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
Found this recipe on Pinterest. It was FABULOUS!!!!! My husband loved it! We will have this chicken very often. Thanks for the recipe!
I just finished this for dinner. it was fantastic! my picky kid LOVED it and said it was her favorite chicken, can I make it every day. The husband enjoyed it as well…it is not easy to get him excited about chicken but this did it! THANKS!
Do you think adding garlic would be a god addition?
I don’t think it’s necessary, but garlic never hurts!
I added crushed garlic and crushed red pepper for a little heat. It was AMAZING!!! I’ll be keeping this recipe close by for future meals! : ) Thanks so much for sharing!
SIDENOTE: I can’t believe people feel the need to go out of their way to say negative things about this dish… or about anything at all for that matter. Everyone is certainly entitled to their opinion, but there’s no need to insult Witty because you didn’t like the recipe.
My husband will eat anything, but it takes something special for him to say that something tastes good. I put this in front of him tonight and he said “Oh my God”…I thought he had just read something on his phone since he rarely responds to food that way unless we’re in an expensive steak house, and when I aske him he said, “no, this chicken is really good.” I almost fell over. Kid friendly too. As I’m sitting here typing this, I’m thinking about heading to the fridge to warm up some of the left-overs 🙂 Thanks for a great addition to our regular meal cycle!
I used chicken breasts, as my store was out of boneless, skinless thighs, and it was wonderful. I cut them in half first so that the sauce would touch more of the chicken. I served it with a side of my hubby’s favorite garlic, parmesan broccoli and a baked potato. YUM!!
Yayy! This makes me smile.
This looks delish! I found it yesterday through Pinterest. We are unexpectedly having dinner guests tonight and I am going to make your chicken!
Can this dish be frozen? Trying to fill my freezer with “homemade” premade meals and would love to add this one!!
You could probably freeze it all in a freezer bag, just like marinating it, and then dump it all out & cook it later.
Thank you to all who have helped this tech dork! : )
I found this recipe on pinterest and decided to make it that same night. It was so delicious that there were no leftovers, a rarity in this house. My husband even was caught scraping the sauce out of the pan with his fingers!
I need help fast!!! Just bought all the groceries for this meal and when I got home I re,read recipe and saw I was supposed to buy boneless skinless thighs and I bought bone in with skin on… Can I use these…what adjustments do I need to make? Help!!!!
You can cook the thighs the same way. I made this recipe with chicken legs the other night, and it came out just fine.
My question is a continuation on Anon March 8 3:36…I too am using bone in chicken (whole chicken cut-up as my daughter and I like white meat & hubby and son like dark). Just realized my meat thermometer is missing and I know it takes longer with bones. How long should I cook it for? Thanks so much for your help & for posting this incredible sounding recipe.
I just made it with skin on, bone-in thighs exactly as the recipe instructed (450 for 45 minutes) and it turned out perfect. I basted every 10 to 15 minutes.
The grocery store was out of organic thighs, so I used drumsticks. Wish I had taken the skins off, but this was still delicious! It only took 25 minutes to bring them up to temperature (I took them out of the fridge about 30 minutes prior to bring them to room temperature). I served them over long grain rice and veggies, and topped with chopped fresh cilantro and green onion. This is just too easy! As I was making this, I was silently planning my backup in case this recipe sucked….not necessary! Thanks for sharing!
I actually made this a little sweeter by adding a touch of natural honey as well since my husband likes things sweet. It became a delicious honey mustard unlike any I’ve ever had.
This was really good! I used boneless skinless breasts and there wasn’t much sauce left to baste with so next time I think I’ll make a bit more sauce.
Also, lining the pan with foil is a good idea since this burns like crazy on the pan. I hope I didn’t just ruin my pan.
wish I would have read this before I cooked mine 🙁
This was phenominal.! I made it with breast and had to use regular vinegar. I will say to those of us not willing to spend $8 for maple syrup- melt 1C sugar in 1/2 C boiling water, take off heat and mix in 1/4 t maple extract. There you have it, basic maple syrup 🙂
Thank you for the maple syrup tip! Now I don’t have to run to the store 🙂
Absolutely beautiful!!! I was worried that my partner wouldn’t like it because of the mustard, but he loved it (as did our friend)… the glaze finish is perfect, thanks for the recipe 🙂
I don’t really care for maple taste & smell. Is there a definite maple taste to the chicken after it is baked?
I’m fixing this tonight with pork chops, my brother doesn’t like chicken. I didn’t like the maple taste, it kind of dominated the taste of it when I tested it to see what it tasted like. I added just a little more mustard to it. tasted better to me. but i didn’t have enough dijon, short by a 1/4 cup so I used honey mustard. I knew I should of picked up a new jar of it. but it tasted pretty good actually so we’ll see. Next time have to make sure I have a new jar first.
I’m so making this for dinner tonight. Looks phenomenal!
This looks great. One word of caution-do not use the glass pyrex dish. I had one explode and thankfully I was not injured. I think they are save up to 375 degrees but I would not go any higher. I am not trying to be a know it all but would hate for it to happen to anyone else.:)
I checked the Pyrex website and other answers to “what’s the maximum temperature tolerance of Pyrex” and it looks like as long as you don’t apply any sudden changes in temperature it should be good for up to 500 degrees Farenheit (or whatever the range is for domestic ovens). 🙂 Sudden temperature changes can be caused by adding liquid to the dish that isn’t at the same temperature as the oven/food/Pyrex… so if you added in broth or water or anything like that, that might have been why. Pyrex also says to coat the bottom of the baking dish in liquid before adding any meat to avoid Pyrex malfunctions. Hope this helped!
Do you think Spicy Brown Mustard and Apple Cider Vinegar would work? Cant wait to try!
I am making it now with Rice Pilaf and Roasted Cauliflower w/bacon and garlic (recipe is on my page). Cant wait to get it out of the oven and dig in!!
I made this last night after finding it on Pinterest and had high hopes due to all the great reviews. I used a good quality dijon, real maple syrup and the rice wine vinegar. It smelled amazing while it was cooking. Too bad it didnt taste amazing. Yuck. It was like eating chewy, grainy chunks of dijon mustard. My husband is the only one that finished his, but he asked me not to make it anymore. My kids wouldnt touch theirs. It has potential, maybe half the amount of mustard and the flavor would be more balanced. Oh well, at least it made my house smell great.
Sounds like you didn’t whisk or mix it well. Hmmm
I must have done something wrong, this was not edible. I’m not an experienced cook but I’ve never cooked chicken (I did breasts) at 450 degrees before. My chicken reached 165 at 17 minutes and the mustard syrup mixture was “weird” The taste was really tangy. Anyway…it didn’t work for me. The picture makes it look delicious though!
Made this tonight, I was excited as the mixture was too simple and easy to prep! I should have trusted my insticts and cooked the chicken half the time as I cooked at 30 minutes and the chicken was dry and stringy. I will use this ‘sauce’ again but on the grill.
This looks like an excellent simple meal will you put it on my Foodie Friday Linky?
http://simplelivingdianebalch.blogspot.com/2012/03/foodie-friday-linky-stuffed-artichokes.html
I made this tonight and it was DELICIOUS! I was hoping for leftovers so I would be able to have some for lunch tomorrow but my family ate it all up! I will have to double next time if I want leftovers! I will be making this again for sure…thanks for the recipe!
Pingback: Main Dish | Pearltrees
I went to get rice vinegar and there is seasoned rice vinegar and plain rice vinegar, which one did you use?
I used plain. Was wonderful.
I use the red pepper one because that’s what I have in the house. Delish!!
I made in the crockpot…Delicious! Made as directed and cooked on High for 4 hours. We loved it. I read some of the other comments…anyone who had a grainy texture – it might have been due to crystals in the maple syrup.
Forgot to mention…I doubled the sauce just to be sure. When I use the crockpot I try to be extra sure there is enough liquid. Also I sprayed the crockpot generously before adding ingredients since I was out of liners.
Thanks for that thought… as I read through the comments, most are raving, but then there are those that are grainy, and I was wondering what was causing the funk! I also wonder if those that don’t like it are using pancake syrup or other substitutions.
Do you bake this covered or uncovered?
Uncovered.
Thanks! It’s about to go in the oven!
Pingback: Man-Pleasing Chicken - - Network Panda – cPanel Web hosting, PHP, MySQL, unlimited disk space and bandwidth
I fixed this with pork chops last night. used 1/2 dijon (I didn’t have enough) and 1/2 honey mustard, reg pancake syrup and red wine vinagar and it was fantastic. fixed those potatoes to, boil till fork done then mashed them down, drizzled butter, cause don’t like things soaked in olive oil, and salted and parmajion cheese. found some in a jar like fresh grated and sprinkled on top of the potatoes. oh my gosh was it all good. I fixed 6 pork chops and really didn’t have like enough gravy on them, but enough to coat them good. Next time I’ll double the sauce receipe.
I made these tonight. Mine weren’t as pretty as the ones pictured but they were very tasty! Hubby, who is very leery of new foods, even liked them! He did say he thinks they would be better with chicken breast. But all in all, great recipe!
For the rice wine vinegar, do you use seasoned or unseasoned?
I buy Nature’s Hallow SF Maple Syrup, it is a bit more runny than real syrup but it does not have the bad sugar substitutes in them. It has a natural sugar substitute called Xylitol. It is pricey but a little goes a long way. I am wondering how to deal with this. I might try this tonight, but definately on the menu this week for sure.
Do you think red wine vinegar would change the taste? Its what I have in my pantry.
I made this tonight and it was delicious! Thanks for the recipe. My husband and kids LOVED it!
Okay, I used diet Mrs. Butterworth’s syrup. it did come out a little grainy and a lot of grease from the chicken thighs, but it tasted pretty good! Not to strong of a flavor of mustard or syrup. I peeled the skin off my piece and the meat still had flavor. Yum!
I really want to try this I however hate maple syrup any suggestions I am also not a huge fan of honey has anyone made this cutting out the maple syrup all together not a huge sweet eater?
I will try using chicken breasts next time — I made this and then at the last minute, someone brought over dinner. My husband and I didn’t have a chance to eat the finished product until two days later. It was very good but I had to use grainy dijon mustard which added a different dimension to the recipe. It smelled great and very few ingredients…that is the best part. I wouldn’t call it man pleasing chicken but husband told me that I should add this to our dinner rotation.
Pingback: Spicy Richmond
I’m wondering if I could make this with boneless chicken breast instead…Husband refuses to eat the thighs (although I love them) and I’d like to see if the instructions would change. Thanks!
Never mind…if I wasn’t such a dolt, I would have read the comments before sending mine. Thanks anyway!
Has anyone tried using Agave instead of the Maple Syrup?
I made this tonight with agave and honey rather than maple syrup as my DH is very allergic to maple syrup. I put the Dijon in the measuring cup, then added enough agave to almost hit the 3/4 c line, then added enough honey to bring it up to the line ( maybe 1 Tbs honey?). I added the vinegar, whisked thoroughly, then coated the chicken breasts in the sauce.
The temp was a bit high and I took the breast tenders out at 30 minutes. Next time, I either won’t cut the breasts up or I reduce the time. Or, I may just use the crockpot; I think this would translate to crockpot cooking very easily. Still, this was very fine and has been added to our meal rotation. My DH, who is not a pork eater, asked me to think about making this with pork tenderloin. My 17 yo DD wants it again next Monday. Score!!!
Marcy
Made it tonight and it was wonderful and a hit with the kids!! I did make one change (not by choice). My husband wanted to use a dark, organic honey instead. Still great and mine looked almost identical to your pic!! I did need to cook an extra 5 minutes but I’m sure it was due to my awful, uneven cooking oven. We ate it with a mix of brown and wild rice (with quinoa) and steamed green beans (using chicken stock). I want to try it with chicken breast next time and possibly making it in the crock pot. Thanks for the SUPER EASY recipe!!
I made this last night— it was super spicy mustard flavor… I have no idea why! I followed the recipe, just used chicken breasts instead!!! Suggestions besides adding more maple syrup?? I though for sure it was going to be a hit, but we kept laughing as it tasted like the spicy mustard you get with chinese take out and no maple at all!!
I would check the mustard that you used. Dijon mustard isn’t spicy. That’s all that I can think of. Try it again and make sure you didn’t use horseradish mustard. LOL!
stone ground dijon mustard “does” taste hot and spicy. That definitely would have ruined this recipe!
Pingback: This Week’s Menu «
making this tonight–sounds fabulous!
I didn’t see a temperature for the oven – is it 350? Did you use the broiler at the end to get the top of the chicken browned? Oh, and how do you do this or any cooking with a crying 6 month old. Wait, you don’t have to answer that last question 😉
Janet
Pingback: Today… « onibella muses
Wowie zowie. Found this recipe on Pinterest and I’ve just gotta say again…wowie zowie. We will make this again!!