4 Ingredient Sweet and Tangy Chicken is a go to family friendly recipe and one of the most popular on our site. The chicken cooks in a delectable sauce made from common pantry items.
I remember the day Angela told me the menu she’d planned for our church Share Group meal. The entree was a chicken recipe she’d recently tried and she and her family were crazy about it. Of course, I couldn’t wait to get the recipe details.
She explained that you need but a few simple, ordinary ingredients to make a sauce for the chicken that’s indescribably delicious. Yes, those words were used in a famous candy advertisement but they were the words she used.
I encouraged her to reveal the recipe ahead of time because I was dying with curiosity.
She said, “Oh, it’s nothing to it. You mix up Russian dressing, dry onion soup mix, and apricot preserves.
On the outside, my reaction was joyous and anticipatory.
On the inside, I was thinking something entirely different. Truth be told, I was downright disappointed because the combination sounded odd, to say the least.
The night of the share group meeting arrived. The Sweet and Tangy Chicken was still in the oven when we walked through the door. I convinced myself that anything with an aroma that appealing could never taste odd.
Man, oh man; was I right! That fateful evening was over 30 years ago and I’ve been making that chicken recipe ever since. It’s a departure from my usual scratch recipes because it relies on convenience items. But, it’s a keeper. Folks rave about. Make it one time and you’ll see what I’m talking about. I swanee to goodness.
4 Ingredient Sweet and Tangy Chicken
This is a 4 ingredient dish that will become one of your go-to dishes. You can make ahead first thing in the morning up to the point of baking, place in the refrigerator, then just pop in the oven for a little over an hour, add a side and a tossed green salad. Dinner is served!
8 chicken thighs – You can use a whole chicken or other parts. We love thighs the best. And we want them on the bone with the skin.
1 package dry french onion soup mix
1 (8 oz bottle) Russian dressing (I prefer Wishbone Russian dressing)
1 cup apricot preserves
salt and pepper for seasoning
Mix all ingredients, except chicken, in a bowl. Set aside.
Place chicken pieces in a baking pan. Sprinkle lightly with seasoning.
Pour sauce over chicken and make sure it’s coated well.
Roast uncovered at 400 degrees for 1 hour or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Baste several times during cooking.
Serve it up and act like you are worn slap out from working so hard. Take all the compliments gracefully. You deserve it.
Sweet and Tangy Chicken
Ingredients
- 8 chicken thighs You can use a whole chicken or other parts. We love thighs the best. And we want them on the bone with the skin
- 1 package dry french onion soup mix
- 1 8 oz bottle Russian dressing (I prefer Wishbone Russian dressing)
- 1 small jar of apricot preserves or about a cupful
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients, except chicken, in a bowl.
- Place chicken pieces in a baking pan. Sprinkle with pepper. No extra salt is needed.
- Pour sauce over chicken and make sure it’s coated well.
- Roast uncovered at 400 degrees for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes until chicken is done. Baste several times during cooking. This is the way the chicken will look when done.
This post contains affiliates links. If you purchase an item through one of the links, I might make a penny or two.
Lynnette says
Okay, I have this in the oven right now! It is smelling yummy. I followed the recipe adding a bit of crushed red pepper (I read in the reviews some had done this). I decided to go with the regular thighs and see how we like it. Will see how well it goes over with my hubby and youngest son (only one still at home) and I’ll post after dinner with the verdicts =)
Lynnette says
Okay just finished dinner with the kid (hubby will be home later). The glaze is delicious! We weren’t overly impressed by the chicken thighs though. I’ll try another night with some boneless, skinless chicken. Most definitely a great glaze recipe though!! Just our opinion on the chicken (we don’t normally eat chicken with skin). Thanks so much for sharing recipe!!
Jackie Garvin says
Lynnette,
You can easily adapt this recipe for any favorite chicken piece. You can have all the breasts and we’ll take the thighs! 🙂
So glad you enjoyed it.
Sara says
Hi! Just curious, on Pinterest it says you can make this in the crockpot…what would you do differently in the recipe if so? 🙂
Jackie Garvin says
Sara,
I haven’t made this in the crockpot myself but others have and posted comments detailing their modifications. If you scan down, you will find them. Let me know if you don’t see any.
Amanda says
I just put this in the crockpot and the sauce smelled amazing! I can’t wait to try it tonight. I think if I remove the chicken and mix a little cornstarch and sauce separately that should thicken the sauce up nicely! It looks like everyone agrees that it’s great over rice so I think I’ll give that a try! Fingers crossed that my 4 year old enjoys it as well!
Jackie Garvin says
I hope it was a success, Amanda! 🙂
John-O says
Tried this with pork country style ribs. Changed the Apricot to Orange marmalade (which the family LOVED!) Since the pork is a little tougher, I lowered the baking temp to 340 degrees and cooked 5 lbs of these thick ribs for 2 hours. Absolutely wonderful.
I’m going to try this as a BBQ glazing sauce on the grill this summer.
Jackie Garvin says
John-O,
Love the substitution of orange marmalade. I’ve been wanting to try that myself. Thanks for the nudge! 🙂
Sandy D. says
Got this from Pinterest and made it yesterday. It was great!! Being Puerto Rican I had to seasoned a bit more so I added garlic and Adobo for seasoning. I also used different parts of chicken. Next time I’ll use chicken wings and thighs only. The breast was a bit to dry for this recipe. All in all was delicious and so easy.
Jackie Garvin says
So glad you enjoyed it, Sandy!
Jessica Gibson says
I was looking for the nutrition info for this recipe. Did I miss it or is it not posted?
Jackie Garvin says
Jessica,
I don’t have a software program that determines nutritional information.
Barbara says
I used Western dressing (the one with the mountain scene on the bottle) and it was perfect. I’m sure Catalina would work too, but it doesn’t have as much tang to it. I also used chicken breasts seasoned with pepper and garlic powder. I put 3 of them in a deep dish and poured over the sauce. Baked at 350 for about 30-35 minutes to accommodate my side dishes baking at that temp. The sauce was a bit thin, so I poured some of it in a small sauce pan and boiled it for a couple minutes to thicken up. This makes a lot of sauce, so if you aren’t going to pour some over rice, I would only make 1/2 the batch of sauce.
Jackie Garvin says
Barbara,
I will have to look for Western dressing. I’ve never heard of it and thanks for sharing the tip! 🙂
Patty Bodenheimer Moyer says
Found this on someone else’s Facebook cooking blog and was credited to you. The Sweet and Tangy chicken recipe is wonderful. Thank you.
Jackie Garvin says
So glad you enjoyed it!
Karen Arnold says
I made this last night for dinner and it was a big hit! I read several of the other comments and added a little soy sauce and red pepper flakes to the sauce mixture. Also, for the last ten minutes of cooking time, I added a slice of pineapple to the top of each chicken and basted it all with a little sauce. Looked really nice and it was delicious! The chicken fell off the bone and was very moist. I would make a little extra sauce on top of the stove because with all the basting of the chicken, there really wasn’t enough sauce to top the chicken with when I served it. I served it over rice and I think a little extra sauce would have been good over both. I will definitely make this again!
Robin says
Is it a capful of apricot preserves? I want to try the recipe.
jtn says
I made this today and although it was sweeter than I would like, it was delicious! I used Catalina dressing instead of Russian and orange marmalade instead of apricot, I also added a little crushed red pepper but couldn’t really taste it.The fried rice recipe I made with it was actually a little salty (too much soy sauce lol) so the sweetness of the glaze balanced it out really well! I added some fresh steamed broccoli to go with it too, everything together was really delicious! I think next time I will add a little Sriracha for some heat!
Beth NIlson says
Big hit for dinner tonight. My kids who can be resistant to trying new things loved this chicken. I will make extra sauce on the stove next time for dipping. I used chicken legs and only bake for one hour. that was perfect. meat fell off the bone and was very moist. Will add to the keep file.
Susan Dahl says
I have been making this sauce for years, onion soup mix, any red dressing, and cranberry sauce, whole cranberry or jelly both work.
Liz says
I will be sad if I cant get the right dressing here in Australia:( Also is preserve..jam?? thanx
Jackie Garvin says
Liz,
Preserves and jam are very similar. The pieces of fruit are larger in preserves than jam but you can use them interchangeably.
DREEEEE says
Just made this… Delicious! But I cooked it on the stove-top in a skillet. Turned out pretty good I think.
Jackie Garvin says
I haven’t tried it stovetop but what a great idea for the summer to keep from heating up the whole kitchen!
Krista says
We make this often… It is so easy and good! Goes great with rice and steamed broccoli. Add a little crushed red pepper to spice it up! Yum!
Laine says
My mom used to make this very thing, but with chicken breasts and French dressing. This version had the very slightest edge over that wonderful childhood memory. I guess this will be the version my kids remember someday 🙂
Brit says
I’ve made this MANY TIMES and my husband and daughter LOVE it!
Thank you so much for this awesome recipe, it’s so easy to make and it’s so TASTY!
I love to eat this with white rice and take the leftover drippings and put it on top of the rice.
YUM!
Jackie Garvin says
Brit,
You little, stinker, you! Putting the broth on some rice is a right smart idea! Thanks so much for sharing. 😉
Julia Borjeson says
I made this last night! It was delicious! thanks for the recipe 🙂 The sauce was great on the mashed potatoes I made for a side.
Jackie Garvin says
So glad you enjoyed it, Julia!
Brinda Wilson says
I love this delious recipe. I try to make it every couple of weeks for my family. It’s a great change from the ordinary baked chicken. I love it. You wouldn’t have a Hawaiian chicken recipe that’s similar would you?
Jackie Garvin says
Thank you, Brinda!
John Oster says
Try swapping out the Apricot preserves with Pineapple preserves. REALLY good!