This recipe for maple mustard baked chicken is so delicious our kids ask for it for their birthday dinners! We all love it and I especially like that it's easy to make and full of flavor from the dry mustard in the coating and the 2-ingredient pouring sauce.
Maple mustard chicken is a one of my family's favorite meals - so much so that it's our most-requested birthday dinner meal, so you know this is a great recipe! It's also a good recipe for entertaining as well as regular weekday menus, since it's basically mix-coat-bake and serve.
While the chicken is baking, you can make the rest of the meal (I've got some side dish ideas for you below), oh and whip up the two-ingredient pouring sauce that pretty much makes the dish.
So, is baked chicken healthy?
According to most nutritionists, chicken is healthiest when it's either baked or stir fried. And this specific chicken with its crispy crumb coating will remind you of fried chicken without any of the added fat. In addition, it uses only a few normal, real food pantry ingredients.
One of my favorite things are simple, healthy recipes made amazing with just a few great ingredients - and this recipe is definitely that!
Maple Mustard Baked Chicken
I found the original recipe years ago in a newspaper and I adapted it to our tastes, to be easier to make, and as a way to use our homemade breadcrumbs.
It's a crispy-coated baked chicken, but the twist here is LOTS of mustard- both dry and Dijon. The mustard flavors are layered, which is probably what makes this chicken taste so amazing.
To make this baked chicken, you take three steps to layer the flavor:
- You marinate the pieces in a mustardy brine for about an hour.
- Toss bread crumbs with dry mustard and then roll the chicken pieces in the mixture.
- Serve the chicken with a mustard-maple pouring sauce.
When you see the amounts of mustard called for in the recipe you may think it's too much, but trust me - don't be afraid to make it as written. Between the layers and the cooking, it all mellows into some of the best chicken you'll ever eat - you won't be disappointed.
What kind of chicken pieces work best in this recipe?
Our family prefers dark meat, so I mostly make this recipe with thighs and sometimes drumsticks. I think the extra fat in dark meat really helps the coating to crisp up and give a mouth feel like fried chicken.
That said, I have made it with a whole chicken, cutting up the pieces into thighs, legs, and breasts (if you want to know how to cut a whole chicken, I have a tutorial here). I especially do this when serving to guests, since I know many people prefer breast meat.
Breasts do work fine - they should just be pulled out of the oven about 10 minutes sooner than the dark meat to avoid drying out.
What puts this chicken over the top, though is the awesome maple mustard sauce you serve it with. And that's all the sauce is - pure maple syrup and Dijon mustard. Sometimes the simplest ingredients create the best flavors!
I don't pour the sauce on the chicken before serving, but let each person add it to their chicken when putting it on their plate. That way the crust will stay crispy until just before the first bite and they can take just what they want.
What about leftovers?
If you have any leftovers, go ahead and pour the remaining sauce over the chicken. The crust won't stay crisp in the fridge and the sauce will penetrate all the coating making for a different, but still delicious, lunch the next day. We may or may not fight over the leftovers.
This is such a special recipe to our family, I'm pretty sure you are going to thank me for this!
Ideas for side dishes to go with this baked chicken:
- Grandma's Baked Tasty Rice
- Sour Cream Garlic Mashed Potatoes
- Amazing Garlic Green Beans
- Classic Caesar Salad
- Orange Almond Salad
- And if it's a birthday dinner, serve this giant skillet birthday cookie for dessert!
Baked Maple Mustard Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 5 tablespoons Dijon mustard divided
- 4 tablespoons dry mustard divided
- 5 tablespoons maple syrup divided
- 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 8 to 10 bone-in skin-on chicken pieces*
- 1 ½ cups bread crumbs
- spray olive oil or other natural oil in spray form
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and fit a rack on a cookie sheet or baking pan.
Make Brine:
- In a large gallon-sized baggie or bowl, mix together the olive oil, 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard, 2 tablespoons dry mustard, 2 tablespoons maple syrup, and the salt.
- Add the chicken pieces, seal and turn over to coat the chicken. Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to 1 hour.**
Make Coating & Bake:
- Combine the bread crumbs and remaining 2 tablespoons dry mustard in a shallow bowl or pie tin.
- Roll the marinated chicken in the crumbs, making sure they are evenly coated. Place on the prepared rack. When all pieces are coated, spoon any remaining coating on top of the chicken pieces and the spray lightly with olive oil or other spray oil.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes or until juices run clear.
Make Sauce:
- While chicken is baking, mix the remaining 3 tablespoons maple syrup and 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard in a small bowl. Serve alongside chicken.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe has been updated - it was originally published in 2009.
More Easy Chicken Recipes You May Like:
Soy Sriracha Marinated Chicken (to grill or bake)
Rotisserie Style Slow Cooker Spiced Whole Chicken
One Dish Spiced Lemon Skillet Chicken with Kale and Garbanzo Beans
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Norma says
Five Stars!!! (note that I could not get the rating to work when I clicked on the stars)
Made this two nights ago as listed except I used panko instead of regular breadcrumbs. I also marinated the chicken for about two hours. There is such good flavor in this: mustard-y but not too and the ratio of maple syrup to mustard is perfect as it's not sweet at all, but it takes a little edge off the mustard. Reheated the second night by putting in a hot oven and it was still pretty crispy! It is very good with the sauce and also very good without the sauce. Great recipe that is also very easy to make! I have a number of mustard chicken recipes, but this is now my favorite! We'll keep this in our regular rotation.
Jami says
Thank you, Norma! (bummer the star rating didn't work)
I'm so glad you feel the same way about this that we do. 🙂
Tonnie Rogers says
I’ve noticed the oven temperatures for this chicken recipe and the Tasty Rice recipe from your Grandmother are different. I would like to bake and serve both at the same time but I only have one oven. Do you have two ovens? I use many of your wonderful recipes and plan on trying these. Thank you for adding such yummy eating experiences to our life!
Jami says
I'm so glad you've enjoyed the recipes, Tonnie!! And, yes, I've made those two recipes together many times (my son has asked for just those things on his birthday in the past, they're that loved). I bake them both in one oven - I basically cook the rice and chicken at the same time, the rice cooking at a higher temperature. If it's white rice, it will be done quicker than at the lower temp, but is right when the chicken should be done. If it's brown rice, I'll start it in a 350 oven about 20 minutes sooner than the chicken and then increase the temp when I add the chicken.
You can cook Tasty Rice at a different temp, you just have to check the rice to make sure it's done, but not burning, sticking on the bottom. I recently made it with Parmesan-Herb Topped White Fish, which needs to cook at 400 degrees, but only for 10-15 minutes, so I just increased the temp and checked the rice to see if it was okay - it was. I adjust things like that a lot. 🙂
Mary A. Sorensen says
This sounds SOOOOOO wonderful!!!!! Thank you for sharing it - I just printed it out!!! Mary S.
Jami says
I hope you like this as much as we do, Mary!
Sarah Hibbing says
Even though I used the rack on the cookie sheet, the bottoms of the chicken thighs I used were still mushy....why is that do you think?
Jami says
I don't know, Sarah - maybe cook them on the lowest oven rack next time? If the tops don't get brown enough, you can always broil for a few minutes to brown.
Jan says
Hello! :). It's me again; just wanted to ask what do you suggest to serve with this? Also asking for a dessert suggestion? :). Thank you!
Jami says
Hi, Jan! I think you will love this, it's one of our favorites, though I need to update it with a better photo. We usually serve rice, a warm vegetable and a salad with this. Roasted potatoes would also be good in place of rice. Oh man, dessert? Anything!! Though I usually pick something chocolate (unless it's lemon...or berry..or, oh whatever!). 🙂
Jan says
Thank you!!! 😀
Jen @ Passport to Savings and Food says
I think I will be changing my menu for the week...lol...this looks tasty. I have been wanting to find a recipe to use up mustard and maple syrup. Thanks for the recipe!
SentimentsbyDenise says
This sounds like a recipe I made a week or so ago, without the maple syrup though. I love the flavor that the dijon mustard added. I'm sure the maple flavoring gives it a sweet taste.
Meadowlark says
OK... I'm giving it a try. I've never been a decent oven-fryer, but this looks doable.
And maple-mustard? What could be wrong about THAT?
Thanks again.