We take crisp, savory spiced chicken thighs and a healthy, refined sugar free orange cranberry sauce and bake them together to delicious perfection! This Paleo Orange Cranberry Chicken is easy to make, gluten-free, dairy-free, and has a Whole30 friendly option.
Until now, I never made a one-pan chicken with cranberry sauce but I’m definitely glad I tried it out.
This orange cranberry chicken is SO good, and it also happens to be really easy to make too – ready in under 30 minutes without much prep at all.
After making the muffins I posted yesterday, I still had the cranberry orange on the brain but wanted to take a different angle – and make something that my family would (hopefully) eat for dinner. Treats are optional, dinner – not optional!
Since I typically like to make sure my dinner recipes have a Whole30 compliant option, I tested this cranberry sauce both with maple syrup (not Whole30) and with date paste.
There wasn’t a noticeable difference in flavor since the orange and cranberries, plus spices really take over to flavor the dish. Whether you use maple syrup or decide to go with date paste, you get just enough sweetness to balance the tart and savory flavors in the sauce and chicken. You can also adjust the sweetness to preference – just don’t burn yourself while tasting the sauce!
(By the way – if you want to make the date paste, I provided instructions in the “notes” section of the recipe box.)
As for the chicken, I went with boneless, skinless chicken thighs, since they happen to be a favorite in my house and I love that they’re less expensive than the breasts but have more flavor.
That said, you can make this with chicken breasts as well if you prefer them! Just watch the baking time to make sure you don’t under or overcook them – juices should run clear with no pink in the center.
You can probably also make this with pork chops or even pork tenderloin following the same instructions, just watching/adjusting the baking time depending on the thickness of the meat.
So, the result for my family was a total win – and I’ll be honest – that surprised me! My two younger kids are still very picky eaters and my expectations for them eating new dinner recipes are low, to say the least.
Not only did they like this (and say they’d eat it again!) but my older daughter (the “paleo” kid) ate the leftovers cold for her snack after school the next day. When she does that, I know the recipe must be good 🙂
I hope you’re ready to get cooking! This one will be a breeze – hope you enjoy!
Paleo Orange Cranberry Chicken {Whole30 Option}
Paleo Orange Cranberry Chicken
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 2 tbsp ghee preferred, or coconut oil for browning
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/8 tsp pepper
- 3/4 tsp onion powder
- 3/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp organic poultry seasoning
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
For the Cranberry Sauce:
- 1 cup whole fresh cranberries
- 6 Tbsp orange juice
- Finely grated zest of one large orange 1 1/2 - 2 tsp
- 2-3 tbsp pure maple syrup or adjust for sweetness preference or use 2 tbsp date paste for whole 30*)
- 1/2 tsp tapioca starch or arrowroot powder
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Combine the salt, pepper, and other spices for the chicken in a small bowl.
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Heat a large one proof skillet oven medium high heat and add the ghee or coconut oil. Rub salt/spice mixture into chicken and place in hot pan, smooth side down. Brown one side for 5 minutes then flip and add cranberry mixture (see below), place in preheated oven as instructed below.
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Either beforehand, or while the chicken browns, combine cranberries, orange juice, zest, and maple syrup (or date paste) in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir and bring to a boil.
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Once boiling, lower the heat and whisk in the tapioca starch, continue to boil and stir until thickened, 1-2 minutes. Stir in the spices for the cranberry sauce, then remove from heat.
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Pour sauce over the browned chicken and place the skillet in the oven, bake for 10-15 more minutes until chicken is cooked through and sauce is bubbling.
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Spoon any additional sauce with pan juices over the chicken to serve, enjoy!
Recipe Notes
*To make date paste, place a handful of pitted medjool dates (about 1/2 cup) in 3-4 Tbsp of very hot water to soften. After 5 minutes you can stir to make sure they'e soft, then blend the mixture in a high speed blender or food processor. Blend until smooth and add water if needed to get the right consistency.
What I used To Make My Paleo Orange Cranberry Chicken:
Want More Paleo Chicken Recipes? Try One of These!
One-Pan Bacon Wrapped Chicken {Whole30}
One-Pan Lemon Garlic Chicken {Whole30}
Creamy Chicken with Brussels Sprouts and Bacon {Whole30}
Chicken and Pork Fried Cauliflower Rice {Whole30}
Paleo “Breaded” Chicken Cutlets {Whole30}
Crispy Chicken Tenders {Whole30, Nut Free}
Chicken Pesto Spaghetti Squash {Whole30}
Tell Me!
Which meat do you cook most often?
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Hi! I'm Michele. Paleo eater and recipe creator, runner, and mom of 3. Welcome to my blog, where we obsess over all of it and love every minute! (It's way fun over here, promise.) Stay a while to eat, run, and rant with me! 
What a beautiful fall dish. The colors!! This one’s at the top of my next Chicken dinner.
This looks amazing! I’ve got a bunch of little mandarin oranges and half a bag of cranberries that I’ve been looking to use up and this looks perfect! Even my non-Paleo dad is looking forward to this!
Love the recipes! All my life I have struggled with an addiction to sugar. The more svieet things I ate. the more I wanted. I couldn’t eat just one piece of something without wanting more. Last week I read this book //preview.tinyurl.com/yb5lfrk4
Since learning about nutrition and the glycemic index, my relationship with food has changed dramatically. I have learned that there are healthy alternatives for sugar, and I can still have delicious desserts and not feel deprived!
When out to dinner with friends and they order dessert. I am no longer bothered seeing the dessert, because I know I can go home and have something just as delicious that won’t spike my blood sugar and is even good for me!
Followed your recipe to the letter tonight & not only does it taste fantastic, but it makes the houae smell really good! Thank you for a fresh idea for cooking with chicken!
This was fantastic! You are fast becoming one of my favorite paleo blogs! Everything has been bang on. It is so helpful to have recipes that use some of the same ingredients so the fresh goods we don’t commonly use don’t wind up going to waste.
So happy you enjoyed this!
I made this with pork cutlets! My kiddos loved it!
So happy it worked out!
Wow! We had this for dinner tonight and it was fantastic! We made it with the chicken thighs and put it on top of cauliflower rice and asparagus. It was so delicious! The flavors were really unique and very fall-like. Then my daughter followed it up with your pumpkin snickerdoodle recipe for dessert! Thank you for your wonderful blog and recipes!
That sounds like the perfect dinner and dessert! So happy you enjoyed 🙂
Loved it! Do you know if there is a good refined sugar free canned cranberry sauce?
Thanks!
My family loved this! I made a few mods: bone-in chicken thighs, but skinless; whole bag of cranberries, no starch, maybe 1-1.5c orange juice, quartered clementines, used about 3/4c sugar, no cloves.
Such a great recipe! My husband asked me to keep this in his favorites! Thank you!
I love using cranberries when I can. This savory recipe looks outstanding, and a little one approves in your house!
This is hands down the best chicken recipe ever! I am so glad I have extra cranberries in the freezer, and found frozen cranberries at the health food store. It’s easy, and I’m asked to make it often. Wonderful balance of flavors, I follow the recipe exactly for best results. Thank you Running Momma!
So thrilled you loved it!