Chicken Cider Stew

Chicken Cider Stew is a colorful fall stew with moist bites of chicken, sweet potatoes and carrots cooked in an apple cider broth. The recipe makes up quickly and lucky thing, tastes good right away.

Chicken Cider Stew fills the kitchen with the scent of hot bacon and pungent apple.

Over the years, I’ve collected several recipes that feature sweet potato, the thick-skinned, orange-fleshed tuber so packed with Vitamins A and C that some nutritionists call them a “super food”.

Especially plentiful during the fall, sweet potatoes carry about a third fewer calories and carbohydrates than white potatoes. Even low-carb diets encourage sweet potatoes when others are a no-no.

If your experience with sweet potatoes is limited to sweet concoctions topped with marshmallow, try these simple recipes and be treated to rich flavor unadulterated by added sugar. I could make a meal out of either one!

MASHED SWEET POTATOES

Cook peeled sweet potatoes in boiling water until soft. Drain the water, then mash until smooth. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Top with a touch of butter.

ROASTED SWEET POTATOES

Peel sweet potatoes and slice cross-wise about 1/3” thick. Spray or lightly brush both sides with olive oil, then arrange in single layer on a baking sheet. Sprinkle lightly with salt or parmesan cheese and bake at 350F for 30-40 minutes or until edges become crispy and centers soft.
ALANNA's TIPS You may substitute 2 cups apple juice for the 2 cups apple cider. But for the needed astringency, near the end of the cooking time, stir in a tablespoon or two of apple cider vinegar. Chicken breasts are convenient but expensive. For a more frugal dish, choose chicken thighs. The bone-in, skins-on packages are quite inexpensive, I usually remove the skins however.
Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food writer Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Have a favorite way to serve nutrient-rich sweet potatoes at your house? Share the recipe via recipes@kitchen-parade.com. If you like these Kitchen Parade recipes, consider a free e-mail subscription. Once or twice a week when a new recipe is published, you'll be notified via e-mail. How to print a recipe on Kitchen Parade. If you like Kitchen Parade, forward this recipe to a friend who might too! You might like A Veggie Venture, my food blog about vegetables too!

RECIPE for
CHICKEN CIDER STEW

Hands-on time: 25 minutes
Total preparation time: 50 minutes
Makes 8 cups
  • 2 slices thick-cut bacon
  • 1 large onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
  • 1 stalk celery, chopped (about 1 cup)
  • 1-1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts
  • 2 carrots, chopped (about 1 cup)
  • 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped (about 2 cups)
  • 1 apple, cored and chopped in 1/2-inch pieces
  • 2 cups apple cider
  • 1 cup water
  • 3 tablespoons ketchup
  • 1/4 teaspoon savory, crushed
  • 1/4 teaspoon basil, crushed
  • 1-1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 tablespoons flour

Cook bacon until crisp over medium heat in 4-quart kettle. Remove bacon, chop and set aside.

Drain fat from pan, leaving only what coats the surface. Add onions, celery and chicken to the hot kettle and sauté, stirring regularly, until onions are golden and chicken is cooked through. Add carrots, sweet potatoes and apple and let cook 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add apple cider, water, ketchup, salt, savory, basil and pepper. Stir in bacon pieces. Let simmer over low-medium heat about 20 minutes until carrots and sweet potatoes are cooked.

Put flour in small dish and slowly add 1/2 cup hot liquid from the stew to make a smooth paste. Stir into hot stew and cook another five minutes.

SERVING SUGGESTION Serve with rice cooked in half water, half apple cider, which adds a sweet, almost nutty flavor to the rice that complements the stew beautifully. That said, this stew is substantial on its own and really doesn't require a starch.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE (How many calories in Chicken Cider Stew? How many Weight Points in Chicken Cider Stew?) Per Cup: 225 Calories; 22g Protein; 2g Tot Fat; 1g Sat Fat; 29g Carb; 3g Fiber; 629mg Sodium; 51mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 4 points

More Sweet Potato Recipes

(hover for a description, click a photo for a recipe)
Turkey Sweet Potato Soup Confetti Potato Salad Chicken Cider Stew (above)
~ more sweet potato recipes ~
from Kitchen Parade

~ Delicious Microwave Sweet Potato ~
~ Maple Ginger Sweet Potatoes ~
~ Fresh Candied Yams ~
~ more sweet potato recipes ~
from A Veggie Venture,
my food blog about vegetable recipes

More Apple Cider Recipes

(hover for a description, click a photo for a recipe)
Swiss Muesli Chicken with Creamy Cider Gravy Apple Cider Indian Pudding

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I wanted to let you know how much I'm enjoying your web page. I absolutely love the Apple Cider Chicken Stew. It's one of my lunch staples.
Anonymous Amanda on 5/12/2008
 
The weather turned to Fall and I got ginormous sweet potatoes in the CSA share, so my thoughts immediately turned to this stew! My husband was deployed when I tried it last year so he got to try it for the first time last night. He loved it, and so did I! The folks are in Turkey, cruising around the Black Sea, so there is a container in my freezer for them when they return (it may thaw as mush, but then we'll call it soup).

I couldn't find savory in the store, so I substituted Herbs de Provence for the herbs.

Yum!
Anonymous kirsten on 10/03/2008
 
I tried this over the weekend and it was excellent! Thank you so much for this recipe. I used Herbs De Provence b/c I couldn't find Savory either and it tasted great!
Blogger Jenn on 10/05/2009