I have two kids who are hard to please. Pia is off most meat and large fish (for, uh, ethical reasons), but will still eat some chicken and small fish (she has the rational allllll worked out in her mind). Coco is a raging carnivore- she could just eat red meat and be happy. Between these preferences and all of the food allergies in this household, dinner has been somewhat errrrr “complicated” lately.
But I recently stumbled on a winner recently with this Roasted Cherry Balsamic Rosemary Chicken. I had chicken pieces to use, gorgeous bing cherries from the market and TONS of fresh fragrant rosemary in the garden. So as I brainstormed how to make it into dinner, this is what came from it. Golden, caramelized skin with juicy tender chicken meat flavored with sweet balsamic and cherries and the herbal rosemary. It was not only delicious and heavenly scented, but really pretty.
If you are having any dreary summer days (we certainly are in the midst of a few here in the Northwest, or can brave turning the oven on, then this dish is for you. I like to serve it with a rice pilaf or with the Mustard Roasted Potatoes from Pure Delicious for a perfect weeknight dinner with almost no fuss.
This is what you do: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In the bottom of a heavy pan or cast iron skillet place all of the pieces of chicken, tucking the rosemary sprigs in amongst the chicken pieces.
In a separate bowl place the cherries, garlic, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Generously season them with kosher salt.
Pour the contents of the bowl, the cherries and all of the juices, onto the chicken.
Roast the chicken for 40 minutes or until the skin is golden and caramelized and the chicken breasts have cooked through.
- 1 whole chicken’s legs, wings, thighs and breasts
- 6 fresh sprigs of rosemary
- 2 cups pitted cherries
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- kosher salt
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In the bottom of a heavy pan or cast iron skillet place all of the pieces of chicken, tucking the rosemary sprigs in amongst the chicken pieces.
- In a separate bowl place the cherries, garlic, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Generously season them with kosher salt.
- Pour the contents of the bowl, the cherries and all of the juices, onto the chicken. Roast the chicken for 40 minutes or until the skin is golden and caramelized and the chicken breasts have cooked through.
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I absolutely love your recipes! This chicken sounds delicious but I’m wondering if you could suggest another fruit that I could substitute for the cherries. We’re at the end of the season in the Northeast and not a bing cherry to be had.
Greengages are an alternative and tarragon delicious with chicken
We made this for dinner tonight for our house guest and it was awesome. So easy to make – chicken turned out very moist. Thank you Heather!
Hi Heather,
I can’t figure out how to print this recipe. I regularly print your recipes but I can’t find a print button for this one.
Thanks,
Maureen
Hi, neither could I, so I just took a screen shot of it and printed that. 🙂 leslie
Skoða
Just wanted to let you know that we are on an elimination diet (gluten, dairy, soy and eggs) and was very happy to find your website. We tried this chicken and it was delish!
Hi Kelly- I am so happy that the site might be helpful to you! You should check out my book with has another 150 family friendly recipes that are super allergy free! Pure Delicious
This looks delicious! Will frozen cherries work in a pinch?
Thank you!
Sure Jena, I think they would be delicious!
Do you think this would work with just chicken breasts?
Absolutely Jane! Just watch the cooking time as it will depend on the size of the chicken breasts!
What did everyone serve this with? Looking for good side-pairing suggestions.
I have a salad mix, that’s dried cherries and almonds, etc. I thought this chicken would make it into a nice salad meal. Haven’t tried it yet, so I’ll let you know. Would also be good with couscous I bet.
How do you think this would do with boneless thighs? How would I adjust cooking time?
I made these with frozen cherries that were thawed in the bag. I used the cherries & all the “cherry water” from thawing. I made this with chicken breasts only and I think the extra cherry water helped keep the breasts the moistest I’ve ever had. There was no browning though, but it didn’t matter. I put the cooked juice in a small bowl & dipped the chicken in it, giving it even more flavor. Definitely a keeper & would love to try it with a whole chicken and no extra juice and let it brown.
Do you cook covered or uncovered?
uncovered so that it gets nice and browned!
Anxious to try this tonight! Thank you so much for sharing!
I am making this for dinner tonight! It’s in the over and it smells AMAZING!
We don’t have fresh cherries available now. Can I use canned or frozen cherries instead?
frozen but not canned would work!
Can I use dried cherries?
Excellent recipe! I browned the chicken first, then added the cherry mixture. Might try 375* instead of 400* and cook longer.