This Cinnamon Chicken recipe is deliciously savory with a surprising burst of flavor! Shop your pantry and use what you have on hand to make a full meal. Use for weekly meal prep with various sides.
Suitable for Gluten Free, Low Carb, Keto, Whole30 and Paleo diets. Post includes Weight Watchers points.
This cinnamon chicken recipe is simple and inexpensive but loaded with complex flavors for a sweet and savory main dish that your whole family will love.
Cinnamon is the star of this dish and makes this chicken recipe so warm and comforting. It’s a spice you already have on hand, and it’s not just for baking!
This recipe is perfect for a chilly fall or winter day especially as it is so easy to make. Yeap, totally winning at this cooking thing.
Quick Cooking Cinnamon Chicken
Not only is this a flavorful recipe, but it’s also quick-cooking. You can have this dish on the table in under an hour, which is great because your time is just as important as your money.
Just as delicious as this creamy Marry Me Chicken, quick to make Chicken Florentine and family loved Honey Garlic Chicken Tenders.
This cinnamon chicken pairs well with your favorite veggie and can be served with rice, potatoes, couscous, or quinoa, so it’s versatile enough to go with whatever you have in your pantry.
Why Make This Recipe
- New Use for Ingredients – Cinnamon is common in holiday baking. Now you can use it all year, even in savory dishes.
- Flavorful – The complex flavors of this dish are surprisingly delicious.
- Versatile – The chicken pairs well with many different sides, so you can make use of what you have on hand.
- Quick-Cooking – Get this soul-warming meal on the table in under an hour.
- Budget-Friendly – Chicken thighs are an excellent choice for a low-cost meal plan.
Ingredient Notes
You only need a few ingredients to make this delicious recipe.
- Chicken Thighs – Chicken thighs are juicy and flavorful and are often less expensive than other chicken cuts. If you prefer, you can buy a whole chicken and cut it into pieces. You can also use all wings, all legs, all breasts, or a combination.
- Sweetener – You can use honey or real maple syrup.
- Spices – Add a bit of cumin to make this Morrocan-style cinnamon chicken.
- Garlic – This recipe doesn’t specifically call for garlic, but it’s a great addition if you have some on hand.
- Chicken Broth – Chicken broth has lots of flavors but you can use veggie broth or even water.
- Onions – Use white onion or red onion to your preference.
- Seasoning – Use salt and pepper to complete this.
Now let’s get cooking..
How To Make This Cinnamon Chicken Recipe
Get full ingredients list and instructions from the recipe card below.
- Preheat the oven to 400F / 204C / gas 6.
- Sauté onions in a skillet until tender, then transfer to a baking dish.
- Brown the chicken for 2-3 minutes per side and place skin side up over the onions in the baking dish.
- Combine cinnamon, paprika, salt, pepper, honey, and chicken broth and pour it over the chicken.
- Bake 30-35 minutes or until juices run clear and the temperature reaches 165F / 74C.
- Serve with your favorite sides.
Tips For Success
- To really develop the flavor, brown the chicken in a skillet before adding it to a baking dish.
- Add more or less cinnamon to your taste.
- Add more or less honey / maple syrup to your taste.
- If you prefer your chicken less brown, cover the dish with foil for some of the baking time.
- Always check for doneness with a meat thermometer. Chicken should reach an internal temperature of at least 165F / 74C.
Delicious Variations
- Make it Garlicky – I love the combination of garlic with cinnamon in savory dishes. The flavors really compliment each other. Add two cloves of minced garlic just before you finish sautéing the onion and sauté until fragrant before continuing with the recipe.
- Moroccan-style – Add 1 teaspoon of cumin to the spice mixture to make this a Moroccan-style cinnamon chicken.
- Add heat – Using red pepper flakes, chili powder etc.
- Add veggies – add in some quick cooking veggies for a complete meal.
- Broil – You can broil the chicken at the end if you want super crispy skin.
Budget-Friendly Tips
- Add a Veggie – Roasted carrots, steamed broccoli, or canned green beans would all make a great accompaniment for this dish.
- Serve With a Side – Adding rice, potatoes, couscous, or quinoa will add a lot of bulk to this recipe.
- Make a Flavorful Salad – Toss leftover chicken with leftover rice, couscous, or quinoa and drizzle with a vinaigrette made by combining ⅓ cup cider vinegar, ⅓ cup honey, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon dry mustard, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ cup canola oil. Serve it for lunch or dinner the next evening.
Plus…
- Save With Whole Chicken – Chicken thighs are budget-friendly, but you can often buy a whole chicken for even less. Cut the chicken yourself and use the thighs, wings, and legs for this recipe, and reserve the breasts for another use.
- Save the Bones for Broth – Save the bones and toss them into a bag in the freezer. When you have enough saved up, fill a stockpot with bones, leftover vegetable ends, and water. Simmer to make a flavorful chicken broth.
Make Ahead and Storage
This chicken with cinnamon recipe is perfect for prepping ahead.
Prep Ahead – Sauté the onions and brown the chicken, and add it to a baking dish with the spice mixture. Cover and store in the fridge until ready to bake. You may need to add a few minutes to the baking time.
Store – Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to four days.
Freeze – Follow these steps to freeze leftover chicken for use in other recipes.
- Remove the chicken skin and pull the meat off the bones.
- Shred or chop the leftover chicken.
- Place the meat into freezer-safe bags and save it for use in future recipes.
Meal Prep With Leftovers
This is a great recipe for meal prep. Cook once and eat for days.
- This recipe stores for 4 days so you can eat it on the day you cook it plus for more days.
- Separate leftover cinnamon into up to 4 portions in airtight meal prep containers (microwave safe) and let cool completely with the lids off.
- When cool, close them and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
- Reheat in the microwave for a couple of minutes, flipping the chicken half way through till warmed through.
- To vary it up through the week, feel free to add in other leftovers like cooked veggies, pasta, mashed potatoes and rice.
FAQs
We get it, cinnamon sounds like a dessert, but we promise that you will love it in this savory chicken dish.
If you leave it off, you will have some yummy roasted chicken thighs but trust us and try the cinnamon. It makes this recipe shine!
The cinnamon mixture is delicious. It’s tasty on a pork roast or pork chops. You can even brush it over a whole chicken before roasting.
Certainly, you can use chicken thighs, wings etc. You would have to adjust cook time for the different cuts.
More Recipes You May Like
Other Chicken Thigh Recipes
Love chicken thighs – then try these other easy thigh recipes.
Serving Suggestions
- Macaroni Cheese.
- Garlic Parmesan Fries.
- Garlic Mashed Potatoes.
Weight Watchers Points
There are 8 Blue Plan SmartPoints in one serving of this.
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Get The Cinnamon Chicken Recipe:
Cinnamon Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 sweet onion peeled, cut in half and sliced
- 6 chicken thighs bone in and skin on
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground paprika
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup
- 1 cup (250ml) chicken broth
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F / 204C / gas 6
- Sauté onions in a skillet until tender, then transfer to a baking dish.
- Brown the chicken for 2-3 minutes per side and place skin side up over the onions in the baking dish.
- Combine cinnamon, paprika, salt, pepper, honey (or maple syrup), and chicken broth and pour it over the chicken.
- Bake 30-35 minutes or until juices run clear and the temperature reaches 165F / 74C
Notes
Tips For Success
- To really develop the flavor, brown the chicken in a skillet before adding it to a baking dish.
- Always check for doneness with a meat thermometer. Chicken should reach an internal temperature of at least 165F / 74C.
Budget-Friendly Tips
- Add a Veggie – Roasted carrots, steamed broccoli, or canned green beans would all make a great accompaniment for this dish.
- Serve With a Side – Adding rice, potatoes, couscous, or quinoa will add a lot of bulk to this recipe.
- Make a Flavorful Salad – Toss leftover chicken with leftover rice, couscous, or quinoa and drizzle with a vinaigrette made by combining ⅓ cup cider vinegar, ⅓ cup honey, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon dry mustard, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ cup canola oil. Serve it for lunch or dinner the next evening.
- Save With Whole Chicken – Chicken thighs are budget-friendly, but you can often buy a whole chicken for even less. Cut the chicken yourself and use the thighs, wings, and legs for this recipe, and reserve the breasts for another use.
- Save the Bones for Broth – Save the bones and toss them into a bag in the freezer. When you have enough saved up, fill a stockpot with bones, leftover vegetable ends, and water. Simmer to make a flavorful chicken broth.
Jeanne @ Cooksister
I do love a chicken thigh traybake recipe… 🙂 I am intrigued by the addition of cinnamon – although having said that I always add cinnamon to my chilli, so I am definitely bookmarking this!
Diamond
Really Good cinnamon on chicken is the best idea since sliced bread.
Samantha
I love Cinnamon Chicken it tastes the same as my great grandmother used to make 😋
Dio
You expected a chicken review but it was me DIO (nice chicken btw)