Balsamic Chicken and Figs
This Balsamic Chicken and Figs is a wonderful one pan dish to serve in late summer when fresh figs are in season. The combination of sweet and juicy figs with the crispy skinned chicken and tangy balsamic sauce is so delicious. This dish is Paleo, Whole30, Grain Free, Gluten Free, Dairy Free and Specific Carbohydrate Diet Legal.
Ready for a great one pan chicken dish that’s fancy enough to serve to guests but also easy enough to make for weeknight dinner? This recipes really ticks both boxes. Also is it just me or do figs seem to make any dish just a little be fancier?
I absolutely love the flavours in this Balsamic Chicken with Figs dish. Red onions, shallots, kale and figs are cooked until tender, tossed in a delicious balsamic sauce and then topped with chicken thighs. Sounds good right? The red onion and balsamic vinegar are quite acidic and I love how well the sweet figs help balance out the flavours. Figs are in season in late summer and early fall, but if you are struggling to find any in stores, they could be replaced in this recipe with red grapes which will add a similar sweetness.
I prefer using bone-in skin-on chicken thighs because I find the bones give the meat a lot more flavour and the skin gets nice and crispy, but you could also use boneless thighs or breasts instead. If using chicken without the bone I reduce the cook time in the oven to 20-25 minutes.
How to make this easy one pan dish:
- Start by searing the chicken in an oven proof pan. This will result in a crispy skin and will also give the chicken extra flavour. Don’t worry about cooking the chicken through, you are just aiming for a golden sear on both sides.
- Sauté shallots, garlic and red onion in the pan. This is the base of the sauce and helps to give it substance. After cooking for a few minutes a simple sauce of balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard and chicken stock is added in.
- Next add in chopped kale. I prefer curly kale but Tuscan kale would also work well. Alternatively you could add spinach.
- The chicken is then returned to the pan along with the sliced figs. Arrange the figs skin side down so that the juicy centers are facing upwards and will caramelize and brown when baked.
- Sauce from the bottom of the pan is spooned over the chicken before the pan is put in the oven for 35 minutes. To check if the chicken is cooked through you can slice into a thigh or alternatively use a meat thermometer which should read 165º Fahrenheit
What to serve with this Chicken and Figs:
- I recommend serving this chicken with cauliflower mash to soak up all of the yummy sauce, because you won’t want any of that to go to waste! A simple cauliflower rice would also be a good option.
- Roasted Fennel with Garlic and Herbs
- Caramelized Leek, Fennel & Onion Gratin
- Lemon Roasted Green Beans with Almonds & Shallots
- Roasted Radishes
- Butternut Squash, Broccoli & Kale Salad with Roasted Garlic Dressing
Here are a few more date night/fancy dinner party recipes that you might enjoy…
- Seared Scallops on Cauliflower Puree
- Coq No Vin
- Spinach Stuffed Salmon
- Citrus & Herb Roast Chicken
- Braised Short Ribs in an AMAZING sauce
- Crab & Shrimp Ravioli with Lemon Tomato Sauce
- Lemon, Shrimp & Spinach Risotto
If you make this recipe let me know in the comment section below, I would love to hear what you think or take a photo and tag me (@everylastbite_) on Instagram, I love seeing your photos!
Balsamic Chicken with Figs and Red Onion
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 6 Chicken Thighs, Bone In Skin on
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp honey *omit for Whole30
- 3 shallots finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 2 medium red onions thinly sliced
- 1 tsp fresh thyme
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 2 cup shredded curly kale
- 5 figs cut into halves/quarters depending on size
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit)
- In a large cast iron skillet (or oven proof pan) heat the olive oil. Season the chicken thighs on both sides with salt and pepper and then cook for 4 minutes per side in the oil until golden in colour. Once cooked, transfer to a plate
- In a bowl whisk together the mustard, honey and balsamic vinegar.
- Add the diced shallots and garlic to the pan and cook for 4 minutes until the shallots begin to soften. Add in the sliced red onions and thyme and let cook for 3 minutes before pouring in the balsamic/mustard mixture and chicken stock.
- Let everything simmer for 4 minutes before adding in the chopped kale. Return the chicken thighs to the skillet and arrange the fig pieces around the pan. Spoon some of the sauce over the chicken and then bake in the oven for 35 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Sprinkle with more thyme before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Tasted great after removing chicken and reducing sauce. And a few minutes under the broiler. Still didn’t look like picture in recipe but got many compliments.
Made this tonght for the family and it was a big hit! Used fresh black mission figs. Live in Florida so they were bogo at grocery store! I doubled the sauce and figs and I did add some cornstarch (1 tbs) with water before putting in the oven. Used spinach instead of kale too. Served with mashed potato’s and salad! Perfection
Loved the recipe! I did use less onion, but otherwise did the recipe as written. Next time I will double the sauce ingredients including the figs, and use less stock. After serving, I realized that it needed some salt and pepper which was no big deal. If I use less stock the salt and pepper may not be necessary! My stock was sodium free and that was the reason salt was needed.
Not a fan of figs but my husband Loves them. OMG, this is a keeper. I used frozen figs (my freezer) and all turned out delicious. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
This is my go-to chicken recipe any time I can find fresh or dehydrated figs. My friends love it, too! This dish freezes quite well so I made 1-1/2 of the recipe with bone in and skin-on thighs with Tuscan instead of curly kale. It’s in the oven now!!
Excellent. Easy. Everyone liked it, including my 9 and 14 year old kids. Our dinner guest asked for the recipe. This is a keeper!
My friend and I had it for dinner this evening, and it was delicious. We had to make a few changes.
1. It is June, and (as you warned) there were no figs in the grocery store. I followed your suggestion, and bought some seedless red grapes. They work beautifully.
2. Although kale may have been in the store, I like to use vegetables from my garden. Right now I didn’t have any kale, but I have a ton of wild-growing New Zealand spinach. It is denser than true spinach, and worked very well.
3. I forgot to add the balsamic vinegar, and so had to drizzle it on at the table. It worked fine.
I have not tried this yet, but I have some figs that I froze this past summer. Will those work?
Yes definitely!
Wow! The taste is amazing. If it tastes this good on the first night, how much better will it taste tomorrow when the flavors have a chance to marry overnight!! If I hadn’t used leg quarters instead of thighs, there would be no leftovers for tomorrow. I used bone in and skin on chicken. I will make this one again for company. I just need to run to the store and buy more figs so that I can freeze them now for the next time.
I had made a recipe similar, but like your sauce of mustard, balsamic and honey and added ginger. This is a great do ahead recipe. The leftovers are sitting in my refrigerator waiting for dinner tomorrow!
I served this on a bed of polenta with freshly grated nutmeg. Delicious!
I live in the middle of the country where a fresh fig has never been sighted. Can I use dried figs? They’re available.
I have tried this recipe in the summer and used pear instead, turned out incredible!!
Loved it!! The smell is out of this world! What to do when figs aren’t in season??? Has anyone tried dried figs?
Loved this recipe! It came together perfectly, as instructed, and used three things from our CSA Box! I’m adding it to our regular repertoire. I did cook the onions and shallots a little longer than suggested, to make sure they were nicely caramelized – that was a good tip. Also, while I don’t think extra shallots or onion is a bad thing here, the shallots and onions I find in the grocery store are typically huge – it would be helpful to have an estimate of how many cups you should have.
This dish was delish!! Tender, flavorful, juicy. I wouldn’t change a thing. We didn’t use a side dish, but we’ll try the mashed cauliflower next time we have company. This one’s a keeper. Thank you so much!
Well Ive only eaten fresh Figs which are not to my taste as it happens.. so in trying this recipe as stated, i am now a fan.
Beautiful combination of flavors here and i do agree your red onions must be well caramelized to not over power the other ingredients…..DELICIOUS.
Thank you, Carmen, for this wonderful recipe. The flavour of the sauce is so unique, which is exactly what I was looking for – something really different. I needed to sub dark maple syrup for the honey & will likely use corn starch to thicken the sauce a bit next time. I actually HAD to go back for seconds – couldn’t help myself! I can’t wait to make this again & also for my Sister & family, who I have not seen in a year because of COVID safety. This, I think, will be a delightful treat for them!
Tasted nothing but onion. Next time I’ll add about 1/4 of what the recipe calls for.
In my opinion this recipe was a miss. It ended up like onion soup w some other bits in it.
There are too many onions and they over powered the other flavors.