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.

• Large Casserole Pan: this is great for roasting meats and for desserts.
• Digital Thermometer: I love this one! Super quick and accurate.
• Celtic Sea Salt: my favorite salt for seasoning everything!
• Epicurean Cutting Boards: these boards won’t dull your knives and they’re dishwasher safe.

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.

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.

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:

• Mashed Sweet Potatoes: these are my favorite! The sweet potatoes really complement the juicy cranberry chicken!
• Butter Mashed Potatoes: a more traditional potato side. These potatoes are so good!
• Sweet Potato Gratin: this is a great choice for the holidays!
• Roasted Squash Arugula Salad: try it with this festive and seasonal salad for a lighter dish.

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!

• Garlic & Herb Roasted Turkey Breast: the most delicious turkey breast recipe, made with a garlic and herb butter spread.
• One-Pan Lemon Chicken: quick and easy recipe for lemon chicken, roasted with asparagus and seasoned with dill.
• One-Pan Pepper & Chicken Rice: a family favorite! Easy, bone-in roasted chicken baked over a bed of pepper rice.
• Baked Chicken Skewers: the most delicious chicken kabobs with ranch dipping sauce and roasted potatoes!
• Pan-Seared Duck Breast with Plum Sauce – one of my favorite dishes! Crispy skinned duck with sauce and potatoes!

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