Cranberry Roasted Chicken with Rosemary Balsamic Butter
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This cranberry roasted chicken is super fragrant and bursting with flavor. It’s tender, juicy chicken infused with balsamic and fresh rosemary, served with a cranberry-orange sauce. It’s a simple recipe that’s perfect for weeknights or special occasions, and it will fill your home with the most amazing aromas!
This easy cranberry roast chicken is one of those recipes that looks impressive but couldn’t be simpler to make. I coat the chicken in a balsamic-rosemary butter, which keeps it tender and juicy as it roasts.
As it cooks, the cranberries soften and simmer into a beautiful sauce right in the pan. With minimal prep and just one dish to clean, it’s perfect for a special holiday meal when you want something memorable without spending all day in the kitchen.
Ingredients needed
This recipe uses just a few easy-to-find ingredients. Here’s everything you need for the cranberry roast chicken:
- Whole chicken: we use a 3 pound whole chicken for this recipe. If you’re cooking for a crowd, you could easily make two chickens or use turkey (and allow it to cook longer).
- Cranberries: fresh cranberries or frozen cranberries both work. As they cook, they turn into a juicy sauce you can spoon over the chicken when you serve it.
- Fresh rosemary: a sprig of fresh rosemary adds a herbaceous element to the chicken as it cooks.
- Large orange: orange is sweet and fragrant and marries wonderfully with the cranberries.
- Rosemary balsamic butter ingredients: butter (we like salted), balsamic glaze, rosemary, salt, pepper, and orange zest.
What to serve with cranberry roasted chicken
This cranberry roasted chicken makes a show-stopping centerpiece on a holiday table. Pair it with delicious sides like our roasted garlic mashed potatoes, roasted root vegetables, and our festive Christmas salad with herbs, walnuts, and pomegranate.
For an easy weeknight meal, serve it with our kale apple salad or a side of garlic butter rice.
Recipe FAQs
How do I store leftovers?
Store any leftover chicken and cranberries in your refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days. You can also store leftover chicken in your freezer for up to a month.
Help! Why does the skin look burned?
Don’t worry! Black skin doesn’t equal burned skin. It’s just the balsamic vinegar that turns the skin black (like you see in the picture). The first time we made it, we panicked, too. Just keep this in mind so you don’t worry when you open the oven. The black skin is very delicious, balsamic skin.
Where did you get the inspiration for this recipe?
This recipe was inspired by our friend Lindsay’s cranberry balsamic chicken thighs recipe.
Can I use other fresh herbs instead of rosemary?
Of course! Fresh thyme is another wonderful herb that works well with the flavors of this dish.
Cranberry Roasted Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 lb whole chicken
- 2 cups cranberries (fresh or frozen)
- A few sprigs of rosemary
- 1 large orange
Rosemary Balsamic Butter
- ¼ cup butter (softened)
- 1 tablespoon balsamic glaze
- 2 teaspoons rosemary
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- Zest from 1 orange (use the orange you’ll use for the chicken)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Dry the skin of the chicken with paper towels. Place the cranberries and rosemary in a small roasting pan.3 lb whole chicken, 2 cups cranberries, A few sprigs of rosemary
- Mix the rosemary balsamic butter ingredients in a small bowl. Spread the butter under the skin of the chicken, being careful not to break the skin.¼ cup butter, 1 tablespoon balsamic glaze, 2 teaspoons rosemary, 1 teaspoon sea salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, Zest from 1 orange
- Lay the chicken on the cranberries. Cut the orange into quarters and squeeze the juice over the chicken then nestle the quarters around the chicken.1 large orange
- Roast the chicken for 45 minutes and then reduce the heat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and continue roasting for another 45 minutes.
- Remove the chicken from the pan and serve with the cranberries spooned over the top.
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
I was wondering if I could do this with chicken thighs. Thoughts?
Yes I think you could. You could spread the butter under the skin on the thighs and bake them. Bone in chicken thighs usually take about 35-45 minutes to cook, so you can use that as a starting point. Let us know how it turns out!
Delicious. Followed recipe almost verbatim. Used canned cranberry, and dried Rosemary (a little over a third of what recipe recommends.) I reduced the Balsamic vinegar a bit too long but all the other flavors made this mistake forgiveable. So flavorful and the skin was perfectly crispy. Definitely goes into my best recipes file. Thanks!
This was a major hit in my house. I put a bed of potatoes, onions, radishes, celery and carrots along with the cranberries in the roasting pan and placed the chicken on top with some extra drumsticks I had. The drippings made an incredible gravy. The rosemary balsamic butter under the skin of the chicken and drumsticks really kept the meat from drying out.
Can I use a frozen chicken for this? How would the recipe be altered?
I don’t recommend cooking a frozen chicken. It’s best to thaw it first then make the recipe.
Husband wanted something different tonight, not the same old roast chicken. Made this recipe and it was delicious, definitely a keeper. I did find the cranberries a little too tart, I put cranberries and juices into pot reduced them a little and added maple syrup to cut the tartness.
Can I used coconut oil instead of butter? I cannot have dairy 🙁
I haven’t tried it but I think that should work well!
Would this work with a skinless whole chicken? Should I cover it?
We haven’t tried it, but I suspect that most of the butter will simply melt off the chicken if there’s no skin to hold it in place. But you could certainly follow the recipe and scoop all the tasty, buttery cranberries over the chicken when you serve it!
Could I make this using chicken breast?
You could certainly do a version of it with chicken breast. Boneless chicken breast takes about 20 minutes to bake.
I followed this recipe exactly, and I love the chicken and flavor, but the cranberries did not turn out like I was hoping they would. They were kind of dried out and filled with chicken fat, so they didn’t have much flavor. Will definitely make again, but I would rather just make cranberry sauce separately to have instead of roasting them with the chicken.
I couldn’t find cranberries, so I substituted a mix of sweet and tart cherries. It was amazing. This may become a Christmas tradition!
I’m thinking of using this four out Christmas dinner, but thinking of cooking it in the slow cooker due to lack of oven space! British Christmas we have a LOT of side dishes! Do you think that would work?
Yes, I think it would work. I suggest reading over our post on crockpot roast chicken for tips on roasting a chicken in a slow cooker. You may want to broil it for a few minutes in the end to get the nice crispy skin. 🙂
I made this tonight for my family and it was so delicious!!! The chicken was so moist and juicy – and the cranberries complimented it so well. I served this with cinnamon roasted butternut squash (no added sugar) and sauteed green beans with garlic and oil. Wonderful recipe – A keeper for sure!! Thanks!!
So happy to hear that you enjoyed the recipe!
it was so good
That makes me so happy to hear! Hooray!
Have you ever made a gravy with the pan dripping?
I haven’t made a gravy with it but I always serve the pan drippings on the side and they’re delicious!
So happy to hear it was a hit!
I tried this recipe for our Christmas dinner this past week, and oh my God, Kristen!! Everyone raved! Not only was the chicken absolutely gorgeous coming out of the oven, but it was roasted to perfection and the flavors were amazing! Using the cranberries as a bed for roasting the chicken is absolutely brilliant and SO delicious! I had lots of lemon and onion on hand, so I decided to add a few wedges of each to the bed of cranberries and orange, and stuffed some in the cavity as well. They all mixed beautifully. I was a bit nervous to try the balsamic vinegar considering the other dishes I was serving so I just went with a rub of butter and some S&P this time, but I’ll definitely try the balsamic version next time (and that will be soon!). Served this with your equally brilliant Late Autumn Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad, a vegetarian baked ravioli, and good hot bread. What a perfect dinner! Thanks so much for the wonderful recipes– you made our holiday meal a huge success.
Wow … your Christmas dinner menu sounds amazing! Thank you so much for including two of my recipes!!