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    Home » Chicken

    Sticky, Gooey, Sweet & Savory Apricot Chicken

    Published: Apr 7, 2021 · by Natalie · This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our privacy policy. · 36 Comments

    RECIPE PRINT PIN

    Sticky, gooey, and sweet apricot chicken loaded with flavor from a simple combination of seasonings mixed with apricot preserves. This chicken is simple to prepare, making it a wonderful choice for a weeknight or any type of meal.

    Sweet and savory chicken thighs baked with an apricot glaze.

    This is a meal introduced to me by my Dad when he took over most of the cooking during my childhood. Honestly, when I saw it, I cringed. What the heck are apricots and why is it all over the chicken. Just eat it, he would say. So I did. And I loved it.

    Of course, his recipe was from a packet mixed with apricot preserves and whatever. Me being me, I had to replicate it because I don’t want all that stuff in the packet in my food. So, here is my version and I have to say, it’s freaking delicious.

    Chicken thighs in a bowl coated with apricot glaze.

    Check out the ingredients on those packets and see what you think. Now check out what you'll need to make a homemade version - kosher salt, dehydrated onion (a must for your pantry), granulated garlic, and crushed red pepper. Mix it with Dijon mustard, soy sauce, and apricot preserves. BAM!

    Chicken thighs in a baking dish coated with apricot glaze.

    It only takes minutes to prepare too. Mix the sauce ingredients in a bowl, coat the chicken, place it in the baking dish and bake. How easy is that?

    TOOLS YOU'LL NEED TO MAKE APRICOT CHICKEN:

    9x13 baking dish

    Tongs

    Bowl

    Since this is a sticky gooey sauce, I lightly coat the baking dish with a little oil. I’ve found that doing this makes cleaning the pan easier. Actually, I make someone else wash the dish so really it’s not a big deal for me! But it does make it easier.

    Baked apricot chicken thighs in a baking dish.

    Serve this with rice or potatoes and a salad or vegetables and you’ve got a great meal.

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    PIN THIS RECIPE FOR APRICOT CHICKEN TO SAVE FOR LATER.

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    Baked apricot chicken thighs in a baking dish.

    Apricot Chicken

    PRINT RECIPE PIN RECIPE SAVE RECIPESaved!
    Sticky, gooey, and sweet apricot chicken loaded with flavor from a simple combination of seasonings mixed with apricot preserves. This chicken is simple to prepare making it a wonderful choice for a weeknight or any type of meal.
    Serves 4 - 6
    Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 50 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 1 hour hour
    Servings: 4
    Author: Natalie Gregory

    Equipment Used

    9x13 baking dish
    Large Bowl
    Tongs

    Ingredients

    • 8 skin on, bone-in chicken thighs excess skin from underside removed

    Apricot sauce:

    • ¼ cup soy sauce* low sodium
    • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
    • 1 cup apricot preserves
    • 1 tablespoon dehydrated onion
    • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
    • 2 teaspoons granulated garlic
    • ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven 425°
    • Lightly oil a 9x13 baking dish. Optional, but this makes cleanup a little easier.
    • In a large bowl, combine the apricot sauce ingredients.
    • Add the chicken thighs into the bowl and coat with sauce. Reserve leftover sauce.
    • Place the thighs skin side down into the baking dish and bake for 20 minutes.
    • Flip thighs over and spoon leftover sauce over the top of the thighs and bake for another 25 - 30 minutes. I like mine dark and a little charred on top so I go the full 30 minutes.

    Notes

    If using regular soy sauce, taste the sauce without the salt first and then add salt to your taste.
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    Nutritional Information

    I don't post the nutritional value because I don't trust the accuracy of the nutritional apps. I’m not a nutritionist and don't want to post misinformation.

    Did you make this recipe?Tag @thegeneticchef and use #thegeneticchef and tell me about it!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Melanie

      May 03, 2025 at 3:07 pm

      5 stars
      Delicious! My kids and hubby love it!

      Reply
      • Natalie

        May 04, 2025 at 8:49 am

        Great! Thank you for commenting. I appreciate it and the rating as well! 🙂

        Reply
    2. Donna

      March 20, 2025 at 7:16 pm

      This was a really tasty recipe, my husband really enjoyed it too! I thought it was super well balanced, the apricot flavor comes through without being too over powering. I made this on the stovetop in a pan and come out really well. Thanks for the recipe.

      Reply
    3. Jackie

      December 30, 2024 at 3:59 pm

      2 stars
      It was ok. I was expecting more flavour. I made according to the instructions but I found the sauce wasn’t as tasty as I thought it would be. A bit bland to be honest. I expected the apricot flavour to really come through but it didn’t.
      I don’t know that I will make it again. Teriyaki is far better.

      Reply
      • Karina–Oh!

        March 13, 2025 at 9:34 pm

        To each his own Jackie, I always say. I'm preparing this exact recipe myself as I type this out. Actually, my son prepped it as he is my helper in the kitchen since I have limited mobility. 😁 I could really taste the dijon mustard in the sauce but I know that once the juices and fat from the chicken mix in with all the other ingredients, the taste will be better and much different. I'm thinking that the apricot preserves serve more to bring about the stickiness to the recipe then to add an abundance of sweetness to the mix. Whether a dish like this is bland to one person or just perfect to another is because it's a subjective opinion according to each individuals liking.

        Reply
    4. Barbara Anderson

      December 10, 2024 at 12:40 pm

      5 stars
      I love this recipe! I don’t understand why people change the recipe before they even try it the original way! It’s a winner! Thank you! 🩷

      Reply
      • Natalie

        December 10, 2024 at 7:56 pm

        Great! Thank you for commenting. 🙂 This has been a family favorite for years. Enjoy!

        Reply
    5. Tina

      December 04, 2024 at 7:10 pm

      Just put it in the oven. I did switch it up a tad. I used a lipton onion soup mix and 2 cans of halved apricots with the juice from 1 can. It smells delicious. I did try the sauce and it's amazing!! Will definitely make again!! Thank you for the delicious recipe 😋

      Reply
      • Karina–Oh!

        March 13, 2025 at 9:38 pm

        I like the idea of adding canned apricot halves and juice to the recipe. I think that's a great addition; more like an extension to the recipe instead of a change to it. I will definitely add the apricot halves the next go round making this!

        Reply
    6. Judi

      October 03, 2024 at 7:33 pm

      Absolutely amazing!!! I had a jar of farm stand peach preserves. Reduced the salt to 1 teaspoon because I only had regular soy sauce. Not sure why low sodium soy sauce is recommended and then 2 teaspoons of salt😀The sauce is amazing on rice. Made 4 thighs but full sauce recipe…perfect amount.. Keeper for sure. Thank you.

      Reply
    7. Ashley

      September 26, 2024 at 11:05 pm

      5 stars
      Very good! I am not a good cook and I’ve already been disappointed by two other baked chicken recipes (not from this creator). This chicken was sooooo good! Definitely going to make it again. I used half bone in thighs and half boneless because I had them. I also used yellow mustard because I didn’t know we were out of Dijon. Still very good. Husband approved!

      Reply
      • Natalie

        September 30, 2024 at 7:53 am

        Thank you!

        Reply
    8. Jessica Ferrara

      August 08, 2024 at 6:08 pm

      OMG! I made this tonight and my whole family enjoyed it! Zero left overs! This will be in my rotation for sure. Thank you so much!!

      Reply
      • Natalie

        August 09, 2024 at 7:18 am

        Happy to hear it! Thank you for commenting. 🙂

        Reply
    9. Bonnie

      July 10, 2024 at 11:38 pm

      5 stars
      7/19/24 unfortunately I didn't have apricot preserves on hand... so I used orange marmalade. Was delish... Will try with apricot preserves next time. This is a keeper.

      Reply
      • Natalie

        July 14, 2024 at 9:40 am

        Orange marmalade sounds delicious too! 🙂

        Reply
    10. K.M.

      June 29, 2024 at 6:28 pm

      5 stars
      This was delicious! Will definitely be adding it to the rotation!

      Reply
      • Natalie

        June 30, 2024 at 6:27 pm

        Happy you enjoyed it. 🙂

        Reply
    11. Lisa

      June 12, 2024 at 1:39 pm

      Do you think I could use peach preserves?

      Reply
      • Natalie

        June 13, 2024 at 7:10 am

        Sure. I don't see why not. It will just be a different flavor. 🙂

        Reply
    12. Cassie

      June 08, 2024 at 9:29 pm

      Any thoughts on using my crock pot?

      Reply
      • Natalie

        June 09, 2024 at 6:47 pm

        It's not something I've tried. I would imagine the chicken steamed rather than roasted. I'm sure it will taste good because it's all about the sauce.
        If I were to do it, I would slow cook for about 3 - 4 hours then broil them to get that caramelization. 🙂

        Reply
    13. Paula C

      April 28, 2024 at 10:41 pm

      5 stars
      This was EXCELLENT! The sauce…I could drink it! LOL. I used a little on the baked sweet potato that I made to accompany this and that too was a perfect match! Thank you very much for sharing this recipe. I will make it many more times 😋

      Reply
      • Natalie

        April 29, 2024 at 8:46 am

        You are very welcome! Thank you for commenting. 🙂

        Reply
        • Becca

          May 14, 2024 at 6:41 pm

          Can you make with boneless?

        • Natalie

          May 15, 2024 at 9:22 am

          Yes, but you will have to reduce the time. I would try reducing it by 15 minutes and then check. 🙂

    14. Susan Walters

      March 15, 2024 at 6:07 pm

      I made this and froze it with raw chicken. I thawed it in the fridge for 2 days then followed the cooking instructions. It was fantastic !!! Thanks so much

      Reply
      • Natalie

        March 19, 2024 at 7:19 am

        You're very welcome. 🙂

        Reply
    15. Laura

      September 20, 2023 at 8:11 am

      Could you use orange marmalade in place of apricot preserves??

      Reply
      • Natalie

        September 21, 2023 at 8:33 am

        I haven't tried using orange but I bet it would work just fine. Let me know how it comes out. 🙂

        Reply
    16. Betty H

      September 19, 2023 at 11:28 am

      This was SO good! Does it freeze well?

      Reply
      • Natalie

        September 19, 2023 at 11:30 am

        I've never frozen it. There's never any leftovers. 🙂

        Reply
    17. Crystal

      July 17, 2023 at 10:45 pm

      Hi, could you grill this chicken?

      Reply
      • Natalie

        July 27, 2023 at 12:04 am

        I've never grilled it and feel it may burn and stick to the grill. If you try it, I would set it over indirect heat. Let me know how it comes out.

        Reply
    18. Shirley

      April 04, 2023 at 6:27 pm

      Love this sauce. I scored chicken breast and put sauce on them. Delicious! Thank you.

      Reply
      • Natalie

        April 04, 2023 at 9:03 pm

        You're very welcome. Thank you for commenting!

        Reply
    4.73 from 18 votes (11 ratings without comment)

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    I'm Natalie a.k.a The Genetic Chef. Here you will find from scratch family recipes coupled with humor, helpful tips, and product recommendations.

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