This Chicken with Dijon Mustard Sauce is pan-seared in a cast iron skillet to keep the chicken moist and juicy, then basted with the most delicious and creamy mustard sauce. All you need is 1 pan and about 30 minutes to make.
🌟Why You'll Love this Recipe
- Perfect healthy meal prep recipe. Prepare yourself easy lunches this week featuring this chicken with Dijon mustard sauce, a side salad, and a side dish.
- Ready in 35 minutes. I take pride in sharing recipes that are made with real ingredients and are realistic for weeknights. This chicken recipe is no different. Have this on the table to feed your hungry family something healthy without the hassle.
- It's incredibly versatile. Below I've listed some of my favorite sides I'll pair with this chicken with mustard sauce. All of the sides are neutral in flavor and allow the tangy chicken dish to shine.
🥗Side Dish Serving Suggestions
The best part about this chicken with mustard sauce is that it goes well with several types of grains, starches, salads, and even dinner rolls. Here are a few of my favorite serving suggestions:
Grains and Potatoes
- Air Fryer Hasselback Potatoes
- Air Fryer Smashed Potatoes
- Air Fryer Sweet Potatoes
- Lemon Herb Pearl Couscous
Vegetable Side Dishes
🥘Ingredients and Substitutions
- Chicken thighs - If you've been cooking my recipes for a while now, you know I prefer skin-on-bone-in chicken thighs. They are overall more flavorful, more difficult to overcook (which is great for newer cooks) and the bones can be reserved to make homemade chicken stock.
- Dijon mustard - Dijon mustard is similar in flavor to yellow mustard but is the more intense, tangier version. I find it makes the best chicken mustard sauce because it has a stronger depth of flavor. If you love Dijon mustard, try these recipes with Dijon mustard: Apple Chicken Salad, Air Fryer Salmon Burgers, and Healthy Chicken Burger.
- White wine - Cooking with wine is one of my favorite tricks to use when I want to instantly enhance and balance the flavor of a dish with a bit of acidity. I recommend using a dry white wine - here is a comprehensive list of the 35 Best Cooking Wines.
- Broth - I used chicken broth to make this chicken mustard sauce, but you can substitute vegetable broth or a low-sodium broth of your choosing.
See the recipe card below for the remaining ingredients and quantities.
📖Variations
- No white wine? Maybe you choose not to cook with alcohol or simply don't have any good cooking wines in the kitchen. Simply substitute the wine with 1 tablespoon of white vinegar. This will yield a slightly thicker chicken mustard sauce. If you'd like to make it a bit thinner, add additional broth.
- Out of butter? Substitute the butter with a cooking oil like extra virgin olive oil.
- Out of fresh thyme? Try fresh rosemary or as a last resort, substitute 1-2 teaspoons of dried thyme or dried rosemary.
🔪Instructions
- Season the chicken.
- Pan sear both sides of the chicken thighs. Add the chicken thighs skin-side down in a COLD cast iron skillet. Set the heat to medium-high and cook until they easily lift and can be flipped (about 5-8 minutes). Pan sear on the other side for another 2-3 minutes.
- Set the chicken aside.
- Start the Dijon mustard sauce. Melt butter in the same skillet used to pan-sear the chicken thighs, then add in the garlic and onion to sauté. Cook for 3 minutes, or until soft and fragrant.
- Add in the remaining mustard sauce ingredients and stir to combine. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until the sauce has reduced slightly.
- Finish cooking the chicken. Add the pan-seared chicken thighs into the sauce and baste with the sauce to finish cooking, about 5 minutes. The internal temperature of the chicken should be 165 degrees F.
- Serve immediately with your favorite side dishes.
💭Recipe FAQs
Yes, chicken thighs can be slightly pink. If the internal temperature of the meat is 165 degrees F, no need to worry about the color of the meat. Chicken thighs are considered to be the darker meat of the chicken and will typically be a bit pink, even after cooking.
I have not tested a baked version of this chicken. If you prefer a baked chicken thigh recipe, you may enjoy my Cranberry Orange Chicken Thighs.
Yes, Dijon mustard is gluten-free. This entire chicken with mustard sauce recipe is gluten-free.
Cooked chicken will last 3-4 days when stored in the fridge in an airtight container.
👩🏻🍳Chef Tips
- Use a well-seasoned cast iron skillet. This will prevent sticking and make pan-searing your chicken extra simple. If you are new to cooking with cast iron, check out this tutorial from Lodge Cast Iron on How to Season a Cast Iron Skillet.
- Use chicken thighs of similar size and thickness. This will ensure even cooking and doneness.
🍗More Healthy Chicken Recipes You May Like
Did you make this recipe? Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating and comment below. Share it on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest!
📋 Recipe
Tap stars to rate!
Pan Seared Chicken with Dijon Mustard Sauce
KITCHEN TOOLS NEEDED
- Cutting board
Ingredients
- 4 bone-in chicken thighs
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 shallot, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoon mustard
- ¼ cup dry white wine or 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
Instructions
- Season the chicken thighs on both sides with salt and black pepper.
- Add the chicken thighs skin-side down to a COLD cast iron skillet. Set the heat to medium-high and cook until they easily lift and can be flipped (about 5-8 minutes). Cook on the other side for another 2-3 minutes.
- Remove the chicken from the pan once browned and set aside.
- Melt the butter in the skillet, add the shallots and garlic and cook until soft 3 minutes.
- Add in the mustard, white wine or white wine vinegar, chicken broth and thyme. Stir and cook until reduced, about 5 minutes.
- Add the chicken back in and baste with the sauce for about 5 minutes until it is cooked through.
Sarah's Tips
- Use a well-seasoned cast iron skillet. This will prevent sticking and make pan-searing your chicken extra simple. If you are new to cooking with cast iron, check out this tutorial from Lodge Cast Iron on How to Season a Cast Iron Skillet.
- Use chicken thighs of similar size and thickness. This will ensure even cooking and doneness.
The cookbook is packed with easy-to-follow recipes that require only 6 ingredients to help you simplify your weeknights. Includes kitchen tips, ingredient swaps & grocery lists!
John Robinson says
Great dish with amazing flavor. Easy to prepare as described. Also works great using chicken breast tenderloins.
Sarah Hill says
Hi John, really happy to hear you enjoyed the chicken! This is one of my favorite sauces.