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One Pot Cider Braised Chicken with Caramelized Onions. Slow-cooked chicken in apple cider with fresh herbs, sweet caramelized onions, and mushrooms. If you’re looking for a cozy fall meal to make, start with this saucy braised chicken. All made in one pot, simple to put together, and totally delicious. Serve with warm bread and a side of wild rice and say hello to cozy fall nights.
Fall starts on Thursday, but per usual our fall here in the mountains has fully set in. Most of you know that we’ve had some chillier days and our leaves are beginning to show pretty shades of yellow and orange.
I love every bit of it and am trying my best to soak in the season. For us, here in the mountains, it will be gone in the blink of an eye. Our fall is fast and furious, warm days, chilly nights, and always beautiful.
I’m embracing the shorter days and colder nights with cozy dinners. Every year like clockwork, I make some sort of braised chicken. But this one is special and hands down my favorite of the bunch. It’s the onions combined with sweet, spiced apple cider. The pair together really do make for a wonderful saucy chicken.
The story is pretty simple.
I based the recipe pretty closely off my cider braised short ribs. We absolutely loved that short rib recipe last year. I made it multiple times throughout the fall and winter. But it’s still September and the days just don’t require short rib dinners yet.
I wanted something a little lighter and a little quicker cooking for weeknights.
Of course, the thought to swap-in chicken came to mind pretty quickly and sounded delicious. I changed up a few things, adding mushrooms into the mix, and using a quicker cooking method.
It’s truly wonderful and so simple to make.
The details
Start with the chicken. I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs and breasts. My family is pickier and will not eat the skin. Though I’m sure it would add a lot of flavor to the dish!
Dredge the chicken through some flour, then give it a sear in a big, oven-safe pan. I only sear one side of the chicken since we just need one side crispy for the oven.
Pull the chicken out, add some butter, then toss on the onions. Start to slowly cook the onions down. I like to add a splash of apple cider to help the onions cook down a little quicker.
When the onions have reached a light gold color, toss in the mushrooms, garlic, thyme, and sage. I let the mushrooms cook for a minute, then pour over the remaining cider and wine. If you don’t drink wine, chicken broth is a great substitute.
I usually add a few sprigs of fresh thyme, then transfer the whole dish to the oven to braise low and slow.
Now I cooked this at 400 for a quicker time, but you can definitely reduce the heat to 325° and cook for 1-2 hours for a real low and slow braise. Either works great, it just depends on how much time you have.
I’ve been serving this with a side of homemade beer bread and wild rice pilaf – so good!
You must make the beer bread, it’s delicious with the savory-sweet cider pan sauce.
This is a wonderful Monday night dinner that’s easy enough for any night of the week. It’s certainly sure to become a family favorite. I can’t wait for Creighton to try this, I know he will love it.
Looking for other slow-cooked fall recipes? Here are a few ideas:
30 Minute Coconut Milk Braised Chicken
Healthier 30 Minute Beer Braised Chicken
Autumn Braised Chicken Escabèche with Roasted Apples and Grapes
Cider Braised Short Ribs with Caramelized Onions
Red Wine Cranberry Braised Short Ribs
Slow Cooker Red Wine Braised Short Rib Pasta
Slow Cooker Coq au Vin with Parmesan Mashed Potatoes
Lastly, if you make this Cider Braised Chicken with Caramelized Onions, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Cider Braised Chicken with Caramelized Onions
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 421 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken, thighs or breasts
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- kosher salt
- black pepper
- 1 tablespoon salted butter
- 4 yellow onions, thinly sliced
- 2 cups apple cider
- 2 cups sliced mushrooms
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
- 1 cup chicken broth or dry white wine
Instructions
Stove-Top
- 1. Preheat the oven to 400° F.2. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then rub with flour to coat. Heat a large oven-safe skillet with sides over high heat, and sear the chicken on 1 side. Remove the chicken to a plate. 3. Add the butter and onions and cook 5 minutes, until softened. Add a 1/2 cup apple cider, season with salt and pepper, and continue cooking another 5-8 minutes, until the cider has evaporated and the onions are lightly golden. Add the mushrooms, garlic, thyme, and sage, then add the chicken back to the pot. Add the remaining 1 1/2 cups cider, and wine. Roast for 30 minutes or until the chicken is falling apart. Watch the sauce, if it begins to thicken too much, cover the dish. 3. Serve the chicken with wild rice pilaf and bread. Drizzle with any remaining pan sauce and onions. Enjoy!
Crockpot
- 1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then rub with flour to coat. Heat a large Dutch Oven over high heat, and sear the chicken on 1 side.2. To the bowl of your crockpot, add the butter and onions, then place the chicken over the onions. Add the mushrooms, garlic, thyme, sage, apple cider, and wine. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 4-5 hours. 3. Serve the chicken with wild rice pilaf and bread. Drizzle with any remaining pan sauce and onions. Enjoy!
Winner winner, awesome dinner! We’ll
make this one again and again. All I did differently was to sear the chicken in butter, and per the suggestion of another reviewer added a tb. of base. I used veggie base and it added a nice finish to the dish.
This wasn’t soupy for me at all. Sauce had a nice consistency.
Served with roasted baby potatoes and quinoa with super grains side plus 🥗 salad.
Hope you all enjoy it!
Hey Sarah,
Amazing!! Thanks so much for making this dish and sharing your feedback! I’m so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xT
Oh my gosh this was so good!
I used thighs and they were fall apart delicious and I love that sage and thyme is still alive in my Minnesota garden! Definitely making this again!
Hey Juli,
Love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a lot for trying it and your feedback! xT
Hi Tieghan! I’m excited to try this recipe because I have a lot of apple cider on hand. I’d like to add some more vegetables though – carrots, leeks, kale – when/how do you recommend I incorporate them into the recipe? Thanks in advance.
Hi Quynh-Lan,
Sounds like a great idea!! I would add the carrots and leeks with the chicken and then add the kale towards the end. I hope you love this dish!! xx
Yummy and easy to make!
Thank you so much for trying out the recipe! Have an awesome weekend! xT
Hello do you think I could use frozen mushrooms with this recipe?
Hi Amber! Yeah, I think that should work just fine! xT
This came out ok, but it required some doctoring. Like many other reviewers, my finished dish came out very soupy and bland. I made a flour-water slurry and splashed it in little by little and then let the whole dish bake 10 more minutes to thicken. I also added in a couple spoonfuls of chicken base to make it more savory. Next time, I would use less cider and fewer onions. I think carrots would be a nice addition, too.
Thank you for the feedback Christine! xT
I made it on the stove top thinking the onions would Carmelize better. My end product was too soupy, tasty, but not sure what I did wrong. Next time maybe I’ll cook the onions a LOT longer
Hi Katie! So sorry about that! Is there anything I can do to help? xT
Just FYI, I reheated two servings I had packed away in the freezer for dinner tonight. This time, I whisked in a couple teaspoons of balsamic vinegar. That added the brightness and punch the dish was missing. I think the cider I used was too sweet and maybe the dish just needed a bit more acidity. I’ll make it ahain, but definitely with carrots and a little balsamic!
Awesome!! Love to hear this!
Very good! I halved the recipe so I used half the chicken, cider and onions it called for and it turned out great! I didn’t have sage so I substituted oregano with the thyme. I served it with garlic mashed cauliflower. Yum, thanks Tieghan – will make again.
Thank you sooo much for trying out the recipe! Love to hear that it was enjoyed! xT
This was the bomb! I made it for my daughter’s birthday last night, and it could not have been more of a hit! Easy to make, delicious and “fancy” enough to serve for occasions.
Thank you so much for trying out the recipe! Have a great week! xT
Mine came out soupy which made a good sauce for the mashed potatoes & stuffing I made along side.
I did however add frozen cranberries, garlic, more fresh herbs (including rosemary) and used red wine since I didn’t have enough white wine on hand and it still came out VERY tasty:)
Thanks so so much for trying out this recipe! Have a lovely day! xT
Mushrooms didn’t cook through. Should’ve been cooked down before adding the liquid. Sauce was very soupy. Chicken was cooked well though.
Thank you for the feedback Sophie! xT
Disclaimer* I should first say that I am not a fan of crockpots, I would rather use my dutch oven than a crockpot anyday…but current living situations I had to use the crockpot 🙁
Before putting everything in the crockpot, I cooked up the onions and mushrooms and seared the chicken on one side. I then put everything in the crockpot and cooked as suggested. It all smelled amazing while I was putting it together, but I felt it was a little bland and you couldn’t taste the cider once it was all done. I have done the cider braised short ribs in the past (in my dutch oven) and the cider taste was AMAZING. I am definitely going to try this recipe again in the dutch oven as I know it’s going to be a winner with amazing flavor!
Thank you so so much for trying out the recipe! I really hope you loved it! 🙂
I made this recipe using the crockpot instructions. While the chicken was very tender, it was soupy and bland. I did attempt to thicken it with a cornstarch slurry. I appreciate that this recipe is one of the more healthy half baked harvest recipes, so I might try it again caramelizing the onions and using half the liquid.
Hey Julie! So sorry about that! Thank you for letting me know! xT
This was so amazing. I made it tonight. Such a beautiful dish.
Thank you so much for trying out this recipe! Hope you enjoyed it 🙂 xT
My daughter made this for me. She added carrots and parsnips and roasted in the oven covered for 1 hr. It was delicious. The chicken was so tender and flavorful. We love your recipes! I make your chipotle tacos and mango tacos every month. thanks
Thank you so much Susan! xT
This recipe needed a LOT of doctoring up to make it work. I did it in the crockpot bc I am a busy mom, but I would highly suggest not doing this or at the least caramelizing the onions first. As it is, the sauce is extremely watery and just tastes like onions because there are so many. I would suggest about half the amount of onions. After it was done, I took the sauce out and put it on the stove to reduce it some, added a ton of salt and balsamic vinegar because it was so bland. Then a cornstarch slurry stirred in. Made it work, but it was not a winner in my book. It looks nothing like the picture with the gorgeous dark brown sauce. Sorry! The rest of your recipes are usually spot on!
Hey Amber! I appreciate the honest feedback! Thank you for letting me know! xT