Cranberry Chicken
14 Comments May 19, 2024
Updated Sep 07, 2025
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This special recipe for slow cooker cranberry chicken is a treat. Tangy dressing, onion flavor, and sweet cranberries come together for a fantastic sauce for chicken.
Featured Comment
Hi Sarah,
– Cindy
“Made this dish over the weekend. So little ingredients but so big flavor! Another winner for my husband and I. I baked sweet potatoes and just served them on the side with a whole chicken breast for each of us. Thanks for a great recipe!”
Bringing holiday flavors to the dinner table doesn’t have to be complicated. This cranberry chicken is sweet, savory, and incredibly easy— just toss in a few ingredients and you have a festive no-fuss dinner. You won’t believe how well these flavors come together.
Key Ingredients
Only four ingredients and so much flavor. Find the full recipe in the recipe card below the images.
- Chicken Breasts: You’ll only need a pack of boneless skinless chicken breast for this easy recipe. You can also use boneless skinless chicken thighs.
- Creamy French Dressing: Adds flavor and a complementary twist to the soup mix. I use Wishbone creamy French dressing. Try my apricot chicken, which has similar flavors (but with Russian dressing)
- Onion Soup Mix: This is the magic ingredient; it adds lots of savory onion flavor, but isn’t overpowering.
- Whole Cranberry Sauce: This is where the recipe gets its name as well as its unique cranberry flavor.
How to make Cranberry Chicken
Here is how to make this dish in four easy steps!
- Start by layering the chicken and a simple mix of dressing, cranberry, and onion soup seasoning in the slow cooker.
- Let the crockpot do the work as the chicken soaks up the sweet and savory flavors.
- Finish it off by serving the chicken with extra cranberry sauce spooned over the top.
Tips & Variations
- Dressing Swap: You can use Catalina salad dressing as a substitute for French dressing. While it will alter the flavor profile slightly, it still tastes great with the other ingredients.
- Meat Swap: You can use boneless skinless chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts in this recipe. Chicken thighs will add more flavor and tenderness to the dish.
- Add Veggies: Onions and mushrooms are great additions, add them at the beginning of the cooking time.
- Jellied Cranberry: Some prefer the smooth jellied cranberry instead of whole, and that still works great in this recipe.
How to Serve Cranberry Chicken
Our favorite way to serve the cranberry chicken over a bed of white rice garnished with extra cranberry sauce.
Side dishes that pair well include mashed potatoes, a crisp green salad, or roasted vegetables such as carrots, green beans, or asparagus.
Top this flavorful dinner off with your favorite bread, we love homemade dinner rolls, cornbread, or biscuits.
Cranberry Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup creamy french dressing
- 15 oz. can whole cranberry sauce, divided
- 1 oz. packet lipton onion soup mix
Serving ideas
- serve over mashed potatoes or rice
Instructions
- Add the chicken breasts to the slow cooker.
- Pour over the creamy French dressing and sprinkle over the Lipton onion soup mix.
- Spread over HALF of the cranberry sauce.
- Cook on low for 5-6 hours or on HIGH For 4 hours.
- When the cooking time is up, degrease the sauce. Do this by laying paper towels over the sauce in the slow cooker.
- Next you can decide to serve the chicken breasts whole or shredded. Serve the chicken with the remaining cranberry sauce on top.
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
More Chicken Slow Cooker Recipes:
Check out my other chicken recipes that call for few (but flavorful) ingredients – Crock Pot Mississippi Chicken and Dill Pickle Chicken are two of my favorites.
Slow Cooker Tuscan Chicken and Crockpot Lemon Chicken both bring bright, flavorful sauces to tender chicken for a dinner that feels a little special.
Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings and Slow Cooker Chicken Stew are cozy, comforting meals packed with hearty veggies and satisfying flavor.
Crockpot French Onion Chicken delivers rich, savory flavor with melty cheese and caramelized onions—perfect for an easy but impressive meal.
Can you use a 2 quart crock pot and if so should I half your recipe.
Yes, you most likely will have to halve the recipe.
You wouldn’t need 2 pounds of chicken breasts for one person, even for two meals. I wish these recipes had a more realistic recipe for one or tow person servings. I’d love to try it but it makes too much.
You can cut them in half!
This sounds fantastic, however I’m severely allergic to MSG so onion soup mix is out of the question! Any suggestions on what to use in place of the soup mix? Thank you
I would use dehydrated onion if you can have that. I did find a few natural and organic onion soup mixes when I searched online.
Oh that looks YUMMY!! Can you use the jelly kind of cranberry sauce? I have that on hand….
Yes, that would work fine!
I loved this recipe and every one I’ve tried by the Magical Slow Cooker. So easy and simple and they all turn out delicious. My slow cooker is getting alot of use now. I am a 75 year old man and usually cook the same thing all the time.Not any more with these slow cooker recipes. Thank you very much.
That is great to hear Randy!
Hi Sarah,
Made this dish over the weekend. So little ingredients but so big flavor! Another winner for my husband and I. I baked sweet potatoes and just served them on the side with a whole chicken breast for each of us. Thanks for a great recipe!
Sweet potatoes are great side dish idea, thank you!
Has anyone used Italian dressing? Thanks!
I’ve made this recipe for years. I do just a slightly different version. I use Catalina dressing in place of the French and I mix all the ingredients (dressing, onion soup mix, and entire can of whole berry cranberry sauce) in a bowl and then pour this over the chicken in the crockpot. I’ve never once found it to have any grease at all. (I remove visible fat from chicken before putting into crockpot) I usually only make 3-4 pieces of chicken breast, on low for about 3 hours. Serve it over mashed potatoes. DELICIOUS!!