Sundried apricots will always be a go-to snack for me and that’s why I absolutely adore any sort of apricot inspired recipe. Apricot chicken is known in many parts of the world, and yes, you either love it or you hate it and I LOVE it. Bring me that sticky sweet and savoury combo that’s laced with a touch of tang and whatever you bake in this sauce is left with the caramelized goodness. Gosh, my mouth is watering just typing this, jinne Lila!
Why it delivers: Those concentrated apricots burst with flavour and bring extra texture to the dish. The Apricot chicken is baked until tender and the skin is left with the crispy exterior. We don’t skimp on the apricot jam and it delivers pure farm sweetness leaving that glossy, finger-licking cling.
Apricot chicken was made using easily available ingredients such as apricot jam, chutney, and packet soup mixes to create quick, oven-baked meals. Combining chicken with apricot-based sweetness fit naturally within existing local taste preferences, and the dish spread widely through home kitchens rather than restaurants. Over time, it became a familiar, nostalgic staple associated with family meals and informal gatherings. In this way, Apricot chicken reflects a broader pattern in South African cuisine: the blending of imported ingredients, established flavour traditions, and modern cooking practices into a distinctly local dish.
Serve with any of your favourites:
Above: Farmer Brown Naked Range
Apricot Chicken
Ingredients
Apricot Chicken
- 1 tbsp chicken stock powder
- 1 ½ tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp mild curry powder or hot
- ¼ tsp ground white pepper
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp dried thyme or fresh
- 50g dried apricots roughly diced see note 1
- ½ cup apricot jam smooth, approx. 250g
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar or white white
- 350 ml apricot juice or peach juice, see note 2
- 4 Farmer Brown Naked Thighs frozen or thawed
- 4 Farmer Brown Naked Drumsticks frozen or thawed
- ¼ cup almond slices toasted
Cornstarch Slurry
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
- 4 tbsp water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200℃/392℉. With the wire rack placed in the middle of the oven. Note: the wire rack should be closer to the top element than the bottom of the oven.
- Add the seasonings to a 30cmx20cmx7cm sized oven proof dish. Then pour over the lightly heated olive oil and give it a quick mix - this encourages the seasonings to release their flavour.
- Add the chopped dried apricots, apricot jam, red wine vinegar, and apricot juice. Mix until well combined.
- Add frozen or fresh chicken thighs and drumsticks, coat the chicken with the sauce and cover the baking dish with foil. Bake for 45 minutes, then remove the foil.
- Mix the cornstrach and water togetehr and pour it over the chicken. Combine the cornstarch with the liquid, turning teh chicken and ensuring it coated with the sauce. Bake for another 30 minutes, uncovered, until golden and bubbly. Note: the liquid will be quite watery prior to adding the cornstarch slurry. While the chicken is baking uncovered, feel free to coat it with the thickening sauce towards the end. This will encourage the skin to caramlize.
- Meanwhile, you can prepare the rice and salad (if making) and lightly toast the almonds by bring a dry pan to a medium heat and adding the sliced raw almonds. Stir and flip until golden in colour. Note: nuts toast very quickly so mindful.
- Remove the chicken from the oven once the chicken has started to caramelize on top, the sauce has thickened and it's bubbling.
- Garnish with toasted almond flakes and dig in!
Video
Notes
2. Chicken: seeing I'm using frozen chicken, there'll be an approx. 200ml extra liquid in my baking dish. This won't be the case when using thawed chicken so, if you're using thawed chicken, just note that you might need to use a tad less cornstarch slurry but you'll be able to eyeball this closer to the end. If the sauce thickens up too much then just add a dash of water or more apricot juice (and salt to taste of course).