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
Oops. Meant to say sweet cooking rice wine. Used it anyways as my alternatives where balsamic vinegar and acv. Hopefully it turns out ok…
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Pam,
I know this is kind of weird, but I read your blog and I made this chicken for a Rosh Hashana dinner last night and EVERYONE loved it. I tripled the recipe because I had 12 people, and EVERY piece got eaten or taken home by a friend who wanted to have it for lunch today.
I hope you’re doing really well! Happy New Year to you and your family!
-Jenny (from Rolling Hills)
Hi Jenny!!!!!! So so nice to hear from you. I hope that you are doing well and still have your autograph somewhere! I’m just not sure where…LOL Please say hello to your parents for me. Happy New Year!
Ps. I LOVE this chicken recipe and can’t wait to try todays pickle recipe!
Thank you so much for commenting! I am glad everyone loved the chicken, and happy new year! I know someone else who always makes it for Passover seder 🙂 It was great hearing from you, and I hope everything is going well! xo
Making for a second time! My family loves it, and I like the fact that we are eating thighs instead of breasts! LOL!
Do you think chicken drumsticks would work well in place of the thighs?
Thanks!
I think it would be OK. We’ve used thighs and breast and it comes out good no matter what cut of chicken!
I’ve used drumsticks before, but I still prefer the thighs.
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Hie there Witty..
Been meaning to try out this recipe for a while and finally I’m going to do it!!!! But I’m struggling to find the rice wine vinegar what are my alternatives??
Many thanks
If it helps your search, rice vinegar and rice wine vinegar are the same thing. Good luck!
So do we need both rice vinegar and rice wine vinegar? Or just 1 tablespoon of the rice vinegar? I wanted to make this tonight! It looks so good 🙂
Rice vinegar and rice wine vinegar are the exact same thing. 1 tablespoon of vinegar, total.
I made this recipe using chicken tenders and it turned out quite well. We will definitely have this as a go to . It was also quite easy and took no time at all to pull together.
do you think this would work in the crockpot as well?
I put mine in the slow cooker today. Can’t see why it wouldn’t turn out. Ill let you know my outcome 🙂
So I tried it in the slow cooker and it was amazing. When it was done I just threw it in a frying pan to thicken up the sauce a bit as it was pretty watery. But I would make this again for sure.
Thanks for letting us know!
I have made this before and my family loved it! I was curious though if you could substitute the dijon mustard for honey mustard? Any takes on how this might taste???
I used 1/2 c Dijon plus 1 Tbls of whole grain mustard for texture. Delicious! Made it in a crock pot with bone-in thighs and folks were licking their fingers!!
So happy to hear this works in the slow cooker as well! How long did you have to cook it?
Do you cover the chicken while its cooking?
I didn’t cover it, and it turned out beautifully. I think you need the “open” pan for the wonderful browning 🙂
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I am looking for tasty freezer meals. Has anyone prepped then frozen it?
I am certain you can prep this and freeze it.
If you are using chicken breasts, what would be the recommended cooking time?
It’s horrible with chicken breast. You really need the fat from the thighs to make this work. Trust me we tried it every way …. Also be sure to use square dish it’s a must for correct liquid distribution .
I cook this with chicken breasts all the time-it’s delicious! Adjust the temp down to 375, cook for 30 min
So I just put this recipe together really fast and I didn’t have rice wine vinegar so everyone online said apple cider would be the best substitute and I used chicken breast instead of thighs. Is this going to be a disaster meal or should I be fine? Help?!
You’ll be fine! It will just taste slightly different. Personally, I can’t taste the vinegar at all when I make it (I’m considering upping the amount because I love the tang of vinegar), so you’ll be fine using ACV. Also, breast meat is less forgiving than thigh meat, so be sure and watch it carefully so it doesn’t overcook. The meat also won’t be quite as tender, but the taste should still be quite nice.
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I made this as directed and it was delicious. Next time I’d consider slightly less sauce or maybe use 2 lbs of chicken. It came out a little bit gooey and drippy. I would also add some garlic powder for another layer of flavor and diced shallots or green onion.
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Is there a good substitute for that wretched substance known as maple syrup? I can’t stand the stuff, but other than that one ingredient, this recipe seems pretty amazing.
honey
if I used a foil baking tin would that work?
I tried this tonight, and unfortunately it didn’t go over well. It just tasted like chicken covered in mustard. Recipe was followed to a tee- no substitutions. No one in my family liked it, and we aren’t very picky eaters. Just my two cents, sorry I don’t have a better review!
This was amazing and I am a true “foodie”. Next, we’re going to use the same ingredients, but doing pulled chicken sliders. Topping it with caramelized onions!
Omgosh!! This is amazing. I was really apprehensive about the maple/Dijon combo, but it turned out delicious!! I didn’t have rice wine vinegar, so I substituted white wine, and I also added a sprinkle of chopped scallions. I will definitely make this often 🙂
I want to try this recipe but im not sure do you have to use the real maple syrup or the kind you put on your pancakes?
I would definitely only use the real stuff… But then again I wouldn’t put that other stuff near my pancakes either. I like real food, not chemicals.
This recipe is delicious. The only complaint was I didn’t double the recipe. I will for sure next time! I think the maple syrup would work better than the regular syrup. The flavor is more concentrated.
Thank you.
What sides do you suggest with this?
I served it with Mahatma Yellow Saffron rice.
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Would white wine vinegar work?
I cooked this few times now and my family (w/ picky kids) loved it. I wonder if I can use pork chop with this recipe though?
I say try it, and then let us know how it goes! 🙂
We had this recipe with pork chop and it taste the same… yummie ! ! ! Next time I’ll try this with fish . . .
I use a very similar recipe to do a crock pot pork tenderloin and its wonderful!
Tried this recipe. I am on a burnout of same old chicken recipes. Needed to try something new !! My foodie son rated it 8 1/2 out of ten. He is a tough one to feed. And having a endless supply of rosemary in the garden, Had to give this a whirl. We loved it !
An endless supply of rosemary is one of my dreams!
Thank you for posting this recipe on Man Pleasing Chicken. As a frugal family and a mom with not a whole lot of years of cooking, your recipe saved us from another boring night of chicken. I love your website and all of the recipes. You done a great job with your site. I will be visiting often:)
Michelle G, Atlanta GA
Thank you so much for your kind comment. I’m glad you enjoyed!
Hi! I have Grade A Dark Amber Maple Syrup on hand…will that work or will it be too strong?
The only syrup I wouldn’t use is Mrs. Butterworths, Aunt Jemimah, or one of the fake ones like that. We used grade b real syrup. If you’re worried, mix a little less syrup and then taste the combo and see if you need to adjust.
Thanks!
This is THE BEST chicken ever! It’s great for guests. Tastes impressive but is so easy. I’m making this tonight and already know we probably won’t have any leftovers (we rarely do with this dish).
We tried this recipe, no subs. and my family did not like it. They said it tasted too vinegarry. We salvaged it by dipping in barbecue sauce. Sorry it was not a hit .
We tried this last night and we hated it. I did exactly like the recipe said and it was to vinegar taste. Sorry about the bad review but wanted to be honest.
This looks delicious! Love chicken in almost any shape or form. Wuill be keeping this recipe!!
I’m trying this tonight…do you think I could add mushrooms in with the chicken before baking?
If they were pre-cooked, it might be OK. I think raw mushrooms would water down the sauce.
What is the significance of the tin foil ?
To prevent the sauce from burning onto your pan… not necessary, but saves an inordinate amount of scrubbing.
I love this recipe, but I’ve found that not all mustards are created equal. It’s great with Grey Poupon. I tried it with a couple store-brand yellow mustards, and while it wasn’t quite as interesting, it was still really good. Then I tried it with Trader Joe’s Dijon and it was way over mustardy tasting and gross. So, be sure you get a brand you like. (Note: I’m not a huge mustard fan in general, but I don’t find the mustard in this recipe overwhelming unless it’s bad mustard. Also, after typing in a number of times for this post, I have realized that mustard in kind of a weird word.)
You are very right about mustards. I do find Trader Joe’s dijon to be extra spicy, but it usually mellows out for me in this recipe. Spread on a sandwich, however, it can be deadly to the nasal passage!
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Try Maille Original Dijon. It’s not as sharp as the TJ’s, however I do add a good TBLS of TJ’s whole grain mustard to the mix. Put it all in the slow cooker with bone-in skin-on thighs that were browned to golden before hand. Just DELICIOUS.
Made this tonight on a whim after reading the comments. WOOHOOO!! Fantastic!!!
I didn’t use maple syrup– I used honey.
I used stone ground mustard instead of dijon.
Used the full recipe on 1.19lbs of chicken thighs…. (6 thighs)
Turned out fabulous!! Added a bit of Arrowroot to the juices/marinade left behind for a gravy to pour over the chicken and the quinoa that I served with it. My husband LOVED it! We will definitely have this again. Thank you SO MUCH for the recipe! I needed something quick and easy and this was perfect.
I have never used arrowroot before, but the gravy sounds delicious!!
You titled this “Man – pleasing chicken” and you are so right! My husband said that he couldn’t stop eating it! I fixed jasmine rice as a side dish which really complimented the chicken. I think this would be really good on chicken wings also for a super bowl party!!! Of course baking them on a jelly roll pan to help them get crispy. Thanks for the post – – will be having the leftovers for lunch today.
Let us know if the wing version turns out well. It sounds delicious!
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Hi cooked this last night and was really good, thank you. Not used to maple syrup flavour but it was very different, will cook again. For uk readers 1 cup is 8 fluid ozs (UK measurements)
Look forward to trying something else new
FROM UK
Hi cooked this last night and was really good, thank you. Not used to maple syrup flavour in savoury dishes but it was very different, will cook again. For uk readers 1 cup is 8 fluid ozs (UK measurements)
Look forward to trying something else new
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