Skillet Cranberry Roasted Chicken and Potatoes.
This is SO cheesy, but um… winner, winner, chicken dinner!?
I mean, I know that’s like the cheesiest line ever, BUT it’s kind of true. You really can’t beat a ONE skillet chicken and potato kind of dinner. I just feel like it’s something everyone loves.
Healthy, cozy, comfort food, you know?
Typically, roasted chicken and rice is my go-to dinner when I need a little comfort in life, but I decided to throw myself a curve ball and go for potatoes with this dish!
SIDE NOTE: did anyone else literally live on chicken and rice as a kid? I swear, it’s all my parents ever made. Ok well, chicken and rice, plus tacos… but I was all about the chicken and rice.
Do you guys have certain foods you make when you’re feeling kind of down? For me, my fall back is always some kind of roasted chicken, which is weird, since I’m really more of a pasta, pizza and cheese kind of girl in everyday life. BUT something about the smell of the chicken roasting away in the oven gets me every time.
It takes me back to being a kid and I love that.
I’m curious though, what do you guys make when your mood hits a low or you’re just feeling the need to make something you know you will love? Is it soup? Mom’s lasagna? COOKIES!? I totally NEED to know so I can create us delicious recipes inspired by you guys! duh. 🙂
The real reason I made this skillet cranberry roasted chicken though is not because I was feeling down, but more because I had a GIANT bag of fresh cranberries sitting my fridge that needed to be used up. Ok, and they are so pretty that I kind of just wanted to come up with a fun and different way to cook with cranberries!
Don’t get me wrong, cranberry sauce is good and all, but they can be used in so many delicious sweet and savory ways!
Enter this chicken: it’s simple, quick and delicious. Seasoned with thyme, rosemary and garlic, seared, and then roasted to perfection over a bed of cute little baby potatoes. I also added a splash of white wine, and um, maybe a pat or two of butter…you know for good measure and all!
Plus, the addition of carrots totally makes this a complete meal. You have your protein, your starch and your veggie! You see, winner, winner chicken dinner!
OK promise, that’s the last time I will ever say that… at least in this post!
In all seriousness though, this dinner is so delicious. No crazy exotic flavors or anything like that, but sometimes classic flavors are just what we all need, and I feel like the cranberries give this dish a bright update. Not to mention they are so good! They add just the right amount of bittersweetness which pairs so well with the roasted chicken and especially the rosemary.
They’re pretty too…even kind of festive….if you think the way I do!
Another awesome aspect… it’s done in an hour AND dirties up just ONE skillet. <–my dream way to cook everything.
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Skillet Cranberry Roasted Chicken.
By halfbakedharvest
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chicken
This chicken dish is healthy, cozy comfort food at its best
Ingredients
- 4 skin-on chicken breasts or thighs
- 1/4 cup olive oil divided
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
- 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
- 2 cloves garlic minced or grated
- zest + juice of 1/2 lemon
- kosher salt and pepper
- 1 pound baby potatoes halved
- 3 carrots chopped
- 1 cup white wine or chicken broth
- 1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons balsamic
Instructions
-
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
-
Rub the chicken with 2 tablespoons olive oil, the thyme, rosemary, garlic and lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper.
-
Heat a large oven safe skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil. When the oil shimmers, add the chicken, skin side down, and sear until golden, about 5 minutes. Flip and cook 5 minutes more. Remove the chicken from the skillet. Add 2 tablespoons butter, the potatoes, carrots, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Pour in the wine, deglazing the pan and scraping up any browned bits off the bottom. Simmer the wine for 5 minutes or until reduced slightly. Remove from the heat and nestle the chicken into the potatoes. Add the lemon juice.
-
In a small bowl, toss together the cranberries, brown sugar and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle the cranberries over the chicken. Transfer to the oven and roast for 20-25 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the potatoes are tender. Plate the chicken and potatoes and drizzle with the sauce left in the pan. EAT!
Bottom line: I made us chicken, and I hope it makes your Thursday perfect!
Wow this looks delicious! Love the addition of the cranberries
Thank you!!
Would brussel sprouts go well with this chicken and cranberries? Thank you for another yummy recipe!!
Hey Jessica!! I think brussels sprouts would be amazing! I love them and think they would go great with this dish. Let me know if you have other questions. Thanks! 🙂
Hello and thank you for posting this recipe! it looks absolutely delicious! I would be tempted to try adapting this recipe to a whole guinea fowl… Would you have any idea of how long to leave in the oven?
HI! Are you saying quinoa? If so, I’d do the times directed. Should work great! Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Happy Holiday’s ? 🙂
Hey Tieghan, this recipe souns lovely and so comforting. My go to comfort food in autumn is anything with root veggies 🙂 I’m totally making this for my husband, he’s gonna love it. It’s kind of hard to get fresh cranberries in Slovenia, do you think dried would also work?
Fresh cranberries aren’t easy to find in Switzerland either. I cooked this today with dried cranberries and it was excellent. I added some carrots to it for the extra color. With the black potatoes, the dish was also beautiful. Another winner Tieghan!
Hi! Yes, dried cranberries will be great! Just add them after cooking. Please let me know if you have questions. Thank you! 🙂
Another idea for using dried cranberries. If you cover the cranberries with hot/boiling water and let them sit, they will rehydrate. This will let you add them (and some of the liquid) before cooking and helps the flavors meld.
Thanks Eddie!
Hey!! Yes, just add the dried cranberries after baking. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you! 🙂
“ooh festive!” was literally, the FIRST thing I thought when I saw the opening photo!! This dinner looks great, very tasty indeed – love a one skillet meal!!
Rebecca
xx
http://www.peppermintdolly.com
YAY! So awesome!! Thanks so much!!
Yuuuuuum!!! This sounds perfect!
http://bloglairdutemps.blogspot.pt
Thank you Ruth!!
This meal sounds soo incredible, Tieghan! I loved that you added cranberries! It’s so festive and perfect for the season.
Thanks Andrea!! They’re my favorite part!!
These colors are absolutely beautiful! What a wonderful, festive, fall dish!
https://www.searedandshameless.com
Beautiful, stunning pictures!!!
Thank you Lisa!
Yes, a one-pan in the oven supper! We also like to serve simple: butter sautéed cubes of wild-caught salmon with chunks of farmers’ market fresh red tomatoes (here in California always available) adding miscellaneous seasonings in the last 5 minutes of cooking. Served with brown rice and a side dish green salad with a light & sweetish vinaigrette… comfort comfort!
Sounds delicious!! I’m so happy you liked it!! Thank you Lizzie!
Will definitely be trying this! By the way. I just stumbled across your website last week and fell in love! I am currently in the process of going through all your recipes when I have time and pinning away 🙂
My go to comfort food is soup and a homemade fresh bread! Or if I need something quick, nice steaming bowl of spaghetti – gets me every time 🙂
AH yay!!! So happy you like everything!!
Both are so good! Absolutely comfort food!!
Thank you!!
This looks gorgeous as do all the photos in this post!
My go to comfort food is anything with melty cheese! Toasted cheese panini, chicken stuffed with gruyerre, cheesey potatoes au gratin, and honestly probably the easiest and fastest, an omelet with my favorite veggies, zucchini and mushrooms and lots of sharp cheddar!
Thank you Cassandra!!
Cheesy everything is comfort food!! All so delish!!
Just wanted to drop you a line and tell you, that without a doubt, YOU are my favorite food blog and food website of all time. Your recipes ALWAYS come out amazing.
Thank you for being so amazing and completely consistent with your recipe quality.
I cannot wait for your cookbook.
As a former food blogger myself, I HATE following recipes, but I always follow yours. (Of course I get a little creative here and there)
Keep up the excellent work!
Oh my gosh!! Thank you so much!
Thats seriously amazing (:
This looks sooooooo good! Such a perfect Autumn meal, stunning photography too. Alice x
http://www.aliceadventures.co.uk
Thank you so much Alice!
This looks amazing!
Thank you!!
Wow this dish looks BEAUTIFUL! Definitely going to try this out. I am all about one-pot meals. Great post, and love your photos 🙂
http://www.skinnybelle.com/parmesan-eggs/
Thank you Robyn, hope you love it!!
I’m LOVING your presentations and photography!
Thank you so much Faith!
What a gorgeous dish! I can’t wait to make this for a dinner party!
Awesome!! I hope you and your party loves this when you make it Christine! Thanks!!
I don’t see the carrots listed anywhere in the ingredients or instructions? I could be missing it though. Long day at work!
So sorry! I left them out by mistake, recipe is fixed, thank you! Hope you love this!
This looks soooo good and yes, so festive with the addition of the cranberries, which I happen to have a lot as well! Although I must admit that I have never used them for any savory dishes, but like always, your creativity is an inspiration… I love that it all just cooks in one pan and it’s an all-in-one meal! Will definitely make this.
One special dish to me, Lumpia Shanghai (sort of an egg roll with meat and veggies), because this always reminds me of my Mom. She always brought this to PTA meetings when I was in grade school and always have it on my birthdays.
Right? So easy and convenient with one pan! And that dish sounds amazing! Thanks Sheila!
This was awesome!!
Added carrots and Brussels sprouts, stunning and delicious!
You recipes are always gorgeous and do-able ?
Thank you Anon!!
Skillet dinners are the best and I love the cranberries for a festive touch!
The cranberries are my favorite part!!
Hey there! This recipe is making me drool! I’m planning on cooking this this week and I see that dried cranberries can be a substitution for fresh but I was wondering if you can use frozen as well? Which do you think would be better between dried and frozen? Thanks!
Hey Nadia! I would use frozen and then you can add them when I direct into the recipe. If you used dried, add them after cooking. Let me know if you have any questions. Thank you so much! 🙂
This looks amazing. How big of a cast iron skillet did you use for this? I’ve been wanting to get one (so many recipes I want to try use them!) but I’m not sure if the 10.5 inch I have my eye would on would be big enough.
Also wondering! There’s at least 3 recipes in my bookmarks that are for cast-iron skillet cooking and they are around the same size (9-10 inch) and I’m dying to try this as well, but need to buy one first! lol
Hey Kelly! 10 inch is my preferred everyday size. For this recipe however, I use a 12 inch. Both sized will work. Also, I love Staub. it is my favorite! Let me know if you have questions. Thank you!!
Hey Shannan! Mine is 12 inches, but 10 inches works great. Let me know if you have any other questions. Thank you! 🙂
I just stumbled across this recipe and it looks amazing! I’d like to make it sometime this weekend. In the photo it looks like you halved a head of garlic and let that bake in the pan with everything else, but I didn’t see it mentioned in the recipe. Did you bake it with extra garlic? Thanks!
Hey Melissa! I baked it with a head of garlic, sorry I will mention that in the recipe. Please let me know if you have questions. Hope you love this! Thanks! 🙂
Can I use maple syrup instead of the brown sugar?
Yes, I think that will be great! Let me know if you have questions. Thanks!
Would it be a bad idea to make this with skinless chicken thighs?
Thanks!
Hi! I am not sure, without the skin the seasoning really does not have anything to stick to. I am sure it would still be great, but just different. Let me know if you have questions. Thank you!
5 min till this is done and ready to serve…the aroma has been amazing and ever changing since lighting the stove! SALIVATING… The timer just went off……
Oh, my! THIS was delicious…a keeper!
Woo!! Really happy you enjoyed this recipe so much Donna! Thank you!
I don’t have a cast iron skillet big enough so I was going to use a dutch oven, do you think that will work okay? Also should the skillet be covered when it goes in the oven? Thanks!
Hey Rachel! A dutch oven will work great! Leave it uncovered in the oven. Let me know if you have any other questions. Hope you love this. Thanks!
what a wonderful recipe it was delicious. Thank you.
You’re welcome and thank you!!
I am currently making this now! Thank you for the recipe. Just subed the potatoes for sweet potatoes and apple cider vinegar because I didn’t have balsamic, should be good though with the sweet potatoes! I’m excited for it to finish!
Awesome! I hope it turns out great for you Darla! Thanks!!
I made this tonight and it got rave reviews from my husband and two-year-old! Only thing I did differently was swap the amounts of thyme and rosemary because I love the taste of fresh rosemary more than thyme. Fantastic recipe! Thank you!
Yay! So happy you guys liked them!! Thank you Christina!!
This looks amazing. I am going to make it this weekend for my mom’s birthday. I love that it is festive without being another roast beef or ham. I am thinking of doubling the recipe (or at least the amount of chicken). I have two cast iron skillets so I may do it that way, or put the vegetables and chicken in a larger baking dish when it is time to go in the oven. I also have a dutch oven which is an option. Any thoughts? Thank you!
Hey Kerry! I think 1 large roasting pan will work great! Let me know if you have questions. Hope this is a hit, thanks!
Hi! I’m excited to make this recipe. What do you do with the head of garlic after it’s done roasting? I may sub this with brussel sprouts and do a parsnip mash with it!
Hi Christine! I use the garlic for mashed potatoes, stir it into soup, pretty much anything. It adds such great flavor! Love the idea of brussels sprouts and parsnips! Yum! Merry Christmas?
Silly question, should the chicken be bone-in or boneless? Thanks!
I use a mix of bone in and bone out, so whatever you like best! Happy Holidays! ?
Hi! I am making a potato pancake side dish for a Hanukkah dinner – do you have a substitution for the potatoes in this recipe so not to oversaturate my guests with starch! I do love this recipe as the original!!
Hey Nellie! I think any other veggie would be great or just double up on the carrots. Let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this and Merry Christmas! ?
I’ve made this dish three times. Not only is it delicious, it’s a beautiful looking dish. I make it in my eggplant colored 5qt. Le Creucet Braiser. It’s all so colorful. Every time that I’ve made it, I’ve changed it up slightly. I keep all the seasoning the same just change up the veggies. Thanks
P.S. I’m going to try the skillet chicken with broccoli next.
I am so glad you love this recipe, Marcy!! Thank you so much! Let me know how you like the skillet chicken!
This looks great! I’m making it tonight for a little dinner party..1 pot is the best for that!
I have a 3.75qt le creuset braiser..hoping that is big enough? Also, this time of year I couldn’t find fresh cranberries so I was thinking of adding pomegranate seeds after it’s done cooking, thoughts?!
Hey Anna! I think that pot should work great and I LOVE the idea of pomegranates. sounds incredible. Let me know if you have questions. 🙂
Yeah…. not great. Looks good, tastes icky. Not making this again.
Oh, I am so sorry you did not like this dish! I hope you try some other recipes on my blog and enjoy those!
Doesn’t it drive you nuts when someone says, “I tried this but substituted X for Y…”? No? Good. 🙂
So, I tried this dish last night and added whole mushrooms and chopped eggplant and OMG was it amazing. Totally delicious and so easy to make. The cranberries and the sauce really set this dish apart from others.
This morning, I made a sandwich using the remaining eggplant, mushrooms and some of the juice on a pita with hummus and hard boiled eggs and tomato and it was absolutely delicious.
This is a dish I’ll make again (but maybe substitute sweet potato for the regular potato and add some diced acorn squash).
Haha, I love when you guys make a dish your own! I am so so glad you enjoyed this, Mary! Thank you!
Do you need to add balsamic vinegar? My husband is not a fan.
You can omit it from the recipe. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
I am beyond excited I discovered you via a Tastey post on Facebook. This is the first recipe I tried and I am hooked! The flavors in this dish were amazing. I cannot wait to try out your other recipes.
Thank you Katie!
Yummy and easy to prepare.
Thank you Katherine!
Tieghan! This recipe was so simple, so comforting, and so impressive to serve. And the clean up- that was it? You’ve gotta be kidding! Your recipes always kill it, but this one really takes the cake for me. I plan on making this multiple more times this winter. Thanks for helping make dinner parties just a bit more special :).
I am so happy you enjoyed this Zach! Thank you so much! I hope everyone at your dinner parties enjoys this as well ?
Do you use bone-in chicken breast for this recipe?
I used bone in, yes. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
This recipe was totally DELICIOUS. My husband and I were stuck in a rut and wanted something new from chicken, potatoes and fruit. By adding carrots, cranberries, and some new spices, and cooking the chicken in a little avocado oil (as olive oil oxidizes at the temps suggested in this recipe) rather than its own juice or on the grill, WOW, what a party for the taste buds. This will become one of our regular fall meals.
Thank you so much Court!
I made this last night for dinner and it was delicious! I could eat the potatoes and carrots for days. I messed up searing the chicken skin, so I ended up taking most of it off while eating, but the chicken was amazingly juicy, tender, and flavorful. I want to take a second to talk about what I think is the star of the show…the cranberries. O. M. G. I love the combination of the tart berries with the sweet brown sugar, all melded together PERFECTLY with the balsamic vinegar. I made sure to include a cranberry in every single bite. Next time I am going to increase the amount of crans, just so I can enjoy them for a bit longer :-). Great recipe, one of my new holiday favorites.
I am so glad you loved this and it turned out perfectly for you!! Thank you so much Katie!
Another amazing supper! Great flavours and so easy. I used chicken breasts instead, and had to cut up russet potatoes because we didn’t have baby potatoes on hand, but it still turned out fantastic. I’ll be making this again :o)
Thank you so much Michelle!
Just made this recipe to bring in the fall season and it was absolutely perfect. Served with roasted brussel sprouts and it was sooo good! The chicken came out perfectly crispy and tender and full of flavor. Forever thank you for another incredible one-skillet wonder!!!
Thank you Chelsea! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Flavor packed. Easy to make. One pot wonder (I made mine in a Dutch oven). What more could you ask for?! My whole family loved it and I’m making it again tonight!
Awh I am so happy to hear that Erin! Thank you for trying this! xTieghan
Outstanding! Husband speechless. How can it look so beautiful yet taste so good? A show-stopper.
Haha yes! So glad this turned out so well for you Julie! Thank you! xTieghan
Simple and delicious. I didn’t use potatoes nor carrots as we did a roast the 2 days prior. I did a seasonal stuffed acorn squash on the side and subbed parsnip for carrots. I would recommend at least subbing 1 parsnip in for one carrot. The way the herbs, cranberries, and wine soak into it. This is now one of my favorite dishes.
Yum! I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you, Tabitha! Thank you for trying it! xTieghan
Loved this recipe. It was so good!
Thank you so much Rockie! I am really glad this turned out so amazing for you! xTieghan
Made this tonight and it turned out great! My chicken thighs must have had more fat because I did not need to add butter to the pan and I actually took some of the fat out before cooking the veggies because there was so much. Aside from that I followed the recipe to a tee and it turned out perfectly! Thanks!
Hey Charley,
I am so glad the recipe was enjoyed, thank you for making it! xTieghan