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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!
Can a Dutch oven be used for this?
Hi Clarissa,
You bet, that will work nicely for you! Have a lovely autumn day! x
Hi! I was wondering if I could do this recipe but sub a turkey breast instead of the chicken? I try to mix up our thanksgiving turkey every year. Your Brie Mac and cheese has become a staple every year 🙂 Thank you!
Hey Andi,
Totally, that sounds like a great idea!! Let me know how this recipe turns out for you, I hope you love it! xT
Fantastic recipe! We used bone-in, skin on chicken legs & thighs since that is what we got in our CSA this week. I also added chopped carrots, turnips and beets to the braise. Additionally, I ended up subbing half of the apple cider for mushroom stock to add a bit more savory elements. Served with horseradish cheddar mashed potatoes! My hubby has asked that we add this one into our regular fall/winter rotation 🙂
Hey Jessie,
Yay! So glad to hear this dish turned out well for you, thanks for trying it! Have a great day! Xx
Can you use a different flour, such as almond flour, coconut flour, arrowroot flour, or tapioca flour?
Hi Savannah,
Yes, any of those would work for you! Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xT
Could I use apple cider vinegar instead of apple cider and take out the wine?
Hi Nicole,
I would not recommend that:) You could use broth in place of the wine. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Hey! We’re just making this for probably the fifth time today and only just realized the recipe calls for apple cider and NOT apple cider vinegar. Haha OOPS. we love it! It’s definitely tangy and vinegar-y but that’s why we like it 🙂
Hey Karina,
Lol ooops!! So glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe, thanks for giving it a try! Happy fall weekend! xT
Why do you only sear the chicken on one side? Never seen that before in a recipe. Making it tonight for dinner – it looks like a lovely autumnal recipe
Hi Hazel,
I only sear one side of the chicken since we just need one side crispy for the oven. You could do both sides if you wanted:) I hope you love this dish! xT
Can this be made with Cod, Halibut, Shrimp or as a sauce for seared Scallops?
Hey there,
Totally, I don’t see why not! You could just need to adjust your cook time for the fish accordingly, assuming it will cook faster than the chicken:) I hope you love this recipe! xT
How reduced should the brother get. I braised it with the lid on and I see now it should be off?
I dont feel like it reduced a ton
Hey Kayla,
You could refer to the photos, but I would say you should still have a decent amount of broth left. Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xT
I only have apple juice. Do you think I can sub the apple cider with that?
Hi Christine,
Yes, that will work well for you! Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xT
I was curious as to why you wouldn’t carmelize the onions when doing the crock pot, I am making this I speak so fingers crossed!
Hey Melissa,
The onions should really could down quite a bit during that time in the crockpot, but if you wanted to caramelize them first you totally could! I hope you love this recipe! xT
I didn’t have white wine so I used dry red wine and it gave it a hardy taste. It was delicious! My friend in a different city made it the same night using white wine and he loved it too. This recipe is definitely one we will make often!
Hey Gail,
Fantastic! So glad to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! Have the best week! x
Perfect pre-fall comfort food! This would have been great with mashed potatoes, but I just ate it as-is. My sauce didn’t thicken in the oven, which isn’t surprising, so after baking for 30 min, I put it on the stove. It really helped and it was SO good!
Hey Autumn,
Fantastic! So glad to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! Have the best week! x
Is the chicken boneless/skinless ? Cut in pieces or left whole ?
I just read the whole story — boneless/skinless !!
Hey Barbara,
For this recipe, I like to use boneless/skinless and then I leave the pieces whole:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
This was fantastic! I fully caramelized the onions before cooking, and since I didn’t have cider on hand I used a combination of broth and a little bit of balsamic vinegar and soy sauce to keep things interesting. There was a lot of sauce, “soupy” some might say, but I found that it went perfectly over rice as I was serving and added flavor to everything. I had the time to slow cook the chicken at 325 for a little over an hour, and the chicken was fall-apart tender when it came out. Thanks for the inspiration with this recipe!
Hey Sydney,
Happy Sunday! Love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks so much for making it and your comment! xT