I had this dish for the first time at a friend’s home when she hosted a dinner party. I loved it and asked her to please give me the recipe. When she did I was even more excited when I realized how quick and easy the dish is to prepare because our family is always on a time crunch and I need dinner to be as streamlined as possible. This dish, also known as “Russian Chicken,” is perfect because it is mouth watering delicious and easy to make.
My kids even love it which speaks volumes! They ask what is in the dish, but I haven’t shared the ingredients yet because if I say Russian dressing and Apricot Preserves, they will likely stare at me in silence and then change their mind solely because the ingredients are, well, different. They cannot deny that they love it so I will keep the ingredients to myself and let them guess what flavors they taste!
The contrast of sweet and sour is fantastic and like no other sweet and sour sauce. I like to make my own Russian dressing because it is so easy and the flavor is exceptional. Even my kids’ friends love staying for dinner at our house when I make this chicken. It is now in my “make often” recipe stack and I am sure it will be in yours as well.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
8 boneless skinless chicken thighs
¾ -1 cup Red Russian dressing
¾ -1 cup apricot jam/preserves
1 packet dry onion soup mix (Lipton Onion Recipe Soup Mix is 1.8 oz.)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray a 9×13 baking dish.
Trim chicken of any fat. Rinse and pat dry and place in the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with black pepper (no salt).
Combine dressing, soup mix, and jam/preserves together in a bowl. Mix well (Adjust the amount of dressing and jam/preserves to your taste and if you would like to have extra sauce to pour over the chicken when serving.)
Pour over chicken.
Bake covered at 350° F for 20 minutes.
Uncover, bake for 15-20 minutes more – internal temperature should be 165° F.
Serve over jasmine rice with the sauce drizzled over the chicken and rice.
* I love serving over jasmine rice because it goes so well with the sauce. Regular rice is delicious too though so don’t feel you have to run to the store for jasmine rice!
Notes
• Jam/Preserves: If you cannot find Apricot Jam or Preserves, you can use Peach Jam/Preserves or Orange Marmalade – either work very well. If you can find Pineapple Jam/Preserves, it is fantastic and is the preferred jam of many people who have been making this dish for decades. It is not easy for me to find, but hopefully you will have better luck.
• Russian Dressing
There are two kinds of Russian Dressing, Red Russian, and Creamy Russian. Creamy Russian has mayonnaise while Red Russian does not – you want to use Red Russian in this recipe. Russian dressing is different from other comparable dressings by having chili sauce, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, and smoked hot paprika; it is bold, distinct, and has more of a kick. When I cannot find Red Russian dressing, I make my own. It is easy and all the ingredients are readily available at the store if you do not already have them in your pantry.
If you are unable to find any Russian dressing, you can easily make your own or use another dressing in its place. For this recipe, you do not want to use Creamy Russian dressing that has mayonnaise. Catalina Dressing is considered a close substitute, but it is sweeter and does not have the depth and complexity of flavors. Western Dressing and French Dressing are also substitutes; while they have more depth than Catalina, both are still sweeter than Russian dressing. What seems to be lacking in the substitution options is Chili Sauce and horseradish that are main ingredients and flavor profiles in Russian Dressing.
• Chicken
I do like using boneless skinless chicken breasts, but I prefer boneless skinless chicken thighs for this recipe. I think the thighs bring wonderful flavor to the dish and it is actually my husband’s preferred type of chicken.
• For a little depth of flavor add a bit of dried mustard and for a little heat add a pinch of cayenne or red pepper flakes.