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Apricot Glazed Chicken is bursting with mouthwatering Asian inspired flavors. The most delicious sauce made with fresh apricots is cooked up and pureed and used to marinate boneless skinless chicken thighs. The marinated chicken is baked and topped with additional glaze to create a sticky, tangy coating that will melt in your mouth.
If you love tender chicken thighs in a sweet and sticky sauce, you’ll also want to try my teriyaki chicken and my shoyu chicken recipes.
Table of Contents
- Why You Should Make This Apricot Glazed Chicken
- Ingredients Needed to Make Fresh Apricot Glazed Chicken
- How to Make Oven Baked Apricot Glazed Chicken
- Step 1: Make the Apricot Glaze
- Step 2: Marinate the Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
- Step 3: Bake the Chicken
- Recipe Tip
- Storage and Reheating
- Similar Recipes
- Apricot Glazed Chicken Recipe
Why You Should Make This Apricot Glazed Chicken
- Flavor explosion – The intense amount of flavor the sauce adds to the chicken is unbelievable. I always save a bit to mix in with my rice.
- Fresh ingredients – Many apricot glaze recipes call for using apricot jam or apricot preserves. When you use fresh ingredients to make the glaze, you not only maximize the flavor, but you control the amount of added sugar.
- Quick and easy – Because you do some of the prep ahead of time to allow the chicken to marinate in the sauce, by the time you’re ready to make dinner, everything can be table read in about a half an hour!
Ingredients Needed to Make Fresh Apricot Glazed Chicken
The exact quantities are listed in the recipe card below, but here is a summary.
- Shallots – I have a strong preference for shallots in this recipe but you can use onion as a substitution if you need to.
- Fresh Ginger – My recipe goes heavy on the ginger; you can reduce the amount if you’d like.
- Toasted Sesame Oil
- Fresh Garlic
- Rice Wine Vinegar
- Sugar
- Soy Sauce
- Fresh Apricots – I leave the skin on.
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs – you can certainly modify the recipe and use chicken breasts, however the thighs will give more tender flavorful results.
How to Make Oven Baked Apricot Glazed Chicken
Step 1: Make the Apricot Glaze
Start by cooking the shallots and ginger in sesame oil over medium heat in a large saute pan. You will then add the garlic and cook the mixture for another couple of minutes.
Next, you’ll stir in the rice vinegar and sugar. At this point, you’ll bring the mixture to a gentle boil and cook it until the volume is reduced by half.
Then, you’ll add the soy sauce and the fresh apricot slices. Allow the mixture to simmer, uncovered, for about 15 minutes and remember to stir the sauce occasionally.
At this point, you will puree the sauce, either in the blender or in the pan using an immersion blender. You’ll need to chill the sauce before marinating the chicken.
Step 2: Marinate the Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
I like to use a resealable plastic bag to marinate the chicken. Simply add just enough sauce to evenly coat all the chicken pieces in the bag. The remainder of the sauce will be used for the cooking process as well as for mixing into your rice (my personal recommendation).
Place that bag of marinated chicken in the refrigerator for a good 8-24 hours before you’re ready to cook them.
Step 3: Bake the Chicken
To bake the chicken, you will shake off any excess marinade and place each chicken thigh in a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Plan to bake the chicken for about 15 minutes at which point you’ll take them out of the oven, flip them over, and coat them with some of the sauce that you set aside the day before.
Then, continue cooking the thighs for another 10 minutes or so until the internal temperature reads 165°F.
Finally, change the oven from bake to broil and watch the sticky sauce seize and the chicken turn a wonderful golden brown.
This recipe tastes great when served with Bok Choy Salad!
Recipe Tip
Double the sauce ingredients and freeze half of it for a future dinner!
Storage and Reheating
Any leftover chicken should be stored in an airtight container and refrigerated.
To reheat, cover with aluminum foil and warm in a 300°F oven or microwave in one minute increments at 50% power until heated through.
This chicken also tastes fantastic cold when sliced up and added to a salad.
Similar Recipes
If you love making easy Asian-inspired chicken recipes for dinner, here are a few other tasty dishes you should try.
- Chicken Fried Rice
- General Tso’s Chicken
- Chicken Stir Fry
- Hunan Chicken
- Szechuan Chicken
- Cashew Chicken
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Ingredients
- 1/2 cup shallots sliced (1 large shallot will usually yield about 1/4 cup)
- 4 tablespoons fresh ginger peeled and finely chopped – reduce the amount if you don't love ginger
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2/3 cup soy sauce
- 2 cups fresh apricots pitted and chopped (about 5 medium-sized apricots yielded 2 cups chopped)
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs you can double the amount of chicken without doubling the sauce ingredients
Instructions
- Sauté vegetables: Over medium heat, cook 1/2 cup shallots and 4 tablespoons fresh ginger in 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil in a large skillet, stirring occasionally, until softened and golden, about 3 minutes. Add 2 cloves garlic, stir, and continue to cook for another 2 minutes.
- Add vinegar and sugar: Stir in 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar and 3 tablespoons sugar. Bring mixture to a boil and cook until reduced by about half.
- Add soy sauce and fruit: Add the 2/3 cup soy sauce and 2 cups fresh apricots and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes.
- Blend: Purée the sauce in a blender until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids), then cool the sauce in the refrigerator. Alternatively, an immersion blender can be used to puree the sauce.
- Marinate: Place 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs in a large resealable bag and pour in just enough marinade to fully coat the chicken. The remaining marinade should be stored in the refrigerator. Seal the bag, pressing out any excess air. Place the bag in the refrigerator and marinate for at least 8 hours, up to 24 hours. Turn the bag occasionally to ensure the chicken remains fully coated.
- Bake chicken: Preheat oven to 400°F with the rack in the middle of the oven. Line a baking sheet or 9×13 pan with parchment paper. Shake off any excess marinade and arrange the chicken thighs in a single layer. Roast for about 15 minutes, turn each piece and then top with a spoonful of excess sauce. Cook for another 10 minutes or so, until the internal temperature reaches 165°F. At this time, set the oven to broil on high, and broil the chicken until the tops are golden brown and the sauce has seized, about 4-5 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe was originally published in August 2014 and has been updated with new photos and additional information to help you make the recipe. Don’t worry – the recipe hasn’t changed!
This might be my new favorite way to make chicken!! It turned out super tender and moist and the glaze was so flavorful!
This recipe is delicious. The sticky apricot glaze is a perfect match for grilled chicken. Thanks for sharing.
We tried this recipe for lunch today, having marinaded the chicken overnight. It was so tender and full of flavour. I love your suggestion to double the recipe as well. We’ll do that next time.