Smoky Apple Chicken
with McCormick Grill Mates Brown Sugar Bourbon Seasoning, Mashed Potatoes & Broccoli
- Milk
Winner, winner, chicken dinner! Chicken cutlets are satisfying, speedy, and oh-so versatile, which is why our chefs are always thinking up new ways to take them to the next level. This week, they amped up the flavors… big time! Sweet and savory is the name of the game here. Coated in brown sugar bourbon spice, these cutlets are seared and topped with a buttery apple pan sauce. Zesty broccoli and garlic mashed potatoes pair perfectly with the main event. Prepare yourself for a flavor explosion.
Ingredients
12 ounce
Potatoes
2 tablespoon
Sour Cream
8 ounce
Broccoli
1 unit
Chicken Stock Concentrate
1 unit
Brown Sugar Bourbon Seasoning
1 unit
Lemon
1 unit
Apple
1 clove
Garlic
10 ounce
Chicken Cutlets
2 unit
Scallions
Not included in your delivery
1 teaspoon (tsp)
Sugar
1 tablespoon (tbsp)
Cooking Oil
2 tablespoon (tbsp)
Butter
(Contains: Milk)
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Adjust rack to top position and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash and dry produce. • Dice potatoes into ½-inch pieces. Peel garlic. Cut broccoli florets into bite-size pieces if necessary. Halve, core, and dice apple into ¼-inch pieces. Trim and thinly slice scallions, separating whites from greens. Zest and quarter lemon.
• Place potatoes and whole garlic in a medium pot with enough salted water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, 15-20 minutes. • Reserve ½ cup potato cooking liquid, then drain and return potatoes and garlic to pot. • Keep covered off heat until ready to mash.
• Toss broccoli on a baking sheet with a drizzle of oil, salt, and pepper. • Roast on top rack until browned and tender, 15-20 minutes.
• While broccoli roasts, pat chicken* dry with paper towels. Season lightly with salt and pepper, then rub all over with McCormick Grill Mates Brown Sugar Bourbon Seasoning. • Heat a drizzle of oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add chicken and cook until browned and cooked through, 5-7 minutes per side. • Turn off heat; transfer to a plate. Wipe out pan.
• Heat 1 TBSP butter (2 TBSP for 4 servings) and a drizzle of oil in same pan over medium-high heat. Add apple and scallion whites; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, 4-6 minutes. • Stir in stock concentrate, ½ cup water, and ½ tsp sugar. (For 4, use ¾ cup water and 1 tsp sugar.) Cook until apple is tender and sauce has thickened, 5-7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. • In the last 2 minutes, add chicken to pan; turn a few times to coat.
• While sauce cooks, mash drained potatoes and garlic with sour cream and 1 TBSP butter (2 TBSP for 4 servings) until smooth and creamy, adding splashes of reserved potato cooking liquid as needed. Season with salt and pepper. TIP: If necessary, rewarm over low heat.
• Carefully toss roasted broccoli with lemon zest. • Divide chicken, garlic mashed potatoes, and zesty broccoli between plates. Spoon remaining sauce from pan over chicken and garnish with scallion greens. Serve with lemon wedges on the side.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Many loved the sweet-and-smoky apple topping, calling it a delicious surprise that paired well with the bourbon-seasoned chicken 🍎.
- Ease of prep: Some found it more time-consuming than expected; consider starting the chicken first for better timing.
- Suggestions: For deeper flavor, try adding extra herbs to the sauce or using a tangier apple variety like Granny Smith.
- Leftovers: Several mentioned it reheated well, with some even preferring the flavors the next day.
- Sides: While many enjoyed the garlicky mashed potatoes, some suggested offering vegetable alternatives to broccoli.
Reviews from our home cooks
Technique Review: I recommend you only coat one side of the chicken with the grill mates. Place chicken on the pan with the plain side down and allow the breast to cook well, flip onto the coated side for the remainder of the cook time. The sugar wants to burn and this technique helped me avoid a burnt crust. Good flavor, don't over salt the apple sauce. Fun and different.
It's like having barbecue. The brown sugar bourbon seasoning is a little sweet, and a little smokey. The apples pair very well with the chicken and garlic mashed potatoes. The baked broccoli never makes it to leftovers, it's so good.
Really enjoyed this dish. The brown sugar bourbon seasoning and fresh apple added a great flavor to the chicken. We like the lemon flavor on the broccoli.
The chicken turned out great. We loved the Brown Sugar seasoning with the apples and onions on it. The broccoli turned out a little burnt and not quite soft enough. The potatoes were mashed potatoes. Nothing great except they were made from scratch which is something I hadn't made for a long time.
So good! I ended up adding some dried chives to the mashed potatoes.. divine! For next time I would reduce the salt on the chicken dish.. it ended up tasting too salty along with the brown sugar bourbon seasoning.
My favorite trick with this recipe was moistening the mashed potatoes with their cooking liquid (plus adding sour cream!) The brown sugar bourbon seasoning was outstanding.
I've never included apples in a stir-fry or sauce and after this experience I will definitely be doing it again. The brown sugar bourbon seasoning and sweet apple based sauce go excellent together.
This was delicious!!! We ended up chopping up the chicken into bite size pieces and tossing in the broccoli to make a bowl to share the delicious apple topping. By far, the best recipe we've had. We have found that if we make bowls with our choice of a grain, a protein source, veggies, and a sauce, we have made very tasty, filling dishes without eating too much meat.
Broccoli was kind of boring in flavor, would be a bit of an improvement to add some seasonings if possible. The chicken and mashed potatoes were good, the brown sugar seasoning for the chicken browned very quickly - before the chicken was fully cooked but nothing turning down the heat didn't solve.
Excellent chicken! Added more sugar to bring out the sweet in the apples. Don't use an electric mixer in potatoes as they got real thin - use a manual masher as suggested. Broccoli can be put in later in prep as they got cold and mushy waiting for the rest of the meal to complete.
