Cranberry Chicken Thighs

Bake Cranberry Chicken Thighs this fall and winter for a fancy-feeling and wonderfully delicious centerpiece to any dinner. Made with fresh or frozen cranberries, these baked chicken thighs are perfect for a weeknight meal or a dinner party with friends.

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 50

Total Time 55

Servings -6 servings

Calories 677kcal

Ingredients

1 tablespoon avocado oil
2 ½ lbs. chicken thighs bone-in and skin on (5-6, depending on size)
Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
1 2/3 cups chicken bone broth
1 ½ cups cranberries fresh or frozen
8 sprigs fresh thyme
½ lemon juiced

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425°F.
In a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat, warm the avocado oil.
Season the chicken thighs with the salt and pepper while the avocado oil heats.
Place the chicken thighs, skin side down, into the skillet. Sear, about 4-5 minutes, and do not move the chicken around the pan, before flipping.
Cook the other side of the chicken thighs for another 4-5 minutes, or until golden brown, and then remove from the pan.
Pour the bone broth into the skillet and scrape the bottom of the pan to deglaze it. Simmer until the liquid has reduced by half, squeeze in the lemon juice, and then turn off the stovetop. This will take 5-10 minutes, depending on your stovetop.
Add the chicken thighs back into the skillet, skin-side up, along with the juices they release while on the plate.
Measure in the cranberries and thyme, stirring some into the juices so the cranberries can burst in the gravy and add extra flavor.
Transfer the skillet to the preheated oven. (If your skillet is not oven safe, please transfer all the ingredients to a baking dish instead before putting it in the oven.)
Bake 30-40 minutes, or until the chicken’s internal temperature reaches 165°F.
Remove from the oven and serve immediately with your favorite sides.

Notes

Substitutions you can use in this recipe:

1 ½ teaspoons dried thyme for the fresh thyme sprigs
Chicken stock or broth for chicken bone broth. (We choose to use bone broth because there is no added sugar, which many stocks and broths have these days.)
Frozen cranberries for the fresh cranberries. However, do NOT use dried cranberries in place of the fresh cranberries, as they will make this recipe too sweet and mess with the texture.

You can double or triple the recipe for a crowd because they're great for sharing! These thighs make for a delicious and colorful entrée for dinner, so invite friends to dine with you. Just be sure to do them in batches because if there are too many thighs in your pan, they won't get as crispy.

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