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
Can you use frozen chicken or does it need to be thawed? Can’t wait to try this!!
Thawed chicken so it cooks evenly and doesn’t get too watery. I never cook chicken while it’s still frozen. Am I missing out on huge time saver?
I usually don’t thaw out my chicken breast when I am going to bake them and they always come out moist and perfect every time…If they are somewhat thin breast they will cook in about 30min. unless they are covered in a heavy sauce (then the cooktime needs to be adjusted.
This was disgusting. I didn’t even pour all the Dijon mustard over the chicken and it was still nasty. I read the reviews and thought I must try this! Hmm, wrong. I rinsed the chicken off and shredded it up to add to oir dogs food.
I’m embarrassed for you
I agree with Mel. Very low class comment.
Why do people have to be so rude. Everyone’s tastes are different. If you don’t like a recipe that you’ve tried on pinterest just move on to the next one and keep your mouth shut…..
I second that!
Who raised you?
There’s a better way to voice one’s opinion than being rude. And your’e right — everyone’s taste is different — look how many people LOVED the recipe! I know I sure did!
This troll has gotten exactly what he/she wanted. For people to waste time commenting on their post. Don’t give this person the satisfaction – they probably didn’t even make the chicken. Some people live for stuff like this, they thrive on discord and drama.
Who cares if she didn’t like it! She wasn’t rude, she just expressed her opinion, which all of you have now done, except you all tried to really cut her down — way to be hypocritical! 🙂
You don’t consider it rude to call someone else’s recipe “disgusting,” “nasty,” and say they fed it to the dog? Say “it wasn’t to my taste” – that’s politely voicing an opinion. Say “it was too salty” or “the vinegar was too sharp.” Don’t call it names and imply that it wasn’t fit for human consumption.
I agree, let’s stop treating people so disrespectfully.
The comment was her opinion, and truthfully I want to hear negative and positives otherwise it’s not really good feedback. Could have been said a little bit more kindly..but at least they were insulting a recipe and not a person.
With all due respect, good feedback typically contains some suggestions for improvement or at the very least, constructive criticism. The comment was rude, and I honestly believe this person had full intentions to insult not just the recipe but the author (my opinion.) The word “troll” was used in the context of the internet, essentially a person setting out to shock people and instigate a negative reaction (which is what ultimately happened.) I can only form an opinion on someone by how they represent themselves in a forum such as this, and generally you get back what you put out there. I don’t feel the need to respect someone who isn’t respectful of others – of course that’s my opinion as well. I’ll bow out of further comment, as I seem to have struck a nerve (sincere apologies) Again, thanks for the recipe.
I bet your dogs loved the chicken, and they probably deserved the good food more than you, and have more class than you, so I’m glad the dogs got the chicken!
I bet your dogs loved the chicken, and they probably deserved the good food more than you, and have more class than you, so I’m glad the dogs got the chicken!
The mean girl…enough said….
I did not like this dish at all either. It looked SO good in the pic, but was very disapointed with the outcome.
Your comment is rude, and you obviously have no taste or class.
I made this chicken tonight. I had just a touch of Dijon mustard left, so I used a combination of honey mustard & course ground mustard with it to make 1/2 cup. I bought chicken thighs with the bones in, and after removing the bones, my thighs looked a little flat (HA!) Anyway, I made the mistake of using a 9 x 13 pan, and the majority of my sauce disappeared while baking. Next time I will use an 8 x 8 baking dish. I added a little parmesan cheese & broiled the chicken for a few minutes prior to removing from the oven. Fantastic flavor, my fiancé loved it. Thank you for the recipe.
The maple syrup: do you use real maple syrup, or just anything (Aunt Jemima, etc)?
Real maple syrup
Aunt Jemima is Not Real Maple Syrup.
This recipe was very tasty and quick fix.
She is aware it is not real maple syrup. That is why she said DO you use REAL syrup OR just anything which is what jemima is.
Pingback: Menu plan for the week | Big Fat F: Flying Through Life with Faith
Made this tonight because my husband likes Dijon mustard. All I had were three chicken breasts so I used those. I cooked for the 40 minutes (checking after 20, when I basted). It ended up having an internal temp much higher than the 165, but thankfully it was still fairly moist. My husband and boys loved the chicken, although the boys did scrape the sauce off. I personally loved the chicken but not the sauce, which I had scraped out and poured all over the chicken and rice I had made. My husband loved it all though. Thanks for the recipe!
Made this for dinner this evening. Only had coarse dijon mustard, but had everything else needed. Could not pick up any sweetness from the maple syrup so maybe pure maple syrup should be used instead of ie., Aunt Jemima’s as someone else asked. Very strong mustard flavor. Also, I believe the temperature suggested is an error. It says 450* but I believe it should be 350* as the suggested temp is not usually used for cooking meats. I did it at 350 for the 40 minutes and they were perfectly moist.
Delicious! I followed your recipe exactly and my family loved it. Thanks!
Pingback: Man-Pleasing Chicken, This will be your new favorite!! | Efi Tade Blog
Loved this! I have a houseful of men (two teenagers, one grade-schooler and a husband) and we all loved it! They boys are pretty picky, and they ate it all up!
Making this tonight! I’m making the sauce in a separate sauce pan while I pan-sear some pork chops. Hopefully it comes out tasty!
Pingback: Maple Mustard “Man-Pleasing” Chicken & Hasselback Potatoes | Selfish Cooking
smart recipe:)
Pingback: Menu « Seasoned with Life
Always looking for good chicken recipes…so I’m gonna try this one this weekend! Can’t wait!
I have to agree with a statement above, I saw on Pinterest and thought I would make it. I really did not enjoy it at all, I commented that on my board. I agree that the dog food comment was not polite, but people should post that they changed the recipe or did not like it. I find it more helpful when people respond good or bad to a recipe, I can still decide whether or not to make it.
I agree that it helpful to have the good and the bad. Everyone’s taste are different so what one person might like, someone else might not. While you did not like the recipe, you commented in a helpful manner without attacking anyone personally.
I made this last night and it was delicious. I had breasts to use as well. I did not want to buy rice vinegar do I used the Raspberry Vinaigrette salad dressing I had. I doubled the sauce so I would have enough ‘gravy’ to go over rice! We have to be gluten & dairy free so this was perfect. I lowered the temp also to 375* and covered it. Excellent!! (ps: my 2 cents: if you aren’t fond of Dijon mustard DON’T make this dish!!):
Try this same recipe except use chicken wings – they are great too. You can fix 15+ wings with this same recipe. Charlotte Bennett
I LIKE that idea!
Made it tonight. Cooked at 350 for 30 min. It was pretty good, nice and tender. I used a sugar free maple syrup. It has a nice smell and does have a mustardy flavor, I am a mustard fan, so I liked it. Found this recipe on Pinterest, thanks!
I tried this recipe tonight and thought it was delicious! My whole family (husband teen daughter and 4yr old twins) loved it. I did have one problem with the sauce, it was really runny when i checked on it after 20 min. So, I whipped up a little more sauce and poured it over the chicken for the last 5-10 min. I will definately make this again!
The sauce will seem runny after 20 minutes, but it will thicken on its own by the end.
I dip each piece of the chicken into the sauce, roll it in crushed fried onions (French’s) and then bake at 350 for 35 minutes – wonderful. I’ve experimented with various flavored mustards – sometimes blending multiple kinds and have enjoyed chicken prepared this way except for YELLOW mustard (ew). Looking forward to trying maple syrup in my formulas! Thanks for the great idea!
Made this last night. Freakin scrumptious! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I just made this recipe. I read all the comments about it being strong on mustard so I put equal amounts Dijon and maple syrop. I also lowered the temp to 400 degrees. I didn’t color on the chicken so I broiled it on hi for a couple of minutes. It came out great! Love it. My hubby too!
Made this tonight. Followed the recipe to a T. I love it. Husband not so much. My daughter told me about it. Her family loved it.
Can this be crock-potted? Can’t wait to try this. Will adjust to suit our tastes — should be interesting since hubby and I love mustard and our teens don’t (not quite as much, anyway).
Made this last night and it was great ! I used the same temp as the recipe and the chicken came out perfect. Great flavor and the fresh rosemary really was the perfect touch ! I usually hate dried rosemary but the fresh stuff is so mush better ! I used pure maple syrup and 4 chicken thighs. I’ll definitely make this again. Thanks for the recipe ! : )
Cooked this tonight for the family. It was amazing! IT was so good , it seems impossible for anyone to be negative about this recipe. I am in love and not sure about eating chicken cooked another way for a while!!! Thank you !!I give it A++++
I agree!
Made this tonight for dinner using chicken breasts and salmon. Wonderful! The only change I made was using suger free syrup, to make this dish weight watcher friendly. Only 5 points!! This is a keeper for me. Thank you for sharing.
Psycotically (I made this word up) Good. I sadly hid in kitchen and scraped the bottom of the pan I cooked the chicken in. I used only Chicken Breast so just a little less cooking time and I served over Rice. Daughter is asking for more but sorry it’s all gone.:) Thank you for the recipe
Love that.
This was delicious! My husband is hard to please but he loved it. I used white cooking wine instead of rice vinegar. Mmm so good. It would also probably be good in the crockpot. We will definitely make this again.
Pingback: » Cooking with Pinterest: Man Pleasin’ Chicken Thighs - TSB
Made this tonight, and BOOYAH! It was out of this world! Have to ask your opinion on something. What would you say to about a 1/4 cup of peanut butter added into the mix? Would thicken the sauce a bit and add a hit of nutty goodness.
I think that might be good – with a bit of curry it maybe would give it a bit of a Thai twist.
Mmmm … yep, I like the way this is shaping up.
That flavor combination is not for me, but you know your tastes better than I do!
Its in the oven 🙂 I added some white cooking wine also – so we will see very soon………
Wow that was reeeeeally good!! I did add some white wine – that was an amazing chicken dinner and the fresh rosemary brought out all of the yumminess. I thought this recipe would have a strong mustard taste but it didn’t. All of the ingredients created its very own amazing flavor.
Thank you! This will be written in my recipe book 🙂
Pingback: Winner Winner Chicken Dinner | Elleinad Spir
Made this chicken dish last night my husband loves it .. It going to be one of
my favorite dishes to make .
Pingback: Freezer Meals 101 – My First Attempt at Freezer Meals + Recipes!
This was okay. It tasted like basic baked chicken.
NOT!
I made this last night and it was amazing…after a few tweaks.
-I added about 1/4 cup honey in addition to the maple syrup. I wanted to cut some of the mustard flavor without overpowering the dish with maple flavor.
-I didn’t have fresh rosemary so I ground up the dried rosemary I had on hand and added that to the marinade.
-I cooked my thighs on the grill. They took about 15mins and were charred to perfection, moist and delicious. We basted the thighs with the remaining marinade.
We will definitely be making this again.
This recipe has been a family favorite for a while now. I typically use boneless chicken breasts and it is great! Tonight I tried it with boneless pork chops and it was a hit once again! Thanks so much!!
Made this for the family tonight and it came out perfectly and was very tasty. Husband and 3 year old ate it up. FWIW my chicken thighs hadn’t completely thawed when I popped them in the oven and I cooked for 50 mins instead of 40 to make up for that and they came out just fine.
Pingback: Man-Pleasing Chicken : I Love To Cook
I made this tonight with chicken breast tenderloins and agave nectar instead of maple syrup just because it was what’s had on hand. I actually forgot to add the rosemary but holy moly it was delish! Can’t wait for lunch tomorrow to have the leftovers:)
I made this for dinner tonight and it was fabulous:)
made this last night and it was amazing. i added a bit more maple syrup.
This chicken was not the best but ok. I ate it, but wouldn’t make it again. My husband said it just tasted like chicken. Maybe if you pokes the chicken with a fork a few times and marinated for a while it would have more flavor?!
I made this tonight and it was delicious!! I made it just like the recipe. We all loved it!!
Pingback: Man-Pleasing Chicken (Woman-Pleasing, too!) « Seasoned with Life
Pingback: Sister Wives [and "man pleasing chicken"] |
I have made this recipe like a million times. People actually ask me to bring it to parties and then they argue over who gets to take home the leftovers… You might say this recipe has made me famous. (Just kidding) THIS is one great and easy recipe, LOVED by everyone I have served it to. I would ignore any comments to the contrary, they have a) obviously never tried it, or b) don’t know good food when it bites them in the well, tastebuds. Thank you a million times for this priceless recipe!