Sweet and Sticky Pomegranate Chicken.
So I know we have this thing in like, three days… this day where we eat a ton of food, but the thing is? We still have three days. Three whole days!!
Says my impatient inner five-year old.
And apparently we need to do normal things like eat actual food for meals while we discuss gravy and mashed potatoes and stuffing and whatnot. I mean, do we really need to eat dinner tonight? I, for one, should probably not eat dinner, and should probably not eat anything for the next three days given the amount of food I consumed over the weekend and given the amount of food I plan on consuming on Thursday, but still… I guess dinner would be a good idea. Maybe lunch too. Breakfast? Probably something green and leafy. Probably something light.
Probably won’t happen. Aye yi yi.
But this totally can happen. I know it looks semi-complicated but I promise it isn’t. And I know you’re busy making lists and fighting with other consumers at your local grocery store and figuring out just where to store that giant turkey and maybe doing things like making three apple pies for your big family, or hey – maybe just yourself, maybe you just really like pie – but I’m confident that you can take 30 minutes or so and make dinner tonight.
Hear that? I’m confident that YOU can. Not sure about me. I may just eat cookies for dinner because I’m going to be in serious withdrawal.
I’m actually fearful.
I modified one of my favorite chicken recipes – these sticky thai chicken wings – to incorporate my autumn fruit obsession. You can use boneless chicken breasts or wings or whatever you’d like, but you can see that I used some chicken legs because they are just so delicious. And you make it all in one skillet! It can easily be served as an appetizer but is also reeeeeeeallly good with jasmine rice. Man I love jasmine rice. It’s just so… jasminey.
Sweet and Sticky Pomegranate Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken wings or legs
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 cup sweet chili sauce
- 1/3 cup pomegranate juice
- 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 lime, juiced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
- pomegranate arils for garnish
- freshly chopped parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. IN a large measuring cup or bowl, mix together chili sauce, pom juice, soy sauce, vinegar, lime juice, brown sugar and garlic.
- Heat a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat and add olive oil. Season chicken with salt and pepper, then place in the skillet and sear on each side until deeply golden and brown, about 2 minutes per side. Remove chicken and place on a plate, turning heat in the skillet down to medium-low. Pour in pomegranate juice mix and whisk, allowing the sauce to bubble and simmer for 1-2 minutes. Place chicken back in the skillet and turn and toss to coat. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove chicken and serve with chopped parsley and pomegranate arils.
Notes
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I appreciate you so much!
And there I go being unintentionally Christmasy again, but eh, ’tis the season, right?
91 Comments on “Sweet and Sticky Pomegranate Chicken.”
Funny you mention Christmas because when I looked at the first picture and saw the bright red poms and the green garnish I immediately thought – ooooh a Christmas recipe! :)
Yes, 3 full days before Thanksgiving and if you didn’t eat between now and then you’d be in big trouble. Best to just keep eating. :)
I ADORE pom seeds! YUM!
I’m going to make a cashmere scarf in those colors!
Being a vegetarian, I would never eat this. But it sure is pretty and festive!
Wow, sweet & sticky chicken looks yummy! I love it and it’s so creative! What a great use of pomegranates!!! I have all the ingredients in the fridge, I think I have to try your recipe!!
What would you think about coming to live with me and making these every.single.day?
Gorgeous colors in this dish! Love it!
I like adding pomegranate in savory dishes, this looks really delicious thanks for sharing the recipe :)
I am drooling over this recipe, Jessica! I am too busy cooking for Thanksgiving, so I won’t be able to make this until next week. But I AM so making this!
This would be beautiful for a Christmas dinner
Pomegranate and Chicken sound like an amazing dish! I get so intimidated making more than breasts though!
I love pomegranate seeds, and I love chicken, so I’m pretty sure I’ll love this! Thanks for mentioning the Thai version too, because somehow I forgot about them! Definitely need to make both… for taste comparison sake, of course. ;)
This looks excellent! And now I want some Pom seeds on my turkey Thursday.
Such a pretty dish! I’ve been loving POM arils lately.
The grocery store made me want to quit my life and eat ramen noodles for Thanksgiving yesterday. It was awwwwwful. Pomegranate chicken, though? I can get behind that. Ohh yes I can.
That sauce sounds amazing. =)
oh my, that looks divine! i also have a winter fruit obsession. i have some chicken thighs in the fridge just begging for this sauce. thanks for sharing!
I totally shouldn’t eat between now and Thanksgiving, but this chicken is sure telling me I want to!
I love pomegranete seeds, this is right up my alley!
This looks great! Have you ever tried cooking with pomegranate molasses? It seems right up your alley with this recipe. My mom uses it in chicken marinade and its amazing.
ok, I’m dying here. Forget the turkey, we’ll bust out the chicken instead. looks fabulous Jessica.
I don’t think any of these unintentional Christmasy recipes are unintentional, at least not subconsciously. Not that I’m complaining, they all look absolutely wonderful and are making my drool on my keyboard. These chicken legs included. Maybe pair them with a salad? That would make me feel better about my food and life decisions.
I think I would much rather have this than turkey and stuffing. I’m not a fan of those items. I do like green bean casserole and mashed potatoes and gravy though. And rolls and sweet potatoes and pumpkin cheesecake. So yeah… I probably shouldn’t eat until Thursday either…
I don’t eat meat, but this actually looks really, really delicious.
This chicken looks amazing! Love the bright red pops of color and flavor from the pomegranate seeds. :)
The dish looks amazing. It’s so Christmasy.
Yummm love the colors with the pomegranates!
Beautiful Jessica! I just made lamb with pomegranate the other day, delicious!
This looks so yummy!! But please tell me…sweet chili sauce…I don’t know if I have ever seen such a thing. Assuming it would be in the asian food aisle at the store? What brand did you buy?
That has got to be the prettiest chicken I’ve ever seen. Love the Christmas colors, it’s got me into a Christmas spirit now!
Mmm – I’ve been meaning to make those sticky Thai chicken wings of yours, but now I’ll have to add these to the list as well. LOVE pomegranate. It’s not too early, Jessica – go ahead and fire up the Christmas recipes – I’m, for one, am ready. ;)
Just solved my what to have for dinner Tuesday night dilemma as well as my what can I make with pomegranate because my kid wants to cook with pomegranate dilemma. Yes!
Gorgeous photos .. definitely making this next week for dinner. I’d make it tonight if i didn’t just devour the last pom i had at home.
i love fruit and chicken together Jessica – i ususally throw mango salsa on top of my grilled chicken. Summery food, yes.. but i need my mangoes all year round! Anyway, the combo of pomegranate and chicken is one i’ve never tried before. i’m intrigued! SO doing this!
This looks amazing. I would definitely try this out.
Pomegranates are a staple in my house right now! I can’t get enough.
I’m in love with these!!
Time to just add these to the Thanksgiving table. Seriously.
So, for some reason your opening line made me think of the Sultan from Aladdin lecturing Jasmine in the courtyard about marrying a prince … “You’ve only got THREE MORE DAYS!”
I’d try to explain that the only reason I know the words to that movie is because of MoCo, but we both know that’s just not true.
I am going to my in-laws for Thanksgiving. I don’t know what we are eating. It is killing me slowly. To make up for it, I am making mad gourmet meals all week. It is helping :)
Being British I don’t have to worry about the impending feast of food, so i can think about yummy dishes like these to my hearts content :) Although, while I adore the look of this recipe and plan on making it asap, I must confess I spent even more time drooling over your skillet pan! Is that weird? Note to self- must not covet other people’s skillet pans!
I want to eat this right now!!! Delicious!
Went right out and gathered missing ingredients and made this for dinner. Everyone ate it and loved it! The 2 year old! The one that never eats dinner! He ate the chicken!!! My husband declared it a keeper!
Brilliant! I love pomegranates!
Yum! This looks amazing. I absolutely adore chicken legs. They are so inexpensive yet so delicious! I might go to the store and get all of the stuff today! Yay!
We are so alike, well, except for that age business…but I LOVE pom arils. I even cheat and buy the container at Costco that is all arils…heavenly.
I’ve spent most of the past decade on a committee for a Turkey Day 5K race for a local Chamber of Commerce. I think that’s enough of getting up at 4am and not getting started on dinner til 1pm so I’m handing the reigns to someone else and this year I’m at home with my kids.Still, I’m desperate for a break so this year we really are cutting back. I’m smoking a turkey breast but haven’t given much thought to exactly how I’ll serve it. Now I know.The sauce is similar to a sticky sauce I use but the arils would be a new and perfect twist. Thank you!
Happy Thanksgiving Jessica.
Mmmm pomegranate sounds like it would be so good with sweet chili sauce!! Love this flavor combo!
I love this marinade. I wonder how it would be on tofu — it might totally ruin your image of this recipe, so my sincerest apologies. Where can you find pomegranate juice?
I know this is probably a silly question, but I seriously cannot eat anything with chilis of any kind, but this looks so good. Is there something I could use to replace the chili sauce?
Hello! Loved this recipe! But, was going to be taking it for a weekend with friends…so decided to make the sauce and throw the chicken in it (to marinate the chicken). Then over the weekend it could just be thrown in the oven and baked….It turned out OK, but I want to try this again (especially now that I have all the ingredients) on the skillet as I feel like it will be much better. In the baking the sauce thinned out, and I feel like on the skillet itll thicken and get more intense and flavorful…