I have never gotten so many compliments before, let alone for a piece of chicken. David suggested calling this chicken, “So Good it Can’t Be Described, Explosion on Your Taste Buds Chicken.” Exactly. I have never encountered a dish that is so basic and simple to put together yet creates such a big pay off. This chicken, quite simply, is one of the most savory things I’ve ever eaten. If you are the busiest person on the planet and don’t have much cooking experience, but you have to prepare a meal to woo the love of your life, cook this chicken!
To make this chicken, which you should absolutely do immediately, preheat your oven to 450º F. Then, mix together 1/2 cup of dijon mustard, 1/4 cup of maple syrup, and 1 tablespoon of rice/rice wine vinegar.
Put 1.5 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs into a foil-lined or disposable oven-proof, 8×8 inch baking dish. Six thighs came in my package, which made enough to serve 3 people. Then, salt and pepper the thighs. Pour your maple mustard mixture over them, turning the thighs in the mixture so they are fully coated.
Put the chicken thighs into the oven, and let them bake for 40 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 165ºF. Baste the tops of the chicken with the sauce half way through. I find that a meat thermometer is essential in cooking because it allows me to check for doneness without cutting into the meat and losing its precious juices. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before serving. Plate the chicken, whisk the sauce that remains in the baking dish, and then spoon the extra sauce over the top. Sprinkle over some fresh rosemary. If there is ever a time to use fresh herbs, THIS IS IT! The flavors are just so good together. Enjoy the savory goodness of this meal!
I adapted this recipe from “The I <3 Trader Joe’s Cookbook” by Cherie Mercer Twohy. Thanks, Jenna!
Shopping list:
- Chicken thighs- 1 package
- Dijon mustard- 1/2 cup
- Maple syrup- 1/4 cup
- Rice/rice wine vinegar- 1 tablespoon
- Fresh rosemary
- Salt and pepper
Has anyone made this in a crockpot? I would love to freeze and cook. I am freezing crock pot meals for my 91 year old mother and I think that this would be wonderful because of the flavor. Help please. Sounds so yummy
I see no reason why you couldn’t use this recipe as a crock-pot freezer meal. I plan to do this and I also plan to use boneless chicken breasts instead of thighs.
I don’t think you would get the nice browning effect though
i do it in the crockpot and it is one of our very favorites! amazing flavor and so tender. i just defrost the bag over night then pop it in the crockpot for 5 hours or so.
Did you do anything different aside from using the crockpot?
I tested this in the slow cooker for my Shrinking On A Budget Meal Plans. Was not a success. Cooking it in the oven allows both the browning effect and encourages natural evaporation of juices so the sauce is thickened and concentrated. The slow cooker version was soupy. I had to put the sauce in a saucepan and reduce down. And the chicken was obviously not browned.
Hope that helps!
Just take the lid off of the crockpot & turn it up to high for the last half hour of cooking, the sauce will thicken up quite a bit 🙂
I just made this and you were not kidding! This is soooo delicious I can’t eat enough of it.Thanks!
When I read through the recipe, I thought “nope, just another chicken recipe, don’t think I’ll bother”… then I read through ALL the comments and it seemed like 85% of the people who tried it, REALLY liked it, which is interesting because the other 15% REALLY hated it! So, I’m game — I’ll thaw my chicken in the fridge tonight and give it a shot tomorrow! Will definitely try to balance the flavors a bit as comments suggested…
This is really good! Both my husband and I said it was a keeper! I used apple cider vinegar and regular yellow mustard.
Do you think it would be ok to use molasses instead of maple syrup?
I do not. The molasses in my pantry is very different from maple syrup.
I made this two weeks ago. My son (extremely picky) as well as my boyfriend (a discriminating eater, but not picky, per se) said it was awesome. I’m making it again tonight. It’s great how the sharpness of the mustard is softened by the syrup. My son hates mustard. I didn’t tell him there was mustard in the sauce until after he said he liked it. Thanks for sharing!!!
I just made this tonight with the thighs. I took one reviewers advice and topped it with brown sugar at the end and put it under the broiler for a few minutes. I thought about using some honey at the end instead of the brown sugar, but I didn’t have any. My daughter’s picky friend even liked it along with my picky husband!
I fixed it tonight with chicken breasts and will be fixing it again! From where I read the recipe in one room to where I prepared it in the kitchen, my head messed up the measurements and I used 1/4 c dijon and 1/2 c syrup! It still turned out great! I baked it at 450 for 15 minutes, down to 375 for 30, then 450 again for the last 15 so it’d brown up — turned out moist inside with a nice brown bubbly top. Adding it to my recipe book….
Did you make it with boneless chicken breasts?
Yes, I did. I used 6 of them which was a lot of chicken, so I had leftovers. (I buy the chicken breasts in bulk then freeze them, 2 in a pkg. I’d figured 3 pkgs would work — there was plenty of sauce to go around!)
Did you use skinless chicken breasts?
Thanks so much.
Yes I did… the flavor of the sauce soaked in and it was carmelized on top…
Thanks for the quick response Teena – will definitely try this now.
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I can’t wait to make this and since I don’t like rosemary, I am going to use cilantro!!
Thanks and happy new year!!
After I fixed it the other day (and posted about it earlier), I had leftovers. So, I took the brown rice and succotash I’d fixed with it, cubed up the chicken and added it all to some onions I’d sauteed in butter in a pan. I couldn’t decide if I liked it better the first day or as leftovers!!
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Yummy delish! Really good and easy to prep. Next time I’ll make extra sauce and thicken with corn starch to top the dish prior to serving. Also thinking about candied pecans (or plain) to top off with… what do you think?
Candied pecans on top sound awesome! How did it turn out?
Hard to improve a good recipe but the candied pecans were a great addition…
I am having a small dinner party for 6, this Thursday night. I wanted to make this for my BUNCO dinner in October and (no pun intended) chickened out. This time I am going to do it. I will let you know how it turnes out. Thanks for all the “replies” I have confidence…..
Finally someone that knows how to spell Bunco, haha!
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TASTY, thank you! I found you via Pinterest. Adapted for items I had in the pantry, swapping butterflied breasts for thighs and Amber Agave for Maple syrup. Adding to my monthly menu rotation.
To the people that have made this…. Is the sauce really sweet? My husband doesn’t like sweetness to his meat. The pictures look really good, but I would hate to make this and no one eat it. Thank you!
I didn’t think it was all that sweet — the syrup balances out the mustardy taste, and to me, maple syrup isn’t all that sweet to start with anyway… I think honey would make it sweeter and possible agave would make it less sweet than syrup. Make the sauce with less syrup to start with, taste it, then adjust if needed — that’d be my suggestion. Good luck!
Made tonight. Did not think it was sweet at all. Strong mustard flavor.
Amazing recipe! Very simple.
I used 1/2 cup Dijon and 1/4 cup honey& 1/4 cup syrup
For a kick sprinkle in a dash of curry powder.
This recipe is definitely worth a try. SOO simple and delicious
This was ok… Not “man pleasing best chicken ever” status and I followed the recipe accurately plus I love mustard but this wasn’t that great. Sorry
Would it be possible to make this using boneless skinless chicken breasts? I’m not a huge thigh fan, but would love to try this recipe.
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I made this for Christmas eve dinner party at my house, and man it was a hit!
Made this with boneless chicken breasts the other night and it was a hit! I had everything on hand already so that was nice. Even my extremely picky 4 year old loved it. I have four men in the house and they were all pleased, so it lives up to the name, haha 🙂
I am making this tonight. The thighs aren’t boneless or skinless. I’m wondering if anyone has used them this way.. Or should I remove the skin. Thoughts?
I would definitely remove the skin — that way you can get the full effect of the sauce once it carmelizes from the heat….
Great thanks! I’ll take the skin off, can’t wait to try it.
I love dark meat and am always looking for yummy ways to make it, I did change the recipe because I eat low carb and used Just Like Brown Sugar. It was still very yummy but I can see how maple syrup would make this this awesome. Maybe next time I’ll use some maple extract, Thanks so much!
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This recipe sounds like it would be right up my husbands alley. I’m going to try it this weekend. I’m not a fan of dark meat; how was it with Chicken breast? Any recommendations for side dishes to accompany this dish?
I used chicken breast as well, marinated it all day then cooked it, it was outstanding! I made scalloped potatoes & peas as the side, it all went very well together 🙂 ENJOY!
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I cannot wait to make this!!!! What do you think about adding Bacon on top???
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What a disaster. I followed the recipe exactly. It smelled like it was burning the whole time it was in the oven. The finished product looked like gelatanous baby poop on top of chicken. Don’t get me wrong, it tasted ok after I scraped it off the chicken, but no one else was brave enough to try it. Sorry, I really wanted to like it because the pic looked so good. The only way it was man pleasing, was his request I get rid of it!!! My sister also tried it and got the same results.
I made this with 3 small drumsticks, and did half of the sauce recipe which wasn’t enough to cover the chicken. About 20 minutes into the baking, the sauce burned on the bottom of the pan so I took out the burned stuff then added water and it worked out but there wasn’t enough sauce to begin with. I’ll try following the recipe exactly to maybe make it more like the picture above. It was good, but I forgot to take off the skin which I don’t eat, so the flavor was mostly on the skin. It was good though- wouldn’t say the most amazing, but it will be made again with some alterations next time.
If you halve the recipe’s proportions, try also using a smaller baking dish. If most of the sauce is covered by chicken, it might not dry out as quickly.
Yucky. Will NOT make again. Chicken came out juicy but was not flavorful…it was flavor dull. If this is the is what would get you a compliment then I’d hate to taste your normal cooking!
How disrespectful your comment is! There were so many successes with that recipe that it could be that you didn’t follow it to the letter or perhaps you had problems understanding it. There’s no need for you to degrade the author’s cooking abilities based on one failure on your part! So many of us have enjoyed the results of this recipe and even made our own adaptations.
Yeh…I have to agree. There is no need to insult someone just because you didn’t like the recipe. Love it or hate it…but don’t attack people.
Try it with Walden Farms Pancake Syrup – its 0 cal., 0 carbs., 0 sugar but so yummy
That’s what I was wondering. Could I use sugar free syrup?
I made this tonight with sugar free syrup and it turned out watery. My guess is the lack of sugar doesn’t allow for caramelization on the chicken, so I didn’t get the browning effect either. I realized this about halfway through, but I only ever have sugar free syrup. Still tasty, but no the same result!
sugar free syrup has so many cancer causing crap in it you are much better off using maple syrup which is natural and delicious and healthy. unless you eat veggies and meat plain, you are most likely consuming very dangerous chemicals that are used to make something taste sweet without sugar.
I was wondering if I could use pancake syrup & plain mustard? Also, what about rice vinegar I don’t want to buy this expensive & use it on 1 item? Is there an alternative to the rice vinegar. I can’t wait to make this.
I have now made this recipe a total of five times. Each time it comes out just as yummy as the first time. I followed it exactly except for a tablespoon of stone ground mustard that I added because the first time I made it I didn’t have enough dijon mustard for the recipe. I just keep on making it this way. The ratio of mustard to maple syrup is just fine with my family and the chicken thighs are the key to moist and juicy meat.
I really don’t know why some folks have poor results when they try this. Personal taste may be the reason some want to pass on making this again. That’s to be expected. Not everyone likes the same thing. But this recipe consistently turned out as promised each time I have made it. Thick and yummy sauce and perfectly cooked, tender and browned chicken. It is also sooooo easy to make and very cost effective escpecially because of the chicken thighs.
This is one of my family’s favorite meals now. Not one person has given it a thumbs down and everyone has at least two helpings when I make it.
Thanks again for this great recipe!
Thanks for the feedback! I have the same results 🙂
Made this tonight and topped it with carmelized onions on rice with a side of green beans. Absolutely delicious!
I add cheese and bacon, and take out the rosemary, baking for an extra 5-8 minutes. Reminds me of outback’s Alice springs chicken. Yummy!!
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Really surprised no one else mentioned th vinegar..it says Rice/rice vinegar in every spot its mentioned. Im not too familiar with vinegars. Does he mean Red or rice vinegar? I could find Red OR rice..not Red rice.. confused. Want to try so bad..bought everything but that..thanks!
You can actually use most any vinegar, but rice vinegar (check the Asian section if it’s not with the other vinegars in the store) is a bit milder, at least it is to me, and worked great.
I discovered this recipe in November and now make it up to once a week sometimes! Adding a dash of Sriracha makes it a little spicy which is heaven with the sweetness of the maple. I just used apple cider vinegar the first time I made it because it was all I had around. Didn’t seem to impact the flavor, so I just use that now.
Sriracha is a great idea!
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LOVE this recipe!!! Been trying new chicken recipes lately and this has been the family & my FAVORITE!!! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
This recipe is FABULOUS!!!! I marinated the chicken in the sauce all day, then when I was ready to cook dinner, I put it in the oven & every bite was AMAZING!!! My family loved it!!…. A little spicy for my 3 year old (will use regular mustard next time for him). Thanks so much for sharing, this will be an often cooked meal 🙂
Just made this chicken recipe, and it’s one of the worst things I’ve ever eaten. It was neither a man-pleaser nor a woman-pleaser as both my husband and I hated it! Yuck! Yuck! Yuck!
At least the potato idea was good. Thanks for that one!
Loved the flavor, but don’t use sugar-free syrup! I should’ve known better, but didn’t think of this until it was already in the oven. The sugar caramelizes on the chicken, giving it the beautiful brown color. Without sugar, it turned out watery, but I did still love the flavor. Now that I think about it, I should’ve just added a tbsp or so of sugar when I realized my error. Will definitely try again!
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This looks incredible, but I am probably the only person in the world that absolutely hates maple syrup (anything maple). I will try it with Corn syrup.
I use honey when I make this and it always comes out fantastic!
Thanks will try it with honey.
I have probably made this recipe a dozen times by now, I’ve used thighs, breast, and 2 days ago I used it on pork tenderloin, IT IS DELICIOUS EVERY TIME!!! My husband and my son both really love this recipe. When I do it with chicken I serve with basmati rice and a green, with the tenderloin I served mashed potatoes, I also use honey instead of syrup everytime I make this. SOOOO GOOD!!
Pork tenderloin – what a wonderful idea! I’m going to try it with that, first, since I have a lot of chicken recipes in the rotation already. I think I’ll add tarragon instead of rosemary.
I made this last night and then stuck it in the fridge. I microwaved it tonight to heat it up and it was wonderful! I bet it would have been even better the first night, but it was our “make ahead” meal. Thanks so much for this recipe!
(My 5-year-old even ate it without any complaints!)
I was very concerned about the high temp of 450 degrees.. Yikes, that is high so I kept an eye on it. I used thighs with skin and after reading the reviews understand why you should use skinless because my skin was not cripsy at all.. But boy, did that cook quick at the high temp.. I thought it was very good and also sprinkled a little brown sugar on top then broiled.. It’s a good base that I think would be delicious with a pork tenderloin as well !!! Thanks for a great recipe..