These sticky, slightly fruity, sweet and savory Fig and Balsamic Glazed Chicken Thighs are easy to prepare. And when garnished with pungent gorgonzola and crunchy walnuts these thighs are even easier to devour! 
Hi-ya, friends! How goes it?
Is it just me or is this year going incredibly fast already? I thought last year flew by, but as I was looking at the calendar over the weekend, I realized I need to start planning posts for Easter. For real… Easter?! Already?! Gahhh!
I’m starting to develop a fear of sleeping – Hypnophobia. (<– Gotta love google, because I had no idea the medical word for that disorder.)
But for real, I’m starting to fear that I might fall asleep and wake up 10 years older… the way time is flying by anything is possible. I’ve always had FOMO, but now I have hypnophobia on top of that. I need a shrink. Or a dozen cookies so I can eat my feelings. 😉
OUR LATEST VIDEOSAnyways, I digress. Sorry for my complete randomness today, I blame it on that lack of sleep. I’ll stop now and cut to the reason you are all here putting up with me. Food. Delicious food at that.
Fig & Balsamic Glazed Chicken with Gorgonzola & Walnuts
These chicken thighs are bomb diggity, my friends. The glaze is sticky, sweet, savory, slightly fruity and seriously scrumptious with delicious undertones of fig and balsamic vinegar.
I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs because they are full of flavor – tender, juicy and succulent – but for even more flavor, feel free to use bone-in, skin on chicken thighs. However, if you are one of those people who likes less flavor white meat (ahhh hem – Boy), by all means use chicken breasts.
To finish everything off, and for a little garnishing flare, I sprinkled the glistening, glazed chicken with pungent gorgonzola; crunchy, salty walnuts, and earthy fresh thyme.
The end result? Chicken that is anything (and everything) but boring and bland.
How to make Fig Balsamic Glazed Chicken:
But, not only is this chicken ridiculously delish, it is also a breeze to put together. Simply sauté some shallots and garlic in a pan, add in the remaining glaze ingredients and simmer until thickened. Spoon that saucy delicious glaze over your chicken, bake, garnish and viola.
Winner winner chicken dinner.
I served mine over mashed potatoes, but this would be equally delicious over cauliflower mash, polenta, rice, quinoa or with roasted vegetables or a salad. Shoot, you could just throw this chicken on a plate and call it a day. 😉
Whatever you do, just make this chicken, because I know you guys are going to love it!
Until Thursday, internet friends, Cheers – to clucking good chicken. 😉
Xoxo-
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How to make Fig & Balsamic Glazed Chicken Thighs Recipe👇
These sticky, slightly fruity, sweet and savory Fig and Balsamic Glazed Chicken Thighs are easy to prepare. And when garnished with pungent gorgonzola and crunchy walnuts these thighs are even easier to devour!
- 6 Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
- Kosher Salt & Pepper , to taste
- 1 TBS Unsalted Butter
- 1 medium Shallot – minced (about 3 heaping TBS)
- 1 clove Garlic – minced
- 1 (12 oz) Jar Fig Preserves
- 1 tablespoon Honey
- 3 TBS Balsamic Vinegar
- 1 Sprig Thyme , plus more for garnish
- ½ Cup Walnuts – chopped for garnish
- ½ Cup Gorgonzola – crumbled
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Spray an 8x8’’ baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
- Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and season with a pinch of salt. Sauté until soft and translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add in garlic and sauté until fragrant, 30 seconds- 1 minute. Add in fig preserves, honey, balsamic vinegar and sprig of thyme. Increase heat to bring mixture to a boil and immediately reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened and reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Fish out thyme sprig and discard.
- Meanwhile, pat chicken thighs dry and transfer to prepared baking dish (they should fit snugly). Season generously with salt and pepper.
- When fig glaze is reduced, spoon it over the thighs, using the back of a spoon to coat evenly.
- Transfer to the oven and bake (basting with the glaze every 10 minutes if needed), until chicken is cooked through (internal temperature of 165 degrees F) and juices run clear, about 35-45 minutes. Remove from oven and let chicken rest 5 minutes.
- To serve, garnish with walnuts, gorgonzola and fresh thyme leaves.
*I served mine over mashed potatoes
That glistening glaze! I love figs and balsamic together and I love an easy chicken dinner 🙂 Plus, toppings? Gorgonzola and walnuts? Oh yes, please! Serious deliciousness is coming to our dinner table soon. Also, I hear you on the sleeping thing… and the time flying by. Every time I flip to a new month on the calendar I stand there and think, “How did that happen?” Don’t get me started on when a birthday comes around for one of my kids 😉 Cheers and happy Monday girl!
wow that glaze is just like icing on the cake! These chicken thighs look utterly delicious.
Yes Cheyanne, cheers to clucking good chicken! Ha! LOVE that glaze, and that sprinkling of walnuts and gorgonzola…perfect! This chicken dish looks so easy and so incredibly flavorful. I totally agree, the chicken thighs are a total must! So much juicier! What are Tom and Boy thinking? Have a great week!
I don’t afraid to get asleep (it may be my favorite activity, haha), but sometimes you feel that you’re wasting your time while sleeping, eh? May I remember my favorite book character Karlsson-on-the-Roof? He was saying he didn’t have issues to sleep in the mornings before breakfast and especially after it. Then he easily took his nap after his lunch (and just a little before dinner). But every day he struggled to fell asleep at nights – he needed to count sheep etc. This is I call a sleep disorder!:) And now let’s talk about this fantastic recipe. It’s fantastic! Do you need more words? You may remember I was experiencing with sweet glazes last year, but I never figured out to incorporate figs! That sounds and looks fantastic (wow, I’m so eloquent today haha). This is something I’ve got to try really soon. Great job, buddy! And happy Monday (If you believe in happy Mondays – I am not):)
I can’t believe how fast this year is going so far, either! I swear it was just last summer, and now spring is almost here! And I feel you on your sleeping fear…I think it’s quite possible that that may happen to me, too! But onto this chicken…wow! I absolutely love the glaze on here, Cheyanne! So pretty, not to mention sounds SO delish! Such a great idea to use fig preserves. I’ve never tried that before, so I definitely need to. Sounds like such a delicious meal! Pinned, of course!
Okay, so we are seriously psychically connected, because I just posted my own gorgonzola infused recipe (and it was for shrimp, not chicken, but STILL)…and I have some leftover cheese that you know I will be using for THIS! Gorgeous, pinned, happy Monday!!! xoxo
I honestly have no idea where this year is going, but I am sure that I say that every year. How is it nearly Spring already? Not that I am complaining about that!
I love the combination of fig and balsamic together – nice and sweet!
Aaaah!! Cheyanne!! Your recipes always look amazing, but you’ve COMPLETELY outdone yourself with this one! This is full-frontal food porn. Love the ingredient combination you used here, gorgonzola + fig (and all of the other absolutely perfect things that you added), I mean, seriously! Anyway, I’m pinning this. And I’m using chicken thighs, just sayin’. 🙂
It definitely feels like time is flying by! 🙂 This chicken looks absolutely fantastic, Cheyanne! Love the glaze and the fig and balsamic sounds like an incredible flavour combo!
FOMO and Hypnophobia?! Girl, you gotta let yourself breathe. For real. You are kicking so much butt at life, you deserve at least a good night’s rest AND at least two dozen cookies. 😉 Anyway, Easter is ages from now! In any case, loving how the photos for this dish came out. Also, totally digging the fig & balsamic combo. Love, it Cheyanne! 🙂 P.S. Sleep, girl, sleep! <3
Wow your chicken looks amazing! I love you telling us about your FOMO! That is just too funny! Plus you taught me a whole new word about fear of sleep!
Fig balsamic glazed chicken thighs?!! oh my gawd, love this flavor combo!!!! and I hope you can catch up on sleep this week. . I can’t sleep when I’m stressed . . but sleep is so important for us!!!
Love the chicken twinning today too! And mashed potatoes! 🙂 Seriously, dude, this chicken is totally the diggity bomb. This year is really moving super fast. I have zero idea where the time is going. I’m sorry your are afflicted with FOMO and Hypnophobia! You need to chill out and chow down on those cookies!
Get some sleep lady!! haha But I know the feeling … I am slightly freaking out over the fact that it is almost March already … I can’t even.
But this chicken! That glaze! Making me sooo hungry for lunch!
Oh my gosh, these look SO good…that glaze (sigh!) Hope you can get a really good sleep tonight 😀
I am planning and cooking Easter posts as well, only one month left…. The time really goes by too fast. Your chicken thighs sound amazing and they are even better with mashed potatoes.
Oh hells yeah to these flavors!!! And chicken thighs!! When I make this, I’m putting extra Gorgonzola all over it (cause I really really like Gorgonzola…a lot) and I’m leaving off the walnuts for J (cause he doesn’t like walnuts…#hedontknowwhatsgood). That’s okay because more walnuts for me! Woooohoooooo! Did you really develop a fear of sleeping? If yes, I hate that but you can always take down a good ol’ shot (or two) of bourbon each night before you go to sleep #problemsolved 😉
This is clucking good chicken! It was not until I became an adult that I had chicken thighs…my mom wanted to have nothing to do with them but I love them! They are tender, juicy and succulent! Who doesn’t want that in their life? That glaze? Forget about it! You hit a home run with this one, sweets! Now go take a nap – you’ve earned it! zzzzzzzzz (xo)
TIme is definitely flying by, Cheyanne – I think it speeds up more and more as we get older. And you’re a much better blogger than me – you’re planning ahead for Easter – I always tend to realize too late that a holiday is looming – I totally missed doing recipes for both Valentine’s day and the Super Bowl!
Yes, chicken thighs FTW! I cook with them pretty much exclusively. So I’m glad we are on the thigh team together. And FIG GLAZE? How do you always know the way to my heart?? Pinning!
glaze on that chicken sound so good!! looks so yummy, and I bet it would taste even better!
I love the fig jam and cheese combo! Figs are always so good in savory dishes. This chicken looks divine!
OMG I completely forgot about Easter! Ah! I’m totally with you on time flying. I literally have 7,649 things going on in my life right now and could cry at how fast time is going! I need it to slow the heck down! Anyway, I’m drooling over these chicken thighs. I’ve gotta try ’em ASAP. Pinned!
This year is going quickly. No doubt about ti. Wow, but this dish sounds divine. I adore gorgonzola, and I bet the balsamic and fig combo is delicious. This one is a winner, and it is going on my to do list!
The combination sounds interesting and the clicks are beautiful!
This dish looks wicked! I absolutely love salty/sweet combos so this is totally my jam (or, er, preserves, lol)! Can’t wait to try this one out! I can’t say that I have a fear of sleep, cause I love my sleep, but I totally hear what you’re saying, girl. Time flies just too darn fast. Have a great week, girlie, and get some rest!!
This year is going particularly fast and I don’t know why either! It makes me feel very anxious about the rest of the year now that the weather is getting nice …. I don’t want things to just pass me by! As for this recipe, ohhhhh girl you had me at FIG! These are beyond amazing!! <3 <3 <3 I am going to the store tomorrow and buying the ingredients I don't already have because this SO NEEDS TO HAPPEN! 🙂
Ohh such an awesome chicken glaze! I have only just discovered the wonders of figs (with a caramelised fig gelato haha!) and love the sound of using them in a savoury recipe. Don’t worry, I think we are all going a bit crazy about the fact that it is almost Easter (doesn’t help that it is almost a month earlier than usual this year!). I still accidentally write the date as 2013 sometimes… x
You gotta sleep, Chey. It’s key. Can you see someone about that? Or do a sleep study? Or have the boy conk you over the head?
Seriously, hope things get better soon.
The good news is, lack of sleep is not affecting your cooking. This looks INCREDIBLE. I saw it on my IG feed yesterday and wanted it so badly for dinner!
Yeah! It’s so surprising how fast this year is going.And this look absolutely delicious. I bet fig and balsamic would make an awesome pairing.
I’m sorry you’re having sleep issues. I, too, am so shocked that Feb. is almost over and my kid’s Spring break will be here in a month – shock! I hope you find the reason for your troubles and solve them.
This recipe has all of the classic food combos and combines them with CHICKEN THIGHS! Seriously, so good! Thanks for a great recipe!
Wow! Just wow! I have this kind of unnatural love of gorgonzola in any form or fashion so I have got to make this!
Wow. I know just how that feels. I go to sleep feeling like that a lot. Some days it feels like I was 18 twenty minutes ago. Yikes!
All the flavors you’ve got going on here makes me want to do a jazzy dance. Ah, Gorgonzola cheese! Fig preserves! Yum!
Wow this dish has so many incredible flavours Cheyanne! It’s making me soooo hungry right now! I really love the sound of the glaze, yuuuummy! Such beautiful photos too 🙂 pinned!
Winner winner chicken dinner indeed. I have only in the last 2 years been getting into dark chicken meat. Thighs especially are perfect for wonderful, low and slow roasting, like there. I love, like Boy, the white meat best. Yeah for chicken breasts! Ha!
I had my mind set on polenta today and this might have to happen. It seems fig recipes are everywhere and this is exceptional with all your toppings. 🙂
Wow! These are a flavour party! Love the fig and balsamic combo and gorgonzola, too?!! Perfect 🙂
Fig jam is one of the BEST things on the planet, and pairing it with balsamic, blue cheese, and walnuts must make this chicken beyond delicious! I love the sound of this, and YES — the year is going by way too fast already!
The dozen cookies and eating my feelings away works for me, lol. I love everything about this recipe and I mean everything. It is so hard for me to eat chicken breasts once I went to the dark (meat) side, so much more flavor. Great recipe! Take care.
Haha!…I had to look up FOMO! I’m sorry you are also having trouble with sleeping—it is frustrating! I have recurring bouts of insomnia…my mind races all night and I can’t shut it off. Time does not fly by on those nights…it stands still. 🙁 Those chicken thighs are amazing!! They are definitely not boring or bland. I’m loving how easy they are to make, yet kicked up a notch. I’ll need extra helpings of that finger licking good, sticky, sweet fig and balsamic glaze! Wishing you sweet dreams tonight!!
I know time is just flying!! Can’t believe Easter is just around the corner! Crazy! I love balsamic vinegar so this sounds delish!
I feel like this was created for me. I love every one of these ingredients. Looks beautiful!! On my list for dinner next week Thanks.
HAHAHA!
I <3 EVERYTHING about this : "But for real, I’m starting to fear that I might fall asleep and wake up 10 years older… the way time is flying by anything is possible. I’ve always had FOMO, but now I have hypnophobia on top of that. I need a shrink. Or a dozen cookies so I can eat my feelings"!
I'm dying here!
Though can I sub 6 of the cookies for 6 of these thighs – I mean look at that there fig-honey-balsamic glaze! Oohlala!
I so agree with you girl!! It’s already almost March – can you believe it?! And these chicken thighs looks so flavorful!
Yes, this year is just flying by! What gives?! Every year goes by faster and faster…. scary 😛 So these glazed chicken thighs are bomb diggity fo sho! They looks so incredibly tender and juicy and that glaze…. oh my, that glaze! I think I could just spoon that directly into my mouth!
These chicken thighs looks SO amazing, girl! This is totally up my alley with that flavor profile. A little sweet, a little salty….YUM! I’m always looking for new ways to enjoy chicken, and this is definitely on my list to make next. I will be sure to share the results! Thanks for this <3 XO
I made this recipe last night for my family. We all thought they were delicious. Instead of sprinkling gorgonzola over the chicken, I added it to my polenta and served the chicken on the polenta. Total yumminess!
So glad you and your family enjoyed this chicken, Jan!! Using the gorgonzola in polenta sounds like a delicious idea! Thank you so much for coming back and letting me know how it went! Cheers!
Can I make the glaze earlier in the day and refrigerate it until I put the chicken in the oven at night?
Hi Tess! Honestly, I’ve never tried making the glaze in advance, but I don’t see why you can’t. I would let the glaze sit out at room temperature at least while the oven is pre-heating, if not a little longer. You will just want to remove the chill from the glaze. Thanks so much for stopping by, and let me know if you have any other questions! Cheers! 🙂
May I be the Debbie Downer here? What I would really like to see is actual reviews of people who have TRIED the recipe. That would carry a lot of weight for me to try the recipe or not.
Hi Kay,
Unfortunately I can not force people to come back and leave a comment here after they make a recipe. However, a few people have in fact made this recipe with great results and left their comments over on Pinterest. You can see their comments on this recipe here – https://www.pinterest.com/pin/563018683813627/
I hope you find that helpful! Cheers and thank you so much for stopping by!
Yes please! ! The experience and thoughts of people who made the recipe is what I was looking for!
Hi Carol,
Unfortunately I can not force people to come back and leave a comment here after they make a recipe. However, a few people have in fact made this recipe with great results and left their comments over on Pinterest. You can see their comments on this recipe here – https://www.pinterest.com/pin/563018683813627/
I hope you find that helpful! Cheers and thank you so much for stopping by!
I would have never thought to combine the flavor profile of figs with chicken…. but now I need to. This recipe looks delicious!!
I made this for dinner tonight and we loved it. Served it with Perfect Rice recipe courtesy of the Neely’s. Definitely on our menu rotation.
Hi Elizabeth,
I am so thrilled you loved this chicken! Serving it with the Neely’s rice sounds like a delicious combination!! Thank you so much for coming back and letting me know how it went over! I hope you are having a wonderful New Year! Cheers!