Description
Maple-Bourbon Pecan Chicken — bright, slightly sweet, and totally craveable. This one-pan, gluten-free skillet dinner comes together fast and finishes with a sticky, nutty pan sauce.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1¼ lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- ½ cup gluten-free flour
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 Tbsp bourbon (a small maker’s-mark style pour works great)
- 1 cup chicken stock
- ¼ cup pecans, chopped
- 3 Tbsp pure maple syrup (not pancake syrup)
- 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp reduced-sodium gluten-free tamari (or regular soy sauce)
- ¼ tsp dried rosemary, lightly crushed
Instructions
- Put the gluten-free flour on a shallow plate and season it well with salt and pepper. Toss each chicken thigh in the flour, shaking off any excess, and set them on a platter.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the chicken stock, maple syrup, chopped pecans, Dijon, apple cider vinegar, tamari, and the crushed rosemary. Set this sauce mix aside.
- Warm the olive oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the chicken thighs in a single layer (work in batches if necessary). Sear until the undersides are deeply golden, about 1–2 minutes. Turn and brown the other side, then remove the pieces to the plate — they don’t need to be fully cooked through yet.
- Take the pan off the heat and carefully pour in the bourbon (it may sizzle and steam). Return the skillet to the burner, add the prepared maple-broth mixture, and bring it up to a gentle simmer.
- Nestle the chicken back into the sauce, reduce the heat to medium, loosely tent the pan with foil, and simmer until the sauce thickens and the chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Turn the thighs once or twice so they glaze evenly in the sauce.
- Transfer the chicken to plates and spoon the glossy maple-pecan sauce over the top.
Notes
- Serving suggestion
- This shines served over creamy mashed potatoes so the sauce can be soaked up, but rice, polenta, or roasted root vegetables are all excellent options.
- Notes
- If you prefer a milder bourbon flavor, omit the liquor and use an extra splash of chicken stock with a teaspoon of brown sugar for that caramel note.
Nutrition
- Calories: 270kcal
- Sugar: 10g
- Sodium: 447mg
- Fat: 15g
- Saturated Fat: 3g
- Carbohydrates: 23g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 8g
- Cholesterol: 18mg