins

Reviews More Reviews

Most Helpful Positive Review

Sep 29, 2009

My whole family gave this a thumbs up. I used all the same ingredients, but changed the methods. Using bone-in thighs, I removed the skin, trimmed the fat, and seasoned it with garlic salt and pepper. Then, I just mixed all the other ingredients (minus butter because I didn't cook the onions beforehand) and poured it over the top and baked it at 360 for about an hour (just until the internal temperature reached 170). Cranberries were WONDERFUL in this, and the meat was so tender and flavorful just like it was slow-cooked. went with steamed rice. DELISH! Update: passed this recipe on to my friend who is a beginner cook and she said "it was a hit" with her family. Thanks again for posting this. I now keep whole cranberry sauce as a "regular" stock item in my pantry!

—Biscuits

See full review »

Most Helpful Critical Review

Feb 09, 2011

I thought this was just OK, not bad but not worth making again.

—Susan999

See full review »

38 Ratings

See other versions of this recipe!

Sep 02, 2009

This was one of my Mom's favorite recipes. She found it in Sunset Magazine years ago. It is delicious serve with steamed rice!

—Andrea J.

See full review »

Sep 15, 2009

I submitted this recipe, and I just wanted to add that I usually use chicken breast (I feel the contrast between the moist cranberries and the white meat is better than if it were brown meat) and I also use red wine vinegar (I'm not sure where they got apple cider vinegar from)and the chicken is great with steamed rice, thanks Andrea J!

—misscarolb

See full review »

Nov 02, 2009

Whole family liked this, my husband LOVED it. I used the chicken breasts and baslamic vinegar (didn't have red wine vinegar) after I read what misscarolb wrote as corrections to the original recipe she submitted. I cooked everything at 350 because I used boneless breasts and a pyrex dish. I forgot to add the brown sugar, but it didn't need it, as it was very sweet without it. I misread the recipe and took the onions right out after cooking them at the beginning for 15 min. and put them into the sauce, but it still tasted fine. I turned the chicken in the butter so both sides got some, and baked covered with foil for about 20 min. Then I put the sauce on and baked covered about 10 more minutes. I took the cover off for the remainder of the time until the chicken was 165 F inside. Lots of delicious sauce. Great with rice.

—In-a-Pickle

See full review »

Jan 18, 2011

Turns out I didn't have any chicken, but I did have some meatballs frozen. I did the sauce and put them in the crockpot. 6 hours later on low it was fabulous!!! This is some awesome stuff!

—SUNNI_ONE

See full review »

Sep 22, 2009

This was great. I used my slow cooker and I did substitute chicken breasts for the thighs - great recipe!! Thanks!

—rjnicholson

See full review »

Feb 22, 2011

I just made this tonight and paired it with mashed potatoes. I used 1.5lbs of boneless skinless chicken thighs and kept the sauce measurements the same. The step of scooping the onions into the sauce, what about the chicken broth already in the dish with the chicken? I combined it to the cranberry mixture because the instructions didn't specify not to. This might be the reason why my sauce was a little on the soupy side. I must add that the overall flavor is a little too sweet. I will definitely be making this again but will be using less sugar. The flavor is tangy, sweet and sour, it reminds me of BBQ sauce, in a good way.

—Julie

See full review »

Edit

Glad you liked it! Your friends will, too:

Did you tweak the recipe? Edit and save your own version of it!

Edit this recipe

More Recipes Like This See all

Three-Minute Prep Baked Crispy Cranberry Chicken

Cranberry Sauce Chicken II

Foil-Baked Chicken

Sunshine Citrus Chicken

Citrus Garlic Cranberry Chicken

Easy Spicy Mexican-American Chicken

Easy Spinach and Arugula Chicken

Cranberry Glazed Chicken

Orange Cracker Apricot Chicken

Cranberry Curry Chicken

Nutrition

Calories
526 kcal
26%

Carbohydrates
33.8 g
11%

Cholesterol
146 mg
49%

Fat
25.7 g
40%

Fiber
0.8 g
3%

Protein
38.9 g
78%

Sodium
450 mg
18%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Nutritional Information

Best Cranberry Chicken

Serving Size: 1/6 of a recipe
Servings Per Recipe: 6
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 526
Calories from Fat: 232

% Daily Value *
Total Fat 25.7g 40 %
** Saturated Fat 7.8g 39 %
** Cholesterol 146mg 49 %
Sodium 450mg 18 %
** Potassium 475mg 13 %
Total Carbohydrates 33.8g 11 %
Dietary Fiber 0.8g 3 %
Protein 38.9g 78 %
** Sugars 27.5g
Vitamin A 11 %
Vitamin C 8 %
Calcium 5 %
Iron 23 %
** Thiamin 13 %
** Niacin 133 %
** Vitamin B6 33 %
** Magnesium 15 %
** Folate 9 %

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
** Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.