Easy honey and Dijon mustard chicken

The perfect super-easy, healthy midweek meal

This easy honey and Dijon mustard chicken recipe is easy juicy, tender and full of flavour.

• SERVES: 6
• PREP TIME: 15 min
• COOK TIME: 30 min
• DIFFICULTY: easy
• IDEAL FOR: Midweek meal, healthy meal

Easy honey and Dijon mustard chicken

I love this recipe.

It’s quick, healthy and you can use whatever is in the fridge.

And it feels quite decadent for a midweek meal.

Use up what’s in the fridge

This easy honey and Dijon mustard chicken is the perfect one-pan recipe.

And because it’s a one-pan dinner you have less washing up to do.

And you can pretty much add whatever veggies are still lying around.

So, it’s great on reducing food waste (*one of our climates biggest threats).

And it means you can get away with not doing a food shop for one more day.

In my version, I had broccoli, carrots and green beans lying around.

But you could add in potatoes, onions etc

It’s all in the sauce with honey and Dijon mustard chicken

It’s got to be Dijon mustard.

Because it’s not too hot and together with honey, they balance perfectly to pour over your chicken.

And don’t be stingy when you’re making it up.

You want to drizzle all over the chicken AND the veggies.

It’s delicious.

And it’s only and up of a handful of ingredients:

• Runny honey
• Dijon mustard
• Paprika
• Apple cider vinegar (optional but worth a dash)
• Salt

How to make easy honey and Dijon mustard chicken

The basics go like this:

1. Make the sauce: In a small bowl mix all the mustard and honey sauce ingredients.
2. Brown the chicken: In an oven-proof pan over medium heat, add the oil, and sear the chicken on both sides until golden brown.
3. Bake the chicken: In a pre-heated oven of 200C, transfer the chicken in the pan, pour over the sauce and bake for approx. 15 – 20 mins or until the chicken is cooked through.
4. Serve with your choice of veggies

If you want to do the veggies at the same time as I did, then just before Step 2 (above), do Step 1a…

1a. Roast the veggies (potatoes, onions, carrots etc) until they start to tenderize.

Then add the brown chicken on top and pick it up from Step 2 (above).

Chicken breasts vs thighs

Because I’m on a little start-of-the-year-health-adjustment (Xmas was good to me).

I’m looking for easy recipes that are tasty, nutritious.

And don’t leave me groaning in despair for something that ‘doesn’t taste healthy ’ and is boring.

This is why the easy honey and Dijon mustard recipe is a winner.

But you need to ensure you’re buying the right chicken.

Chicken breasts vs thighs

First up, really try to buy quality chicken – here’s a post I did on the difference between organic, free-range, etc

It’s very interesting and useful.

Next, chicken breast is best… but remove the skin!

Chicken overall is a good source of lean protein.

And skinless, chicken breast (approx. 175g) is about 287 calories.

Compared to a chicken thigh which is around 308 calories.

Plus, it’s approx. 3 times lower in saturated fat than a skinless chicken thigh.

I’m not saying, never eat chicken thighs.

They’re fantastic in curries and for slow-cooked dishes for their flavour.

But if you want to balance a bit of healthy eating in your lifestyle.

Then switching to skinless chicken breasts every now and again, is the perfect way to achieve it.

Cooking makes a difference

It’s all in the cooking as well when it comes to how healthy your meal turns out.

So if you dunk your chicken in a deep fryer, chances are you’re not feeling in the mood for a healthier option.

But baking, grilling and roasting are considered the healthier way to cook it,

You can, in many cases, cook with the skin on to help keep the chicken moist e.g. roasting a chicken.

And then remove the skin before eating.

Personally, I think it’s sacrilegious to remove the skin of your perfectly roasted chicken.

So, I save the skin removal for midweek meals.

Chicken handling

Things can go wrong with chicken (or turkey) if you don’t handle and prepare it well.

For example, you don’t rinse raw chicken (and turkey) before cooking.

You should always use separate utensils, containers, and cutting boards for raw and cooked foods.

And regardless of the cooking method, the minimum internal temperature should be 75C/165F.

I always recommend purchasing a meat thermometer.

Chef’s use them so why shouldn’t we cook the perfect chicken, steak, lamb etc?

Chicken-tastic

So, in a nutshell, chicken is a fantastic, versatile, option for indulgence or a healthy option.

It provides you with loads of great nutrients.

And with this easy honey and Dijon mustard chicken recipe.

You can enjoy a tasty, healthy chicken supper for all the family to enjoy.

References:

TheModernProper

HealthyFitness