Balsamic Glazed Chicken

With just 6 ingredients, Balsamic Glazed Chicken is a lot easier than it looks. Sweet, tangy, flavorful chicken. A perfect family get-together meal.

I’ve been obsessed with Balsamic vinegar in the past few months so I was determined to find a way to make a simple weeknight chicken meal with it.  I found a sauce on Food Network Kitchen that I initially tried with steak and tweaked it to suit my taste.  This recipe is simple, nothing really fancy, but tastes pretty darn good. And it presents beautifully with its rich, dark, glossy finish, making it nice for company too.

You can make the sauce and marinate the chicken ahead if you want, but it’s not necessary. I almost always use kosher chicken which is brined, flavorful and juicy.  If you use regular chicken, I suggest sprinkling it with salt before tossing it with the balsamic glaze.

One other suggestion…if you like lots of sauce and want extra for the rice or potatoes you might serve with the chicken, just double the sauce in the recipe and simmer it for a bit longer.

Try serving the Balsamic Glazed Chicken with Broccoli Apple Slaw with Avocado Dressing, Super Easy Potato Knishes, Red Quinoa Salad  and/or Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Peppers, Eggplant and Apples.

Make Ahead Balsamic Glazed Chicken

• You can prepare the balsamic glaze ahead and use it to marinate the chicken overnight.
• Or, you can complete the recipe, under cooking it slightly, and keep in warm in the over. Broil for a few minutes just before serving.

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Balsamic Glazed Chicken

With just 6 ingredients, Balsamic Glazed Chicken is a lot easier than it looks. Sweet, tangy, flavorful chicken. A perfect family get-together meal.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time50 mins

Total Time1 hr

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings: 4

Author: Cheryl

Ingredients

• 1 chicken, trimmed and cut into 8 pieces - 3 1/2-4 lbs (or use white or dark meat pieces as preferred)
• 2 tbsp parsley or green onions, chopped (optional for garnish)

Balsamic Glaze (can be doubled for passing extra sauce)

• 6 tbsp good quality Balsamic Vinegar
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 2 tbsp maple syrup (or honey)
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350F.
• MAKE BALSAMIC GLAZE: Place all glaze ingredients in a small saucepan and stir to combine. Bring to boil, lower heat and simmer for 5-7 minutes until glaze thickens and coats the back of a spoon. (if doubling the glaze recipe, simmer for 8-10 minutes)
• PREPARE CHICKEN: Put chicken pieces in a large mixing bowl. Pour on balsamic glaze and mix to coat chicken evenly. (At this point you can refrigerate for several hours or night before if you like). Place chicken on a baking pan lined with parchment paper or foil sprayed with oil for easy clean up.
• BAKE: Bake chicken for 40-50 minutes, depending on size of chicken pieces or until an instant thermometer reads 160-165F. FINISH OFF WITH A QUICK BROIL IF DESIRED: To get a nice shiny finish, broil chicken 6-10 inches from heat for 3-4 minutes, watching to make sure it doesn't burn. Transfer chicken to a serving platter. Sprinkle with parsley or green onions if desired and serve immediately.

Notes

Make Ahead:

Option 1: Prepare glaze, combine with chicken (use only half if you've made double  the sauce), place in large bowl, container or ziploc bag. Refrigerate for up to a day. Bake as directed when needed. Use extra sauce, heated, to pass around or drizzle on before broiling.

Option 2: Complete the recipe except for broiling at the end. I under cook a little to 155F. Cover chicken with foil and keep it in a low heat (e.g. 160-200F) for up to an hour. Broil for a few minutes just before serving. 

Here’s another sweet, tangy chicken you might like:

Baked Apricot Onion Chicken Recipe

Baked Apricot Onion Chicken is a much better and homemade version of that old recipe with onion soup, jam & Catalina dressing. Sticky, oniony deliciousness!

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