Easy Honey Apple Chicken Recipe

Fresh out of the oven, and ready to serve

I have a lot of hobbies, and, although I enjoy cooking, I wouldn't call myself a chef.  Especially when it comes to chicken.  It seems I grab a package of chicken thinking it will be an easy meal, and I always end up thinking I could have done something better, more exciting with it in the end.  Plus, with two kids and swim lessons, baseball, work, a husband, and well, a life in general, time gets limited.  A few years ago, I remember vaguely seeing a clip on a reality show where the girl put apples and honey on her chicken before baking it, so I gave it a shot.  And... I have never looked back! 

I have made this dish too many times to count.  I even made it for my brother and sister in-law's rehearsal dinner, and it always gets rave reviews, and people asking for the recipe.  This is easy, quick, and only requires 3 ingredients.  That's it!

 

Ingredients:

Chicken, Honey, Apples

• Chicken- Thighs, breast and legs all work great!  As much or as little as you need to feed your family, group, or event. (If adding more chicken than the 6 thighs pictured, adjust other ingredients)
• 1 C. Honey- This photo was taken quite some time ago, we have since switched to local, organic honey.  If you are interested in reading more about that, Off The Grid News has a great article titled The Great Raw Honey Deception 
• Apples- I have found that green apples offer a better, more robust flavor.  This is just a general recommendation, you are free to use whichever apple you prefer.  If you do not have apples, apple juice will work in a pinch.  For the serving size pictured, I'd use 1 cup of apple juice.

 Directions

This is a super simple process, from start to finish, prep time is probably 10 minutes.

****Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees***

Step 1: Rinse and Pat chicken dry with a paper towel.  Lay chicken in baking dish, arranged however you desire.

 

Apple Slices

 

Step 2. Chop apples.  I simply cut the apples in half, then slice the half into 4ths.  I've found these slices fit nicely between the chicken pieces.  You may cut the apple up however you'd like though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chicken and Apple Slices

 

Step 3: Place apple slices in between chicken pieces, fitting as many of the slices in as you can without anything spilling out of the baking dish

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drizzling Hon 

Step 4. Drizzle honey generously over chicken and apple pieces, making sure all of the chicken gets covered with honey.   I use about 1c. of honey, but you can use more if you'd like.

 

 

 

 

 

Step 5. Place baking dish on a cookie sheet  and cover with foil.  This makes for easy clean-up if anything cooks over the edges. (This step is not pictured).

Step 6. Bake for approx. 50-60 min, or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165, and juices run clear.  Use a meat thermometer to test for doneness.   Check chicken around the 40 minute mark.  (In some ovens, cooking time could be up to 90 minutes)

Chicken is done

When chicken is finished, allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving. Discard apples, or feed them to chickens if you have them, for a nice treat.  Honey apple chicken, pairs great with home made bread and some mashed potatoes.