Creamy Honey Mustard Chicken Thighs

This Honey Mustard Chicken recipe is the perfect quick-fix dinner! Served in a creamy sauce and made in one pan, weeknight dinners don’t get better than this!

If you’re looking for a quick, easy and outrageously delicious dinner, then you’ve come to the right place. From pan to plate in under 30 minutes, this recipe is not going to disappoint! Follow me…

One Pan Chicken Thighs

One of the first reasons why this is the perfect weeknight dinner is that you only need one pan. No extra dishes to marinate, no extra saucepan to make the sauce, just one pan. A 12″ non-stick pan to be exact.

The second reason is that we’re going to be using chicken thighs. The reason I love using chicken thighs for dishes like this, is that unlike chicken breast, you can get away with not marinating the chicken. Alongside the sauce being an explosion of flavour (which we’ll get to in just a sec), chicken thighs are much more flavoursome and tender than other cuts of chicken, meaning they don’t need a marinade to taste juicy and delicious.

The other reason is that chicken thighs tend to be incredibly cheap too. Which is perfect when you’re after a quiz fix, no fuss dinner.

Creamy Honey Mustard Sauce

Now, here’s where things get intense.

Honey and mustard is a combo we all know and love. But when you add shallots, garlic, pancetta, cream, stock and fresh thyme, the taste is amplified by x1000 (scientifically accurate). This sauce is actually very similar to my Pistachio Crusted Chicken with Honey Mustard Cream Sauce, and also inspired by my Honey Mustard Sausage Tray Bake.

How to Make Creamy Honey Mustard Chicken Thighs (quick summary)

1. Fry chicken skin side down until crispy. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Flip, season again and fry until cooked through.
3. Remove from pan (with excess fat) and fry pancetta until crispy.
4. Add shallots, fry until soft, then add garlic and fry until it begins to brown.
5. Pour in cream, chicken stock, honey, both mustards and stir to combine.
6. Add thyme and simmer to reduce, stirring occasionally.

When it comes to what to serve with these chicken thighs, I have served with both mashed potato and rice; both work perfectly. For a garnish idea that’s easy on the eye, save a few thyme leaves and sprinkle over at the last second.

Can This Sauce Be Paired with Another Meat?

This sauce actually goes beautifully with pork. If you’re going to use Pork Chops, I recommend pan frying them and basting in butter and herbs, just as you would a steak. I go through this in a little more detail in my Honey Garlic Pork Chops.

Can I use Chicken Breast?

If you’re going to use chicken breast, I do recommend marinating in a little oil, lemon juice and herbs. Do check out my Chicken Avocado Pasta for the best/quickest way of doing this.

Hey, whilst you’re still here why not check out my other easy dinners?

One Pan and One Tray Dinners

• One Pot Spanish Chicken Orzo
• One Pan Roast Dinner
• Herb Roasted Spatchcock Chicken
• Devilled Sausages
• Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas

5 from 6 votes

Creamy Honey Mustard Chicken Thighs

By: Chris Collins

This Honey Mustard Chicken recipe is the perfect quick-fix dinner! Served in a creamy sauce and made in one pan, weeknight dinners don’t get better than this!

Prep: 5 minutes mins

Cook: 20 minutes mins

Total: 25 minutes mins

Servings: 3

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Equipment

• 12" Non Stick Pan
• Wooden Spoon
• Tongs
• Sharp Knife & Chopping Board

Ingredients 

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• ▢ 6 Chicken Thighs (bone in, skin on)
• ▢ 3/4 cup / 180ml Chicken Stock
• ▢ 1/2 cup / 125ml Heavy/Double Cream, at room temp
• ▢ 3.5oz / 100g Pancetta (can sub bacon)
• ▢ 2 Shallots, finely diced
• ▢ 2 cloves of Garlic, minced
• ▢ 2 tbsp Honey
• ▢ 1 tbsp Dijon Mustard
• ▢ 1 tbsp Wholegrain Mustard
• ▢ few sprigs of Fresh Thyme
• ▢ Olive Oil, as needed
• ▢ Salt & Black Pepper

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Instructions 

• Add a drizzle of olive oil to a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Place in chicken thighs skin side down and fry until crispy. Season with a heavy pinch of salt & pepper, then flip. Turn down to medium heat, season again, then fry until white through the centre. Remove from pan and pour out excess fat.
• Add Pancetta and fry until it begins to brown. If there’s excess fat then drain (a couple of tsp left is fine) then add your shallots and fry until soft. Add garlic and fry for a minute or so longer, just until it catches colour.
• Pour in chicken stock, cream, honey, both mustards and stir to combine. Add thyme and allow to simmer until it begins to thicken. Season to taste, then add chicken thighs back in the pan.

Video

Notes

a) Chicken Thigh Cooking Time - Completely dependent on the size of your thighs, but for a medium sized thigh you're looking at 5-8minutes each side. Also, make sure they only just cooked through; they will carry on cooking as they rest and further when added back in the sauce. Just make sure the juices are running clear after the final cut.

b) Excess fat - Only use a small drizzle of oil to get the party started. As the skin cooks, the fat will render and start producing a lot of oil. Drain most of this away after they're cooked. The pancetta will also produce a lot of fat, but a little bit left in the pan is great for frying the shallots. It will also add a great deal of flavour to the sauce. A couple of tsp is fine.

c) Chicken Breast - If you want to sub chicken breast, I recommend butterflying 2 large breasts, to make 4 smaller breasts. You then want to marinate in a zip lock bag with a squeeze of lemon juice, a drizzle of olive oil and 1/4 tsp garlic, thyme, oregano and salt. Just marinate for a minimum 30mins.

d) Pork - You can sub pork chops for this recipe. I recommend cooking them as you would a steak (bring to room temp, heavy seasoning, high heat, basting in butter and fresh thyme/rosemary, render the fat then leave to rest).

e) What to serve with these thighs - I have served with both rice and mashed potato. Both work great!

f) Calories - based on using 1 tsp olive oil, no sides and sharing between 3 people (2 thighs each)

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Nutrition

Calories: 562kcal | Protein: 26.61g | Fat: 43.77g | Saturated Fat: 15.06g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7.12g | Monounsaturated Fat: 18.156g | Trans Fat: 0.155g | Cholesterol: 175mg | Sodium: 447mg | Potassium: 401mg | Fiber: 0.8g | Sugar: 13.03g | Vitamin A: 1000IU | Vitamin C: 3.3mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 1.4mg

Looking for more?

You’ll find plenty more delicious comfort food like this in my Debut Cookbook ‘Comfy’

If you loved this One Pan Honey Mustard Chicken then be sure to Pin it for later! Already made it or got a question? Give me a shout in the comments and pick up your free ecookbook along the way!