Cranberry Chicken is a super simple, four ingredient dinner recipe.
You know that a recipe is a keeper when your family asks you to make it over and over and over again. I’ve been making this cranberry chicken recipe for a very long time. I believe my sister-in-law gave me the recipe before I was even married, so that means I’ve been making it for close to 30 years.
It’s probably a recipe that came from the back of a package. Or it might just be a super simple recipe that was shared from a home cook. Regardless, it’s incredibly simple, and my family enjoys it a lot.
Easy Cranberry Chicken Recipe
Recipes with minimal ingredients are sometimes the best kinds of recipes. They’re perfect for those busy days where you simply can’t deal with making a complicated dinner (or making dinner at all!)
I’m not one for making a lot of recipes with pre-packaged ingredients, but this recipe is good so I don’t fret about that too much. No one is going to judge you for using a can of this or a jar of that. And if they do, then you shouldn’t be feeding them!!
Here are the four ingredients needed for cranberry chicken:
- French Salad Dressing (sometimes referred to as “Catalina”). Yep, you’re just going to buy a bottle of salad dressing- nothing fancy. You can even get the “fat free” variety, if you’d like.
- Dried Onion Soup Mix – you know… like Lipton brand or something similar. You’ll need one package of that mix. No substitutions.
- Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce – Use canned. It’s easy, and it works perfectly for this recipe!
- Chicken Breasts – You’ll need two pounds to feed about 6 people. You can certainly substitute boneless chicken thighs, if you’d like (baking time will be less).
I like to serve this cranberry chicken over rice. There is plenty of sauce, so you can spoon it over and let the rice soak it up too. Leftovers of this chicken are good, so don’t worry if you don’t have six people to feed. Enjoy!
Here are a few more chicken recipes you might like to try:
- Swiss Chicken Casserole
- Easy Chicken Santa Fe
- Baked Cornflake Chicken
- One Pot Stove Top Chicken and Rice
- Crispy Chicken Schnitzel
- Tuscan Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner
- Easy Kung Pao Chicken
- Skillet Lemon Chicken
Cranberry Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 cup bottled French salad dressing
- One 1-ounce envelope dried onion soup mix
- One 16-ounce can whole berry cranberry sauce
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉.
- In a 9x13-inch casserole dish, combine the dressing, soup mix and cranberry sauce. Add the chicken and turn to coat.
- Cover the casserole dish either with a lid or with foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the cover and cook for an additional 15 minutes. Check after 15 minutes to see if chicken is cooked through. Time depends on how thick your chicken breasts are. If not finished, bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes.
- The chicken can be served by itself or over rice with the sauce drizzled on top.
Notes
- *Use nonfat French dressing to cut down on fat.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Would mashed potatoes go with this dish?
Sure~!
Just wondering if you can use wings
You can certainly try!
I have made this recipe for years with chicken thighs and minus the onion soup mix. Served over rice. My family loves it! Next time I will try it with the onion soup.
I loved this idea … I made it with pork chops instead of chicken and added sliced onion & mushrooms… served with rice and a veg.
What is good to serve as a side dish
We like rice and broccoli!
I made this in college all the time in a crockpot. We were all broke students and it fed a crowd for very little money and it is delicious! We didn’t add the Lipton soup mix back then, but I will try it now!
What rice do you recommend. Jasmine or basmati?
I would use either!
Easy and tasty. Made for Thanksgiving last year and plan to again this year.
I love this recipe! Can you tell me which of your recipes is shown in your photo with the beautiful roasted Brussel sprouts and squash salad that is served under the cranberry chicken? I would love to make that with the chicken.
Hi! I’m not sure. I had a photographer re-shoot this one, so I don’t know what she used for the salad. Looks good though!