Lady spoons cranberry sauce over raw chicken in casserole. This one disappears fast

Variations & Tips
If you grew up in a house where sweet-and-savory dishes were always a little different each time, this recipe will feel familiar and forgiving. You can easily swap in boneless, skinless chicken thighs if that’s what you keep on hand; just shorten the covered baking time by about 10 minutes and keep an eye on them so they don’t dry out. For a more old-fashioned, pot-roast style dish, tuck in a few chunks of peeled carrot and parsnip around the chicken before you pour on the cranberry mixture. If cranberries are hard to find, you can use a can of whole-berry cranberry sauce in place of the fresh or frozen berries and brown sugar—just stir it together with the onion, broth, and seasonings, and skip the extra sugar. Those who prefer a less sweet casserole can replace some or all of the orange juice with chicken broth and reduce the brown sugar to a couple of tablespoons. A splash of dry white wine in place of part of the broth gives the dish a more company-ready flavor, while a spoonful of Dijon mustard whisked into the sauce adds a gentle tang that cuts through the richness of the chicken. Leftovers reheat well and can be pulled from the bone and folded into cooked rice or barley for a simple next-day supper. No matter how you tweak it, the key is to let the chicken braise gently until it’s tender, letting the cranberries and onions work their quiet magic in the oven.