Easy Cranberry Chicken
Updated
Updated
Made with chicken, cranberry sauce, french onion soup mix, and dressing, this easy Cranberry Chicken only requires 5 minutes of prep, all baked in a single casserole dish, and is super delicious. Weeknight dinner lifesaver!
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This cranberry chicken recipe goes way back to my teenage years when my mom used to make it. It’s actually one of the very first recipes I ever made all on my own – no surprise, since it’s so easy that a child could do it! Now it’s become something I serve often for my own family, since everyone loves it so much. It’s a little sweet, a little tart, rich, and so delicious! You only need 5 pantry ingredients, a mixing bowl, a casserole dish, and about $20.
I know the ingredients might sound weird, but somehow they all really work. Whenever I mention this dish to people who have never had it, they look at me with much skepticism. “What are the ingredients, again?” they say. I swear to them they’ll love it. They don’t believe me. And then they always come back and say they made it, loved it, and will make it again and again. I’m batting 1,000 so far.
Cranberry Chicken
Ingredients
- 8 ounce bottle Catalina salad dressing
- 1.25 ounce (1 packet) dry onion soup mix
- 15 ounce can whole-berry cranberry sauce, (or homemade cranberry sauce)
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- salt and pepper, , to taste
- 2 & 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, , excess fat removed
- mashed potatoes or cooked rice, , for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, combine the Catalina dressing, onion soup mix, cranberry sauce, and red pepper flakes. Blend well. Pour into the baking dish.
- Season the chicken thighs on both sides with salt and pepper and place in the baking dish, in a single layer, making sure all the chicken is coated well with the sauce.
- Bake, uncovered, for 1 hour (or until the chicken has an internal temperature of 165°F.)
- Serve over mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, or rice.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and any changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are very important to you, I would recommend calculating them yourself.
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Serving Suggestions
My go-to way of serving cranberry chicken is over mashed potatoes and roasted green beans. You could swap the potatoes for rice or noodles if desired. Other veggies like roasted broccoli, brussels sprouts, and asparagus also pair well.
Proper Storage
- Fridge. Store leftover cranberry chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Freezer. Leftovers also freeze well in a freezer safe container or bag up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and reheat before serving.
- Reheat. Reheat leftovers in the microwave, until heated through.
More Easy Chicken Recipes
I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
Snap! I only have jellied cranberry sauce, will that work?
Yes, that’s fine. Enjoy!
Time to pull it together and I forgot the onion soup mix. No time to run to the store!#!#! Will onion powder do, if so how much. :-(
Hi Karen! While you certainly can make this dish without the French onion soup mix, I personally wouldn’t. There’s so much more to it than just onion powder or one seasoning which adds so much flavor to the sauce.
I found this recipe on Instagram and have made it twice a month. So easy and full of flavor
I was prompted to try this recipe by the out of the ordinary ingredients. Followed the recipe exactly and served over rice. Loved the tart sweetness. Leftovers even tasted better the next day. Definitely a keeper!
My famiLy LOVED this recipe! My husband commented every time he ate the leftovers how delicious the sauce was. He especially liked the slight zing of the red pepper flakes! This one stays in the recipe rotation!
I still can’t believe how easy this recipe was and yet so delicious! My husband was wowed and even suggested making it for our fam get together (shock!). Suffice to say, this was a huge hit and will make other Bellyfull recipes just bc they’re interesting, easy and FUN!
Have made this fabulous recipe many times and LOVE it. I just have one question. In your original TikTok vides, you said 16 oz bottle of Catalina, but here on your website it says 8 oz bottle. Please let me know which I should be using. Thank you so much. Love ykhr recipes and the way you present them Thank you .
Either amount works. 16 ounces will just provide more sauce, but 8 ounces is plenty.
FIVE STARS FOR AMY!!!❤️ I made this tonight for dinner and all I can say is YUM!!! I followed the recipe just as it was written and served it over rice. As this dish was baking the aroma in the house was amazing. The chicken came out so moist and the sauce mixed with the rice was just yummy. Prep was quick and so easy too. This recipe will definitely go into my meal rotation.
This was a great easy and delicious meal. Thank you so much!!!!!
Hi.. wanting to make this however the video suggests a whole bottle of dressing and the written recipe 8oz .. and the answer is .. lol
Randy
Hi Randy! Honestly, either amount is fine. 16 ounces will create more sauce, but also make the dish sweeter. I would recommend following the written recipe – 8 ounces. You’re going to love it!
I’m going to make this recipe this Tuesday, I was wondering about thickening the sauce, or will it be thick already
Hi Neil – I don’t think it needs thickening at all, but you could always remove the chicken after baking and then stir a bit of cornstarch into the sauce.
Delish!
I made this tonight and it was a big hit! My husband said we have to keep this in our rotation. I must admit, I was one of those people who had a raised eyebrow at the ingredient list when I first saw your reel about this dish. I figured this would be a pass for me. But after reading your description and reading the rave reviews I decided to try it and boy!! am I glad I did!!
Thank you for all you do!
Hi Amy! We love this recipe so much! I’ve made it twice and sharing the recipe with friends. Also love the pepper flakes with the sweet! Enjoy your videos too! I’m a new follower and can’t wait to try more of your recipes. The Brazilian lemonade was a big hit too!
Can I make the Cranberry chicken recipe in a Crockpot?
I’ve never tested this in a crockpot, so I personally cannot vouch for results, but some other readers have said they have made it that way.
Okay, listen. This sounded SO weird that I had to try it! I like all of the ingredients separately, but together? It seemed like a gamble.
I didn’t have boneless skinless thighs, so I removed the skin from the thighs and left the bone in, fully accepting that it might take longer to cook. However, it cooked just a little less than an hour and was fully up to temp.
The best way I can explain this recipe is that it’s almost like a sweet and sour chicken. We ate it over white rice. The flavor was super nostalgic for me and my husband, though neither of us could figure out what it reminded us of!! Our daughter loved it and we will be making this unexpectedly delicious recipe again!
Do you think this would be good as a crockpot recipe? We have a church potluck coming up and I was thinking about doubling the recipe and using the crockpot!
I’ve never tested this in a crockpot, but some other readers have said they make it like that. Try it?
The recipe says an 8 oz bottle of Catalina dressing and in your picture you show a 16 oz bottle of the dressing?
Use an 8 ounce bottle, as instructed. The picture is just for a visual reference for anyone not familiar with what Catalina looks like. Enjoy!
Would fat free Catalina salad dressing work in this recipe?Thank you!
That should be fine
Easy and soooo good!
I just found this recipe while looking for something quick and easy to make. I didn’t have any Catelina, Russian or French dressing, so I improvised with what I had – Kraft Sun Dried Tomato with Oregano. WOW! Flavours just popped. Will definitely be adding this to my rotation.
This was so good! I forgot the onion soup mix so the sodium levels were not the same but my kid gobbled it up and said. “Mom this is a repeat!”