Apricot Almond Chicken Breasts
This chicken dish is so delicious everyone requests the recipe. Even picky eaters clamor for it. It takes only minutes to prepare, so even on busy weeknights a healthy supper is on the table
This chicken dish is so delicious everyone requests the recipe. Even picky eaters clamor for it. It takes only minutes to prepare, so even on busy weeknights a healthy supper is on the table
- Carbohydrate 29.125531875 g
- Cholesterol 68.44 mg
- Fat 4.684735 g
- Fiber 1.20765624189377 g
- Protein 29.137121875 g
- Saturated Fat 0.633064375 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (185g)
- Sodium 194.5365 mg
- Sugar 27.9178756331062 g
- Trans Fat 0.66343375 g
- Calories 271 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat Oven to 350
- Sprinkle chicken with Salt and Pepper.
- Place in a 13x9 baking dish coated with cooking spray.
- Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 15 minutes
- While chicken is baking, combine the preserves, broth and mustard in a small bowl and mix well.
- Once chicken has baked for 15 minutes, pour the broth mixture over the chicken and sprinkle with almonds
- Bake 15-20 minutes longer or until juices run clear and chicken is done.
Why is the glaze burning before the center is cooked through? Combining fruit preserves with lean proteins introduces high sugar content directly to high heat, which causes scorching long before the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Boneless skinless chicken breasts dry out rapidly when exposed to dry oven heat at 350 degrees for too long, losing moisture quickly due to their lack of intramuscular fat. Staggering the addition of the glaze prevents this specific failure entirely. Baking the meat unadorned for the first 15 minutes allows proteins to firm up and begin cooking safely, while delaying the apricot, broth, and honey mustard mixture until the halfway mark protects the sugars from burning. Sliced almonds should go on alongside the liquid rather than at the very beginning to keep them from turning bitter in the heat. Reducing sodium is straightforward by swapping standard broth for low-sodium alternatives, and sugar-free preserves substitute seamlessly without altering the final consistency of the pan sauce. Monitoring the juices until they run completely clear provides the final visual indicator of doneness without requiring constant piercing that releases valuable moisture.
