Chicken Thighs With Sour Cherries and Cucumber Yogurt
Updated June 4, 2024
- Total Time
- 45 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 to 6 servings
- 2 to 2¼pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1large red onion, peeled and cut into ½-inch wedges
- 2½teaspoons kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal), plus more as needed
- 1teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper, plus more as needed
- 2tablespoons minced tarragon, plus more for serving
- 2½tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
- ⅓cup unseasoned rice vinegar
- 3 to 4tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1bay leaf
- 2cups thinly sliced cucumbers, preferably Persian cucumbers
- 2cups sour cherries, stemmed and pitted
- 1cup plain whole-milk yogurt
- Flaky sea salt, for serving (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
344 calories; 14 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 20 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 15 grams sugars; 34 grams protein; 781 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Combine chicken and onion on a rimmed sheet pan. Toss with 1½ teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Add tarragon and 1½ tablespoons oil, and toss to combine. Let stand at room temperature while preparing other ingredients.
- Step 2
In a small saucepan, combine vinegar, 2 tablespoons sugar, bay leaf and remaining 1 teaspoon salt over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring frequently to dissolve sugar.
- Step 3
Place sliced cucumbers in medium bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of the vinegar solution to cucumbers and toss. Set aside.
- Step 4
Return pan to medium-low heat and add another tablespoon sugar. Once sugar dissolves, stir in cherries. Cook until cherries are slightly broken down, 3 to 4 minutes. Taste and add more sugar if the cherries still seem very tart. (You’re not looking for them to be sweet, just balanced.)
- Step 5
Spoon cherries and their juices around chicken and onions. (It’s OK if some cherries are on top of chicken and onions.) Roast until chicken is cooked through and cherries and onions are lightly browned in spots, 30 to 35 minutes. Give the dish a big stir and spoon the savory pan juices all over the top of the chicken.
- Step 6
While the chicken is roasting, stir yogurt and remaining 1 tablespoon oil into the bowl with the pickled cucumbers. Season with a large pinch of salt and black pepper. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Just before serving, stir well, taste and add more salt if needed.
- Step 7
Top chicken and cherries with a large dollop of cucumber yogurt, more tarragon and a drizzle of olive oil, then sprinkle with flaky sea salt or more kosher salt, if you like.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Charles Michener
I've done this with sweet organic cherries and they work beautifully with the added bonus of no added sugar. (Cut down on the pickling sugar as well, or just use a white balsamic vinegar.)
leighAnna
I used regular cherries, still great. Adjustments - cut the sugar down to 1 tbd (at the beginning). Used bone in leg quarters. Browned in leftover bacon fat and then mixed in the onions and followed the rest of the steps. Will make again for sure. Hope to find some sour cherries, but very pleased with what we had!
JimF
I make this with dried Michigan cherries that I buy online in 4 lb boxes. Good year round.
Madeleine
It’s too hot to turn on the oven so I used a cast iron skillet. Heated the skillet on high, and then added the ingredients. Kept on medium for about 5 minutes until the thighs browned, turned them over, lowered the heat to low and put a lid on for about 20 minutes. Worked for me.
Tim
I made with frozen black cherries. Delicious! I added some red vinegar and cut the sugar a bit to get the right zing to the cherries. I also used convection for the last five minutes, which resulted in a nice caramelization. Definitely a repeatable.
Allan Hansen
Amarelle or Morello? Any particular cherry?
Bonny
Made basically as described. Novel and delicious combination of flavors. Height of cherry season here in mid-Atlantic, so was able to find sour cherries at a nearby orchard market. Bought enough to freeze for later since they are so good and hard to find. Chicken, red onion, cherry combo was a delight. Served the cucumber/yogurt mix on the side rather than the sheet pan, which made it easier to reheat leftovers without heating the yogurt mixture. Will definitely make again. Delicious!
J Haft
we used bone in, skin on thighs- pan seared skin side down before assembling. Used dried tart cherries, soaked in in hot water for 15 minutes in place of fresh cherries. Super delicious recipe.
maryk
I have a tart cherry tree, is that similar to sour cherries ?
Cherries
There were only sweet cherries available, so I used half as much sugar in each of the steps. Very tasty 10/10 will make again
Gundega Korsts
This works beautifully with cranberries, too.
Susan Biddulph
These cherries look like sweet Bing cherries not the paler looking sour cherries that are more expensive and do have a very short season. So please clarify you r choice.
Beth C
I think that any sour cherry variety (more than 300 varieties of amarelle and morello types show up in farmers markets during the brief season) would work here, but the popular montmorency, an amarelle-type favored for pie, would no doubt be great.
Colin Purrington
This is fantastic. I switched to broil for last 3 minutes to give the cherries and chicken some slight color.
Karen
Try your Farmers Mkt for fresh ones. The season is short so look for them now (I'm in Cherry country and we are at the 3rd week of the season.) If you can't find them, I would look for frozen pie cherries or make the sub and use fresh red grapes instead.
Chicken thighs with sour cherries
What changes would you make with frozen cherries. Would u defrost them? And, if so, would u add the remaining juice?
Chicken thighs with sour cherries
If using frozen cherries would u defrost them 1st? Would u add the leftover juice?
katharine
This was so delicious! During the brief time they were available I used sour cherries from a farmer's market. Next week I will use frozen sweet cherries I recently discovered in the freezer based on the suggested modifications and enthusiasm in some of the comments.
mcrchicago
A friend made this for our group of 8 and it was so delicious! Will definitely make it myself. Full fat yogurt recommended.
Margot
Straight to the top of the favorite list. So easy, and the flavors and textures come together beautifully. No need to tie this to finding scarce pie cherries--I used canned (in water--NOT pie filling!) Wonderful!
Josh
Cooked this last night and though it looks beautiful I'm afraid it just isn't for me. The chicken felt a bit bland and the depitting the cherries made my kitchen look like a crime scene.
Wonderful!
Made this with a combination of dried and fresh cherries and boneless, skinless chicken breasts. it was wonderful!
Ras Daoud
We have a seasonal superabundance of bing cherries, but they are not sour. Would they work if one reduces the amount of sugar?
megan
Great flavor. I used bone in thighs and they worked well, but I think I’ll try a cast iron skillet instead of the sheet pan for my next attempt. The syrupy cherry juices spread out on the pan and burnt instead of staying saucy.
Eliz.
@Megan, I'd try a smaller sheet pan or a couple of casseroles over a cast iron skillet because of fruit juices. While I was afraid the thighs would just boil with all the un-syrupy juices the olive oil and fat left on the skinless thighs is helping to thicken the juice. After 30 mins, I took pan out of the oven, turned the thighs over just long enough to cover them with the pan juices and also pushed all of the pan's contents. Ta-da! Next time, I will do this sooner and add more cherries.
Natalie M.
So good! Made it almost exactly as written, but couldn't find fresh tarragon so substituted with 1 tablespoon dried and then used some torn fresh basil as a garnish. Will make this over and over during sour cherry season!
Kaycee
Joy on a pan!
Liz
I was invited to pick cherries from my neighbor's tree, and made this for dinner the same day. Really, really good! (I think the dish stands on its own without the cucumber yogurt.)
Linda Burdell
Just picked 2 quarts of tart cherries off my little tree in front yard. Very happy to find this recipe, which is just great tasting. Agree with others that a different and also good version would be to use less sugar.
cookinvt
Husband not a chicken fan so cooked with salmon. Started onions first for 10 minutes and then turned oven down to 350 when I added salmon and sauce to the pan. Delicious. Would be good as a warm sauce over grilled salmon. Onion nice but not necessary. Cucumbers with yogurt a nice flavor addition. Think I will use Greek yogurt instead of whole milk next time.
nanB
We had an abundant sour cherry harvest this year and used some cherries to make both a chicken and a vegan tofu version (minus the yogurt for the vegan version) of this recipe. Both were great and I will make again. I used bone in, skin on thighs because, well, it’s just better than the form in the recipe.
Eliz.
@nanB, Next time, for your vegan--and the rest of your family--try a Georgian rice salad with eggplant and sour cherries that Najmieh Batmanglij includes in her book on Persian cooking along the Silk Route. It is fantastic, especially at this time of year when there might still be another week of sour cherries at the farmers market and beautiful, tender eggplants.
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