A French-inspired dish, this chicken thigh dinner delivers a ton of flavour with the delicious combination of chicken with apples and leeks. Special enough for entertaining, but it’s also ready in under an hour, so great for an every day meal, as well!
I hope everyone isn’t tired of Fall apples yet, because I would hate for you to miss this dish. It was born out of the necessity to use up some hard cider in my fridge. It was such a lovely dish, featuring the delicious combination of chicken with apples and I just had to share :)
In case you don’t happen to have some hard cider in your fridge though, rest assured, this dish would be equally lovely with a combination of regular apple cider (or juice) and white wine. Or just ditch the juice or cider altogether and increase the stock accordingly. There’s still a love flavour from the fresh apple slices. Lots of options, depending on what you have handy.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Chicken Thighs – bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs are used here. I have taken to the pan method of browning then baking the skin-on/bone-in chicken thighs. It delivers not only the crispiest skin, but it frees me up to make the sauce while the chicken finishes cooking in the oven. When the chicken is ready, I simply bring it together with the sauce for a little simmer and it’s ready to go. It also is a great way to ensure that your chicken is cooked enough, without having to cook the heck out of your sauce to get it there :)
One thing to note, if you want to preserve your lovely crispy skin, make sure not to cover the top of the chicken with sauce and don’t flip it so the skin is under the sauce. It doesn’t need flipping anyway, since it’s cooked already. The short simmer just brings a little of the chicken flavour in to the sauce and vice versa.
Apples – You only need one apple for this dish, but your choice of apple is still important. Look for one with bright red peel, to make this dish pretty and pick a cooking apple (any type of apple that you would use in a pie), so that it doesn’t turn to mush as it cooks in the sauce.
Leeks – I love leeks, but don’t cook with them all that often. They tend to hide dirt, so be sure to clean them well before using. To clean leeks, start by slicing the green end in half. This will make it easier to clean out any dirt. Wash the leek under cold water, letting the water wash the dirt out toward to fanned out green tops.
Recipe Tips
You can play with the liquid items in the sauce to suit. There are 2 cups in total – 1 cup hard cider and 1 cup chicken broth. If you don’t want to use hard cider, you can just increase the chicken broth to 2 cups. You can replace the hard cider with white wine (so 1 cup wine/1 cup chicken broth). You can do 1/2 cup white wine, 1/2 cup apple cider and then 1 cup chicken stock. Finally, about 1/2 cup regular apple cider to 1 1/2 cups chicken broth would also work.
Love the combination of chicken with apples? You may also like my Chicken with Apples and Bacon too!
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Get the Recipe: Chicken with Apples and Leeks
Ingredients
- 1 medium apple, (I used Cortland)
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 6 skin-on/bone-in chicken thighs
- 1-2 Tablespoons cooking oil
- Salt and pepper
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 2 leeks, cleaned and cut into 1-inch lengths
- 2 Tablespoons flour
- 1 cup hard cider*, (or 1/2 cup regular apple cider/1/2 cup white wine)
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 fresh thyme sprigs, plus more for garnish
- 1/2 cup heavy (35%) whipping cream, (or a lighter cream mixed with 1 tsp. or so of cornstarch)
- Additional salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F.
- Prepare the leeks: cut out the white and light green section of the leek, discarding the bottom stem end and the top green part (or reserving for another use). Cut each section in half from top to bottom, then cut in to 1 1/2-inch long pieces. Place in a strainer and rinse well under cold water, tossing to loosen and clean. Set aside to drain.
- Quarter and core the apple, then slice in to thin slices. Heat 1 Tbsp. butter in skillet over medium heat. Add apple slices and stir to coat. Increase heat slightly and saute until golden. Remove to a plate.
- In the same skillet, heat oil over almost medium-high heat. Pat chicken thighs dry, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in hot skillet, skin side down. Cook until golden (about 8 minutes), then flip and cook the other side until golden. Remove chicken to a baking sheet (foil lined and greased if you like, for easy clean-uand place in to pre-heated oven for 20-25 minutes (20 minutes for smaller thighs up to 25 minutes for larger).
- Meanwhile, remove all the fat from the skillet and discard. Melt 1 Tbsp. over medium heat. Add prepared leeks and cook, stirring, until starting to brown. Add the 2 Tbsp. of flour and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute. Add 1/2 of the reserved apples, the hard cider, chicken broth and thyme sprigs. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer until chicken is done.
- When chicken is done, remove from oven. Increase heat under sauce to medium-low. Add heavy cream and remaining apples and stir to combine. Taste sauce and adjust seasoning, by adding salt and pepper, as necessary. Add chicken pieces, skin side up, taking care to keep the chicken skin un-covered by sauce, so that it remains crispy. Allow chicken to cook in sauce for a few minutes, just to marry the flavours a bit.
- Serve garnished with additional fresh thyme leaves.
Notes
More Chicken Thigh Recipes to Love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
Hello Jennifer. Going to make this for friends for dinner. What do you serve with this dish as sides. Thx
Hi Donna and as for sides, mashed potato or rice works well and maybe a green such as French green beans. Enjoy!
Had an apple & 2 leeks to use up. No fresh thyme so used 1 tsp dried. An exceptional receipe!! The last serving was as delicious as the first!
Glad you enjoyed it! It’s a favourite of mine :) Thanks!
I made this, and it was delicious! The only change I made was to substitute shallots for the leeks. I used a tart, firm-textured old-fashioned apple and would do so again. Thank you for sharing such a lovely recipe!
So glad to hear, Beth! Thanks :)
Made this for supper tonight, and it was SOOO delicious! Made the kitchen smell wonderful also! Thanks for a great fall recipe!
Thanks so much, Katie and yes, love the smell of this one cooking too :)
incredible rich fall flavors. wanted to lick the pan clean. another homerun.
Thanks Thomas and so glad you liked it :) It was a favourite here, as well!
Such a stunning fall meal… I’m so smitten with these flavors, and I love the apples and leeks here!
Thanks Laura and yes, perfect for Fall, for sure :)
I could never tire of apples, so I hope you keep the recipes coming, Jennifer! This chicken looks absolutely amazing! I am drooling over this one like crazy! I love the apples and leeks in here, paired with that juicy, crispy skinned chicken? SWOON! Cheers, friend!
Thanks so much, Cheyanne :)
This is one cozy dish Jennifer. Don’t you just love using the autumn harvest items in your dishes! I just bought a huge double bag of apples so looking forward to trying your moist chicken thighs with crispy skin. Sharing, of course!
Thanks! And yes, I have a big bowl of fresh apples on my counter and they just keep inspiring me :)
Stunning, as usual Jennifer ~ and I especially love those slices of apples in there, the pop of color is so pretty.
Thanks Sue! I love cooked apples and they went so well with the leeks and chicken.
Jennifer you make the most beautiful chicken dishes and this one moves to the top of the list! I love fresh thyme and white wine with chicken and am fascinated with the addition of apple and cider. I am putting this on the list for Sunday supper with the family. Very pretty! Sharing :)
Thanks Tricia :) The cider was so nice in this dish.
Wow, another winner, winner, chicken dinner Jennifer. It sounds absolutely flavorful and delicious and looks gorgeous too!
Thanks Mary Ann :) I never seem to have enough chicken recipes. Always looking for new ways to enjoy it!
Love this idea! Looks yummy ♥
Thanks Summer :)
This dish is just gorgeous! I love this style of cooking… rustic, simple, but classy.
Thanks so much, Sarah :)
What a gorgeous recipe and dish!! The creamy textures with leeks, fantastic. If you don’t mind my sharing one little adjustment for lactose intolerance – at the end I’ll substitute Greek yogurt mixed with cornstarch first for the same results. Man, I have to make this one tonight!
Thanks so much, Debbie and absolutely, recipes are meant to be adjusted for taste or intolerances, for sure :)
Yum! I want this for dinner tonight! Love the combination of leeks and apples, delicious!
Thanks so much, Chris and yes, it’s such a lovely combination of flavours :)