If you’ve spent any time on Pinterest, any time at all, you’ve surely seen a pin for Maple Dijon Chicken. Pretty much every blogger out there has made it and it has been pinned to the moon and back. So, I thought I’d play a little game of pintester and try it out myself, because unless every single blogger out there is a liar, this stuff has got to be good.
Of course, I didn’t want to just beat a dead horse with a stick, so I threw my own spin on the recipe. I made the basic Dijon and maple syrup marinade, tasted it, and then added what I thought it needed.
See this recipe used in my weekly meal prep.
Maple Dijon Chicken My Way…
I made a few changes to the recipe found all over Pinterest. First, it needed garlic. I mean, it was just begging for a little garlic. The bulk of the marinade is Dijon mustard, which can be very sharp and tangy, so it needed some low garlic notes to bring it back to the ground. Second, I added a touch of soy sauce. This acted in the same way as the garlic to help round things out and balance the high and low notes. Not to mention, it provided a little bit of much needed salt to balance the sweet maple syrup and just help all of the flavors pop.
I only made about half the amount of marinade as most other people do. I found that it covered my chicken very well and that helped keep the costs low (real maple syrup is NOT cheap). Lastly, I baked my chicken in a casserole dish (as opposed to on a baking sheet) so that the juices would stay near by and keep the chicken moist, rather than evaporate away and leave the edges dry and burned. It resulted in super tender, delicious chicken and ample juices for braising.
Thyme, Rosemary, or Both!
You can make this Maple Dijon Chicken with either thyme or rosemary. When I began preparing the recipe I found that I was out of both. I almost wanted to give up on life right then and there, but suddenly remembered that I have a rosemary plant on my front porch. :D So, I used fresh rosemary. I have dried rosemary listed in the ingredients, but you can use fresh instead (I’d use about the same amount).
What to Serve with Maple Dijon Chicken
I paired this succulent chicken with my Carrot and Orzo Salad this time around, but I think it would also go quite well with Balsamic Roasted Vegetables, or a nice Fall inspired salad, like my Autumn Kale and Sweet Potato Salad. If you’re looking for some more classic comfort food type sides, try it with mashed potatoes and Roasted Brussels Sprouts.
Whether I need one or two chicken thighs for a serving depends on the size of your thighs, so I just listed the price per “serving” as the price per thigh.
Maple Dijon Chicken Thighs
Servings 6 thighsIngredients
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF. In a small bowl, stir together the Dijon mustard, maple syrup, olive oil, and soy sauce. Mince the garlic and chop the rosemary. Stir both into the marinade.
- Arrange the chicken thighs in the dish so that they are close, but not overlapping. Pour the marinade on top and then spread it around until the thighs are completely covered.
- Bake the chicken thighs in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes, or until they are cooked through and the liquid around the thighs is simmering. Spoon some of the liquid over the thighs, return them to the oven, then switch the oven's setting from bake to broil. Broil for about 5 minutes, or until the top of the chicken is golden brown. Watch the chicken closely as it broils, as broilers can vary.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!
How to Make Maple Dijon Chicken Thighs – Step by Step Photos
Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Add the Dijon mustard, maple syrup, olive oil, and soy sauce to a small bowl. Mince the garlic and roughly chop the rosemary, then add them to the bowl as well.
Stir the Maple Dijon sauce ingredients together, then set the sauce aside.
Coat the inside of a casserole dish with non-stick spray. Arrange the chicken pieces inside the dish so that they are close, but not overlapping.
Pour the Maple Dijon Sauce over the chicken pieces, covering them as much as possible.
If necessary, use a spoon to scoop up some of the runoff back up over the surface of the chicken. You want the chicken completely covered.
Bake the Maple Dijon Chicken Thighs in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes, or until they are cooked through and the liquid around them is simmering. Spoon some of the the liquid back up over top of the chicken, then place them back in the oven, switch the oven from bake to broil, and let them broil for about 5 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown. Watch the chicken closely as it broils, as broilers can vary. (That extra rosemary is just a garnish)
The Maple Dijon Chicken Thigh is pictured here with my Carrot & Orzo Salad.
The other bloggers didn’t lie – It’s one of the easiest, tastiest chicken dishes I’ve ever had. I want to eat it every day!
These are fantastic! They’re definitely going on our monthly meal list.
Hey Beth! First and foremost I want to thank you for setting up this amazing blog, you’ve changed my confidence levels as a chef from cup noodle/ramen everyday, to, the roommate that the rest of the house looks forward to seeing in the kitchen due to his culinary expertise. :-). I made this yesterday substituting chicken breast for thighs, and while it was flipping delicious, my only very minor complaint was that the soy sauce may have made the marinade a little too salty, what do you think I can do to solve this problem (besides the obvious, using less soy sauce, haha)
Honestly, I think using less is the best option. Using more syrup can counteract it a bit, but it will really be more of a “distraction” to the salt level. If there’s too much salt, just use less. :)
You could also try using a low sodium soy sauce
I use this as a marinade and freeze my chicken breasts in quart bags. I thaw them during the day while I am at work and come home and grill them. They are amazing!! We’ve been doing them for a few months and they haven’t gotten thrown out of rotation yet!
Can you do these with chicken breast also?
What would be the change in cooking time?
Thanks
Yes, you can definitely do this with chicken breast, although I don’t know how long they’ll need to bake without trying it… it will also likely depend on the size of the chicken breast.
Was getting late in my house so I threw it on the stove (with a couple minutes under the broiler) and it still came out great. So yummy!
This was absolutely delicious, my sons devoured it!
Regarding the Great Herb Debate: The measurement of 1 tbsp fresh = 1/2 tbsp dried is because, without the water to plump it up, 1 tbsp fresh would shrink down to 1/2 tbsp when dried.
Trying this tonight for my dad and i.. I m very excited, I made the marinade ahead of time so flavors would meld a little, and it is FANTASTIC, cant wait to have it on the chicken!!!!!!
I made this last weekend. I ate a thigh as soon as it came out of the oven because it smelled so divine and was pleased with the flavor, although I expected it to be stronger for some reason. Still delicious. My husband’s reaction was “HOLY ****! This is delicious!!!”, so between this and the Sausage & Lentil stew (his new absolute favorite thing to eat), you are his new food hero.
Anyone try this with out real maple syru? Want to make for the fire station. Keeping cost low with more mouths to feed.
I wouldn’t try to substitute pancake syrup for real maple syrup, since they’re quite different, but brown sugar may work as a substitute to help get that sweet, slightly caramelized flavor.
Just wanted to say I hate any kind of mustard, and I still love this recipe! I can’t wait to make it again. Maybe we’ll double it… but I also made the orzo salad and had some romaine lettuce as a full dinner. I used 1/2 lb of orzo and will probably play around with the seasonings later. The salad goes really well with the maple dijon sauce though! I loved this recipe, thanks so much!!
Just put it in the oven, can’t wait till dinners done! It looks delish! I love your affordable yummy dishes! The new website is great!
xoxo Carly
My husband doesnt care for Dijon mustard – do you think the dijon mustard has a strong flavor for this dish? Between his dislikes and my food allergies finding something to cook cheaply is a challenge!
Hmm, well, it’s hard to say because sometimes when people don’t like a flavor they can pick it out even if there’s only a drop in something. I don’t think it’s too-too Dijon-y, but if you don’t want to take the chance, you can try using a coarse-ground/spicy brown mustard instead of the Dijon.
My family is in love with this recipe! As in begging me to make it again. I did make some changes based on what we like and what we had on hand. I used much less mustard, just 1/2 a tablespoon to 2 tablespoons maple syrup and added 1/2 tablespoon vinegar and an extra garlic clove. We didn’t have Dijon mustard so I substituted spicy brown mustard. Served it with plain brown jasmine rice and steamed broccoli and got major compliments.
Beth,
If I have bone in skin on (I’ll remove skin first though) how long would I cook them for? I’ve never used bone in thighs but that was all my local store had and I wanted to try this really badly!
PS…LOVE the new site!
Cari, 45 minutes at 375 should be enough for bone in thighs as well. The boneless thighs were actually cooked through long before the 45 minutes were up, but I left them in longer so that the marinade would brown a bit. You may want to add another 15 minutes for it to brown on the bone-in thighs, too, so I would say anywhere between 45-60 minutes.
Awesome, thank you! I am making this along with the carrot orzo salad for company tonight. Can’t wait to try it!
just so happens that i’m canadian, and i get real maple syrup for a far more reasonable price straight from farmers every year – meaning i can afford the full marinade. definitely trying this out.
This looks quite yummy! And congratulations on your new site design.
After I read this, I knew I had to try it as I had everything on hand. Had eight bone-in, skin-on thighs and used them. Browned them, skin side down in an oven proof pan. Turned them over once the skin was crisp, sauced them – I doubled the amount of sauce called for because I had about four pounds of chicken – and threw them in the oven for forty minutes. DELICIOUS!