Chicken with Juniper Berry Cream Sauce

Chicken with juniper berry cream sauce is rich and creamy with a bright herbiness from juniper berries and rosemary. It’s a simple yet super flavorful dish that easily comes together. The sauce is full of creamy richness and flavor from the onions, garlic and herbs, topped with a zing of lemon zest!

What are Juniper Berries?

Juniper berries are not really berries. They’re actually female seed cones (pinecones) of the juniper bush. Crazy, right? Instead of having woody scales like most pinecones, the scales are so small that they look like the skin of a berry. They have a dark blue, black, and purple color and are actually slightly soft. (I thought they would be hard like peppercorns and was a little afraid to bite into one the first time!)

What Do Juniper Berries Taste Like?

Juniper berries have a piney, sharp and slightly sweet taste. If you’ve ever tasted gin, you’ll recognize the juniper berry flavor immediately.

What Are Juniper Berries Used For?

Juniper berries are used mainly in Scandinavian and Northern European cuisine. They’re not very well known here in the US except for their use in one popular spirit. Juniper berries are a key ingredient in gin! Try popping one of the juniper berries in your mouth. Immediately you’ll recognize that piney flavor you’ve noticed when sipping a gin and tonic.

They can be used fresh, but dried they are more commonly found in the dried form. Sometimes they’re used whole and other times they’re crushed to release more of their flavor (like in this recipe).

In cooking, juniper berries are used to season meats like wild birds and game, in sauerkraut, spice rubs, marinades, specialty cocktails, and savory stews. It’s an ingredient in Julmust, a very popular non-alcoholic Christmas time drink in Sweden.

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Chicken: I use boneless skinless chicken thighs for this recipe. If you’re using a different cut of chicken, you may need to adjust the cooking time.
• Olive oil & butter: For sautéing.
• Juniper berries: They have a piney, slightly sweet flavor and bring that Nordic essence to this dish.
• Rosemary: This savory herb pairs well with the juniper berries. I used dried rosemary.
• Onions & garlic: Adds another layer of flavor to the dish.
• White wine: If you don’t want to add any alcohol you can try substituting with white wine vinegar or even a diluted lemon juice. Both will add more tanginess to the dish than white wine does. I haven’t tried any substitutions for the wine, so if you do, please let me know how it worked out!
• Chicken broth: Adds more chicken flavor to the dish, but you can substitute with vegetable broth or even water if you don’t have chicken broth.
• Heavy cream: Makes it creamy of course!
• Lemon zest: Brightens up this creamy sauce.

How to Make Chicken with Juniper Berry Cream Sauce

• Lightly crush the juniper berries by putting them in a Ziploc bag and pounding them with a meat tenderizer or rolling pin. You can also use a mortar and pestle to crush the berries. If you want even smaller pieces, use a chef’s knife to finely chop the berries.

• Melt the butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
• Add onions to pan and sauté until onions are soft and light golden brown.
• Add garlic, juniper berries and rosemary to pan. Cook for 30 seconds, long enough to let the flavors bloom.

• Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper.
• Add the chicken to the pan and lightly brown each side – about 3 minutes.
• Add wine, stock and cream to the pan and bring to a light boil over medium-high heat.
• Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes, or until a meat thermometer inserted into the chicken reads 165°F.
• Remove from heat and sprinkle lemon zest over dish and serve. Garnish with parsley or rosemary sprigs if you please.

Expert Tips

• To check if your chicken is done, insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the chicken. The temperature should be at last 165°F.
• If you’re using fresh rosemary instead of dried, use 1 Tbsp of fresh to every 1 tsp of dried. So for this recipe, you’d use 1 1/2 Tbsp of fresh rosemary in place of dried.

Serving Suggestions

• Serve over rice so the rich cream sauce is soaked up by the rice.
• Serve the with my caramelized onions and horseradish mashed potatoes on the side!
• Sprinkle some red pepper flakes on this dish to spice it up.
• A glass of white wine goes perfectly with this dish.
• A side of pickled beets or pressgurka (Swedish pressed cucumbers) adds some acidity to balance out the richness of the cream sauce.

How to Store Chicken with Juniper Berry Cream Sauce

Store chicken with juniper berry cream sauce in a lidded refrigerator storage container or a bowl with plastic wrap. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.