Creamy Apple Cider Chicken
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Golden sautéed chicken and apples come together in a creamy cider sauce that’s rich, savory, and just a little sweet.
Inspired by the classic French dish chicken fricassee, this cozy fall dish pairs golden sautéed chicken with apples in a creamy cider sauce. Apple cider gives the sauce a hint of sweetness, while a splash of cider vinegar adds brightness and balances the richness of the cream. Serve with a simple green vegetable, like roasted Brussels sprouts, along with rice, egg noodles, or mashed potatoes. A dry white wine pairs really nicely, too.
“What a delicious dish to serve on a cool fall evening! Everyone enjoyed the flavors in this easy meal.”
What You’ll Need To Make Creamy Apple Cider Chicken
- Chicken Breasts or Tenderloins: I recommend using two large chicken breasts and slicing them in half horizontally to make four even portions that cook quickly in one batch. Avoid the thin-sliced chicken breasts sold at the supermarket; they’re too thin for this recipe. Chicken tenderloins are an easy alternative if you’d rather skip the slicing.
- All-Purpose Flour: A light coating helps the chicken brown and also gives the sauce a bit of body.
- Butter & Vegetable Oil: Using both gives you the flavor of butter with a little more insurance against burning as you sauté the chicken and apples.
- Apples: Choose a firm, tart-sweet apple that will hold its shape when sautéed. Honey crisp, Fuji, or Gala are great options.
- Yellow Onion: Adds depth of flavor and sweetness to the sauce as it cooks.
- Fresh Thyme & Chives: Thyme adds an earthy, savory note as the sauce cooks, while chives add a fresh, mild onion flavor just before serving.
- Apple Cider, Chicken Broth & Heavy Cream: Equal parts of all three form the sauce. The cider brings apple flavor and a touch of sweetness, the broth keeps it savory, and the cream makes it rich and silky.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: Adds a tangy brightness that cuts through the richness of the cream mixture.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
How To Make Creamy Apple Cider Chicken
Step 1: Prep the chicken. Slice each chicken breast horizontally through the middle to make four thinner, evenly sized pieces. Season all over with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Dredge each piece lightly in flour, shaking off the excess. You want just a thin coating, which will help the chicken brown and give the sauce a little body.
Step 3: Sauté the apples. Cook the apple slices in a skillet until lightly browned and just tender, then transfer them to a plate. Don’t take them too far; they should still hold their shape when they’re returned to the sauce at the end.
Step 4: Brown the chicken. Sauté the chicken until golden on both sides. It doesn’t need to be cooked through at this point since it will finish cooking in the sauce. Transfer it to a plate.
Step 5: Make the sauce. Cook the onion and thyme until the onion softens, then add the cider and broth, scraping up the flavorful browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Let the mixture reduce before adding the cream; this concentrates the flavor and gives you a richer sauce.
Step 6: Finish the dish. Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the skillet and simmer gently until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened slightly. Stir in the cider vinegar and return the apples to the pan just long enough to warm through. Taste and adjust the seasoning, then sprinkle with fresh chives and serve.
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Creamy Apple Cider Chicken
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts (2 large), or chicken tenderloins (see note)
- Salt and pepper
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 Honeycrisp, Fuji, or Gala apples, cored and cut into ¼-inch (6-mm) thick slices (do not peel)
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme (or ¾ teaspoon dried)
- ¾ cup apple cider
- ¾ cup chicken broth
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
Instructions
- Slice the chicken breasts in half horizontally to form four flat fillets. (Skip this step if using chicken tenderloins; instead, using the palm of your hand, gently flatten the tenderloins so that they are an even ½-inch/1-cm thickness.)
- Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season all over with 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Spread the flour in a shallow dish. Dredge the chicken in the flour to coat, shaking to remove excess; transfer to a plate and set aside.
- Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter with 1 tablespoon of the oil in a 12-inch (30-cm) nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the apples to the pan and season with ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Cook the apples, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and softened, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a second plate; set aside.
- Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon butter with the remaining tablespoon oil in the now-empty skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until lightly browned but not quite cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Set the partially cooked chicken on another plate and set aside.
- Add the onion, thyme, a heaping ¼ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper to now-empty skillet and cook over medium heat until the onion is softened and browned, 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add the cider and broth to the skillet, increase the heat to high, and bring the mixture to a boil. Cook, uncovered, until the liquid is reduced by approximately half, about 5 minutes.
- Add the cream and bring to a boil. Cook until sauce has thickened slightly, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the chicken and any accumulated juices back to the skillet, reduce the heat to low, and simmer, uncovered, until the chicken is cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Stir in the vinegar and apples. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning, if necessary. Spoon the sauce and apples over the chicken, sprinkle with the chives, and serve.
Notes
Pair with
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I made this for dinner tonight and everyone enjoyed it. Another keeper of a recipe from Jen.
Okay, so I really goofed up but it was still so good!! I used apple cider vinegar for the whole thing and not apple cider! I did omit the last tablespoon of vinegar at the end because I thought it may be too strong! HAH! My family loved it and my husband thought it tasted like a German dish from the homeland! I’ll have to make it the correct way next time but we enjoyed it this way, too! Thanks, Jennifer ALWAYS love your recipes!
If doubling the recipe, would it be best to cook two batches or is all in one fine? Thank you in advance Chef!
Hi Jona, You’ll need to brown the chicken in two batches, but you can make the sauce and finish the chicken in one pan if it will all fit.
Wow! Absolutely amazing. Thank you!
OMG DELICIOUS! As previous reviewer said your recipes are so wonderful I could serve them to guests the first time I try them. Just a wonderful Fall recipe.
OMG!! This was DELICIOUS!!!!!!
Jen, all of your recipes are FOOL PROOF. I feel confident that I could make any of them for the first time and serve it to guests. This dish was no exception. Made it exactly as written. The dish is extremely flavorful, the apple cider vinegar at the end adds the right amount of acid and the chicken was extremely moist. Thanks for the suggestion to use chicken tenderloins. They worked beautifully.
Excellent! I followed the recipe exactly and it was wonderful. Served with roast potatoes. Put the left over chicken and sauce and apples/onions in a pan. Covered with foil and heated for one hour in oven next day. I believe they were even better. Thanks so much for being Once Upon a Chef. :>
HI Jenn,
This was delicious. I added just a dash of cinnamon to the apples…think maybe a splash of bourbon next time may be delicious, too. This was couldn’t-stop-eating great!!
Hey Jen! My daughter has a dairy allergy. Would I be able to substitute oat or rice milk for the heavy cream and plant based butter for the regular butter? Thanks!
Hi Melissa, I think plant based butter should work. And You can use non-dairy milk — the sauce may not thicken, but you could whisk in a tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with a little cold water at the end.