Apricot Curry Chicken Thighs
These apricot curry chicken thighs pair warm spices and tender chicken with sweet dried apricots, sautéed onions, and a rich coconut cream sauce. Everything comes together in one-pan for an easy but impressive dinner.
Serve the chicken with simple almond couscous for a flavorful weeknight meal that is also special enough for a dinner party.
This dish looks fancy, but I promise it is easy to make. Cleanup is simple because the entire dish cooks in one-pan. I love using my ovenproof HexClad pan because it moves effortlessly from the stovetop to the oven.
Let’s get cooking!
How to Make Apricot Curry Chicken Thighs
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Season and Sear the Chicken
Start by mixing all the spices in a large bowl.
I encourage you to measure the spices carefully because the amounts are designed to balance one another.
The cayenne is the exception: adjust it to your spice tolerance. The suggested 1/2 teaspoon blends into the other warm, full-flavored spices without making the dish overly spicy, but you can increase it if you love extra heat.
After the spices have been measured out, give them a quick whisk and mix them so there are no clumps.
Grab each chicken thigh and coat each one with the spice mixture. Make sure to get all sides coated nicely with the spices.
In a large ovenproof pan, heat about 2–3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil over medium-high to high heat.
When the pan is hot, sear the chicken thighs in batches of 3–4 at a time.
Cook each side for 3–4 minutes, until browned and nicely seared.
Tip! Do not overcrowd the pan. If this happens the chicken will sweat and steam instead of searing and charring.
Once the thighs are seared on both sides, set them aside on a plate.
Using the same pan, add 2 more tablespoons of olive oil.
Lower the temperature to medium and start sautéing the onions. Add a bit of salt to the onions and cook for 2 minutes.
Tip! Adding salt to the raw onions helps them sweat and start softening.
Add the dried apricots and cook for 2–3 more minutes, until the onions are translucent.
Make the Apricot Curry Sauce
Add 1/4 cup white wine to deglaze the pan.
Tip! Deglazing makes all the bits of food stuck on the pan come loose, these bits are full of flavor!
Cook out the wine for less than a minute and add the coconut cream.
Tip! Coconut cream is thick and rich therefore creating a denser more full-bodied sauce. Coconut milk works as well, however it will make the mixture runnier.
Cook the onions and apricots for about 1 minute, then add the chicken thighs and any accumulated juices back to the pan.
Tip! Any liquid left on the plate where the chicken rested, make sure to drop every bit of it into the pan with the chicken, this adds incredible amounts of flavor. Every little bit counts.
Finish the Chicken in the Oven
Place the pan in the preheated oven for 15 minutes to finish cooking the chicken thighs.
Tip! The sauce will thicken as it cooks in the oven as well.
Once the chicken is cooked, return the pan to the stovetop and let it rest for a few minutes before serving.
Tip! The pan will be incredibly hot to handle, make sure to use oven-safe gloves to remove from the oven and while it is resting on the stovetop, make sure to keep the handle covered so it’s protected from anyone touching it.
What to Serve with Apricot Curry Chicken Thighs
Since this is a dish full of rich warm flavors, I like to keep the sides on the simpler side. I also enjoy a side that can help absorb the delicious sauce the chicken is cooked in.
Rice, couscous, and mashed potatoes are delicious, simple sides that complement the apricot curry chicken thighs and soak up the sauce.
I served mine with toasted almond couscous and it was absolutely perfect as the crunch from the almonds were just what this dish needed!
The smell from the spices will linger in your kitchen making it smell absolutely mouthwatering.
This dish looks and sounds complex but it is definitely not. The fact that it’s all cooked in one-pan certainly helps with the cleaning but what it does the most is keep all the flavors together.
Think about it, the chicken is seared in the pan, the spices get picked up from the bottom of the pan when it is deglazed, then all the ingredients, the onions, the sweet apricots, the coconut cream, get baked and become one. This meal is a winner.
How to Use the Leftovers
The leftovers are perfect for curry chicken salad the next day. Add walnuts or sliced almonds, green grapes or golden raisins, and mayonnaise. Be sure to include the leftover onions and apricots—they make the salad especially flavorful.
More Chicken Dinner Recipes
Apricot Curry Chicken Thighs
Equipment
- 1 large oven proof pan
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs about 7–8 thighs
- 1 medium onion thinly sliced
- 1 cup dried apricots sliced into thin strips
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 3/4 cup coconut cream
- salt and black pepper about 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
- extra-virgin olive oil about 8 tablespoons total
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Combine all the spices in a large bowl.
- Whisk the spices until evenly combined and free of clumps.
- Coat every side of each chicken thigh with the spice mixture.
- Heat 2–3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil in a large ovenproof pan over medium-high to high heat.
- Sear the chicken in batches of 3–4 thighs without overcrowding the pan. Cook each side for 3–4 minutes, until nicely browned.
- Transfer the seared chicken thighs to a plate.
- Add 2 more tablespoons olive oil to the same pan.
- Reduce the heat to medium and add the sliced onion.
- Season the onion with a little salt and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the dried apricots and cook for 2–3 minutes, until the onion softens and becomes translucent.
- Add 1/4 cup white wine and stir, scraping up the flavorful browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Cook the wine for less than 1 minute, then stir in the coconut cream.
- Cook the onion and apricots for about 1 minute, then return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the pan.
- Transfer the pan to the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes to finish cooking the chicken thighs.
- Return the pan to the stovetop and let the chicken rest for a few minutes before serving. Remember that the pan and handle will be extremely hot.
Serving Suggestions
- Serve with rice, couscous, or mashed potatoes to soak up the apricot curry sauce.
Leftover Idea
- Use the leftover chicken, onions, and apricots to make curry chicken salad. Mix them with walnuts or sliced almonds, green grapes or golden raisins, and mayonnaise.