Apple Cider Glazed Chicken (Quick Fall Skillet)
This is a quick, fall-inspired skillet chicken with a sweet-and-savory apple cider glaze. Thin-filleted chicken gets browned first, then finishes cooking right in a glossy sauce of apple cider, apple cider vinegar, sliced apples, and a touch of honey or maple syrup. It all comes together in one pan in well under half an hour, and it's a great pick for anyone who loves apple-cinnamon flavors.
The move worth stealing from this video happens before the pan ever gets hot: fillet the chicken thin, so two pieces become four. That's how I stretch one inexpensive pack of chicken into dinner for four, and those thin pieces only need about 3 to 4 minutes of browning per side before they come out to wait on the sauce.
And that sauce is really apple three ways — sliced apples, a full cup of apple cider, and three tablespoons of apple cider vinegar — sweetened with honey or maple syrup and warmed up with a little cinnamon. If you're the kind of cook who looks forward to apple-cinnamon season all year, this is the dinner version of that craving.
Watch me make it — video from my YouTube channel
The recipe
Apple Cider Glazed Chicken (Quick Fall Skillet)
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 to 2 lb chicken, filleted thin
- olive oil, enough to coat the chicken
- salt, to taste
- pepper, to taste
- avocado oil, for searing
- apples, sliced
- 1 cup apple cider
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- cinnamon, to taste
- 2 tablespoons honey (or 2 tablespoons maple syrup)
How to Make It
- Fillet the chicken thin to get more pieces out of the pack.
- Coat the chicken with olive oil, then season with salt and pepper.
- Heat a pan and add the avocado oil.
- Once the pan is hot, add the chicken.
- Brown each side for about 3 to 4 minutes, leaving the chicken slightly underdone since it will finish in the sauce.
- Remove the chicken once browned and set aside.
- To the same pan, add the sliced apples.
- Pour in 1 cup apple cider.
- Add 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar.
- Stir in a little cinnamon.
- Add 2 tablespoons honey or 2 tablespoons maple syrup.
- Once the sauce starts to thicken, return the chicken to the pan before the sauce gets too thick.
- Keep the lid off and let the sauce cook down, basting it over the chicken.
- Continue cooking until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce thickens to your liking, then serve.
Curtis's Tips
- On a budget, grab an inexpensive pack of chicken and fillet the pieces thin to turn two into four.
- Don't fully cook the chicken in the sear — it keeps cooking in the sauce, and overcooking dries it out.
- Use either honey or maple syrup for the glaze, whichever you prefer.
- Keep the lid off while the sauce reduces so it thickens, and baste it over the chicken as it cooks down.
- Cook the sauce down until it reaches the thickness you like.
- A great sweet-and-savory, apple-cinnamon dish that's perfect for fall.
Why this works
The sear here is deliberately unfinished. I brown each side for about 3 to 4 minutes and pull the chicken while it's still underdone, because it goes back into the pan once the sauce starts to thicken and finishes cooking right in the glaze — that's what keeps thin fillets juicy instead of dry. The glaze does its thickening with the lid off: the cider and vinegar cook down around the sliced apples, and basting the sauce over the chicken as it reduces is what gets that glossy coat on every piece.
FAQ
Can I use maple syrup instead of honey?
Yes — I give you both options in the video: 2 tablespoons of honey or 2 tablespoons of maple syrup. It's genuinely your call, and the glaze comes out sweet-and-savory either way.
Why isn't the chicken cooked through after browning?
That's on purpose — the chicken finishes cooking later, in the sauce. Cooking it all the way through at the sear stage is how thin fillets end up dry.
When does the chicken go back into the pan?
Once the sauce starts to thicken — and before it gets too thick, because the chicken still needs that simmering time in the glaze to finish cooking through.
How do I keep the glaze from turning out watery?
Keep the lid off — that's what lets the sauce reduce and thicken — and give it time, basting the glaze over the chicken while it cooks down. Watch the pan instead of a clock: once the cider and apples turn glossy and cling to the chicken as you baste instead of pooling thin around it, the glaze has thickened enough to serve.
Estimated nutrition, per serving (recipe makes about 4 servings): ~400 calories · 45 g protein · 12 g fat · 28 g carbs. Computed from the ingredient list using standard reference values — an estimate, not a lab analysis; your exact brands and portions will vary.
