Apple cider and olive oil are used to keep lean chicken breasts moist while roasting the garlic cloves in their skin have them become caramelized and sweet.
As you’ve probably heard by now, cinnamon is an excellent source of antioxidants. In my house, we literally cook with it morning, noon and night. As a Middle Eastern gal, my family has been preparing savory dishes with cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and other woody spices my entire life so it is no surprise that it is my go-to spice when roasting chicken.
If you typically think of oatmeal when someone mentions cinnamon, I urge you to experiment at dinnertime. Here are a few recipes to get you started:
Roast Chicken with Apples, Onions and Sweet Potatoes
Beef Shawarma with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce
Slow Cooked Lebanese Green Beans with Beef
Your fork is waiting.
Apple Cider Roasted Chicken with Butternut Squash
Ingredients
- 4 cups butternut squash (peeled and cut in cubes)
- 12 cloves garlic (whole skin-on)
- ½ cup apple cider (Cider NOT Vinegar)
- 4 chicken breasts (boneless skinless (about 6oz each))
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- chopped parsley (optional garnish)
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 and line a roasting pan with foil.
- Scatter butternut squash cubes and whole garlic cloves on bottom of the roasting pan then pour apple cider on top.
- Place chicken breasts on top of the squash/garlic and drizzle with olive oil.
- Season chicken and squash with cinnamon, salt and pepper. (Don’t be afraid to use your hands – these breasts need to be evenly coated and well seasoned!)
- Cover pan loosely with foil and bake for 45 minutes or until chicken reaches internal cooking temperature of 165.
I really enjoyed this meal and so did my husband. I cooked it a little longer than suggested and used a baking dish. I also flipped the chicken about half way through and nestled it around the squash so it touched the bottom of the dish to really cook in the cider and garlic broth.I served it with rice and green beans. Next time I make it I think i’ll add turmeric and cayenne with the cinnamon.
So glad you enjoyed it!
Do you think I could substitute chicken breast with boneless skinless chicken thighs and would cook time be the same. Thank you
Yes of course! Cook time would be 35-40 minutes at 400.
Hi CJM,
Thank you for taking the time to write. I’m so sorry to hear you had difficulties with this recipe but I’d love to help. We make this meal at least twice a month and it always turns out great. To confirm, did you use apple cider (the sweet juice), not apple cider vinegar? That’s a common mistake. Let me know! I’d love to help you troubleshoot!!
The end result was really good, but it took a bit of effort to get there.
After 40 minutes the chicken was done (I’d split two large ones) but looked strange (puddles of cinnamon), the squash was still crunchy and the cider was runny and foamy. Even putting it under broil with a bit of butter didn’t do anything to the chicken so I took it out (in foil) and roasted the squash at 400 for 15 – 20 min after which it was perfect. The liquid had thickened a bit too much so more cider was added.
Slicing the incredibly tender and tasty chicken solved the problem of appearance; a very enjoyable meal.
Did you use apple cider, the juice, not the vinegar? Just making sure!
Lol…. oh goodness. I read the recipe as apple cider vinegar also…
Hm…. still cooking and not quite done. At about 45 minutes now and seems to need another 15…
Oh dear…. :) How did it turn out?
I’m just about to make this for the first time, and reading thru the recipe and comments I’m pretty sure what the issues are: It’s a size thing. “6oz chicken breast”…they rarely make them that small. Maybe a Game Hen breast. Amish tend to run closer to 10oz. A “regular” breast (1/2 breast) can run to almost a pound easily. And “1/2″ dice” butternut should really be 1/2″ – which is quite small, in the scheme of things squashy. But if you keep things to small sizes required by the recipe, timing should work.
Hi John – To create a six ounce chicken breast I usually just cut them horizontally with a sharp knife! Love your ideas too!
I don’t have a roasting pan at the moment. Is it ok to use a regular pan or dish? Or should I wait to make it till I can get my hands on a roasting pan?
Oh yes you do NOT need a roasting pan! Any brownie/lasagna pan would work!
When you say garlic with skin on do you mean I don’t have to take the outer layer off ? And if so, what happens to it when it cooks? I’ve never not peeled that part off of an onion not glove of garlic. So, just making sure I prepare it right! I can’t wait to make it!
Hi Jana – Yes we leave the skin on – it just pops right off when you’re eating it similar to a shrimp shell. You are welcome to deskin it though if you prefer!
This was OK, but didn’t care for strong cinnamon flavor on chicken while squash was bland. I will try it again, but this time put the cinnamon, salt and pepper in with the squash. I will lightly season and brown chicken breasts before putting them in with squash to cook. Also will thicken any remaining liquid so it will stick to veg. and rice.
I’m sorry you didn’t love it but I love your ideas for making it your own next time! It’s also great with sweet potatoes!
This is a perfect dish for fall. It was flavorful and comforting!
It’s one of our favorites!
I ran across this recipe on Pintrest and just had to try it and oh my am I glad it did! It was delicious! I did sub the apple cider for 1/2 cup water and a whole apple and added some Brussels sprouts. Was able to stick with my clean eating program and enjoy something new and different. Thanks!
Oh I’m so glad you found a way to make it work!! Yay!
Is it possible to adapt this for a crockpot?
I think this would be perfect in the crockpot- just set it and forget it. Will you let me know how it goes?
How long would you recommend cooking it? I’m thinking 3-4 hrs on low…?
That sounds perfect!
Am I reading this right? 12 cloves of garlic? It seems like a lot! Otherwise I can’t wait to try this recipe!
Yes 12! When they are roasted whole they become caramelized and sweet! Enjoy!!
Do you think apple juice would work instead of apple cider? I always have juice around, but never cider. Maybe compensate by adding extra spices since that’s the only difference I notice?
Apple juice would be perfect substitution for the cider!
WOW!! An hour and 20 minutes? Hmm..I wonder if your chicken breasts were extremely thick? Perhaps next time try cutting them in half before placing them in the oven? Still bizarre. As for the apple cider vinegar, the recipe does not call for that ingredient. It calls for apple cider, the drink. :) BIG difference!! I hope you can try this again with delicious, sweet apple cider!
Omg, I can’t believe I made that mistake- it didn’t even occur to me it WASN’T apple cider vinegar! Well, that explains that. The breasts were a bit plump, but the squash didn’t look soft like yours in the picture at all, in fact, I turned up the heat to 400 and roasted it for another 20 minutes. I wonder if the vinegar made a difference some how. I will try this again with the cider this time! Thanks.
Too funny!!! Glad we figured it out!! Keep me posted. :-)
I’m having the exact same problem. Double and triple checked the recipe to make sure I followed instructions. My squash is still hard and it’s been in there 40 minutes longer than the cooking time. My chicken still isn’t cooked through either and I did slice them in half since I had seen this post before I prepped it. Just turned up to 400 and hopefully things will get cooked soon!
Were you using boneless, skinless chicken breast? Just want to be sure. So sorry you’re not having luck with this!! We make it all the time!