This One Pan Chicken Bake is a homey comfort food dish that brings together the best flavours of autumn to enjoy year-round. Apples and onions add a delicate sweetness to creamy rice, and the horseradish gets all mellow, adding just the right amount of tanginess to make this a heartwarming chicken dinner. (Skip to recipe.)
It's a glorious fall day, and I feel like roasting something in the oven - something savoury and full of fall flavours.
Mmmm. We have onion braids drying in the garage, and the apple trees are laden with rosy-red jewels. The purple onions and sweet apples combine beautifully in this lovely fall bake. A touch of horseradish adds a tangy counterpart, and the tender chicken and fluffy rice soak up the delicious juices.
It's a perfect meal baked together in one pan.
And I think the day is still warm enough to eat supper out on the deck!
How Easy is this One Pan Chicken Dish?
You brown some chicken thighs.
Save those precious, flavour-loaded pan drippings.
Arrange the chicken in a pan, drizzle with those golden drippings, and tuck in the chunks of onion and apple.
Dollop on the horseradish and sprinkle with the rice.
Add water, cover with foil, and bake to tender, melting deliciousness.
* * * * *
Kitchen Frau Notes: I use prepared horseradish in this dish. If you can only find creamed horseradish you could substitute it, but the recipe would no longer be dairy-free. Prepared horseradish can be found in the condiment aisle of the grocery store.
And of course, white onions would work equally well here - they just wouldn't look as pretty.
I use converted, or par-boiled, rice here as it keeps its shape much better than regular rice during baking or long slow cooking. Converted rice is actually healthier than regular white rice. It contains 80% of the nutrients found in brown rice, because the par-boiling drives the nutrients from the bran into the rice kernel before milling. Plus, the texture is much nicer - the rice grains stay separate and don't get mushy.
Autumn Chicken Bake with Apples, Onions, and Horseradish
- 2 teaspoons oil
- 1 kg (2.2lbs) chicken thighs with skin-on and bone-in (6-8 thighs)
- salt (about 1 teaspoon total)
- pepper
- 3 medium red onions
- 2 medium apples
- ¼ cup (60ml) prepared horseradish, from a jar
- 1 cup (190gms) converted (par-boiled) rice
- 2 cups (480ml) water
Heat the oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Liberally sprinkle the chicken thighs on both sides with salt and pepper. Saute in the oil, skin-side-down first (to release the fat in the skin) til golden brown, about 6-8 minutes per side.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
While the chicken is browning, cut the onions into wedges and the apples into 1 inch (2cm) chunks.
Remove the chicken thighs and arrange them in a 9x13 inch pan. Drizzle with the drippings remaining in the skillet (that's where all the umami flavour is). Use a rubber spatula to get out every last delicious bit. (You can strain the drippings through a small strainer if you don't want the chunky bits.)
Tuck the onion wedges, cut-side-down, around the chicken thighs. Tuck the apple chunks, also cut-side-down, in the remaining spaces. Sprinkle with more salt, to taste.
Dollop the horseradish in small spoonfuls over the meat, apples and onions. Sprinkle the rice evenly over everything, then pour in the water.
Cover the dish tightly with foil.
Bake for 1½ hours, or until all the water has been absorbed by the rice.
Serves 4 to 6.
Guten Appetit!
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Dale Abendroth
OMGosh...this looks so tasty. I am always looking for good chicken thigh recipes.
Loved your fall photos...we are getting some beautiful colors too.
Margaret
Thanks, Dale! I absolutely love fall - up here the season is so short, but pretty spectacular while it lasts. Something about those rich colours and the feeling in the air makes me excited deep inside. All the garden bounty makes cooking such fun.
Irma Diesner
OH, such beautiful photos. Fall came early up your way, eh?
I will try the recipe really soon.
Hope all is well.
Margaret
Yes, it IS so beautiful here right now, but unfortunately in about a week we probably won't have any leaves left on the trees. Fall is wonderful, but way too short and too early up here. It's probably still mostly green on the coast, I'm guessing? Have a great week!
Elsa
Oh Margaret that looks sooo delicious I have to make that meal very soon.
I love it all in one dish.
The pictures are beautiful, the nice warm weather is such a treat.
Margaret
Thanks so much, Elsa! I love being outside to take photos when it's so warm and summery but with beautiful fall colours. We'll enjoy it while it lasts! I hope you enjoy the dish if you make it. It gets gobbled up around here. . .
Happy Fall to you!
Sina
We had this wonderful autumnal dish today and really enjoyed it! Everything good in there - although I left the horseradish out due to my little children (1 and 4 years old), they wouldn't have eaten it I guess...
Thanks for sharing this recipe!
By the way: we also tried the wonderful butter chicken with garam masala about 10 days ago which was as well loved by the whole family.
Greetings from Germany!
Margaret
How lovely to hear from you. I am so glad to hear you liked the recipe. Some types of prepared horseradish are not very sharp - the kind we have here doesn't put a strong flavour into the dish at all, but maybe a spoonful or two of mustard might be a good substitute. However, I remember how how my kids didn't like strong flavours when they were that age, either.
I'm thinking how beautiful everything must be at this time of year in Germany! Our leaves are almost gone from the trees here in Alberta!
Viel Spaβ in der Küche!
Sina
We have some really beautiful autumndays here - mild, actually quite warm, very calm weather, the leaves starting to change colour, lots of chestnuts to pick up...
Yeah, strong flavours are not very common in our kitchen these days 😉 But they will return for sure since my husband has Hungarian roots!