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.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
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!
Have you tried making it in a cast iron pan?
I haven’t, but it seems like it would work fine.
Yum!!! Winner winner chicken dinner! The flavour is fantastic! I made it with your Rosemary Roasted Potatoes and through some broccoli on the same pan! Perfect and EASY weekend night dinner!
DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT, PUT THIS UNDER BROILER FOR 5 MIN! YOU WILL BURN EVERYTHING YOU WORKED SO HARD ON. ); !!!!!!
I put it under the broiler for the full five minutes. I did not raise the grate from where it was when the chicken was baking (center of oven). It was perfect – caramelized and delicious! There is a caution in the recipe to watch it carefully, since ovens vary.
Loved this! Has anyone tried making the sauce ahead of time?
OMG, that sauce is money! I had 8 tiny chicken thighs, but I doubled the sauce anyway because we are all about sauce/gravy and rice/noodles to sop it up. The only change I made was thyme instead of rosemary because my father isn’t a fan. This one’s a keeper according to my wife, who hates chicken.
Loved this recipe – received (unsolicited)RAVE reviews from my pickiest eater – he came to find me to tell me ‘what great chicken that was, Mom!’ after turning his nose up at it the night before & choosing leftovers instead.
Can I use parchment paper or foil to line my glass dish to avoid the smoking in the oven? I do not have an enameled dish to work with at the moment.
You can either one, although I’m not sure how much that will help. Instead, Maybe try covering the dish with foil for half the baking time to slow evaporation. It shouldn’t start smoking unless all the liquid evaporates and the sauce begins to burn (mine had plenty of liquid as the thighs baked never reduced that much).
Loved the flavors and want to cook again. I used a metal casserole dish, and all the liquid was burnt and it started smoking. I don’t have a ceramic casserole but would glass be better?
Glass might be better, yes, but it also may just be due to slight variations in ovens. Some run hotter than others, and some have better ventilation, which cause more evaporation, which would lead to burning faster.
I am planning to make this, but I’m really not sure how to interpret “6 boneless skinless chicken thighs” versus “about 2.3 lbs.”
Nearly every boneless skinless thigh I find in stores is 3-4oz.
That’s 1.2-1.5 lbs. for 6 thigh pieces
or 2.3 lbs. for 9-12 thigh pieces.
Am I missing something?
I guess your thighs are just smaller! That was the total weight right off the package. :)
Do you have to broil? Or what can I do to replace it? My pans only go up to 450 Fahrenheit
If you don’t have broil you can just skip that step. All that does is add a little extra browning on top of the chicken thighs.
Tasty and easy! We made this with mashed potatoes for a weeknight supper.
Would this work with chicken breast instead of thighs?
Chicken breasts tend to dry out pretty quickly in the oven, so you’d probably want to reduce the baking time considerably, which may also change the final flavor and consistency of the sauce. I’d need to test it out to know exactly how much the final outcome would be affected. :)
Did you ever find out the timing for chicken breasts? Thanks!
I haven’t tried this particular one, but when I do this Garlic Herb Chicken Breast I only cook it about 20 minutes and I pound it out a little thinner so it cooks evenly and a little faster, so it doesn’t dry out. Not sure if the sauce will turn out the same with a shorter cook time, though.
I don’t have a casserole dish, only a baking sheet. How can I adapt your recipe to use a baking sheet? The recipe looks so good!!
I would need to test it with a baking sheet to see if cooking times are the same, but this one has quite a bit of liquid as it bakes so I’m not sure it’s well suited for a baking sheet.
My family loved this, even my picky eater! Super easy to make. I made it with the orzo carrot side and roasted zucchini as suggested.
Oh my gosh, this is delicious! And easy! A keeper!