Orange Cranberry Chicken

Orange Cranberry chicken is slow cooked to perfection in a savory and slightly sweet sauce made with fresh and wholesome ingredients.  It’s easy to prepare and can be made in a pressure cooker too, an  excellent diner idea for busy nights.

A Healthier Cranberry Chicken Recipe

This is a healthier version of a family recipe that was made with canned cranberry sauce and orange juice from concentrate. That’s a lot of unnecessary added sugar.

Cranberries so are good for us, I thought why not use real cranberries and reap the health benefits? This version is just as easy to put together and is naturally sweet and super tasty.

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Here is What You Will Need to Make This Recipe

• boneless chicken breasts, boneless chicken thighs or a combination of both
• fresh or frozen cranberries (preferably organic) for a tart and fresh flavor
• fresh squeezed orange juice to add a little bit of sweetness and reduce  tart flavor from the berries
• maple syrup to  add a touch of more of natural sweetness
• tamari sauce to  to add a little bit of umami to the recipe
• fresh grated ginger brings up the flavor a notch
• whole wheat flour or arrow root to thicken the sauce
• slow cooker or pressure cooker

Cranberry Chicken Recipe Steps 

Crock Pot Method

Who doesn’t love their slow cooker this time of year?  I know I do, especially when the recipe is as easy to make as this one is.

All you have to do to make this recipe in a slow cooker  is brown the chicken, place all of the ingredients in the slow cooker and come back 5 hours later. Once the chicken is cooked, thicken the sauce for a healthy tasty dinner.

Pressure Cooker Method

It is equally as easy to make Cranberry chicken in a pressure cooker as it  is to make it in  the slow cooker and it can be on your table less than one hour.

All that needs to be done is to brown the chicken, add the remaining ingredients to the pressure cooker. Set the pressure and cook for 8 minutes, thicken the sauce and enjoy!

What to Serve with Cranberry Chicken

Cranberry chicken tastes great served over mashed potatoes, rice or farro with a side of roasted brussels sprouts or a spinach salad

Recipe Variations

• Replace the orange pieces with chopped pineapple for a blend of cranberry orange and pineapple.
• For a gluten-free version, make a slurry of arrowroot and water. Mix together 1 teaspoon of arrowroot with 2 teaspoons of water. Add the mixture at the very end of the cooking process to thicken the sauce.

Have you tried these Healthy Chicken Recipes?

• Chicken Murphy
• Slow Cooker Chicken with Black Beans
• Braised Chicken with Apples

Slow Cooked Cranberry Chicken Breasts

★★★★★

5 from 7 reviews

Cranberry chicken is slow cooked to perfection in a savory and slightly sweet sauce made with fresh and wholesome ingredients

• Author: Anne
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 5 mins
• Total Time: 25 mins
• Yield: 4 1x
• Category: Dinner
• Method: Slow Cooker/Pressure
• Cuisine: American

Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 pound of boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs  or a combination of both
• 1 clove of garlic that has been crushed
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
• 1 1/2 cups cranberries  that have been coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup of chopped fresh orange or clementine
• 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
• 1 teaspoon tamari sauce
• 1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
• 1 teaspoon whole wheat flour mixed with 1 tablespoon water 

Instructions

1. Prepare the ingredients: chop the cranberries and oranges, squeeze the orange juice, crush the garlic, grate the ginger

SLOW COOKER METHOD

1. Brown the chicken –  if your slow cooker has a browning feature, this can be done in in the cooker. Otherwise, brown the chicken in a skillet on top of the stove in a skillet
2. Place the  browned chicken pieces in a slow cooker
3. Top the chicken with the remaining ingredients
4. Cook the cranberry chicken in slow cooker for 5 hours on low heat
5. Thicken the sauce – make a slurry of 1 teaspoon whole wheat flour mixed with 1 tablespoon water gradually add the slurry to the cranberry chicken until the sauce becomes thick

PRESSURE COOKER INSTRUCTIONS

1. Set the pressure cooker to saute and add the oil and the chicken breasts cook until they begin to turn brown.
2. Turn the heat off and top the chicken pieces with the remaining ingredients
3. Place the cover on the pressure cooker and set it to high and cook for 8 minutes
4. Slow release the pressure and carefully remove the lid
5. Thicken the sauce – make a slurry of 1 teaspoon whole wheat flour mixed with 1 tablespoon water gradually add the slurry to the cranberry chicken until the sauce becomes thick

 

Notes

For a gluten-free version, make a slurry of arrowroot and water. Mix together 1 teaspoon of arrowroot with 2 teaspoons of water. Add the mixture at the very end of the cooking process to thicken the sauce.

Keywords: cranberry chicken, chicken recipe