Easy Orange Cranberry Roasted Chicken Recipe (video)

a large oval casserole with roasted chicken with oranges and cranberries

You’ll fall in love with this easy chicken dinner recipe from the first bite! Easy orange cranberry roasted chicken with garlic, onion, thyme, and rosemary. It’s easy enough for everyday meals and fancy enough for holiday company! The roasted chicken is super juicy, perfectly seasoned, and complemented by the tart cranberries and zesty orange slices. This easy cranberry chicken casserole will fill your kitchen with a mouthwatering aroma!

Serve it with my Butter & Thyme Mashed Sweet Potatoes or go classic with my Butter Mashed Potatoes!

Watch My Cranberry Chicken Video Tutorial

Watch my YouTube roasted chicken video tutorial for step-by-step instructions for this quick and easy chicken dinner recipe! Plus, more tips and suggestions! Want to stay up to date on the latest recipes? Make sure to subscribe to my website email list and my YouTube channel and turn on notifications!

Ingredients for Easy Roasted Chicken

Here are my tips for the main ingredients you’ll need to make this delicious orange cranberry chicken! Find the full list of ingredients and measurements in the printable recipe card below.

  • Chicken: I recommend using bone-in chicken for this recipe. It yields the juiciest roasted chicken! I like to use chicken thighs, but this recipe will also work great with drumsticks, or even chicken breast (with the skin on).
  • Cranberries: fresh or frozen (thawed) berries will work great. These taste so delicious paired with the chicken.
  • Oranges: you can also use mandarins like I did in my video tutorial!
  • Fresh Thyme & Rosemary: fresh herbs add so much incredible flavor and aroma!
  • Garlic & Onion: I love to add tons of garlic to this recipe! It gets roasted in the oven and becomes soft and delicious!
  • Chicken Broth: for the roasting pan. Adding broth will add more moisture to the chicken and it creates a really delicious pan sauce.

Supplies & Tools for the Recipe

Need some supplies or tools for making this cranberry chicken recipe at home? Shop my Amazon Affiliate links for the items I use in my kitchen. Using these links won’t cost you extra and I’ll earn a small commission.

a close up of roasted chicken with cranberry and mashed sweet potatoes

Preparing the Roasting Pan

You’ll love how quick and easy this cranberry chicken is to prepare! It’s easy enough to make so can even enjoy it on a busy weeknight!

  1. Start by preheating your oven to 400F.
  2. Prepare the roasting pan ingredients. Slice the onion and orange/mandarins and peel the garlic.
  3. Layer the onion wedges, the sliced orange, garlic cloves, cranberries, and fresh thyme and rosemary into a large casserole pan. When adding the fresh herbs, strip them off their stems first. Save a little bit of everything for adding to the top later.

Creating this layer of onion and oranges will give the chicken something to sit on top of, keeping the skin nice and crispy while still yielding a super juicy meat at the end.

How to Make Orange Cranberry Roasted Chicken

With the roasting pan ready, it’s time to season the chicken!

  1. Drizzle olive oil or avocado oil all over the chicken and then massage it into the meat. Season each chicken thigh generously all over with salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, thyme, and rosemary.
  2. Season the chicken over the roasting pan so none of the seasonings are lost! Place the chicken skin side up for roasting. Arrange any remaining onion, orange, garlic, and cranberries in between and around the chicken.
  3. Pour in the chicken broth last. Add just enough broth so that the chicken is not submerged but just barely touching the liquid.
an orange cranberry chicken casserole on a table

Roasting Instructions for Chicken

Roast the orange cranberry chicken uncovered at 400F until the internal temperature of the largest piece reaches 165F; about 40 minutes to 1 hour. The timing will depend on how small or large your chicken thighs are.

If you’re using chicken drumsticks, chicken breast, or a whole spatchcock chicken, make sure to adjust the timing! Drumsticks will cook much faster, for about 30 minutes, while a whole chicken will take longer. If you want the chicken to have more color, turn on the broiler for a few minutes.

several plates of food on a table, with mashed sweet potatoes and roasted chicken

Side Dish Ideas for Roasted Chicken

Once the cranberry chicken is roasted, it can be enjoyed right away! Here are some side dish ideas for serving:

a casserole on a table with oranges, chicken and cranberry

More Recipes!

Enjoyed this quick and easy roasted chicken recipe? Make sure to check out some of my other recipes you’re sure to enjoy!

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Easy Orange Cranberry Roasted Chicken Recipe (video)

15 minutes prep + 45 minutes cook
4 servings
Easy and delicious orange cranberry roasted chicken recipe! Aromatic cranberry chicken with garlic, fresh herbs, oranges, onions, and more!

Ingredients 

For Chicken & Seasonings:

  • 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, or drumsticks, chicken breast
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 tbsp seas salt
  • ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tbsp thyme
  • 1 tbsp rosemary

For Roasting Pan:

  • 1 large onion
  • 2 large oranges, or 4 to 5 mandarins
  • 1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries, or frozen (thawed)
  • 20 garlic cloves
  • 3 to 4 stems fresh rosemary
  • small bundle fresh thyme
  • 1 1/2 to 2 cups chicken broth

Instructions

Preparing the Roasting Pan:

  • Start by preheating your oven to 400F.
  • Prepare the roasting pan ingredients. Slice the onion in half, then into wedges. Slice the oranges/mandarins into slices, and peel the garlic.
  • Layer the onion wedges, the sliced orange, garlic cloves, cranberries, and fresh thyme and rosemary into a large casserole pan. When adding the fresh herbs, strip them off their stems first. Save a little bit of everything for adding to the top later.

Seasoning the Chicken:

  • Drizzle olive oil or avocado oil all over the chicken and then massage it into the meat. Season each chicken thigh generously all over with salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, thyme, and rosemary.
  • Season the chicken over the roasting pan so none of the seasonings are lost! Place the chicken skin side up for roasting. Arrange any remaining onion, orange, garlic, and cranberries in between and around the chicken.
  • Pour in the chicken broth last. Add just enough broth so that the chicken is not submerged but just barely touching the liquid.

Roasting Instructions:

  • Roast the orange cranberry chicken uncovered at 400F until the internal temperature of the largest piece reaches 165F; about 40 minutes to 1 hour. The timing will depend on how small or large your chicken thighs are.
  • If you’re using chicken drumsticks, chicken breast, or a whole spatchcock chicken, make sure to adjust the timing! Drumsticks will cook much faster, for about 30 minutes, while a whole chicken will take longer. If you want the chicken to have more color, turn on the broiler for a few minutes.
  • Once the cranberry chicken is roasted, it can been joyed right away! Enjoy it with my Mashed Sweet Potatoes, or my Buttery Mashed Potatoes; recipes linked above.

Nutrition

Serving: 2thighs | Calories: 605kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 42g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 22g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 168mg | Sodium: 2209mg | Potassium: 722mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 733IU | Vitamin C: 65mg | Calcium: 113mg | Iron: 2mg