Apricot Balsamic Chicken is a delicious and simple chicken recipe.
This recipe has been around for a while. I’ve been making this Apricot Balsamic Chicken for my family since 2007! I’ve never had any good photos of this chicken, so today I’m re-surfacing the recipe with new photos for you to enjoy. This is a must-make chicken recipe. Be sure to read the reviews under the recipe at the end of this post. Everyone seems to enjoy it. It’s easy to make and it has just a few ingredients.
Ingredients needed for Apricot Balsamic Chicken:
- chicken
- oil, salt and pepper
- onion and fresh thyme (can sub dried)
- apricot jam
- balsamic vinegar
How to make Apricot Balsamic Chicken:
This is a lighter chicken recipe, so you’re not going to be frying it in a heavy amount of oil or anything like that. You’ll sauté red onion in a small amount of oil before adding chicken to the pan. The chicken is sprinkled with salt and fresh thyme, and it’s sautéed in the pan until done. You’ll keep the heat at medium to medium-high to avoid burning the onions. Once the chicken is cooked through, you’ll remove it to a plate while you make the sauce.
For the sauce, you’ll heat apricot jam, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper in the skillet.
Then you’ll add the chicken back to the pan and warm it up with the sauce. If you have picky eaters in your house, you can always serve the sauce on the side and let people drizzle on their own sauce, as desired. The sauce is really, really good… but picky eaters might wrinkle their noses!
Ingredient Substitutions:
If you don’t have a red onion, it’s okay to use a yellow onion. If you don’t have fresh thyme, you can substitute 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme. And if you would prefer to change the flavor of the sauce, try using raspberry jam instead of apricot jam.
Serve this Apricot Balsamic Chicken with rice and your favorite vegetable. Enjoy!
Here are a few more recipes using balsamic vinegar that you might like to try:
- Dijon Balsamic Rack of Lamb
- Balsamic Glazed Chicken
- Strawberry Avocado Salad with Balsamic Chicken
- Balsamic Sautéed Mushrooms
- Blueberry Balsamic BBQ Chicken Pizza
- Bacon Burgers with Balsamic Caramelized Onions
- Slow Cooker Balsamic Pot Roast
- Grilled Balsamic Chicken and Peaches
Apricot- Balsamic Chicken
Recipe Details
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon vegetable or canola oil
- 1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped
- 1½ teaspoons minced fresh thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
- 16 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breasts (4 cutlets)
- 1/3 cup all fruit or reduced-sugar apricot jam
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium heat until hot. Add the onion; sauté 5 minutes.
- Sprinkle thyme and 1/4 teaspoon salt over the chicken. Add the chicken to the pan; sauté 6 minutes on each side or (less) until done. Remove the chicken from pan; keep warm.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt, jam, vinegar, and pepper to pan, stirring constantly until the jam melts. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve immediately.
Notes
- I always pound out my chicken breasts a little bit to thin them out and even out their thickness. They cook up quicker and more evenly that way. Alternately, you can buy the thin-cut thicken cutlets and use those instead.
- I love the sauce for this chicken, but the flavor might be overwhelming for kids. Serve a dish of the sauce on the side for the little ones- then they can dunk their chicken into the sauce if they wish.
Nutrition
Lori, how do you think this chicken would be if, instead of cooking the chicken in the skillet, I baked it in the oven with the sauce over it? And possibly added the already cooked onions to the pan. I want to make this for a crowd and the skillet cooking will take too long. Thanks.
The problem of burnt onions is easily resolved by pushing the onions over to the edge of the skillet while you cook the chicken. This is a practice I use regularly to keep from overcooking (burning) the onions.
Could I sub red wine vinegar for the balsamic?
I’m not sure– would give it a very different flavor profile. You can always experiment and see!
I made this for dinner tight and it turned out great! With the little bit of oil being used for the onions I was afraid they’d burn while the chicken was cooking, so I took them out and added them back in with the sauce. I’ll bet a little garlic would work well with this too. This sauce would be great on pork tenderloin medallions.
I made this tonight on a whim (thank you, Pinterest), and it was delicious! My husband and toddler both gobbled it up. Thank you for the recipe. Like others here, I had problems with burning the onions even though I used a lower heat. Next time I’ll just remove them before cooking the chicken and then add them back in for the sauce. I also couldn’t help thinking that a tablespoon of butter or ghee melted in the sauce would be awesome!
Made this last night it was excellent. Doubled the recipe (I have boys) used sugar free apricot jam. Served with quinoa (made this one with almonds, dried cherries and craisins, thyme, leeks and topped with feta) ,pineapple and a green salad…was looking to make a light spring meal. This is a keeper easy and not messy
sounds wonderful!!!
I made this recipe for my daughter’s birthday dinner last night, and no one in our family was disappointed! Looks like I found a new family favorite!
Made this recipe the other night and it was delicious. Easy to make, both my husband and I agree that this recipe is a keeper
I always make this with seedless raspbery preserves (it’s Bob Evans’ recipe). I will try it tonight with apricot, thanks!
I made this chicken last night and it was so easy and tasted excellent. This goes into the rotation.
Made this for dinner tonight – it is going in the rotation for sure! The fam gobbled it up and they were fighting over the leftovers for lunch tomorrow!
LOVED the meal! 🙂 how do you think the glaze would be for wings? I was considering trying it for a cookout this weekend…
sounds like a wonderful idea to me! Let me know if you try it!
Made this for dinner tonight – delicious! Onions burnt a bit so medium high might need to be adjusted for my stove. Served it with roasted cauliflower, butternut squash and asparagus. Great dinner! Thanks for the recipe.
Found this on Pinterest and made it tonight!!! Yummy! Can’t wait to make it again!
Made this tonight – family loved it!
I made this last night and got rave reviews! It is just packed with flavor. I added some steamed cabbage and marscapone mashed potatoes. Perfect combination. Thanks for this one Lori!
This was really delicious…I was looking for something quick and easy for dinner as I had not planned anything. This fit the bill. Really yummy…almost tasted like a sweet Asian dish. Thanks!!
I have made this several times and my kids love it. I like the fact that it is simple and doesn’t require a lot of time or ingredients.
This was really good! It was simple to make, too. Thanks for sharing it.