• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Joy the Baker
Joy the Baker
  • Cookies
  • Bread
  • Cakes
  • Pies
  • Recipes
    • All Recipes
    • Cookies
    • Birthday Cake Recipes
    • Biscuits
    • Muffins
    • Cupcakes
    • Drinks
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Fruit
    • Nuts
    • Buttermilk
    • Chocolate
    • Vanilla
    • Holiday
    • Healthy
    • Gluten-Free
    • Vegan
  • Blog
    • Baking 101
    • Tips
    • Beyond the Kitchen
    • Let It Be Sunday!
    • New Orleans
  • Shop

Apricot Balsamic Chicken

March 1, 2016 by Joy the Baker 32 Comments

Jump to Recipe

Apricot Balsamic Chicken Dinner

My maj* Tracy and I have a diet plan together.  It’s simple.  We text each other pictures of everything we eat in a day.  It’s called The Friend Diet and it keeps us accountable for all of the things we mindlessly eat.  Tracy has a thing for dried apple rings and I basically only eat tortillas stuffed with various eggs, beans, and greens.  It’s not so much a diet because we don’t actually restrict ourselves (as evidence by the picture of a giant slice of Drake on Cake cake I just texted to Tracy)… but it is our way of being accountable for… if nothing else, the amount of apple rings and tortillas we eat.

On one of the rare days that I was not eating a tortilla, I made this Apricot and Balsamic Glazed Chicken served with fluffy couscous and peppery arugula.  It’s a perfect recipe for those Tuesday nights when you’re like…. I need to be an adult, and make dinner like an adult, and eat it sitting on a chair like an adult. This is that dinner.

Other chicken dinners include:  Slight Fear of Commitment Roast Chicken (don’t worry, everything is great) and The Best Week Night Chicken Dinner and Chicken Spinach Meatball Soup with Broth and Rice.  I suppose what I’m trying to say is… I have no reason to eat as many tortillas as I do.

Here’s dinner.  Let’s do it.

*maj:  short for major.  As in, ‘Tracy is the major person in my life’.  Best friend.  Like the movie Beaches except (spoiler alert) we both live (hopefully, GEEZ).

Apricot Balsamic Chicken Dinner

This recipe is rather smash and dash.  That’s how I refer to a quick and easy weeknight meal.  I’m a big fan of boneless, skinless chicken thighs because they’re cheap, flavorful, and cook through quickly.  Some people haaaate chicken thighs and if you’re one of them…. it’s cool.  Go for the breast.  No shame in the game.

Season generously with salt and pepper.  Both sides.  Pan sear in a hot pan with olive oil.  There’s no stirring while pan searing.  It’s the quality time in the pan that gives chicken it’s golden brown crust.

Apricot Balsamic Chicken Dinner

What’s smash and dash about this chicken is the flavor.  We’re using a few bold ingredients to add a major amount of flavor in a flash.  Apricot jam (the good kind) and balsamic vinegar.  Sweet and sour, big and bold.

Jam, balsamic, and chicken stock are whisked together, poured over the sizzling chicken and simmered into a thin gravy.

Apricot Balsamic Chicken Dinner

With fresh greens, buttered couscous, and extra gravy… it’s dinner!  Add sparkling white wine because you’ve come this far.  Take a picture for The Friend Diet and tomorrow?  Tortillas!

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon

Apricot Balsamic Chicken Dinner

★★★★★ 5 from 3 reviews
  • Author: Joy the Baker
  • Prep Time: 10
  • Cook Time: 15
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
Pin Recipe
Print Recipe

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh thyme leaves
  • 1/3 cup apricot jam
  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 cup chicken stock
  • cooked couscous
  • fresh arugula

Instructions

  1. In a large saute pan, heat the extra-virgin olive oil over medium-high heat.
  2. Season both sides of the chicken liberally with salt and freshly cracked black pepper. When the oil is hot, add the chicken and brown undisturbed for 5 minutes. Flip and sprinkle with fresh thyme. Cook until the chicken is tender and cooked through, about 5 minutes more.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together the jam, vinegar and stock and pour over the chicken. Cook uncovered for 4 to 5 minutes or until the sauce has thickened and becomes a thin glaze.
  4. Serve with couscous and fresh arugula.


Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 2

Did you make this recipe?

Share a photo and tag us — we can't wait to see what you've made!

Previous PostNext Post

Filed Under: Dinner, Recipes, Savory

Previous Post: « Let It Be Sunday!
Next Post: Raspberry Brulee Rice Pudding »

Reader Interactions

All Comments
I Made This
Questions
  1. Victoria

    February 28, 2023 at 3:52 pm

    Can’t believe this one doesn’t have more ratings/comments!

    So easy, comes together so quickly, perfect for weeknights!

    Only thing I do is pull the chicken once it’s cooked and let the sauce get even thicker/glazy-ier and put the chicken back in to coat!

    We do it with rice and roasted broccoli a lot as an alternative to the couscous and arugula depending on what’s in the fridge :)

    ★★★★★

    Reply
« Older Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

RELATED POSTS IN Dinner

French onion chicken in a bowl surrounded by glasses on a table
One-Pot French Onion Chicken Dinner

All the comforts of French onion soup turned into a cozy one-pot dinner.  This French Onion Chicken dinner is downright romantic and perfect for this winter weekend spent all cuddled up. You know every year I trapse in here with a version of Marry Me Chicken that is rumored to be soo good as to…

Read More

Guest: Julia Turshen’s Chicken Francese

Welcome our first December guest – Julia Turshen! Julia Turshen is a best selling cookbook author, food writer, chef, and food equity advocate. She lectures on food and home cooking and has published four solo books on the subject and has contributed to many others in collaboration or as a writer. She hosts the podcast…

Read More

Texture of homemade hamburger helper in pot.
One-Pot Homemade Hamburger Helper with Sneaky Veggies

You’ll be making this homemade hamburger helper recipe for dinner at least once a month. It’s a hearty and comforting dish and jam packed with secret veggies. Not that we need to keep veggies a secret but… sometimes we do. Let’s make classic Helper from scratch! Your kids (or the child inside your heart) will…

Read More

Primary Sidebar

Fresh baked emails, delivered to your inbox

Jump to Recipe

Receive recipes from Joy the Baker and updates on events at The Bakehouse.

HI! I’M JOY!

Jump to Recipe

Welcome! This has been my little corner of the internet since 2008!

I’m a baker, photographer, cookbook author and teacher.  I live laugh love in New Orleans. 

MORE ABOUT JOY AND THE TEAM

BOOKS + Magazines

Jump to Recipe

JOY THE BAKER 2022 SUMMER MAGAZINE

JOY THE BAKER 2021 HOLIDAY MAGAZINE

JOY THE BAKER 2020 HOLIDAY MAGAZINE

HOMEMADE DECADENCE

OVER EASY: SWEET AND SAVORY RECIPES FOR LEISURELY DAYS COOKBOOK

JOY THE BAKER COOKBOOK

Jump to Recipe
joy the baker on facebook joy the baker on twitter pinterest-social instagram-socialbloglovin-social

JOY @ WILLIAMS SONOMA

Jump to Recipe

SHOP THE CAKE LINE OF CAKE MIXES!

DRAKE ON CAKE

Jump to Recipe

Passionate from miles away since 2015.

Check it out on Instagram

Drake on cake instagram.

 

BREADS YOU’LL LOVE

jambalaya buttermilk biscuits in a row

Smoked Sausage Jambalaya Buttermilk Biscuits

inside of warm cinnamon roll on plate

How To Make The Best Single Serve Cinnamon Roll

Orange roll on a plate with a fork.

Christmas Morning Orange Rolls

LET’S MAKE COOKIES!

a stack of white chocolate macadamia nut cookies with a bite taken out of the top one with milk

Classic White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

wider shot of lemon bars stacked on a plate with a bite taken out of one lemon bar

My Favorite Classic Lemon Bars Recipe

completed recipe close up shot of a blondie so the toasted almonds, chocolate chips, and sea salt can be seen

My Best Classic Blondie Recipe

Footer

Instagram

joythebaker

📚Baker and author of books and magazines
🎂Creator @drakeoncake
💁🏻‍♀️Classes with me @thebakehousenola
🍰 Products with @williamssonoma

joythebaker
🍓🌼 Pan Dulce is the best way to bake spring! 🍓🌼 Pan Dulce is the best way to bake spring! Full recipe linked in the @joythebaker bio! Xo
Second coffee: the perfect way to re-start the day Second coffee: the perfect way to re-start the day. 
✨Beignet Café au Lait✨⁣
⁣1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk⁣⁣
Splash of vanilla extract⁣⁣
½ cup heavy cream, whipped to stiff peaks⁣⁣
2 cups fresh brewed strong coffee⁣⁣
½ cup toasted cinnamon cereal, lightly crushed⁣⁣
Powdered sugar for topping⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Place sweetened condensed milk and vanilla in a small bowl. Add half of the whipped cream and fold to combine.  Add the remaining half and fold until you have a fluffy sweet cream. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Divide brewed coffee between two mugs. Spoon dream on top.  Sprinkle cinnamon cereal between the cups.  Dust with powdered sugar and enjoy immediately.
Life Skill No. 458: How to Make 1️⃣2️⃣ Cup Life Skill No. 458: How to Make 1️⃣2️⃣ Cupcakes with just 1️⃣ Stick of Butter⁣
⁣
Full recipe linked in my bio! xo
Someone call @foodnetwork because Dad and I need a Someone call @foodnetwork because Dad and I need a baking show stat. Here’s our very best chocolate chip cookies and all the little tips that make them perfection. ✨🍪 Find the full recipe linked in the profile!
We’re baking the classics on Joy the Baker this We’re baking the classics on Joy the Baker this month and up next, my very favorite Lemon Bar recipe with fresh lemon juice and the tiniest hint of coriander. ⁣🍋🌼✨
⁣
Find the full recipe linked in the profile and bust out the white chocolate and macadamia nuts for next week’s bake! ⁣
⁣
#lemonbars #easybaking #bakedfromscratch #joythebaker
Day in the Life: out in the woods writing a little Day in the Life: out in the woods writing a little cookbook about camp food. 💖🏕️🙋🏻‍♀️
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2023 · Joy the Baker
All rights reserved. Violators will be whupped and sent to bed with no dessert · Privacy Policy

Scroll Up