For the entire month of September, I’ll be participating in the SNAP Challenge and attempting to eat on $4.50 per day. Read more here.
Whew. I meant to post this days ago, but this week has been out of control! More about that when I do my SNAP Challenge week one summary on Monday.
I loved the Soy Dijon Pork Tenderloin that I made ages ago and have wanted to use the same marinade for chicken for quite some time. Chicken thighs are cheap, so I figured that it might be a good cornerstone meal for the first week of my SNAP Challenge. The sweet-salty marinade was just as delicious as I remembered!
To add a little extra flavor, nutrients, and bulk, I cubed a sweet potato and layered that in the roasting dish before adding the chicken and the marinade. The sweet potato added a nice sweetness to the dish and definitely helped keep me full. That was a good decision. I also doubled the marinade to provide plenty of sauce to cook the potatoes in, plus drizzle over the rice and vegetables that I served on the side.
Soy Dijon Chicken Thighs with Sweet Potatoes
Servings 7 to 8 servingsIngredients
- 1/4 cup Dijon mustard ($0.48)
- 1/4 cup soy sauce ($0.40)
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil ($0.10)
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar ($0.04)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced ($0.16)
- Freshly cracked pepper ($0.05)
- 2 lbs chicken thighs- 8 pieces ($5.65)
- 1 medium sweet potato (1 lb.) ($1.43)
Instructions
- In a bowl, stir together the Dijon, soy sauce, vegetable oil, brown sugar, minced garlic, and some freshly cracked pepper. Add the chicken thighs to a large zip top bag or shallow dish, and then pour the prepared marinade over top. Refrigerate the marinating chicken for at least 30 minutes (can be prepared in the morning and refrigerated all day).
- When you’re ready to cook, begin to preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Peel and cube the sweet potato into 3/4 inch pieces. Lay the cubed sweet potato in the bottom of a casserole dish. Lay the chicken thighs over the sweet potatoes and pour all of the marinade over top.
- Cover the dish with foil and roast in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, removing the foil after the first 30 minutes. After baking, spoon some of the liquid from the bottom of the dish over the chicken and serve. Use the extra juices from the bottom of the dish to spoon over rice and vegetables.
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Nutrition
Step by Step Photos
Prepare the marinade by stirring together 1/4 cup Dijon mustard, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 2 Tbsp vegetable oil, 2 Tbsp brown sugar, 2 cloves minced garlic, and some freshly cracked pepper.
I used about 2 lbs. of chicken thighs, which was eight pieces. Two of the pieces were pretty small, so I counted those as one serving, for a total of 7 servings for this dish. Depending on the size of the thighs, you might get about 8 servings.
Add the chicken thighs and prepared marinade to a zip top bag or a shallow dish. Refrigerate the chicken thighs as they marinate for at least 30 minutes. If preferred, you can mix up the marinade before work and let them marinate all day so it will be ready to cook when you get home.
When you’re ready to start dinner, begin to preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Peel and cube one sweet potato (about 1 lb.) and lay the cubes in the bottom of a casserole dish. Cut the cubes into no larger than 3/4 inch pieces so that they cook through completely while in the oven.
Lay the marinated chicken thighs over the sweet potatoes and pour ALL of the marinade over top. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil after the first 30 minutes to let the top brown.
After it bakes, spoon some of the yummy juices over top of the chicken.
Don’t let that delicious juice go to waste! I used mine to moisten and season the rice and vegetables that I served with the chicken. It’s SO good.
Stay tuned to see how I worked this into my SNAP Challenge meal plan!
How long would you cook this for if you have bone-in chicken thighs instead?
For this recipe I would start with 5 more minutes and then check that the temp is at 165.