One skillet is all it’s essential make this tender and juicy apple cider rooster. The method is very easy: coat rooster thighs with a comfortable, flavorful mixture of heat spices and prepare dinner them in a skillet. Take away, after which put together a brilliant easy apple cider pan sauce with candy apples and shallots. This can be a fast, crowd-pleasing 35-minute dinner recipe you’ll wish to make on repeat all autumn lengthy!

When you love spiced apple cider and soar for pleasure on the considered a fast & simple rooster dinner, you’ll flip for this generously spiced apple cider rooster dish. It’s splendidly savory, and has a kiss of sweetness from the apple cider and brown sugar.
FALL IN LOVE!
Right here’s Why You’ll Love This Apple Cider Rooster
- Fast and straightforward 1-pan meal
- Further tender, juicy rooster
- Principally fall in a skillet 😉
- Cozy heat spices with salty, candy, and savory flavors
- Apple cider and butter clearly make a scrumptious pan sauce
- Undeniably attention-grabbing, so that you’ll wish to make time and again
If there’s one stand-out meal you make through the fall season… one that may have everybody speaking and demanding you make on repeat… it’s this.

The perfect a part of this dish, clearly in addition to its ease and the FABULOUS apple cider pan sauce, is the strong mixture of spices. I tailored this dish from a Cooking Light recipe I discovered, and added fairly a bit extra spice so the flavors actually stand out.
Use These Spices for the Greatest Taste
- Salt & Pepper
- Floor Coriander
- Floor Cinnamon
- Floor Nutmeg
- Dried Thyme Leaves
You additionally want rooster, a bit butter and olive oil, a contact of brown sugar, apples (no have to peel), shallots, and… the star of the present… apple cider. Make sure to use apple cider, the nonalcoholic beverage, and never apple cider vinegar. You’ll be deeply dissatisfied with that mistake!
A bit tip: Contemporary apple cider sometimes seems in grocery shops and farm markets round late summer time, however can get more durable to search out by the tip of the yr. To make sure I could make this cozy recipe all all through the winter, I prefer to freeze some apple cider in an ice dice tray, then defrost a few frozen cider cubes every time I wish to make it. Or attempt making your individual homemade apple cider!

Success Tip: Use Rooster Thighs As a substitute of Rooster Breasts
If you wish to make this recipe with rooster breasts as a substitute of thighs you may, however you’ll lose some taste. Rooster thighs are a fattier minimize of meat, in order that they style a lot richer than rooster breast meat. They’re additionally smaller than most rooster breasts, in order that they prepare dinner sooner on the range. When you use rooster breasts, I like to recommend shopping for the thin-sliced or tenderloin cuts.
However for greatest outcomes with this recipe, I strongly advocate rooster thighs.
Begin the Rooster, Then Make the Pan Sauce
Ideally, you need a fairly large skillet for this recipe, and I often use my 12-inch cast-iron skillet. In case your skillet is small, you may prepare dinner the rooster in batches. It’s also possible to use a Dutch oven.
Sprinkle the spice combination on either side of the rooster thighs, then prepare dinner the rooster in a bit oil, flipping as soon as, till either side are golden-brown and the internal temperature has reached 165°F (74°C).

Take away the rooster and put aside.
Add the butter to the pan (don’t wipe it out first—you need the flavorful spices and drippings from the rooster in there for the pan sauce!), and swirl to coat. Add the apple and shallot slices and sprinkle with the remaining salt. Cook dinner, stirring sometimes, till they begin to soften. Pour within the apple cider, and prepare dinner till the apples are crisp-tender, and the sauce has thickened a bit.

End up by including the cooked rooster again to the pan—only for a pair minutes, to heat it again up and blend every little thing collectively.
The method is rather a lot like my reader-favorite cilantro lime chicken and this creamy lemon thyme chicken (certainly one of my all-time greatest dishes!).

I prefer to garnish the dish with extra thyme, plus some contemporary rosemary if I’ve it readily available. To serve, place the rooster thighs on plates, then prime each bit of rooster with a giant scoop of apples and shallots, together with that scrumptious apple cider pan sauce.
FAQs
Coriander brings a variety of taste to this dish, so I don’t advocate skipping it or substituting it. In an absolute pinch, you may substitute with floor caraway, or with 1/4 teaspoon every dried oregano and floor cumin.
You possibly can, however you’ll lose some taste. Apple cider is contemporary, unfiltered, and sometimes unpasteurized, so it’s extra just like the uncooked, purer model of juiced apples. Apple juice has had the pulp and sediment filtered out, and is pasteurized to increase its shelf life.
Most apple varieties work for this recipe, although I’d avoid softer, mealier varieties like Pink Scrumptious and McIntosh, which may prepare dinner down into mush. I have a tendency to make use of one tart apple (like Granny Smith) and one candy apple (like Honeycrisp). I exploit this similar half tart/half candy trick just about each time I bake with apples, whether or not I’m making apple pie or apple cinnamon bread.
My best apples for baking additionally applies right here. 😉

What to Serve With Apple Cider Rooster
This rooster recipe pairs with many alternative aspect dishes. I prefer to serve it with inexperienced beans and rice, which may each be made on the range as properly. (Generally I’ve to present my oven an evening off!)
However this apple cider rooster can be tasty with potatoes or candy potatoes, a contemporary inexperienced salad, dinner rolls or brown butter sage dinner rolls, or cornbread. When you’re feeding a bigger crowd and need some extra substantial aspect dish choices, attempt green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, or zucchini casserole.

Skillet Apple Cider Rooster
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook dinner Time: 22 minutes
Complete Time: 35 minutes
Yield: serves 4
Class: Dinner
Technique: Cooking
Delicacies: American
Description
One skillet is all it’s essential prepare dinner this tender, juicy rooster with candy apples and apple cider sauce. A mix of spices add impeccable taste, and the apple cider sauce is made proper in the identical skillet! Assessment recipe Notes earlier than beginning.
Directions
- Warmth a big 12-inch skillet over medium warmth. I often use a cast iron skillet, however any skillet this dimension works. It’s also possible to use a Dutch oven.
- In a small bowl, combine collectively 3/4 teaspoon salt, the coriander, cinnamon, nutmeg, dried thyme, and pepper. Sprinkle the spice combination over either side of the rooster thighs.
- Add a drizzle of oil to the recent skillet, and swirl to coat. Add the rooster thighs to the pan. Cook dinner for five minutes, then flip and prepare dinner for five extra minutes or till cooked by means of (internal temperature must be a minimum of 165°F (74°C)). Switch rooster to a plate and canopy frivolously. You’ll add it again to the pan in the long run of the subsequent step.
- Add the butter to the pan (no have to wipe it out first), and gently swirl to coat because it melts. Add the brown sugar, apples, and shallots, and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook dinner, stirring sometimes, till apples start to melt, about 5 minutes. Pour within the apple cider and prepare dinner, stirring sometimes, till the cider sauce has barely thickened, about 5 minutes. Add the rooster again to the pan and prepare dinner for two minutes.
- Take away from warmth. Spoon the apple combination over the rooster to serve. Garnish with contemporary thyme and rosemary, if desired.
- Leftovers preserve properly within the fridge for just a few days. The butter within the sauce will solidify, however when you reheat, all of it comes again collectively. You possibly can reheat on the range over medium warmth or within the microwave.
Notes
- Particular Instruments (affiliate hyperlinks): Cast-Iron Skillet | Tongs | Instant-Read Thermometer
- What can I exploit as a substitute of coriander? Floor coriander brings a variety of taste to this dish, so I don’t advocate skipping it or substituting it. In an absolute pinch, you may simply depart it out or substitute floor caraway, or 1/4 teaspoon every dried oregano and floor cumin.
- Can I exploit rooster breasts as a substitute of rooster thighs? You possibly can, however you’ll lose some taste, and so they might take longer to prepare dinner. For greatest outcomes, I strongly advocate boneless, skinless rooster thighs.
- Can I exploit apple juice as a substitute of apple cider? You possibly can, however you’ll lose some taste. Apple cider is contemporary, unfiltered, and sometimes unpasteurized, so it’s extra just like the uncooked, purer model of juiced apples. Apple juice has had the pulp and sediment filtered out, and is pasteurized to increase its shelf life.Â
- Recipe tailored from Cooking Light.
Diet
- Serving Measurement: 1 serving
- Energy: 247
- Sugar: 19.7 g
- Sodium: 523.1 mg
- Fats: 9.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 23.1 g
- Protein: 17.4 g
- Ldl cholesterol: 95.2 mg
Key phrases: apple cider rooster