Baked Apple Cider Chicken and Cabbage is the perfect one-pot fall dish made with cider-marinated chicken, red cabbage and apples.
Apple Cider Chicken and Cabbage
This one-pot dish is great for an easy weeknight dinner idea. On a busy school night, I like to keep dinners simple. Since everything bakes in one dish, cleanup won’t take long. Plus, with the cooler temps, this cozy chicken and apple dish is ideal for fall. Some other one-pot chicken dinners you may like are Turmeric Roasted Chicken and Sweet Potatoes and Baked Chicken with Dijon and Lime.
How To Make Apple Cider Baked Chicken
The chicken marinates in apple cider, apple cider vinegar, and herbs, which give the dish a slightly sweet and sour taste. The Dijon mustard brushed on the chicken in the middle of baking adds to the flavor.
To make it, place the chicken, olive oil, apple cider, apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary, and garlic in a large plastic ziplock bag. Mix well and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or as long as overnight.
When you’re ready to cook, preheat oven to 400F. Place the chicken and its marinade into a 9 x 13-inch dish. Nestle the cabbage and apples around the chicken.
Bake for 30 minutes and remove from oven. Turn the chicken and brush the mustard on top.
Bake until the chicken is cooked through and the apples are tender, about 35 minutes. Garnish with parsley.
Helpful Tip
You can marinate the chicken for four hours or as long as overnight. So when it comes time to cook, all you have to do is put the chicken in a Pyrex and pour the marinade over it. Then slice the apples and cabbage, put them in the dish, and put the whole thing in the oven. Halfway through, you’ll brush the mustard on the chicken and continue to bake until fully cooked.
Serving Suggestions
This dinner is pretty low in carbs since the only sugar is in the cider and apples. To finish off the meal, serve with a simple green salad, roasted brussels sprouts, raw brussel sprout salad or roasted broccoli.
Variations:
- You can use any chicken parts you like that are on the bone with the skin off.
- Swap the red cabbage out for white or napa cabbage.
More Baked Chicken Recipes You Will Love:
- Baked Chicken Parmesan
- Baked Chicken Breast
- Chicken Thighs with Shallots in Red Wine Vinegar (Poulet Au Vinaigre)
- Whole Roast Chicken with Rosemary and Lemon
- Sun Dried Tomato and Cheese Stuffed Chicken Rollatini
Baked Apple Cider Chicken and Cabbage
Ingredients
- 4 skinless, bone-in chicken legs, (thighs and drumsticks) trimmed
- 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1-1/4 cups apple cider
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp fresh black pepper
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1-1/2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1/2 medium head red cabbage, cored and sliced into 8 wedges
- 1 large granny smith apple, peeled, cored and cut into 8 wedges
- 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Instructions
- Place chicken, olive oil, apple cider, apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary, and garlic in a large plastic ziplock bag. Mix well and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or as long as overnight.
- Preheat oven to 400F°.
- Place the chicken and its marinade into a 9 x 13-inch dish. Nestle the cabbage and apples around the chicken.
- Bake for 30 minutes and remove from oven. Turn the chicken and brush the mustard on top.
- Bake until the chicken is cooked through and the apples are tender, about 35 minutes. Garnish with parsley.
30 minutes in the oven, then 35 – do I understand correctly that we’re meant cook everything for 1 hour 5 minutes?
Or does that mean 35 minutes in total? I’m worried that at 400 F for over an hour, the meat will become dry and hard.
Delicious recipe, easy to make, and gourmet quality. Highly recommend making this! Will also try it with pork chops or pork tenderloin.
I made it just now and everyone loved it. I added bundles of green beans and carrots around the pan as well, to extend it. All gone!
Made this today and it was delicious! Marinated overnight. Used purple cabbage so the juices are bright pink for colorful plating.
I love this recipe! I have made it many times. It’s absolutely perfect for fall/winter.
I have made it exactly as written… It’s delicious… And I’ve also made some modifications based on what I had on hand. I have made it with boneless chicken breast, only adjustment was shortened the cooking time and used a smaller pan. I have used both red and green cabbage or a combination. And I’ve added some sliced onions occasionally.
leftovers keep really well for lunch the next day.
A great recipe really easy to make. Try it, you won’t be disappointed
So happy to hear
WOW! This was a winner in my family. Everyone was so impressed and said this was a keeper. The flavor was amazing!! Thanks again Gina!!!
This didn’t turn out as well as I had hoped, but it was ENTIRELY user error 🤦🏻♀️ Can’t wait to try it again and actually read the instructions properly. But…it‘s still tasty so I can only imagine how good it will be when I do it correctly!
If the serving is 1 chicken leg, how can the protein be so high?
Oops just realized it said legs, not drums. That makes sense! We made this and it was fantastic!
Excellent! I sliced the cabbage in the food processor as there was not room in the dish for wedges. Between the marinade and juices from the chicken the cabbage was excellent and did not burn. I did thighs only and brought to internal temp of 195 (per ATK recommendations).
Tried this for the first time tonight. It was delicious. I slliced the cabbage and put it on the bottom of the pan and then added the chicken and marinade. Following others recommendations, I added the apples when i flipped the chicken. I used 4 chicken breast, dried herbs in place of fresh and cooked at 375 degrees for the time stated in recipe. Family liked it and will definitely make this again! Paired it with a sweet potato and green beans.
Will be making this this weekend. I will make 2 batches of marinade since I have always been advised to never use the used marinade for cooking. Otherwise, it checks all of the boxes for a good meal.
Wondering if you could do this in a crock pot?
Very flavorful! Perfect fall dinner!
I made this recipe with chicken breast on the bone and it was delicious!
The chicken is good, but the red cabbage is the star of this dish! Wow!! I may try chopping the whole cabbage next time, and spreading on the bottom of the pan, then resting the chicken on top. More delicious cabbage would be even nicer. I did add the apples when I spread the mustard on the chicken, and they were perfect. Thanks Gina!
This was delicious! I made it last night with boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Adjusted the cook time accordingly and it turned out fabulous! I’ll do it with bone in next time, I just didn’t have any handy. Thanks for another great recipe!
This was delicious. I made some substitutions: boneless, 4 skinless chicken breasts instead of legs, no apple cider, 1/2-1/3 cup apple cider vinegar, ~1/4-1/3cup chicken stock. I didn’t have much cabbage (1/2 of a very small head) so I only used about 1/3 apple and sliced it thin. Served it with mashed potatoes. Delicious, fewer calories without the cider, and almost 0 WW points (just some due to the olive oil).
How would this work to swap Brussels sprouts for the cabbage? We aren’t big cabbage people and I am trying to think of something that would handle the sweetness of the apple flavor well that won’t burn.
I made this tonight – the flavors were Ok but we did not enjoy taking the chicken off the bones!! We are so used to using boneless chicken thighs that we found it harder to eat. The cabbage was burnt – maybe because it was not completely submerged in the marinade – and the apple was too mushy. Next time, I would put the apples for the last 30 minutes. I also added carrots to the dish and I served this with baked potatoes.
This was AMAZING!!!!! I did serve over noodles because otherwise my husband would have gone hungry.
This will never be not one of my favorites! The flavor is just spot on. I add a jalapeno to the marinade and also omit the granny Smith apples from the entire recipe (the first time I made this they were mush and I didn’t see the point). I make this at least monthly!
GINA you’ve done it again!! Thank you for such a flavorful and simple dish that tasted like it took hours of intense work. I served this with your garlicky cauliflower mash and my kids (4, 2) are their plates clean their – my 4 year-old licked her plate while walking it to the sink 🙂 I call that a win!!
Thanks again for another slam dunk!
Awesome!!!
What a great recipe the whole family enjoyed! The marinade did its job, creating chicken with the perfect balance of texture and flavor. This was super easy to make, and we will make it again. THank you!
Loved this! Would love to do this one for company. It tasted creamy to me, the wonderful mustard topping melding in I think. I maybe used a teaspoon of oil in marinade, I think could really leave it out of next time. Mine were marinated 24 hours. After 30 minuets and flipping chicken, I moved the cabbage around too, flipping and pushing down in liquid some more and they were fine and didn’t burn. Not sure what size leg quarters equal the calorie counts here, but I actually got some of the smaller ones I could find as some were huge. After all done I saved the broth and cooked the rest of the cabbage with another apple in the broth covered, this time so the broth didn’t evaporate, as we like cooked cabbage better then raw. Baked some russets at same time, and had green beans with it this time. Can’t wait to have it again another night. A favorite, I am really liking these one pan baked recipes.
We really liked this recipe. We marinated over-night. It was tasty and the apple cider really made the cabbage so good.
This was really, really fabulous- I used boneless/skinless thighs, regular drumsticks, and 2 skinless boneless breasts. Cooked for 1 hour and checked the temp of meat with an instant-read thermometer–was perfect. I didn’t turn the pieces over, but did brush with the mustard and just put back in the oven to set the mustard with the heat of the oven for about 3 min or so. The cabbage was really good, too, with the chicken and roasted broccoli; I decided to serve roasted red skin potatoes, too. I agree with some of the other reviews that this could be served at a dinner party. The juices are really flavorful, so be sure to pour a few spoonfuls over the plate. As I’m finishing writing this, my husband came in from work and ate (I ate earlier with my kids) and he just said, “This chicken is soo good, perfectly cooked, put this on your list of Best Meals”. :).
This is a great recipe! However, as I don’t care for dark meat I used bone-in chicken breasts which took only 40 min total cook time to reach the correct internal temp. I cooked them 20 min and then turned the breasts to baste with mustard and cooked an additional 20 min.
I also used a smaller 11″ x 7″ dish which worked better as the breasts just don’t need the 13″ x 9″ space. Using the larger dish caused some of the vegetables to burn as they weren’t covered by the chicken.
The first time I made this, I cooked them 30 min on each side and the breasts were overdone and a bit tough. So, 20 min on each side for a total cook time of 40 min was right. The vegetables were fully cooked, also.
Has anyone else had this same experience in using bone-in chicken breasts? And, with the smaller dish size?
This was really, really fabulous- I used boneless/skinless thighs, regular drumsticks, and 2 skinless boneless breasts. Cooked for 1 hour and checked the temp of meat with an instant-read thermometer–was perfect. I didn’t turn the pieces over, but did brush with the mustard and just put back in the oven to set the mustard with the heat of the oven for about 3 min or so. The cabbage was really good, too, with the chicken and roasted broccoli; I decided to serve roasted red skin potatoes, too. I agree with some of the other reviews that this could be served at a dinner party. The juices are really flavorful, so be sure to pour a few spoonfuls over the plate. As I’m finishing writing this, my husband came in from work and ate (I ate earlier with my kids) and he just said, “This chicken is soo good, perfectly cooked, put this on your list of Best Meals”.
:).
Delicious! So tender and the apple/cabbage flavors add so much to this dish. We are 3 days into the meal planning, and so far this is my hubby’s favorite. Even my 1 year old boy is digging in enthusiastically! I think the highest for of praise is when all ages love the meal! Thank you so much. We are just thrilled so far with this discovery in our healthy eating journey.
i accidentally bought chicken with skin.. and just the drumsticks. does it really make a difference? it’s already marinating 🙁
do i have to make any changes now?
Remove the skin 😉
Should this bake covered or uncovered? I assumed uncovered so did so, but when I took the dish out of the oven mid-bake to brush with mustard, the cabbage was burnt and the apples dried up in places. So, I covered for the rest of the time.
How are others cooking this? Also, as I don’t like dark meat, I used split bone-in breasts cut in half. I inserted a thermometer to alert me when the chicken reached the proper temperature. Has anyone else done this? I like the recipe, but I am having an awkward time with it by using breasts and with the covered/unconvered dilemma.
Did you pour the marinade into the dish too? That kept it plenty juicy for me
Yes, I did pour the marinade into the dish but some of the cabbage still burned. Does it bake covered or uncovered?
This one is exceptional. So good! I made it with a side of a mash of winter veggies that I had on hand from our last CSA share of the season, and it was great.
I made this for dinner last night – looked gorgeous (would be a nice meal to serve at a small dinner party) and tasted great. We had Brussels spouts and butternut squash on the side. 🙂
Great recipes! I made this tonight but also shredded the cabbage (admittedly because i read the recipe wrong). I also subbed in dried herbs because that was what i had on hand and it worked out great! So much flavor! There was a lot of marinade so i might add another chicken piece or two next time. Thanks!
How long should it be cooked if using boneless chicken thighs?
I made this for dinner last night and it was delicious. The chicken was so moist and tender. Once you assemble the marinade, there’s little to no work left. I did make mashed potatoes for my husband and they balanced the meal out for him. I also added some carrots with the red cabbage.
Do you think you could make this in the crockpot?
I have not tested!
Made this tonight and turned out DELICIOUS! My picky husband and 16 year old both loved it as well. Love your recipes 😁
This was seriously delicious. it was flavorful and unexpected. The Chicken was moist. I loved how easy it was to make. We will be making this again. Its been one of our favorites so far.
Great!
Are you supposed to remove the skin from the chicken? Just wondering cause that’s what you usually do…
Yes, skinless. 🙂
Oh my goodness is the delicious! Fall in a pan! As soon as I saw this in the email I knew I wanted to have it this weekend. I only had 3 hours to marinate it and it was still perfect. I can’t decide what part of it I like best! Thank you for another winner!
Can you use apple juice instead of cider if you don’t have coder on hand?
I plan on using apple juice next time as real cider is very hard to find in small quantities.
hi just checking – do you pour the marinade juices that its been sitting in in the fridge over the marinated chicken and then bake? thanks
Yes, the recipe says “place the chicken and its marinade into a 9 x 13 inch dish”. That’s what I did and it turned out perfect. Don’t worry about bacteria, the chicken cooks long enough at a high enough heat to be safe.
I made this last night and it was fabulous. I marinated the chicken from early in the morning and by the time I was ready to prepare dinner it had been soaking up all those great flavors all day. I made the recipe exactly as stated with one small change, I cut the cabbage into slaw and grated the apple and mixed it in. I did season the “slaw” with salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder. I prepared this ahead and as it sat in the fridge it softened. I used it as a bed for the chicken and it really absorbed of the wonderful chicken and marinade flavors. It was a bit more work but cutting /shredding the cabbage really allowed it to pick up all of the flavors. My husband loved it.
So easy to prepare. Very mild flavor. Next time, I would wait to add the apples. They disappeared after cooking the full time but added a nice flavor. I may also add a little honey to sweeten it up a bit next time.
Apple cider definitely gives very special flavours to the best parts of chicken, at least for our taste ! Thank you !
If I used boneless chicken breast could I just cook for less time? My husband likes to pretend that chicken comes out of a package at the grocery store. 😊
Could you convert this to an instant pot recipe?
Could you freeze this?
Would this recipe work using chicken breasts?
Yes I would use bone-in.
After 30 minutes and turning the chicken do you put back in oven for additional 35 minutes for a total cook time of 1 hour 5 minutes or do you put back in over for 5 additional minutes for a total of 35 minutes cook time?
Total cook time of at least 1 hour.
Can another vegetable be swapped in for cabbage? Maybe Brussel Sprouts?
Sure
This is the kind of one pot dinner I adore this time of year. Apples cider, mustard, and rosemary are fabulous fall flavors. After marinating, the chicken has got to be so delicious!