Cranberry Chicken & Rice

During college, one of my roommates (Becca) made a chicken and rice dish that incorporated cranberry sauce, bottle of french dressing, and a packet of Onion Soup Mix. It was always one of my favorites and whenever I have it, it immediately takes me back to my college days.

I was craving that dish during our crazy pandemic days but didn’t have all the ingredients. So I decided to take a new spin on the dish using fresh, frozen cranberries from Cape Cod Select®. It turned out super delicious. Not only super easy to make, but you can assemble and bake all in one baking dish!

This is a sponsored post for Cape Cod Select®, but all opinions are 100% my own.

Cape Cod Select® sets out to be different. They have two basic goals; Provide the public with “Cranberries for All Seasons”, and make them THE BEST quality on the market.

They use fruit that is grown to the highest standards in the industry. Their cranberries are fresh frozen, which makes cranberries available year round – not just for the holidays. They are family owned and operated. They grow, harvest, process, and market the product themselves, which cuts out the middleman.

Cranberries are a popular superfood. Cranberries in particular offer a range of health benefits. They are a good source of various vitamins and antioxidants.

The thing I love most about Cape Cod Select® Frozen Cranberries is you can pull the bag directly out of the freezer, measure out what you need, close the bag using the zip lock top and pop back into the freezer. No need to thaw!

I actually used the cranberries in two different ways: 1) blended and used within my marinade for the chicken and 2) used them whole within the rice.

I blended up some basic ingredients I had in the fridge in combination with Cape Cod Select® Frozen Cranberries to make my marinade. Tossed the marinade into a gallon size ziplock with the chicken and let marinate in the fridge for a few hours.

I love how you can make everything including the rice in the same baking dish. Makes cooking and clean up a breeze.

In the bottom of my baking dish, I tossed some olive oil, diced onion and garlic with a little salt and pepper and let caramelize in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Then, took out and added remaining ingredients and let my oven do the work!

Perfect if you want a good home cooked meal, but don’t have time to be hovering over a stove. Check out the full recipe below!

5.0 from 2 reviews

Cranberry Chicken & Rice

Prep time

1 hour 20 mins

Cook time

60 mins

Total time

2 hours 20 mins

Author: Sweet Dash of Sass

Recipe type: Dinner

Serves: 4

Ingredients

Marinade:
1½ tsp garlic, chopped
1 TBSP lemon juice
1 TBSP Soy Sauce
4 TBSP Italian Dressing
1 cup Cape Cod Select® Frozen Cranberries
1 TBSP sugar
Zest from 1 Orange
Salt/Pepper
Main Dish
2 TBSP olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 tsp. garlic, chopped
1½ cup rice, I used Basmati style
⅓ cup water
2¼ cup chicken broth
¼ cup white wine
1 lb Chicken, I used thinly sliced Chicken Breasts
1½ cups Cape Cod Select® Frozen Cranberries
1 tsp Sriracha
2 TBSP brown sugar, packed
2 TBSP balsamic vinegar
1 TBSP Dried Parsley

Instructions

In a blender, mix all marinade ingredients: 1 tsp garlic, lemon juice, soy sauce, italian dressing, 1 cup Cape Cod Select® Frozen Cranberries, orange zest, sugar, salt and pepper.
Once fully blended, add mixture into a ziplock bag or in a container to marinate the chicken.
Place chicken in ziplock bag and securely close bag. Toss around to fully incorporate. Keep in fridge to marinate at least 1 hour. Can marinate up to overnight.
In a small bowl, mix 1½ cup Cape Cod Select® Frozen Cranberries, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, sriracha. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease 9 x 13 baking pan.
Add olive oil, diced onion, garlic and salt / pepper - stir to mix.
Place in oven and bake 15-20 minutes until onion is translucent.
Remove baking dish from oven and add rice. Stir to combine with onions.
Add wine, water, and chicken broth.
If using Chicken thighs or large chicken breasts, place marinated chicken directly on top of rice mixture at this part. If using chicken tenderloins or thinly sliced chicken breasts, wait until a later step. Sprinkle chicken with dried parsley.
Cover baking dish with foil. Bake 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes.
If using tenderloins or thinly sliced chicken breasts, after 30 minutes, pull dish out of oven and add chicken on top of rice mixture.
Sprinkle cranberry mixture over top of chicken and rice. You can also cut up a few slices of the orange that you zested and place over the chicken/rice as well.
Re-cover and bake for another 20-30 minutes until chicken is cooked through.
When chicken is cooked through, take off foil and broil for 3-5 minutes to caramelize the cranberries a bit.
ENJOY!!