Orange Cranberry chicken is slow cooked to perfection in a slow cooker. It is 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.
Recipe Highlights
This is a healthier version of a family recipe that was made with canned cranberry sauce and orange juice from concentrate. I’ve replace the cranberry sauce with fresh cranberries and orange juice. I added a little bit of natrually sweet maple syrup to take the tartness away from the cranberries.
Cranberries so are good for us, why not reap the health benefits of the real thing? Even thoght the processed ingredients have been replace, this version is just as easy to put together, is naturally sweet and super tasty.
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Here is What You Will Need
- 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
Estimated Time To Make This Recipe: 5 hours in a slow cooker & 15 minutes in a pressure cooker
How to make it
Slow cooker method
Who doesn’t love their slow cooker? Especially when the recipe is as easy to make as this one is.
All you have to do to make orange cranberry chicken 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?
PrintSlow Cooked Cranberry Chicken Breasts
Cranberry chicken is slow cooked to perfection in a savory and slightly sweet sauce made with fresh and wholesome ingredients
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 25 mins
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Slow Cooker/Pressure
- Cuisine: American
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
- Prepare the ingredients: chop the cranberries and oranges, squeeze the orange juice, crush the garlic, grate the ginger
SLOW COOKER METHOD
- 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
- Place the browned chicken pieces in a slow cooker
- Top the chicken with the remaining ingredients
- Cook the cranberry chicken in slow cooker for 5 hours on low heat
- 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
- Set the pressure cooker to saute and add the oil and the chicken breasts cook until they begin to turn brown.
- Turn the heat off and top the chicken pieces with the remaining ingredients
- Place the cover on the pressure cooker and set it to high and cook for 8 minutes
- Slow release the pressure and carefully remove the lid
- 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
Ooohhh thhis looks so good! Thanks for another great recipe.
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I love the orange cranberry twist on this chicken dish! So perfect and festive for Fall and I bet it makes your house smell amazing too.
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We made this for dinner last night and it was absolutely delicious! The orange and cranberry flavors really came through. Such a great flavor combo!
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I have to make a chicken dish for a pot luck and I am definitely going for this one! Gorgeous! Thank you for sharing!
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Ejoy Jacqui!
Oh my goodness! I am loving this combination of flavors! Now this is the perfect fall chicken dish if you ask me!
I made this fall inspired chicken for our sunday meal and it was amazing. I browned the chicken and threw the rest of the ingredients and in the crockpot and let the magic happen. I loved the sweetness from the orange/honey and the tartness from the cranberries. The fresh ginger was really a special touch, thanks for a great recipe.
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This Chicken recipe looks so tender! I love that it’s slow cooked and the combo of cranberry and orange is always the best!
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Such a lovely, easy and super delicious chicken recipe. I absolutely love how the meat looks. SO tender and so juicy. Full of flavor. I can’t wait to make this!
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