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.
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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
- 1/4 cup Dijon mustard ($0.36)
- 2 Tbsp real maple syrup ($0.60)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.13)
- 2 tsp soy sauce ($0.04)
- 1 clove garlic ($0.08)
- 1/2 Tbsp dried rosemary or fresh ($0.30)
- 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 2.3 lbs.) ($5.19)
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.
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Notes
Nutrition
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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!
Yep, really good recipe! The only thing I changed was to use half Dijon & half regular mustard.
I used dried rosemary. Served with mashed potatoes & Brussels sprouts. Will definitely make again…..thanks for the recipe.
Had a package of thighs with skin on, bone in that needed to be used. So I seasoned them and seared them off in a braise pot (4 minutes aside, very hot pot) I drained off the fat put the chicken back into the pot and poured the marinade over top. I cooked them in the braise pot in the oven with the first 25 minutes with the lid on, last 20 minutes without the lid. I also did a few minutes under the broiler. These were absolutely delicious. I served this with roasted smashed baby potatoes with sweet potatoes and French green beans. Lovely meal.
This is one of my go-to meal prep foods. It’s just so easy both to make and portion out! I usually make it with honey as maple syrrup is very expensive in Norway. Yesterday I was out of soy sauce and couldn’t be bothered to go to the store, so I used worsctersauce in it’s place, and it worked beautifully! Thanks again for this amazing dish!
My family loved it! Made as instructed with dried rosemary. Only complaint was I didn’t make enough. :)
No that’s a complaint anyone can live with! Great work Elizabeth!
Has anyone tried making this with pork chops? I’ve made it with chicken many times and we love it.
I think that could be delicious! Let me know!
I have a feeling that would be great. I’ll probably try that in a couple of weeks as my Dad HATES chicken and I really do not want to force him to eat it.
I did this is the instant pot with skin on and bone in thighs added 1/4 cup of chicken broth and pressure cooked for 10 mins and it was perfect!!
Good to know!
I followed the ingredients to the tee… EXCEPT, I threw the thighs in a ziplock with your delicious marinade and I GRILLED THEM. What can I say absolutely delicious. The flavor combo was right on the mark and I will bake this, grill this, broil this over and over. Add it to the rotation! Thank you!
I’m going to have to try this one on the grill!
My sauce came out very thin as well, any tips?
That’s the way it’s supposed to be. :) But if you prefer a thicker sauce you can transfer the liquid from the baking dish into a small sauce pot and let it simmer for ten minutes or so to reduce.
I threw the extra sauce in a fat seperator, then in a sauce pan. I reduced it a little and added butter to help emulisfy the sauce.. SOO YUMMY!!
Ok I’ve made this 8 times within a 8 month period. Love it.
Can I use skin on & bone in thighs?
The skin may change the way the sauce flavors the meat, but other than that you can use bone-in as long as you make sure the internal temp gets up to 165F.
Nutritional facts?
Thanks for the request! We do get that request a lot, but unfortunately we don’t have a reliable source for the nutrition information. The calculators and databases that most bloggers and websites use to calculate the info can be extremely inaccurate, and for something that can so severely impact the health of people with health conditions, we just don’t feel comfortable publishing unreliable numbers. We prefer to leave it up to the reader to use the database or calculator they trust. I’m sorry and I wish accuracy were easier than shipping the food off to a lab for analysis!
This recipe is amazing! I make it a lot in the winter but not as much during the spring and summer because it gets so hot in Southern California where I live. Has anyone made this on the stove top or in an Instant Pot? If so, I’d love the recipe if it came out well. I am going to attempt to cook them on the stove top in my Dutch oven.
Just be aware that the oven is a dry heat cooking method and an Instant Pot or a pot on the stove with a lid are going to be moist heat cooking environments, which will change how the sauce turns out. It will be more soupy and have less caramelization.
This is a winner. Hubby and I both loved it. I used B/S chicken breast cutlets (about 4 oz each) because I had it and didn’t have thighs, this was so good I will try it with thighs. I used dried rosemary. My cooking time for the breast was 20 minutes at 375, watching the temp, and then I turned the broiler on for 5 minutes or so. It turned out wonderful! I will definitely make this again. I served it with a wild rice blend (Texmati Royal Blend) cooked in chicken broth and fresh steamed asparagus. The sauce worked wonderfully with the chicken and the sides and there was nothing left over! This is a definite keeper. I think this could also work with sauteed chicken breast simmered for a little while in the sauce. I may also try this with pork tenderloin. Excellent flavors, low in fat, just plain yummy!
I made this and it was DELICIOUS but my sauce was VERY thin and I followed the recipe exactly. Any tips?
I made this and it tasted like beer chicken, so neat! These are the things I did differently: I used butter flavored syrup (for pancakes) instead of real maple syrup & Italian seasoning instead of rosemary. My husband LOVED the fact that it tasted like beer & that he didn’t have to use any of his beer for the chicken! I loved the fact that this chicken was effortless! I made potatoes with butter & beer can chicken seasoning from cabelas & all purpose seasoning from cabelas and baked beans to go with it 😊
Delicious! I’m making this again tonight for the millionth time