Berbere Brown Sugar Chicken

By Kiano Moju

Updated July 2, 2025

Berbere Brown Sugar Chicken
Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Brett Regot.
Total Time
45 minutes
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
35 minutes
Rating
5(636)
Comments
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These smoky, slightly sweet chicken thighs are braised with orange juice, a touch of brown sugar and berbere spice, that warm, smoky and spicy blend that’s essential to Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisines. Simmered with savory onions and garlic, the chicken develops a rich, saucy base that’s packed with big flavor. The brown sugar mellows the heat of the berbere, creating a deliciously bold, barbecue-like sauce. To save some time in the kitchen, feel free to chop your onions and garlic while the chicken is searing. Enjoy this chicken recipe with roasted carrots and rice, polenta or grits, or shred and use as a filling for tacos.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 1½pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • Kosher salt and black pepper
  • 2tablespoons olive oil or ghee
  • 1large red onion, finely chopped
  • 4garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 2tablespoons berbere spice (see Tip)
  • ½teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1cup chicken broth
  • 1large orange, juiced (about ⅓ cup)
  • 1tablespoon brown sugar
  • Cooked rice (optional), for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Season both sides of the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Set aside.

  2. Step 2

    Heat a large skillet over medium-high. Once hot, add the olive oil and place the chicken in the skillet in a single layer. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until golden brown on the bottom. Turn the chicken and cook for another 3 minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate and set aside.

  3. Step 3

    Lower the heat to medium. Add the onion and garlic to the same skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add berbere spice and oregano, and lightly season with salt. Stir until spices are fragrant, making sure they don't burn.

  4. Step 4

    Add the chicken broth, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Then add the orange juice and brown sugar, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Adjust the salt to taste, then return the chicken and its juices to the pan, nestling it into the sauce.

  5. Step 5

    Simmer for another 15 minutes, turning the chicken occasionally, until the chicken is tender and cooked through and the sauce has reduced by half. Serve over rice if desired.

Tip
  • Berbere is a savory, smoky spice blend commonly used in Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine. It can be made up of nearly a dozen spices, including chile peppers, garlic, ginger, fenugreek and a variety of regional dried herbs and spices. It’s best to buy it from Ethiopian or Eritrean markets or spice merchants directly from their websites, but it is also available in many grocery stores.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
636 user ratings
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Comments

Tazio

Trying this for dinner. Couple of notes I’d like to add. I had an old of Penzeys Berbere seasoning. It’s literally a couple years old, and you know how spices fade. So I’m like, I’ll use it all. Which is literally not even much more than it calls for in the recipe. PRO TIP. DO NOT DECIDE TO SMELL IF ITS STILL OKAY, AND HOOVE THAT UP YOU NOSE, THEN COUGH AND SPRAY IT UP INTO YOUR EYEBALLS. NOT RECOMMENDED . It is still. FINE. potent. Recipe is so good. Make that rice. I needed it.

NYCShopper419

@Sharon Bakes There are several Berbere spice blends listed with a simple internet search. Penzeys makes an excellent one, formerly called Berbere, now renamed Ethiopian-style Pepper Blend. It’s one of my go-too spice blends for everyday use.

Drgonzo777

I just prepared this and it was excellent. Five stars. BTW, I rarely give this rating. Comments.1. It is spicy. 2. The instructions were unclear. Simmer covered or uncovered. I simmered the meat covered which was the correct decision. 3. I purchased the berbere spice at Whole Foods. I have never cooked with this spice before, but I was pleased. Enjoy

Delicious, but too darned hot

I made this for the first time yesterday. Very easy recipe, with very good flavors, but 2 T of berbere was way too hot. Next time I’ll use 1 T. I was able to cool it down a bit by adding 1 cup of plain Greek yogurt to the sauce. I served it with brown rice, more yogurt, and a simple green salad.

Jeff

@Drgonzo777 The recipe indicates that the sauce is intended to reduce by half during the simmer, which in my mind strongly implies uncovered. I think it depends on the heat level you're cooking at and how much venting the pan you're cooking in does when covered, but idk that fifteen minutes of simmering is enough to reduce that quantity of liquid by half while covered in my kitchen/cookware.

Deanna

I dropped the berbere from 2 tablespoons to 1 teaspoon and increased the chicken thighs to 2 pounds. Followed the rest of the recipe exactly and everyone raved and asked this to be on the regular rotation for our Saturday night dinners. Served this with Sean Brock's No Peek Rice (scaled 2 1/2) and Bon Appetit's Shockingly Easy No-Knead Focaccia. A double recipe (4 pounds of chicken) served 6 for dinner with leftovers.

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