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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
This was amazing!! Might be one of my favorite meals ever. I think freshly shredding the gruyère made a world of a difference
Hey Jasmine,
Yay!! Love to hear this recipe turned out well for you and was enjoyed! Thank you so much for making it and sharing your feedback! Happy Friday! XxT
So sorry but this was a complete miss for us in terms of flavors. We followed the recipe exactly, but the combination of the sage and thyme flavors with the apple flavors was unappealing. So many other people loved it, but for us, it felt like a lot of work for a weird combination of flavors. Not enough bang for the work involved.
Hi there,
Thanks so much for trying this dish and sharing your feedback, I’m so sorry to hear it wasn’t enjoyed! xx
Made it a second time last night for dinner. I think I have enough cider for another meal next week. We love this. Hope to make it when my boys come home for the holidays next week. They will love it!
Yay!! So glad to hear this, Pam! Thanks so much for making this recipe and your comment! xx
Omg we just made this and it was honestly even better than I expected. My biggest regret is skipping the bread! I thought I would try to be healthy and skip the extra carbs but the sauce left behind in the pan was so delish. I was expecting it to be good but maybe a bit rich, but the apples going in at the end kept them crisp and bright tasting, cutting the richness of the butter. Great balance. My family adored it, we served it with a side of kale salad. Will absolutely be adding this to my autumn / winter dinner rotation. Thanks Tieghan!
Hey Mackenzie,
Happy Sunday! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe and your comment, I’m so glad it was enjoyed! xxx
Made this for dinner. A new fall favorite!
Hey Pam,
Happy Halloween! 🎃 Thanks a bunch for trying this recipe and your comment! Love to hear it was a winner! XxT
This was so good!!
I’ve made other cider chicken recipes before, but this one was definitely #1. The others I’ve tried are too sweet for me.
And full disclosure: I did tweak this a bit, but if anyone is looking for a less-sweet-cider-chicken, this is a great base, and I’m happy to share my savory-loving-heart’s tweaks here:
I used bacon, and cut my chicken into cubes, but that’s just my standard approach.
I cut the cider down to 1 cup, used a splash of almond milk in place of cream, and skipped the apples completely. (I love apples, but they make this dish too sweet for me.)
I also skipped the Gruyere/baking part since my chicken was in smaller pieces, and I don’t have Gruyere (though I’m sure that would have been great). I just tossed some parmesan on the finished chicken along with the bacon.
I also probably simmered at the various stages slightly longer than the recipe calls for, because I was making another [child’s] meal and HBH Beer Bread at the same time. Yay reducing!
This resulted in an INCREDIBLE recipe for a more savory cider chicken. If that’s something you’re on the hunt for, again this is a great base, and make my tweaks 😀 ***CHEF’S KISS*** so delicious. Make the beer bread.
Hey Sam,
Wonderful! Thank you so much for making this recipe, I am so glad to hear it turned out nicely for you! Thanks for sharing your notes:) Happy Halloween! 🎃
Absolutely yummy!
I think next time we will serve with roasted butternut squash. Cidery savory – perfect for fall!
Hey Kimberly,
Happy Fall Sunday!! Thanks so much for making this recipe and your comment, so glad to hear it was a hit! xx
Thank you for another fabulous recipe!
Shopped at an out of town market. No prosciutto or Gruyère so subbed in bacon and jarlsberg and it still was delicious. Such a great Fall dinner.
Hey Michita,
Wonderful! So glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe, thanks for trying it! Have the best autumn weekend! xT
Cooking this tomorrow night for company. Can I put it together up to the oven a head of time?? I don’t like to be in the kitchen when people come.
Hey Shary,
Totally, that will work nicely for you! I hope you love this recipe! xT
Super yummy!!! We added dried orzo in when the apple cider was simmering 😋 it was such a good orzo dish!! Will be a fall staple in our house!
Hey Tay,
Thank you so much for trying this recipe! Love to hear that it turned out well for you:) Happy Thursday! xT
Absolutely loved this recipe! Made it as instructed and it turned out perfect. The sweetness from the cider and apples goes so well with the prosciutto and cheese. Will definitely make again.
Hey Brittany,
Perfect! I appreciate you trying this recipe and your comment, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xx
YUM!!! I made this last night for my husband and I. He’s on low carb right now so he just had the chicken and sauce and I served mine over jasmine rice! What an excellent flavour pallette with the apples, apple cider, onions and Gruyère cheese. The prociutto just adds an extra level of flavour that marries it all together. Absolutely genius!
Hey Sarah,
Wonderful! So glad to hear this dish turned out well for you, thanks for making it! Have a great fall weekend! xT
Super excited to make this! It feels so fall. What is a good substitute for Gruyère cheese?
Thanks so much, Katie! Asiago and Swiss cheese are both great options to use here:) I hope you love this recipe! xT
This was delicious and so simply.
Make sure to use apple cider and not apple cider vinegar as I did and was a little acidic due to that , but I forgot to get apple cider!
Will be on my reg recipes to do now.
Thank you
Thanks so much, Debra! Glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Have a great evening! xT
Oh my grits! This made for such a delicious meal! My husband loved it too. As always, your instructions were easy to follow and though prep time took a few minutes, the results were well worth it. I served it over rice with a side wedge of steamed cabbage – the perfect autumn meal. Definitely adding this to the recipe repertoire! Will try the leftovers with mashed potatoes. ❤️
Lol thank you so much, Cindy!! Love to hear your family enjoyed this dish, I appreciate you making it and your feedback! xT