Braised Chicken Breasts with Sweet Onion, Carrots, and Parsnips

Serves 4

Total Time:

Pair an old favorite, like oven-braised chicken and vegetables, with an unfamiliar addition to encourage reluctant eaters to try something new. You could easily replace the parsnips in this recipe with a different root vegetable, such as rutabaga, to introduce it.

 

 

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts (preferably organic, free-range, and grain-fed)
  • 1 large sweet onion
  • 1/2 pound carrots, washed, trimmed, and peeled
  • 1/2 pound parsnips, washed, trimmed, and peeled
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 3/4 cup white wine
  • 1 tablespoon raw organic honey
  • 1 cup water
  • Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste (substituting lite salt cuts the sodium content in half)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Rinse chicken breasts, and pat dry.
  3. Cut onion into 1” wedges.
  4. Slice carrots and parsnips into 2” chunks.
  5. In a roasting pan or large Dutch oven, heat olive oil on medium-high heat. Cook chicken breasts for about 6 minutes on one side, and then turn and cook the opposite side for an additional 6 minutes.
  6. Remove chicken from pan, set aside, and pour off excess oil, keeping 1 tablespoon in the pan. Return pan to medium-high heat.
  7. Add onions, carrots, and parsnips to the pan. Cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes. The onion should be golden brown.
  8. Pour in wine, and add honey. Stir while bringing the liquid to a boil.
  9. Place chicken breasts back in the pan, along with one cup of water. Bring liquid to a boil again, cover, and place in oven.
  10. Cook for about 40 minutes. Chicken should be cooked all the way through before removing the pan from the oven.
  11. Season with sea salt (or lite salt) and freshly ground pepper to taste.

Nutritional information per serving: 276 calories, 5 g fat (0 g saturated), 26 g carbohydrates, 4 g fiber, 24 g protein, 55 mg cholesterol, 358 mg sodium, 14 g sugar

Note: Nutritional values are estimates only and may vary according to freshness of ingredients, methods of preparation, and other factors.

 

Last Updated: October 8, 2018
Originally Published: October 15, 2012