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
I just made this for dinner tonight, following the recipe exactly as written & it was absolutely delish!!!! No strong mustard or maple flavour…..just a wonderful savory taste that I can’t compare to anything else. The only thing I would do differently is double the sauce so I’d have more to pour over the chicken or onto my rice. Thanks so much for a fabulously easy & tasty recipe. I will definitely be adding this to my regular rotation!!!
Might want to add salt and pepper to the list of ingredients. I skimmed through quickly before dashing to the store, checked the ingredient list when I got back to make sure I had the right proportions, mixed everything up and dumped it on the chicken…and then remembered I was supposed to salt and pepper the thighs first. Oops! I’ll sprinkle some on top and hope for the best! 😉
You always salt and pepper your chicken, unless that is, your chicken comes already seasoned. 🙂
I found your recipe on Pinterest a few months ago and this has become a favorite and a regular dinner in our house … in fact, it’s what’s for dinner tonight!!!
YUMMY!!!
Thank you for sharing …
I made this exactly as written for girls night dinner and made extra for my boys at home, IT WAS DELICIOUS!! My husband said my son gobbled his chicken first, and all the girls want the recipe 🙂 thanks!!!
I have made this before (thanks to finding it on Pinterest) and its in the oven now! We cant wait for dinner!
Has anyone tried making this recipe using boneless chicken breasts instead of thighs? I am not a dark-meat kind of girl (sorry!!!) so just want to see if the recipe would still work. Just curious!
Thanks!
I was thinking the same and will try it with chicken breast with the bone in. The bone allows it to stay moist.
I tried it with boneless skinless chicken breasts. I used a little more maple syrup,because the one I used wasn’t very good quality. I would recommend turning them more frequently so they don’t get dry. I think they turned out great!
I have made this a half a dozen times & have only used chicken breasts because that’s all we ever buy unless we get a whole bird. It works great but I’ve never tried it on thighs to know its “wrong”.
Trying breasts now, I did make it with skin and bone in thighs. I doubled the recipe for that amount of chicken to make up for the grease. Turned out awesome!
I don’t get it. It tasted like maple syrup and dijon mustard to me. I just couldn’t get over the overbearing taste of those two ingredients combined. Maybe if I hadn’t cooked the dish and not known what was in it, I would have liked it, but my kids also thought it was “weird.” I guess we’re just not typical.
Agree.. I made it the other night for my son and I and we both couldn’t finish it.
It was awful!
Sorry… just being honest.
I agree. My whole family did not like it at all! I did everything in the instructions too.
Why even say anything then?
I don’t think you should be so hasty to cut someone down because they gave their honest opinion. They didn’t reply in a disrespectful way like you.
Did you use REAL maple syrup? Just curious if that was why some didn’t like it…
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Tried it last night and didn’t find it any better than coating the chicken with mustard and panko crumbs
Hi there – Has anyone tried this in a crock pot?
The only way I have ever made this is in the crockpot! I love anything and everything in the crockpot!! 🙂
How much time inthe crock pot?
I would also like to know how much time in the crockpot… Thanks
Can this be
Made with chicken breast instead?
Of Course you can use any part of the chicken, even pork….pork tenderloin, pork chops etc.
Just had this for dinner…was a big hit. Kids loved it along with adults. Supper easy….a for sure keeper. Couldnt find rice wine vinegar so used just rice vinegar. Always looking for different things for my menu, this will be regular. Thanks:)
Trying this tonight! I’m pretty excited about it.
Made it tonight with boneless skinless chicken breasts. It was phenomenal! I used three larger breasts and the same amount of everything that is listed above. Perfecto!! Thanks a bunch!
Made this tonight using chicken breasts. Great taste and flavor but over cooked. Either 450 is too high (I usually don’t cook chicken higher than 400) or 40 minutes was too long. Mine turned out dry. Next time I will try 400 for 30 minutes if I do boneless breasts.
For those of you who are wondering about cooking this recipe in the crock pot – DON’T. I followed the recipe exactly, but cooked it in the crock pot for 4 1/2 hours on high. My oven went out. Anyway, the flavor was great, but very watery consistency and of course the chicken did not brown which I think would be a definite plus for this recipe. When (if I ever do) get my oven fixed I will be trying this again.
I tried it in the slow-cooker (because of time restraints)….flavor was good, but I think it would have been better to have the chance to brown and carmalize in the oven, enhancing the flavors.
A comment I would make as far as ingredients, be sure that you’re using real maple syrup and not just pancake syrups, which are just corn syrup with maple flavoring. Use REAL ingredients to get REAL taste!
I’m making this tonight for dinner……I’m not sure how its gonna turn out! I realized I was out of syrup & went to dollar store and bought some reg syrup not thinking of it being reg …..is that gonna make it taste different now! I was so excited now I’m kinda bummed its not gonna taste rite!
So my chicken turned out YummY ! It was soo moist,juicy
Very flavorful! Very pleased with it only thing is the color of your
dish & mine were different…wonder if it was because of the s
Syrup…but I’m very happy with the results….thanks pinterest….
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I made this tonight with chicken breasts and it turned out great!! I had 4 chicken breasts, but kept the same proportions of what you said and it was good. I maybe could’ve had a bit more sauce, but it still worked well. Delicious!!
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This looks wonderful!
I’ll be trying this tomorrow night and I am super excited!
Does anyone have any suggestions on what they served with this dish?
Sara, I plan on serving mine with a baked sweet potato and basic garden salad.
This was pretty good! Husband loved it, in fact, and announced that I should “definitely make it again.” I thought it was a little too mustard-y (and I love Dijon!) so next time I will reduce that to 1/3 cup.
The flavor of this chicken dish was fantastic! I have to say though that 450 degrees for 40 minutes is way too hot – if I had left it in at the temp for that long it would have been completely dried out. 350 degrees for 30 minutes is good. Thank you for sharing this wonderful dish!
My husband is diabetic. Do you think I can use sugar free syrup? The recipe sounds soooo delicious I would like to try.
this looks yummy! it’s going on this week’s menu. 🙂 thanks!
Looks so great! Thanks for sharing!
I have made this recipe 3 times now for my husband and I, and it never fails to satisfy. Tonight I realized I had the perfect starch on hand to soak up any extra sauce on the plate – pretzel rolls! I got ours at Costco. SO GOOD!
What do you serve with this? Side dishes… I mean, what do you suggest?:)
Hi Alesha…I’ve literally just sat down after cooking this for the first time. I made wombok salad & corn on the cob to go with ours. My daughter has a friend here & they loved this. Bit sweet for my liking but still nice.
What kind of Dijon mustard do you use or find gives the best results? Does that make a difference? I can imagine real maple syrup is a must as mentioned before too.
After reading all the comments I was super excited to try this! Unfortunately, after trying it this evening I was so disappointed. It wasn’t gross, but I will never make it again!
I agree. I substituted hot dogs for the chicken. Ketchup for the mustard and molasses for the maple syrup and cooked it in the microwave for 40 minutes. Next time I might try and follow the recipe.
ok..So I tried this chicken recipe this evening on my family. Unfortunately they were not impressed and honestly, neither was I. I am usually the type to try just about anything and I just couldn’t aquire the taste for this. Others may seriously love this but for me…well it won’t go in my recipe book : ( So sorry!
I tried this recipe tonight, and I can’t thank you enough for it! It turned out amazing, no mustard taste, or maple syrup taste at all…just an unbelievable yummy sauce my whole family loved!
To those who ended up with crap, I’d say it was because you didn’t know how to cook this properly. I doubled the sauce, cooked at 400 for 40mins (turning at 30min mark), upped the temp to 450 for 15 more mins, turned chicken again and broiled until tops were caramelized and crispy. But I had to do it differently because my oven is probably a different brand/make/type yadda yadda…part of cooking is instinct and if you ended up with a mustardy, soupy mess… 🙂
This is a rude comment. I’m making this right now so I haven’t ended up with a “soupy mess” but to say people don’t have cooking instincts when they followed the recipe is just arrogant.
It wasn’t rude. She is right on about what she said!!
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Found this on Pinterest & made it tonight. My family loved it. Definitely easy. I think I made too much sauce because I was cooking for 8 but thats no biggie plus I used Maple flavoured syrup.
Just made this, followed the recipe exactly as written, my kids and husband love it! I will be making this again.
Just tried this tonight and OMG…amazing! Thanks for giving us some new ways of cooking chicken!
Anyone tried this with sugar free syrup? as a diabetic I can’t have that much maple sugar…
Made this last night, and we both LOVED it! I made it exactly to the recipe, but I agree with a previous poster…will double the sauce next time so I can have some to put over rice. Overall a quick, easy, and tasty weeknight meal! I will be making this often!
I’ll be trying this one tonight. Trying to figure out sides for it. I’m thinking rice and ???? Any suggestions?
This sauce tasted just like the sauce my aunt puts on her holiday ham. Thought it was tasty. The husband loved it. Thanks!
saved me in a pinch! these are baking right now and can’t wait to try them! thank you!!!
don’t have rice vinegar. does that make a difference. is there somehting else to use. or should it be skipped.
I dont have rice vinegar either. But I’ve got everything else already mixed so I’m gonna try it with some red wine vinegar. I”ll let ya know how that turns out. 😉
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Amazing recipe! My husband says it is his new favorite and he wont stop talking about it…made it a week ago and now I am making it again for a potluck tomorrow. Only think I am doing differently is doubling the sauce and broiling for a few minutes at the end.
I just posted a link to this recipe on my blog. We LOVED it!!
http://thesmellofpencils.com/2012/09/30/man-pleasing-chicken/