Apricot Glazed Chicken

The most delicious & simple Apricot Glazed Chicken Thigh recipe can be found at Shutterbean.com!

Let’s not forget that with all of the commotion of cookie baking, home decoratingDIY gift making and gift procuring that we need to make a real weeknight dinner. As much as I love snack dinner, my family needs a home cooked meal every once in awhile.

The most delicious & simple Apricot Glazed Chicken Thigh recipe can be found at Shutterbean.com!

I was making room in my pantry  for my December baking bonanza and I noticed that I had two jars of apricot jam that needed to be used. A trip to the store for chicken and not too long after we have Apricot Glazed Chicken for dinner.

The most delicious & simple Apricot Glazed Chicken Thigh recipe can be found at Shutterbean.com!

The apricot glaze in this recipe is ridiculously simple. All pantry staples–soy sauce, hot mustard, apricot jam and garlic. The original recipe called for 8 chicken thighs and that amount would have been just fine…but I happen to LOVE the apricot glaze, so I downsized and left the sauce amount the same. I roasted bunch of carrots on a baking sheet with the chicken in the oven and made a batch of rice in the rice cooker .  The chicken is tender, crispy, caramelized and that sauce is so wonderful spooned over the rice. If you’re looking for additional heat, a little sriracha drizzled on top makes it extra delicious.

Let’s gather our ingredients:

The most delicious & simple Apricot Glazed Chicken Thigh recipe can be found at Shutterbean.com!

Salt & pepper the chicken thighs.

The most delicious & simple Apricot Glazed Chicken Thigh recipe can be found at Shutterbean.com!

Glaze ingredients get cooked down a bit over the stove.

The most delicious & simple Apricot Glazed Chicken Thigh recipe can be found at Shutterbean.com!

GLAZE.

The most delicious & simple Apricot Glazed Chicken Thigh recipe can be found at Shutterbean.com!

Glaze over chicken.

The most delicious & simple Apricot Glazed Chicken Thigh recipe can be found at Shutterbean.com!

Glaze on chicken. Off to the oven. We spoon the sauce over the chicken every 10 minutes or so.

The most delicious & simple Apricot Glazed Chicken Thigh recipe can be found at Shutterbean.com!

Look at that glazed chicken.

The most delicious & simple Apricot Glazed Chicken Thigh recipe can be found at Shutterbean.com!

A little cilantro addition because we’re fancy.

The most delicious & simple Apricot Glazed Chicken Thigh recipe can be found at Shutterbean.com!

Roasted carrots…rice….

The most delicious & simple Apricot Glazed Chicken Thigh recipe can be found at Shutterbean.com!

THE SAUCE. OMG THE SAUCE.

The most delicious & simple Apricot Glazed Chicken Thigh recipe can be found at Shutterbean.com!

Seriously. So effortless.

The most delicious & simple Apricot Glazed Chicken Thigh recipe can be found at Shutterbean.com!

So rewarding. Now…off to address holiday cards….sigh.

Apricot Glazed Chicken

serves 4-5

recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

  • 6 boneless/skinless chicken thighs
  • coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1 jar (13 ounces) apricot jam
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 tablespoon hot mustard
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

Preheat oven to 425F. Rinse chicken thighs; pat dry, and transfer to a baking dish. Season well with salt and pepper; set aside.

Bring jam, honey, mustard, soy sauce and garlic to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until thickened and reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Spoon apricot mixture over chicken thighs, spreading with back of spoon to coat evenly.

Bake chicken, basting with sauce from bottom of dish every 10 minutes, until juices run clear when chicken is pricked with a fork, about 40-45 minutes.

  • Sara

    YES YES YES. Did Cooper love this? I bet my kids would! I’m going to recreate this exact meal. <3

    • Tracy

      He ate it first “to get it out of the way” so he could eat rice. But…he ATE IT ALL so I am thinking Yes? I didn’t say Apricot. I just said it was kinda like that Chinese orange chicken he likes.

      • Sara

        Ooo, good call. I’m going to call it “chicken with a sticky sweet sauce” and act like it’s no big thang. Kids, man. I love to eat and I love food more than the average human, so being picky is just hard for me to wrap my head around. I can’t wait for the day when they finally come to their senses and we can enjoy things like curry and sushi together. (Totally jealous that Cooper eats sushi! My kids do the whole “ewww!” bit when they see me eating it.) *sigh*

        • Tracy

          Cooper is STILLLLLLLL so picky. But there’s hope. He tried salsa and loved it….baby steps.

  • Linda | The Baker Who Kerns

    Oh my goodness! This apricot glazed chicken looks fantastic! I am sort of getting a little bored of the ol’ basic chicken breast and I haven’t been buying it at all lately. But this is making me crave chicken like crazy! Yum!

  • Heather

    I’ve been anxiously awaiting this recipe since I saw you make it on snapchat! The glaze looks heavenly. Can’t wait to recreate it!

  • Sasha

    Can you taste the mustard in the recipe or is it very mild? My husband isnt’ a fan of mustard, so I never get to cook with it 🙁

    I like using apricot jam on meats. I usually warm it up and top my pork chops with it instead of apple sauce.

    • Tracy

      Not really- it mostly balances out the sweetness from the apricot. Makes it more savory.

  • niki

    would you change the technique at all for chicken breasts?

  • Stephanie

    Need to make this, it looks So good!

  • Amanda

    This looks AMAZE!

  • Gaby Dalkin

    this just proves we can have our holiday madness and eat real meals too!

  • CarrieLovesKeith

    Do you think this could be done in a Crock Pot?

    • Tracy

      Seems like it would work!

      • Marissa

        I’ve tried both ways. In my experience the oven produces a much better final product.
        In the crockpot the glaze really got overdone. I really like this dish and really don’t like my crockpot, it might be time to send it to the curb.

  • Carrie Brown

    this looks amazing! I can’t wait to make it, I’ve made a bbq peach glazed chicken before but I love that this has an asian twist with the soy sauce and hot mustard!

    so glad my friend introduced me to your blog!

    http://www.cbeatsblog.wordpress.com
    xo CB

  • I'd Eat That - hungrygirlporvida.com

    […] Apricot Glazed Chicken–we had this for dinner last night and it was SO GOOD and easy! I added half of a sliced onion to the bottom of the pan. This is definitely going in the rotation. […]

  • Chirag Dua

    This Recipe looks Good, I am Crazy to Have, And you prove that in a short period of time we can cook great holiday meals on a weekend.. 🙂

  • Katie

    This looks fab! What kind of hot mustard do you use?

  • Lauren

    Loved this recipe. Delicious! Reminded me of a healthier version of Chinese orange chicken. So quick and easy to throw together. Really curious how this would be with other flavors of jam — orange marmalade, peach?! Some further experimentation is in order.

    • Tracy

      I want to do it with orange marmalade too!

      • Lauren

        Hot daaaamn: the orange marmalade version was a major success! I added the zest and juice of half an orange, since the citrus flavor of my marmalade was disappointingly weeak. Also added a squirt of sriracha, for a lil kick. Served over steamed broccoli for the ultimate DIY Chinese take-out experience.

        • Tracy

          that sounds AMAZING!!!

          • Lauren

            If you like spicy foods, you need to try making this dish with jalapeños. It takes your apricot chicken from very good to Holy Guacamole! I thinly sliced one big jalapeno and put a couple slices on each piece of chicken before covering with the sauce. Adds a lot of punch to the finished product — highly recommend.

          • Tracy

            I WILL DO THAT!!! Thank you!!!! 🙂

  • Tania

    This was amazing! Thank you for an awesome recipe, and an awesome blog!

  • Heather

    I just made this and the sauce was so delicious. Thanks for the great recipe!

  • Well, That Went By Fast - Lucky Rhino

    […] on, I made a lot of different food that wasn’t cheese based. I made these easy Apricot Glazed Chicken Thighs from Shutterbean on one busy weeknight. Super fast and super delicious. Didn’t take a picture […]

  • Emily Hassman

    Just made this for dinner and it was delish! I used peach jam ’cause that’s what I had. What size of baking dish did you use? (And what kind is it, I need a new larger pan.)

  • Sara

    I finally picked up some apricot jam today JUST to make this dish ( I mean, c’mon, yum!) but when I got home I discovered a nearly empty honey jar in my cupboard… wanh, wanh, wanh. But hiding in my fridge was some stem ginger in syrup so I substituted that for the honey. <–Lip smackingly delish! Thanks for the recipe. With the 'ooh's and the 'yum's coming from my husband and daughter, I can see this being on heavy rotation in our house! xx

  • Emily

    This recipe is SO GOOD! It’s getting added to my rotation of dinners I make when we have company (as well as our regular meal rotation)! Would you do anything differently if using skin-on/bone-in thighs? I love a crispy skin and usually broil at the end of baking, but not sure how that would affect the glaze.

    • Tracy

      I would be careful about the glaze burning. If anything, I’d transfer the glazed chicken to a baking sheet and broil THEN transfer back to the sauce. YUM.

  • Because I have to start somewhere – Hungry Hungry Hippie

    […] kumquat glazed chicken thighs based on this recipe [basically I just used my own home-made kumquat jam instead of apricot jam and made it on the […]

  • Bethany

    Tracy, this was so delicious! Thank you for another perfect weeknight recipe! Cheers!

  • Corisa Jubinsky

    I love this recipe! What do you think about swapping out the jams ? Like a peach, cherry or blueberry?

  • Marisa Casabura

    Just tried this recipe! Delicious! Thanks for sharing this!

    Do you think it’s possible to do in a crock pot?

  • ANAMIKA

    It’s looking amazing. the presentation is so good.

  • Laura

    I’m making this tonight, it’s similar to an apricot chicken that I used to make years ago for my kids, one interesting thing added, was toasted slivered almonds… at the end, a tasty, crunchy addition. Thanks for the recipe!

  • Melanie

    OMG! I have been looking for this recipe for a couple of years! I got it out of a magazine but lost it. My husband just adored it. Sooo delicious! Thankfully I found it again. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

  • Claire

    Bookmarking this one to try! One question though – jam has so much sugar in it already (especially if I sub peach for apricot, which is what I have in the pantry) – do you really need the extra honey?

    • Tracy

      It’s more for a texture/sauce. It’s definitely worth trying without though!

  • Lauren

    I love this dish so much as is, but I can’t help playing around with it. Tonight I made it with pineapple-mango jam, and my go-to jalapeño slices. Another winner! Served with roasted broccoli and some killer leftovers from last night: the super garlicky Brussels sprouts and pancetta pasta dish from Melissa Clark’s “Dinner” book.

  • Kristen

    Made this last week and both my husband and 11-month-old twins DEVOURED it. My husband told me, “Please make this again. It’s excellent.” I assume my children were saying the same thing but it doesn’t quite translate just yet. 😉

  • Megan

    I made this last night and it was so good! I left the bone in and skin on, and the skin was crispy and wonderfule. Spooned the pan sauce over riced cauliflower and I can’t stop thinking about it now. Thank you thank you for sharing your genius with us.

  • Lori

    Could you sub reg mustard or Dijon instead???

    • Tracy

      Like yellow mustard? I think you could. It won’t have the same depth but I’m pretty sure it will work in a pinch!

  • Lara

    Thanks for another great recipe! I tried it with half apricot jam and half Trader Joe’s Mango Ginger Chutney. (I skipped the mustard since the chutney has some kick.). It was great!! Will definitely make again.

  • Dayna

    Just made this again! STILL so so good! Thank you so much for this recipe Tracey!

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