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31 Recipes to Cook in October.
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Apple Cider Smothered Chicken. Lightly seasoned chicken seared until golden with nutty browned butter, garlic, fresh thyme, and sage. The chicken is finished in a yummy apple cider pan sauce with caramelized buttered onions and melted Gruyère cheese. The chicken is “smothered” in sauce and then topped with crispy prosciutto and fresh thyme just before serving. It’s delicious, especially when served with a few slices of fresh bread, mashed potatoes, or a side of rice. Such a cozy one-pot dinner with delicious, comforting flavors.
I guess I’ve been saying this a lot lately, but this might just be one of my favorite recipes this fall. I’m not sure what’s going on with me, but my days have either been really great or really bad. The bad days are no fun, and I end up not using whatever recipe I’d been working on, but the good days are SO GOOD.
Every recipe coming up is a favorite. I guess I just love my fall recipes most—well, fall and, of course, all the special holiday recipes.
This is the best time of year!
I made this the other week, and I’m happy to finally share the recipe. The cider pan sauce that this chicken is smothered in is so delicious.
With caramelized onions and creamy, melty Gruyère cheese, it almost resembles French onion soup. But the slight sweetness from the cider makes it even better.
And the crispy prosciutto only makes this dish that much more delicious!
Here are the Details
Ingredients
- thinly sliced chicken breast or small chicken thighs
- all purpose flour
- paprika
- cayenne pepper
- prosciutto
- salted butter
- yellow onions
- garlic
- fresh thyme and sage
- Honeycrisp apples
- apple cider (not apple cider vinegar)
- heavy cream
- Gruyère cheese
Tools
- oven-safe skillet – highly recommend cast iron
That’s all!
Step 1: season the chicken
Before you begin cooking, season and flour the chicken. Start with salt and pepper, then mix paprika, a pinch of cayenne pepper, and a scoop of flour.
If you need to be gluten-free, be sure to use gluten-free flour or an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend.
Take the chicken cutlets and toss them in the flour to coat them fully. The flour creates a crispy chicken with a coating that will allow the sauce to really stick to it.
Step 2: cook the prosciutto and sear the chicken
Find a big skillet. I always use cast iron. Cook the prosciutto until extra crispy, then remove it from the pan and set it aside.
Now add a sliver of butter and pan-sear the chicken until the crust is golden and the butter browns around it. Remove the chicken from the skillet. I usually put it on the same plate as the prosciutto.
Step 3: make the apple cider pan gravy
Now, add the onions. I use two thin slices, but you can use one or two, depending on your preference. I think apples and onions together are delicious.
Get the onions golden and caramelized. Then add the apple cider. Bonus points if you make your own cider or pick up a fresh batch from a local farm.
Let the cider simmer for 5 minutes, stir in the cream, and slide the chicken right in. Now add the apple wedges and let it simmer. The next step is important. Sprinkle over some Gruyère cheese and allow it to melt over the chicken and into the sauce—like French onion-style chicken!
Step 4: bake and finish
Take the skillet off the burners and put it in the oven to finish cooking and melt the cheese even more. When the cheese has melted, remove the dish from the oven.
Add the prosciutto to the top, then finish with fresh thyme. It’s going to look delish and smell even better.
Thanks to the onions, apples, and, of course, all the creamy sauce, I’ve been loving this with mashed potatoes. It’s so cozy and scrumptious on a fall night.
Also, a big fall salad like my harvest salad is the perfect final touch. If you’re looking for something on the lighter side, spaghetti squash is always a favorite of mine in the fall. It would go so well with this smothered chicken.
You can’t go wrong either way. The sauce makes just about anything you serve alongside it great. One thing that’s a must? A few slices of fresh bread are needed to mop up the extra sauce. You just have to do it! Of course, I love my beer bread, surprise, surprise!
Looking for other simple dinners? Here are my favorites:
Crockpot Thai Short Ribs with Coconut Rice
Baked Chipotle Cheddar Sweet Potato Chowder
One Skillet Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken and Orzo
Herby Buttered Balsamic Mushroom Ravioli
Smothered Chicken in Mushroom Wine Pan Sauce
Lastly, if you make this Apple Cider Smothered Chicken, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Apple Cider Smothered Chicken
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 435 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds thin-cut chicken breasts
- salt and black pepper
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 pinch cayenne
- 3 ounces prosciutto
- 3 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 yellow onion, sliced or chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped sage
- 1 Honeycrisp apple, cut into wedges
- 2 cups apple cider
- 1/2-1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup shredded Gruyère cheese
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 425° F. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Place the flour, paprika, and cayenne in a shallow bowl. Dredge the chicken through the flour and toss to coat.2. Arrange the prosciutto in a large skillet set over medium-high heat. Cook until crispy all over, about 5 minutes. Remove from the skillet.3. In the same skillet, add 1 tablespoon butter and the chicken. Sear on both sides until golden, 3-5 minutes per side. Add 1 more tablespoon of butter and allow the butter to brown around the chicken, about 2 minutes. Remove the chicken from the skillet.3. Add the onions and cook for 5 minutes or until golden. Add 2 tablespoons butter, garlic, thyme, sage, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, until the onions have caramelized.4. Add the apple cider. Simmer for 5 minutes, pour in the cream. Add the chicken and apples to the skillet. Sprinkle over the Gruyère. Bake for 5-10 minutes, until the cheese is melted. Top with crispy prosciutto and fresh herbs.5. Serve the chicken with crusty bread for mopping up all that delicious creamy sauce. YUM!
This post was originally published on September 30, 2024
Delicious!
Thanks so much, Maggie!!
I had to leave off the onions and garlic due to food intolerance and this was still amazing.
Thanks so much, Sheri!! So glad to hear this dish turned out nicely for you! I appreciate you making it! xT
Amazing! One of the best HBH recipes I’ve made thus far… I made it with mashed potatoes & breadsticks. It was so delicious all combined together. Will be making again!
Hey Carly,
Yay! So glad to hear this dish turned out well for you, thanks for trying it! Have a great day! Xx
Holy smokes! Another winner here! I followed the recipe exactly except I used pumpkin spice bacon instead of prosciutto (we have an incredible local butcher here with like 20 different seasonal bacon flavors at all times) — other than that, this was awesome! My husband is not a huge chicken person and he raved about this. Served with herbed potato stacks & roasted broccolini with maple pepper. Perfect fall meal!
Hey Erin,
Yay!! Thank you so much for trying this dish and sharing what worked well for you! So glad it was enjoyed! Happy Monday! xT
This is DELICIOUS! Made it tonight and it was a huge hit. This one is a keeper!!
Thanks so much, Becky!! So glad to hear you enjoyed this dish, I appreciate you giving it a try! xT
love the flavors here as i usually do with your recipes! so appreciate all you do. just a heads up, you ask for 3 tablespoons of butter up top but 4 below; messed with my mise!
Hi Laura,
Thanks for making this dish and your comment, so glad to hear it was enjoyed! Have a great Monday! xT
So good! Used Trader Joe’s White Cheddar Gruyère because that’s what I had. Otherwise, I followed the recipe. What a great dish.
Hey Kimberlee,
Awesome!! Love to hear this recipe turned out nicely for you, thanks for making it! Hope you are enjoying fall! XxT
Me and my husband just made this meal together and it was scrumptious. Only changes were chicken thighs and extra gruyere. Thank you for the recipe.
Hey Mary,
Happy fall Sunday! Thanks a lot for making this recipe, so glad to hear it turned out well for you:) XxT
Made this tonight for our GF house! Spectacular! Loved the flavors. Next time, will use coconut milk instead of cream.
Hey Amanda,
Happy Friday! Thank you so much for trying this dish and your comment, so glad it was enjoyed! xT
I made this tonight and was pleasantly surprised (surprised only because usually I don’t love sweeter entree flavors). My teenage son and his friends unexpectedly joined us for dinner, and even they loved it!! Next time I think I will cut the onions into slices, rather than chopped, just for aesthetics. But this was really good, and I especially loved the sauce. I didn’t have Gruyère, but I happened to buy some smoked Swiss at a local market today, and it was amazing in it.
P.S. I wonder if anyone has tried substituting the cream with full fat coconut milk, just to lighten things up a bit? I may try that next time, but I’m glad I followed the recipe closely for the first time around. And I actually didn’t feel like it was overly heavy even with the cream, since most of the sauce was cider-based….
That would totally work!
Hey Megan,
Happy Friday!! So glad to hear this recipe turned out well for you and was enjoyed by your son and his friends! Thanks for giving it a try! XxT
I don’t know what happened but when I poured in the cream the whole thing curdled 🙁 I’m so disappointed, the reviews are amazing and I was pumped.
Hi Lisa,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear you had some issues. Was your cream super cold? That could have caused it to curdle slightly. Did anything happen once the cream was mixed in? xx
This recipe is a winner!!! Huge hit in our house and paired perfect with your beer bread recipe! Thanks Tieghan!
Hey Ashley,
So glad to hear this recipe turned out well for you, I appreciate you making it! Have a great Friday! xT
I have made many many HBH recipes but this was is a true winner! There is soo much flavor and the caramelized onions are just spectacular. I served this mashed sweet potatoes and it was a perfect fall dinner. Thank you Tiegan!
Thanks so much, Kendra! I appreciate you trying this recipe and your feedback, so glad it turned out well! Xx
Delicious!! So much flavor – as always with HBH.
My sauce curdled a bit when I added the cream and did not blend with the cider at all. Maybe due to using Half and Half instead of actual heavy cream? Usually that substitute works fine?
Hey Michelle,
Thanks so much for trying this recipe! Sorry to hear you had some curdling happen…was your cream at room temp? That usually helps! xT
The same thing happened to me, Michelle. My sauce was curdled, and it wasn’t a good look. I ended up taking the chicken out, making a roux of flour and butter, and adding it to the sauce with the mushrooms. Once it started boiling I whisked the roux in and the sauce thickened up. I think this was a miss in the directions imo.
This is just amazing. Had to modify bc I didn’t have everything. Used chopped pepperoni in place of prosciutto and white cheddar in place of Gruyere. On my top ten chicken dishes. Superb!
Thanks so much, Maureen! So glad to hear this dish turned out well for you, I appreciate you making it! xT