Welcome to the March Pinterest Challenge Blog Hop! The purpose of this Pinterest Challenge is to motivate all the participants of this hop (and you too) to not just pin, but to make it happen! So this month, I chose to make a popular chicken recipe with a few changes – Bourbon Chicken with Vegetables!
This recipe was inspired by Dinner Then Dessert’s Easy Bourbon Chicken Recipe. If you would like to save the original recipe and try it for yourself, you can PIN IT for later. When I first made this recipe, I followed the recipe EXACTLY with mixed reviews from the family. The main issue my family had with the recipe was the sweetness level and lack of vegetables (we like sauced chicken with veggies). The original recipe has 1 cup of packed light brown sugar, so it was pretty sweet. For my version, I added three vegetables and cut the sugar to a 1/2 cup.
The reason I chose the original recipe was the leftover bourbon sitting in my pantry from making Spiked Lemon Throat Coat Tea during the winter. This recipe not only helps me make use of the bourbon (other than in drinks), it creates a tasty one pan family meal!
Bourbon Chicken with Vegetables
To make the cooking process easier, I like to prep my ingredients before cooking.
Tip: If you’re in a rush, you can buy pre-cut broccoli florets and julienned carrots from the store.
Once the prep is done, I cook the chicken and start on the sauce.
Tip: Don’t crowd the pan with too much chicken (we don’t want steamed chicken). Cook it in two to three batches to get a a bit of a crust on the outside. This thin crust will help hold onto the sauce. Of course, if you’re in a rush, you can technically skip coating the chicken in cornstarch.
When the sauce is reduced, add the chicken back in to the pan with the fresh broccoli and carrots. Cook until the broccoli is fork tender and thicken the sauce with cornstarch.
Optional to garnish with green onions and sesame. Serve over rice and enjoy!
Bourbon Chicken with Vegetables
A delicious slightly sweet pan cooked chicken and vegetable medley.
Ingredients
- 3lb boneless chicken thighs
- 4 tablespoons cornstarch (divided)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 4 tablespoons oil
- 2 cubes Dorot Gardens garlic or 2 cloves of fresh minced garlic
- 1 Medium onion (cut into wedges)
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup apple juice
- 1/4 cup bourbon
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 2/3 cups soy sauce
- 1/3 cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 2 cubes Dorot Gardens ginger or 1 1/2 tsp. fresh grated ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 4 cups fresh broccoli florets
- 1 Medium carrot (julienned)
- 3 stalks green onions (chopped), optional garnish
- 1/2 teaspoon roasted sesame seeds, optional garnish
Instructions
- Cut the chicken into about 1 inch pieces and coat with 3 T. of cornstarch, salt, and pepper.
- Add 2 T. of oil to a pan and heat over medium high heat. When the oil is hot, add half the chicken and cook for 3 minutes on each side. Total time for each batch is 6 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside in a bowl for later. Add the remaining 2T. of oil and repeat this for the second batch.
- Lower the heat to medium and add garlic and onions to the pan. Cook just until the onions start to become translucent.
- Add the apple juice, bourbon, chicken broth, soy sauce, ketchup, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, ginger and red pepper flakes to the pan. Make sure to scrap up all the bits of chicken from the bottom of the pan.
- Turn the heat back up to medium high and bring the sauce to a boil. Let the sauce boil for 10 minutes to reduce the sauce.
- Add the chicken back into the pan with the carrots and broccoli and cook for another 5 minutes or when the broccoli are fork tender.
- In a small bowl, mix together the remaining 1 T. of cornstarch with about a tablespoon and a half of water. Stir to make a slurry and add this to the pan. Stir until the sauce thickens.
- Optional - top with green onions and roasted sesame seeds. Serve over rice.
Notes
- Dorot Gardens fresh frozen garlic and herbs can be found in the frozen section of the market.
- For more heat, add more crushed red peppers to taste.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.
-
Mandoline Slicer Vegetable Potato Slicer, Julienne Slicer, Onion Cutter, With Stainless Steel Adjustable Blade. Cut Resistant Gloves Included. -
Silicone Nonstick Mixing Spoons Set 2, High Heat Resistant, -
Plastic Chopping Board Set BPA Free, Non-porous, Dishwasher Safe -
Carote 6.5-Quart Nonstick Saute Pan with Helper Handle, Deep Frying Pan with Cover, Non-Stick Jumbo Cooker Granite Stone Coating from Switzerland,12.5 inch
View my previous Pinterest Challenge Posts:
- January 2018 – One Skillet Chicken with Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce
- February 2018 – Dollar Tree St. Patrick’s Day Wreath
- March 2018 – Bourbon Chicken with Vegetables
- April 2018 – Mini Hoop Seashell Wall Hanging
- May 2018 – Giant Mochi Ice Cream
- June 2018 – Matcha Mousse
- July 2018 – Savory Vegetable Pancakes
- August 2018 – Jumbo Jello Gummy Bears
- September 2018 – Halloween Candy Popcorn
- October 2018 – Halloween Plastic Tablecloth Wreath
- November 2018 – Apple Pie Hotteok
- December 2018 – Christmas BINGO Gift Exchange Game
Now let’s see what other things Pinterest inspired! Head over and visit the other hosts to see what they crafted, cooked, built, or tried!
I actually made this version tonight and made it moderated keto. I substituted the sugar for Monk fruit brown sugar. I used no added sugar ketchup. My husband loved it over rice. I ate it as is. Delicious. I am making it again and next time adding extra crunch, maybe edamame or water chestnuts or both.
Thanks so much for stopping by. I’m glad you were able to adapt this for your family.
Yum! This looks amazing!
Thank you for linking up to Foodie Friday 🙂
Looks like a yummy weeknight meal for the family! Love that it’s so easy to make too. 🙂
I love bourbon chicken! This looks delicious, and the recipe looks like something I can actually make! I’m pinning this to give it a try soon!
I love dishes like this. It looks so good it made me hungry.
This sounds different, delicious, healthy and easy to make. Perfect recipe. My boys are huge (shortest one is 6’3″) so I spent years of my life, shopping, cooking or cleaning up after food. These days I bake for
happiness and only cook easy recipes. We will really enjoy this. Thank you for sharing it.
Oh my, you do have big boys. My boys aren’t nearly as tall, but their appetites are huge. My youngest eats dinner twice…lol.
I saw this on your Facebook page and thought it looked like a restaurant dish! We would love this at our house. It looks scrumptious and we’d prefer the veggies too.
That looks soooo good! My kids always love chicken recipe whether it’s pasta or vegetables. Can’t wait to make this for them. Thanks for sharing!
Yum! This looks amazing and with one pan it’s going on my menu next week! Pinning
It was really good and everyone was fighting for the leftovers…lol. Thanks for pinning.
Yum! I like the added veggies & less sugar as well. Bourbon is not something I have on hand, but I think I can tweak my sesame chicken recipe to make something similar. Pinned!
I think I’d prefer your version with less sugar and more veggies. It sounds great and looks delicious. I love dishes like this that are one pot- less clean up is always good. Great tip about not adding the chicken all at once. Pinning and planning on trying.
Thanks Beverly. The original wasn’t bad, just too sweet for us. I hope you give this a try and let me know how you liked it.
Yum. Sounds good! Great choice
Thanks.
So tickled to be a part of this month’s Pinterventures! And I have pinned your recipe and WILL make it in the very near future. Looks scrumptious. And I appreciate your tips for making it speedier, healthier, tastier.
Glad you enjoyed this month’s challenge. Let me know how you like the recipe.
This chicken looks delicious. Chicken and veggies is a perfect combo. Pinning!
Oh, yum! I’m definitely making this soon! also, your link in the linky has an extra t in it so it’s pointing to an error instead of your post.
I hope you try it and thank for letting know about my link.
This looks yummy and I appreciate your notes around how you adapted it to fit your families tastes, it gives me some ideas of my own for when we try it. Thanks for sharing!
Pinned this right away!! Wow does this look good! Love all the veggies and of course the sauce ingredients. Thanks for sharing.
Erlene, This looks like a great recipe! We love to order Bourbon Chicken when we go out, but I’ve never made it at home. Time to give this a try! Pinning.
This looks really, really, yummy! I can’t wait to try making it. Pinned.