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Easy Baked Cranberry Chicken is a simple dinner made with chicken breasts, dry onion soup mix, cranberry sauce and Catalina dressing. Perfect for busy weeknights!
This baked cranberry chicken recipe is one of the easiest chicken recipes you’ll ever make. It’s sometimes called Catalina chicken or Catalina dressing chicken because you make the sauce with Catalina salad dressing. This vintage recipe is a family favorite that has been around a long time because it’s quick, easy and delicious!
Why you’ll love this easy recipe!
This delicious chicken dinner is quick and easy to throw together after a busy day. And it’s made with pantry staples, so you can stock up on the ingredients and have dinner on the table in no time.
My family absolutely loves this easy chicken recipe! And, even my pickiest eater has no complaints when cranberry chicken is on the menu. The chicken is tender, flavorful and covered in the most delicious tangy sauce.
Ingredient Notes
Here are the four ingredients you need. Full amounts are listed in the printable recipe card below.
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts — I use either 4 or 6 thin chicken breasts. You can sub boneless chicken thighs.
- Dry onion soup mix — I use Lipton onion soup, but any brand is fine
- Whole berry cranberry sauce — Use jellied cranberry sauce if you can’t find whole-berry sauce
- Catalina salad dressing — Use Russian dressing or French dressing if you can’t find Catalina
How to Make Cranberry Chicken
First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees f. You can cook at a higher temperature, but I like to cook chicken dishes like this at 350 because it keeps the chicken nice and juicy. Nobody likes dry chicken!
Then, spray a baking dish or casserole with cooking spray or pour a little olive oil in the dish. Place chicken into the prepared baking dish. Set the pan aside while you make the sauce.
Pour the dry onion soup mix in a medium bowl. I like to sprinkle some of the dry soup mix over the chicken breasts, as well. But, you don’t have to do this. You can mix everything together in the mixing bowl if you like.
Next, add the canned sauce to the bowl. Mix the ingredients together until the sauce is well blended. Then, pour the cranberry mixture over the chicken breasts. Pour sauce around the whole dish so that the chicken is fully covered with the mixture.
Bake the chicken for 30 minutes or until the internal temperature is 165 degrees or slightly above, according to a meat thermometer.
Recipe Tips
As written, this does contain a fair amount of sodium. To cut down on sodium, use 2 tablespoons of dry minced onions, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon sea salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper in place of the dry soup mix!
You don’t need to cover with aluminum foil. Some recipes call for this, but you’re baking at medium heat, and leaving the pan uncovered allows the sauce to reduce and thicken up as it bakes.
This chicken takes just 30 minutes in my oven, but every oven is different. So, the total cook time may vary. Just remember to use a meat thermometer to check for doneness!
Serving Suggestions
Spoon the delicious sauce over the chicken when serving. This recipe makes plenty of sauce, and it is seriously so good that you may want to make extra mashed potatoes or rice to absorb the all of the incredible sauce! A simple side of green beans completes this easy meal.
Variations
Sometimes, I like to add a tablespoon of orange marmalade or a little orange zest when baking.
You can also make homemade sauce using fresh cranberries if you don’t want to use a can.
If you don’t want to use your oven, you can make Instant Pot cranberry chicken! Or this Crock Pot version, instead.
To offset the flavor of the tart cranberries, you can add a bit of brown sugar to the sauce.
Or use turkey cutlets instead of chicken. This is the perfect way to enjoy a simple Christmas dinner or Thanksgiving dinner.
Storage and Reheating
Store leftover cranberry chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. It reheats well in the oven or in the microwave, especially if you use the reheat setting.
For longer storage, freeze the chicken and sauce in a freezer safe container.
Do you like to prepare meals ahead of time? You can also freeze the uncooked chicken and sauce mixture in zip top freezer bags. This saucy chicken is really perfect for meal prep! When you’re ready to cook the chicken, thaw in the fridge, dump the contents into a baking dish, and bake!
More Easy Chicken Recipes
If you enjoy easy chicken bakes, try my Honey Mustard Curry Chicken, Enchilada chicken or Salsa verde chicken or this reader favorite chicken and stuffing.
Baked Cranberry Chicken
Ingredients
- 6 small chicken breasts about 2 pounds
- 1 envelope dry onion soup mix
- 1 can whole berry cranberry sauce
- 1 cup Catalina salad dressing
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°f
- Spray a baking dish with non stick cooking spray
- Place the chicken breasts into the prepared baking dish, and sprinkle some of the dry soup mix over the chicken
- In a medium bowl, mix the cranberry sauce and the Catalina dressing together. Stir in the remaining soup mix, and mix until well combined
- Pour the sauce mixture over the chicken, and spread evenly over chicken so that the chicken is completely covered
- Bake uncovered for 30-40 minutes or until the internal temperature is 165° according to meat thermometer
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Saw this on Instagram first. Tried it last night and it was so easy to make. Tons of flavor and the whole family loved it.
Thanks, Lenny. So glad you liked the chicken!
Getting ready for Thanksgiving! Love the flavors.