This apple cider marinade chicken is so moist and tender! It is going to be your new favorite chicken recipe. When added to our fall green salad of baby kale, arugula, candied pecans, apples and pecorino Romano cheese, it makes the perfect main dish at any fall harvest dinner party!
Thank you to BRIANNAS Fine Salad Dressings for sponsoring this post.
Apple Cider Chicken Marinade
Using apple cider vinegar is great as a marinade. It infuses so much flavor and also tenderizes. I love using BRIANNAS Organic Apple Cider Vinaigrette as the base for this marinade because it already has a savory blend of spices and apple cider vinegar with mother. PLUS, it’s organic!
I use it as both the chicken marinade for chicken breast or with our BEST roast chicken as well as the salad dressing. By simply adding fresh herbs like tarragon, onion, salt and pepper, you have a simple yet fantastic marinade! I personally love to serve it up on our salad bar.
When setting your table up, think simple and clean so the food really shines. Wood tones and a few metals like copper and gold are a nice start. You can either go more modern like we did here or go with a farmhouse style like we did in our farm to table dinner party.
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Either way, BRIANNAS bottles make the perfect addition to the table as they are both practical and beautiful. I like having one or two on the table so people can dress their salad and meat with a more dressing if they’d like (which they very likely will). It’s a great addition to this salad with grapes and cheese.
Fall Dinner Menu
As with any dinner party menu, I love having a nice variety. Vegetables are my dish of choice and I always like to have a few different options. Whether you go with our red cabbage salad, gluten-free sweet potato casserole or something else entirely, your guests will definitely be happy with such a colorful menu.
This slow cooker butter chicken is another great option that doesn’t require too much on your part. And if you need a dairy-free option, this dairy-free creamy Tuscan chicken is a great option.
I do recommend keeping things simple though, like with this apple salad, so you don’t have to feel too overwhelmed while planning and preparing. That’s why I always like to do a BIG charcuterie board as a centerpiece and starter. 
Fall Charcuterie Board
It is so easy to put together the BEST charcuterie board. Choose a few great cheeses, meats and accompaniments then display them on a gorgeous woodsy board. Here are a few of our favorite things to include. These things are richer in color so perfect for fall.
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Hard cheeses like BellaVitano merlot and smoked gouda
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Soft cheese like Boursin
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Sour cream chip dip
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Marinated artichokes
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Cornichons
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Black and green olives
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BEST cheeseball
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Hard salami
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Simple Mills gluten-free crackers
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Gluten-free bacon balsamic toast
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Tapenade
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Fig Jam
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Chocolate and caramels
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Raw honey
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Candied pecans (recipe below)
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Other nuts
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Beet chips
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Dried Fruit
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Fresh garnish like rosemary and sage
We also like to serve up a brie wheel topped with butter, brown sugar and pecans then bake it. Add some green apples for dipping and you’ve got an amazing appetizer!
Our Whole30 butternut squash soup makes the perfect belly warming starter to any fall menu. We love to top it off with salty, roasted pumpkin seeds. 
Green beans with bacon and crispy shallots makes another wonderful vegetable side dish. We simply fried shallots in bacon grease with chopped bacon then once the bacon is cooked, toss in green beans. Cook for about 5 minutes tossing regularly.
We added some sliced almonds as a nice garnish at the end. Be sure to serve warm…
We used this cute Target bowl to make a build your own caprese salad dish. We used fresh summer basil and tomatoes, sliced mozzarella and served it with flaky sea salt and olive oil. It was one of my favorite things to eat at the dinner!
For our salad, we added some sustenance with the BRIANNAS Apple Cider Vinaigrette marinated chicken. Candied pecans are one of my favorite salad toppers. They add great crunch and just a bit of sweetness along with the sliced apples. 
To make the best one pan roasted butternut squash, we love to cook it with butter or coconut oil, salt and pepper. You can also add a bit of brown sugar if you want it sweeter. 
Fall Tablescape
To set the table for our fall harvest dinner party, we kept things simple and modern with touches of warm fall colors like with these amber bottles filled with dried pampas grass. My husband refinished this table recently and I couldn’t wait to use it for a dinner party. He did such a good job right?!
The stark difference between the wood table and the white cloth table runner and napkins make for an eye catching table. The Hearth and Home by Magnolia clay dishes are my absolute favorite to use as well and they are so modern.
Copper cups also warm the table up and feel like the perfect fall mocktail cup. I also love placing bright green beans in a beautiful wood bowl.
Fall Mocktails
Making the perfect mocktail doesn’t have to be hard. We show you everything about how to make put them together in our mocktail how to guide.
Our Halloween mocktails are a great place to look for fun fall drinks but our crockpot apple cider is also a great option. 
For this dinner, we went with our icy Moscow mule mocktail or non-alcoholic Moscow mule. We used ginger soda and fresh mint muddled for a fantastic drink.
I always love setting up our gold and wood bar cart with drinks and treats. This time we only did one simple marble and wood cake stand of cookies with water and our mocktail.
On the bottom, we decorated it with colorful pumpkins. Just simple and sleek…
Dinner Party Kids Activities
I wanted a simple kids activities for our dinner party. I decided on a little fall book station with cozy blankets and the cutest little tiered book basket. I got some of our fall books out and the kids looked at them a bit.
But the mostly just played with my friend puppies she brought…they are way more fun! Cuddly puppies, fall books, delicious food and good company. What more could you ask for?
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Apple Cider Chicken Marinade Salad
Ingredients
- Marinade
- 4 chicken breasts
- 1 bottle BRIANNAS apple cider vinaigrette
- 1 tbsp tarragon or basil, chopped
- 1 tsp dried onion
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- Salad
- 2 C arugula
- 2 C baby kale
- 2 red apples
- pecorino romano, shaved
- Candied Butter Pecans
- 1 C pecans
- 1/4 C butter
- 1/4 C brown sugar
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine chicken, all but 1/3 C BRIANNAS dressing, dried onion, salt, pepper and tarragon or basil
- Let the chicken marinate for 8 hours and up to overnight
- Meanwhile, melt butter and brown sugar over medium heat
- Add the pecans and toss to coat, continue cooking for 3-4 minutes while tossing
- Pour onto a piece of wax paper and let cool completely
- After your chicken has marinated, heat up your grill and cook chicken breasts over medium heat until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees
- Let the chicken rest 5 minutes while you prepare the salad
- Prepare the salad by tossing arugula and baby kale with 1/3 C reserved BRIANNAS apple cider vinegar dressing then top with candied pecans, sliced apples, shaved pecorino romano and sliced, grilled chicken breast
Olivia says
I found this dressing this week and made this chicken! It was sooo good in the salad. Thanks for a delicious recipe!
Chandice says
Awww thanks so much! Love that it worked well for you also. Even my kids were loving it!