Blueberry Balsamic Chicken Thighs
These Blueberry Balsamic Chicken Thighs are delicious and easy to make summertime main dish. It’s paleo, whole30, and AIP.
Blueberry Balsamic Chicken Thighs
I can’t get enough of fresh berries during the summer! Usually, blueberries are eaten by themselves or in sweet recipes like parfaits or blueberry crisps, but they can also be eaten in savory dishes like salads and even these blueberry balsamic chicken thighs!
These blueberry balsamic chicken thighs are a fun way to mix up the usual summer meal of burgers or grilled chicken. They’re the perfect combination of sweet and savory flavors and are easy to make on a weeknight for a unique and tasty meal.
The Ingredients for Blueberry Balsamic Chicken Thighs
- Chicken thighs (bone in and skin on is best)
- Blueberries
- Balsamic Vinegar
- Lemon juice
- Honey
- Fresh basil
How to Make Blueberry Balsamic Chicken Thighs
- Using a small saucepan, combine the blueberries sauce ingredients in a small pan. Bring to a low simmer, stirring often for 10 minutes. The blueberries should soften and pop. Set aside. You’ll want the blueberry sauce to look like this…
- Using a large pan sear the chicken on each side for 5 minutes.
- Using an oven-safe pan or casserole dish, pour the blueberry sauce over the chicken thighs. Cover and transfer to the preheated oven.
- Bake in the oven for 20 minutes covered, and an additional 5 minutes uncovered.
- Allow to cool slightly before serving with chopped fresh basil.
Can you use different berries for this recipe?
I haven’t tried to use different berries for this recipe, but I think blueberries would work best! If you do choose to try and swap the blueberries for something like blackberries, the rest of the ingredients in the sauce would likely need to be tweaked, so be sure to adjust to taste!
Can you use frozen blueberries?
You can use frozen, but fresh would be best. If you do use frozen, make sure they’re defrosted beforehand and be mindful of any extra liquid.
What should you serve as a side dish for this meal?
This recipe tastes great with a simple seasonal veggie on the side! Here are some options to try out…
- A side salad of your choice
- Roasted artichokes
- Sweet potato fries
- Roasted asparagus
How long can you store this recipe?
This recipe is best fresh, but you can also store it in the fridge for 1-2 days for the best flavor. To reheat the recipe, reheat in the oven under the broiled for a few minutes or until warm.
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Blueberry Balsamic Chicken Thighs
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 45
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Main Dishes
- Method: Baked
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
These Blueberry Balsamic Chicken Thighs are delicious and easy to make summertime main dish. It’s paleo, whole30, and AIP.
Ingredients
- 1 cup blueberries
- 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tbsp honey (omit for whole30)
- 1 tbsp coconut aminos
- 3/4 tsp sea salt, divided
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- 2 lbs chicken thighs, bone-in and skin on
- 1/4 tsp black pepper (omit for AIP)
- 2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- Using a small saucepan, combine the blueberries, balsamic, lemon juice, water, honey, coconut aminos, and half of the salt. Place the pan on the stovetop over medium-low heat and stir to combine. Bring to a low simmer, stirring often for 10 minutes. The blueberries should soften and pop. Set aside.
- Using a large pan (preferably one that is oven safe) heat the avocado oil over medium heat. Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper and add to the pan. Sear on each side for 5-7 minutes to crisp the skin. Set aside.
- Using an oven-safe pan or casserole dish, pour the blueberry sauce over the chicken thighs. Cover and transfer to the preheated oven.
- Bake in the oven for 20 minutes covered, and an additional 5 minutes uncovered. The chicken should be cooked through to 165 F.
- Allow to cool slightly before serving with chopped basil.
Notes
All nutritional information are estimations and will vary. Estimations do not include optional ingredients.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 189
- Fat: 10.2g
- Carbohydrates: 8.8g
- Fiber: 0.9g
- Protein: 15g
This has become one of our favorite recipes. It is SO good. We love to serve it on mashed white sweet potatoes. I know we’ll be making this for a long time to come! Thank you!
I loooove chicken thighs. Made these over the summer after I had gone blueberry picking and they came out great.
I’m not even a “balsamic person,” but my goodness, that stuff was DELICIOUS!! Thank you for such an awesome recipe!
thank you so much!!
So excited to try this since I need new chicken recipes, seriously. I would like to omit the honey (going to try low fodmap soon), but I also am not wild about sour blueberries and there always seem to be some in every batch. Could I use maple syrup to sub for the honey? Or coconut or date sugar?
ALSO: Do you think this could this be made in the Instant Pot??????
Just made this for my family tonight and they absolutely loved it!! I used a lemon infused olive oil to coat my chicken and seasoned it with Kinders Garlic herb blend that has a little lemon in it as well. The citrus in the chicken you could taste through the sauce and made it awesome! Served with a twice baked potato and the sauce from the chicken paired so well as dipped the skin in it was delicious as well I paired with steamed asparagus.
That sounds delicious!!
So good! The Blueberry is more of a mild savory than sweet and goes great. I cooked my chicken thighs in the air fryer and just poured the sauce over the top.
I am obsessed with this recipe and have made it 10+ times. The fresh basil really adds a lot but it’s amazing without it. Try this recipe and you won’t regret it.
I love this dish! I use frozen blueberries and leave out the 1/4 c. water and skip thawing the blueberries and cook from frozen. It’s tangy and I serve it with white rice. One of the best recipes I’ve ever tried! It’s filling yet light. It’s fulfilling but not filling. Sweet and savory…yum!
OMG!!! This is definitely a winner! Even better second day.