One skillet is all you need to make this tender and juicy apple cider chicken. The process is really easy: coat chicken thighs with a cozy, flavorful mix of warm spices and cook them in a skillet. Remove, and then prepare a super simple apple cider pan sauce with sweet apples and shallots. This is a quick, crowd-pleasing 35-minute dinner recipe you’ll want to make on repeat all autumn long!
One reader, Juliev, commented: “Delicious! I made a double batch of this for my bigger family last night and it was wonderful. The warm savory spices and mild sweetness of the sauce are so good together. Chicken and apples both came out beautifully. Definitely making again. ★★★★★“
If you love spiced apple cider and jump for joy at the thought of a quick & easy chicken dinner, you’ll flip for this generously spiced apple cider chicken dish. It’s wonderfully savory, and has a kiss of sweetness from the apple cider and brown sugar.
FALL IN LOVE!
Here’s Why You’ll Love This Apple Cider Chicken
- Quick and easy 1-pan meal
- Extra tender, juicy chicken
- Basically fall in a skillet 😉
- Cozy warm spices with salty, sweet, and savory flavors
- Apple cider and butter obviously make a delicious pan sauce
- Undeniably crowd pleasing, so you’ll want to make again and again
If there’s one stand-out meal you make during the fall season… one that will have everyone talking and demanding you make on repeat… it’s this. See my list of 30 delicious fall dinner recipe ideas for even more inspiration.
The best part of this dish, obviously besides its ease and the FABULOUS apple cider pan sauce, is the robust mix of spices. I adapted this dish from a Cooking Light recipe I found, and added quite a bit more spice so the flavors really stand out.
Use These Spices for the Best Flavor
- Salt & Pepper
- Ground Coriander
- Ground Cinnamon
- Ground Nutmeg
- Dried Thyme Leaves
If you’ve made this maple-roasted squash kale salad before, you already have most of these spices in your kitchen!
You also need chicken, a little butter and olive oil, a touch of brown sugar, apples (no need to peel), shallots, and… the star of the show… apple cider. Be sure to use apple cider, the nonalcoholic beverage, and not apple cider vinegar. You’ll be deeply disappointed with that mistake!
A little tip: Fresh apple cider typically appears in grocery stores and farm markets around late summer, but can get harder to find by the end of the year. To ensure I can make this cozy recipe all throughout the winter, I like to freeze some apple cider in an ice cube tray, then defrost a couple of frozen cider cubes whenever I want to make it. You can also use it to make this baked apple cider French toast and honeycrisp apple sangria throughout the season. Or try making your own homemade apple cider!
Success Tip: Use Chicken Thighs Instead of Chicken Breasts
If you want to make this recipe with chicken breasts instead of thighs you can, but you’ll lose some flavor. Chicken thighs are a fattier cut of meat, so they taste much richer than chicken breast meat. They are also smaller than most chicken breasts, so they cook faster on the stove. If you use chicken breasts, I recommend buying the thin-sliced or tenderloin cuts.
But for best results with this recipe, I strongly recommend chicken thighs.
Start the Chicken, Then Make the Pan Sauce
Ideally, you want a pretty big skillet for this recipe, and I usually use my 12-inch cast-iron skillet. This is the same skillet I use to make creamy garlic chicken and walnut crusted chicken. If your skillet is small, you can cook the chicken in batches. You can also use a Dutch oven.
Sprinkle the spice mixture on both sides of the chicken thighs, then cook the chicken in a little oil, flipping once, until both sides are golden-brown and the internal temperature has reached 165°F (74°C).
Remove the chicken and set aside.
Add the butter to the pan (don’t wipe it out first—you want the flavorful spices and drippings from the chicken in there for the pan sauce!), and swirl to coat. Add the apple and shallot slices and sprinkle with the remaining salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until they start to soften. Pour in the apple cider, and cook until the apples are crisp-tender, and the sauce has thickened a bit.
Finish up by adding the cooked chicken back to the pan—just for a couple minutes, to warm it back up and mix everything together.
The process is a lot like my reader-favorite cilantro lime chicken and this creamy lemon thyme chicken (one of my all-time best dishes!).
I like to garnish the dish with more thyme, plus some fresh rosemary if I have it on hand. To serve, place the chicken thighs on plates, then top each piece of chicken with a big scoop of apples and shallots, along with that delicious apple cider pan sauce.
FAQs
Coriander brings a lot of flavor to this dish, so I don’t recommend skipping it or substituting it. In an absolute pinch, you can substitute with ground caraway, or with 1/4 teaspoon each dried oregano and ground cumin.
You can, but you’ll lose some flavor. Apple cider is fresh, unfiltered, and typically unpasteurized, so it’s more like the raw, purer version of juiced apples. Apple juice has had the pulp and sediment filtered out, and is pasteurized to extend its shelf life.
Most apple varieties work for this recipe, though I’d steer clear of softer, mealier varieties like Red Delicious and McIntosh, which could cook down into mush. I tend to use one tart apple (like Granny Smith) and one sweet apple (like Honeycrisp). I use this same half tart/half sweet trick pretty much every time I bake with apples, whether I’m making apple pie or apple cinnamon bread.
My best apples for baking also applies here. 😉
What to Serve With Apple Cider Chicken
This chicken recipe pairs with many different side dishes. I like to serve it with green beans and rice, which can both be made on the stove as well. (Sometimes I have to give my oven a night off!)
But this apple cider chicken is also tasty with potatoes or sweet potatoes, a fresh green salad, dinner rolls or brown butter sage dinner rolls, asiago-crusted skillet bread, sweet potato dinner rolls, or cornbread. If you’re feeding a larger crowd and want some more substantial side dish options, try warm brussels sprouts salad, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, mushroom puff pastry tarts, or zucchini casserole.
Have leftover apples on your hands? Try apple cobbler or apple turnovers for dessert!
Skillet Apple Cider Chicken
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 22 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: serves 4
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Cooking
- Cuisine: American
Description
One skillet is all you need to cook this tender, juicy chicken with sweet apples and apple cider sauce. A blend of spices add impeccable flavor, and the apple cider sauce is made right in the same skillet! Review recipe Notes before starting.
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon salt, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 pound (454g) boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 Tablespoon light or dark brown sugar
- 2 cups (250g) apple slices (about 1/4-inch-thick slices, no need to peel)
- 1/3 cup (40g) chopped shallots (or yellow onion)
- 1/3 cup (80ml) apple cider (NOT apple cider vinegar)
- optional: fresh thyme and rosemary, for garnish
Instructions
- Heat a large 12-inch skillet over medium heat. I usually use a cast iron skillet, but any skillet this size works. You can also use a Dutch oven.
- In a small bowl, mix together 3/4 teaspoon salt, the coriander, cinnamon, nutmeg, dried thyme, and pepper. Sprinkle the spice mixture over both sides of the chicken thighs.
- Add a drizzle of oil to the hot skillet, and swirl to coat. Add the chicken thighs to the pan. Cook for 5 minutes, then flip and cook for 5 more minutes or until cooked through (internal temperature should be at least 165°F (74°C)). Transfer chicken to a plate and cover lightly. You’ll add it back to the pan in the end of the next step.
- Add the butter to the pan (no need to wipe it out first), and gently swirl to coat as it melts. Add the brown sugar, apples, and shallots, and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until apples begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Pour in the apple cider and cook, stirring occasionally, until the cider sauce has slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken back to the pan and cook for 2 minutes.
- Remove from heat. Spoon the apple mixture over the chicken to serve. Garnish with fresh thyme and rosemary, if desired.
- Leftovers keep well in the refrigerator for a few days. The butter in the sauce will solidify, but once you reheat, it all comes back together. You can reheat on the stove over medium heat or in the microwave.
Notes
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Cast-Iron Skillet | Tongs | Instant-Read Thermometer
- What can I use instead of coriander? Ground coriander brings a lot of flavor to this dish, so I don’t recommend skipping it or substituting it. In an absolute pinch, you can just leave it out or substitute ground caraway, or 1/4 teaspoon each dried oregano and ground cumin.
- Can I use chicken breasts instead of chicken thighs? You can, but you’ll lose some flavor, and they may take longer to cook. For best results, I strongly recommend boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
- Can I use apple juice instead of apple cider? You can, but you’ll lose some flavor. Apple cider is fresh, unfiltered, and typically unpasteurized, so it’s more like the raw, purer version of juiced apples. Apple juice has had the pulp and sediment filtered out, and is pasteurized to extend its shelf life.
- Recipe adapted from Cooking Light.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 247
- Sugar: 19.7 g
- Sodium: 523.1 mg
- Fat: 9.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 23.1 g
- Protein: 17.4 g
- Cholesterol: 95.2 mg
Reader Comments and Reviews
One of my household’s absolute favorites! I’ve used several different forms of chicken and they all turn out great. If you’re a saucy girl like myself I always make extra cider reduction, even if some goes in the fridge for reheating leftovers (if there are any), for dipping/on toast, or just eating with a spoon 🙂
We love to hear this! So glad this recipe is a hit for your family, ACPG!
How about substituting frozen apple juice concentrate but using more of it & less of the water?
Hi Judith, you can certainly try it, but you still may lose some flavor. See FAQ section for more details on apple cider vs. apple juice. Hope you enjoy this dish!
I made this for my husband, adult sons and myself!
My son said “Mom, you can only make this for us and nobody else, Ever!!!
I did use grilled onions that I’d previously made in my crock pot, that added an extra layer of yumminess!
I’ll definitely be making this frequently!
Oh, I did use skin on and bone in thighs and they worked wonderfully!!
I’d love to make this recipe for my son and his wife but one pound of chicken thighs seems like such a small amount for four people. Can I use 1 1/2 lbs of thighs without having to increase the volume of the other ingredients?
I wondered the same thing! From what I’ve figured on my own, you do need to increase scale on the moisture-adding ingredients or it dries out the chicken. I’ve also used chicken breasts for more serving portion volume, once you make it a time or two you can tell if it needs more apples and/or cider reduction (I always make extra than what the recipe gives anyway).
Where has this been all my life?!! Such a simple recipe that delivers a party in your mouth! Definitely a keeper.
This is delicious! Made it exactly as the recipe. Don’t change a thing!
Está increíble tal cual es… Pero podría hacerlo en pollo entero y al horno???? Sería hacer por aparte la salsa en estufa???? Podría hacerlo también en tipo cuete de res???? … Muchísimas gracias de antemano.
Absolutely delicious! Thx for a great recipe, super easy and tasty.
We’ll be making this one again. Already looking forward to leftovers!
I made this for dinner tonight and WOW! It was delicious!
This was amazing!!! I’m so glad you emphasized NOT apple cider vinegar or I would have totally messed it up. Can’t recommend this recipe enough! Served with green beans and it is a new family favorite.
We made this last night. It was quick & delicious! We didn’t have apple cider, so used a can (11.3 oz) of apple cider and omitted the brown sugar. The sauce would have been good over rice or egg noodles. I sent the recipe to my granddaughter.
So unbelievably tasty! Made it exactly as described, and so happy I doubled the recipe because I want to be eating this for days! Definitely entering the fall dinner rotation for sure.
Made this tonight and it was a 10/10! Already shared the recipe with my friend group because everyone needs to make this.
Can I use pumpkin pie spice in place of all of the spices you mentioned?
Hi Deb, you could certainly try that, though we haven’t tested it ourselves. You may still want to add the coriander and thyme! Let us know how it turns out if you try anything.
I was surprised to see it has coriander in it! I will add thyme and let you know🍎
Is this okay for diabetics too?
Hi Crystal, we would recommend calculating the nutrition information and assessing based on your individual needs/requirements. We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
Would you recommend keeping the thighs whole or would cutting into smaller pieces work?
Hi Mandy, we keep the thighs whole, but you could certainly cut them into smaller pieces if you prefer.
I am wondering why it took almost 1 hr. To get my chicken thighs to reach 165 temp. Any ideas of what I could do differently next time?
Hi Giada, were your chicken thighs particularly large or thick? The thicker the meat, the longer it will take to cook through. It could be that your heat was too low as well.
I had the same issue but I believe it was because I used bone in thighs. Won’t do that again.
It was delicious! I made it w chicken breasts & served w pan fried gnocchi!
Hi Sally. I love this recipe. Do you have any advice to using pork chops vs chicken thighs?
Thanks!
Mary Jane Harris
Hi Mary Jane! Same instructions for pork chops; the cook time may be a little longer depending on the thickness.
Thank you for asking about pork chops…I was thinking the same thing.
I only have bone in chicken thighs, will this work? How much time should I add?
Hi Mimi, we haven’t tried making this recipe with bone-in chicken thighs, but you may have better luck finishing them in the oven instead of cooking on the stove the entire time. The most important marker for doneness is to cook until the thickest part of the chicken reaches 165°F measured with an instant-read thermometer. Hope this helps!
This was awesome and SO easy to make! It is delicious and I cannot wait to make this ahead to refrigerate or freeze! ♥️😋♥️
this was so good! even with chicken breasts. I made wild rice to go with it and found the sauce from the chicken a wonderful flavor boost for the rice.
thank you!
Sounds delicious & i am trying this tonight. I only have chicken breast though. How would you adjust cooking time?
Hi Val, we recommend sticking with thighs here. If you want to make this recipe with chicken breasts instead of thighs you can, but you’ll lose some flavor. Chicken thighs are a fattier cut of meat, so they taste much richer than chicken breast meat. They are also smaller than most chicken breasts, so they cook faster on the stove. If you use chicken breasts, we recommend buying the thin-sliced or tenderloin cuts (or you could slice yours thinner!).
This is my husband’s new favorite meal. We love it served with plain couscous or rice. Sooooo good!
I made this for lunch – and then again for a friend of mine and her kids…. It was quite possibly the best recipe I’ve made in the last month or so. Definitely a keeper forever! I didn’t have coriander but you can bet I’m going to go get some for next week when I make it again. Thanks!!
My husband said this is the best thing I’ve made in a long time. I served it with yams and cornbread. Thanks for the recipe!
We had this for dinner tonight.
It tastes amazing. Thank you.
Looking forward to making. Curious as to what type of apples work best
Love all your recipes
Hi Joyce, Most apple varieties work for this recipe, though we’d steer clear of softer, mealier varieties like Red Delicious and McIntosh, which could cook down into mush. We tend to use one tart apple (like Granny Smith) and one sweet apple (like Honeycrisp). Here’s more about the best apples to use for baking.
Great sounding recipe. I wish I had freezer room for all the things I would like to freeze for use in the winter, but not happening. I might give a try to using regular apple juice and then concentrating it a bit or add a little apple liquor to juice.
This is absolutely perfect. It is easily a top ten in our house. I make it every time I’m about to ask my husband for something
That’s the best recommendation I’ve ever heard! I am DEFINITELY making this!
I don’t have any shallot or yellow onion on hand, would red onion be okay or would that be too different?
Hi Cat, that should work okay.