You won’t believe the transformation of chicken thighs in this delicious creamy Dijon chicken recipe. This flavourful sauce will impress your whole family when you whip this recipe up in the middle of the week.
Creamy Dijon chicken is one of the simplest dishes you will make this week. Though it sounds fancy and tastes delightful it really is a perfect weekday meal. Fancy doesn’t have to mean difficult after all.
Since we are all about simple here at House of G&K we are using an easy dijon mustard sauce to bring boring old chicken thighs up to our standards. We use chicken thighs often so we know that they need a little help in the flavour department. They are juicy and have a fatty texture so we just need to add a couple of simple ingredients to make them perfect all around for our family meal.
If you don’t normally have Dijon mustard on hand that’s understandable. But once you buy a jar for this recipe, we will help you use it up quickly. Stay tuned for more Dijon recipes because this has quickly become a staple in our fridge.
Preparing Creamy Dijon Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
Chicken Thighs: Use boneless skinless chicken thighs for this dish. They are easy and quick to cook and always turn out moist.
Herbs de Provence: Traditionally the herb mixture from Provence region of France includes a combination of thyme, rosemary, marjoram, tarragon and oregano.
Dried Thyme: Made from fresh thyme, this herb has an amazing flavour that goes so well with most meats. I don’t recommend using fresh thyme in this recipe as it is used to coat the chicken which makes the herb susceptible to burning.
Oil: I use either vegetable oil or olive oil for this recipe. Although we are cooking at high temperatures at the beginning you shouldn’t go beyond these oils’ smoke points.
Chicken Stock: Stock adds the base for this delicious sauce so the flavour it brings is very important. Make sure you don’t have one that’s too salty. If it is, reduce the amount of sauce you add to the recipe.
Heavy Cream: Cream is one of the main stars of this dish. Ideally, you want to use heavy whipping cream or heavy cream which has between 36% and 40% fat content. I find that this isn’t typically available in the grocery stores near me so I settle for whipping cream which is usually between 30% and 35% fat. This cream will thicken nicely and create that almost fluffy texture in the sauce.
Dijon Mustard: Made from spicy brown and black mustard seed it is the perfect way to give any meal a little kick. It has a tangy sharp taste that some consider being spicy.
Flour: All-purpose white flour is all you need for this recipe. It’s the key component to thickening the sauce.
How to Make Creamy Dijon Chicken
If you are serving your Dijon Chicken with
lemon and parsley rice, set the rice to cook before starting on the chicken. The chicken will be ready about the same time that the rice is.This is a very simple dish so not only are there few ingredients but the cooking process is also quick.
The first thing you need to do is heat up the oil in a pan. Turn the burner to high heat as you want it to get hot enough to quickly sear each side of the chicken thighs.
While the oil is warming season the chicken. You want to make sure it is nicely coated with salt, pepper and herbs de Provence on both sides.
Once the oil is hot add as many chicken thighs as you can fit in the pan without crowding it. Cook two batches if you have to. If you crowd the pan the thighs won’t get seared as nicely or as quickly and we want to seal in the juices. Sear the chicken for 3-4 minutes per side.
If you are cooking multiple batches, remove the last of the chicken before adding the stock to give you more stirring room in the pan. Turn the heat down to medium then add the stock to the pan and scrape the bottom of the pan to remove the frying bits. This is all of the added flavour that we are looking for.
Next, add the thyme, put the chicken back into the pan and cook for 5 minutes turning the chicken halfway.
Add the Dijon mustard to the pan and stir to incorporate well. Cook for another couple of minutes and add the cream.
Cook everything for about 10 minutes turning the chicken once or twice halfway to coat in the dijon sauce and to make sure it is cooked through well. The internal temperature of the thickest part of the thigh should be 165°F as measured using a meat thermometer.
In the last minute of cooking, make the slurry using flour and milk. This is only necessary if you find that the sauce isn’t as thick as you’d like. Mix the water and flour in a small bowl. Stir until there are no lumps. Add the slurry to the pan and stir as you’re adding it to prevent clumping. Cook the sauce for another 3-5 minutes until it thickens. Stir occasionally to prevent burning.
Serve the chicken on a bed of rice with extra sauce poured over the top.
Substitutions
Chicken Thighs: You can use chicken breast in this recipe. I recommend beating the thickest part of the chicken with a kitchen mallet to even out the thickness. This will ensure even cooking throughout.
Cream: Instead of cream you can use milk. Because milk won’t thicken the same way cream will add 1/2 cup milk with a slurry of 1 tbsp flour combined with 2 tbsp water. This will thicken the sauce nicely.
Serving Creamy Dijon Chicken
My favourite combination for Dijon chicken is our lemon parsley rice. This is a very adaptable dish however and also goes great with mashed potatoes, buckwheat and quinoa.
I love a hot vegetable with any saucy meat so broccoli or corn are my go-to’s here. The sweetness of the corn is such a great compliment to the slightly tangy sauce and acidic rice.
A side salad is also a great addition to this chicken. Try to pair a creamy dressing like a Caesar salad or a garden salad with ranch dressing.
Creamy Dijon Chicken Recipe
Equipment
- cast iron skillet ((or deep pan))
Ingredients
- 4-6 chicken thighs (boneless, skinless - roughly 1/2 lb per person)
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 1 tsp herbs de provence
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ¾ cup chicken stock
- ½ cup heavy cream (or whipping cream)
- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp flour
- 2 tsp water
Instructions
- Add oil to the pan and warm up on high heat.1 tbsp olive oil
- Sprinkle each thigh with salt, pepper and herbs de Provence on both sides.4-6 chicken thighs, ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp pepper, 1 tsp herbs de provence
- Once the pan is heated, add the chicken without crowding. If you have a smaller pan, fry the chicken in batches setting aside the seared chicken as you cook it. Brown chicken on both sides for about 3-4 minutes per side.
- Add stock to the pan and turn the heat down to medium. Scrape the bottom of the pan to remove the frying bits and integrate them into the sauce. Add the thyme and cook for about 5 minutes turning the chicken halfway.3/4 cup chicken stock, 1 tsp dried thyme
- Add the Dijon mustard and stir to incorporate well. Cook for a couple of minutes then add the cream. Once again stir to combine.2 tbsp Dijon mustard, ½ cup heavy cream
- Cook for about 10 minutes turning the chicken once or twice to drench in the sauce and to make sure it is cooked through. The internal temperature should be 165°F as measured by a meat thermometer.
- Make the slurry by combining the flour and water in a small bowl and add it to the pan stirring vigorously to prevent clumping. This step is only required if you prefer a slightly thicker sauce.1 tsp flour, 2 tsp water
- Cook for another 3-5 minutes to let the sauce thicken further.
- Serve the chicken on a bed of rice with extra sauce poured over the top.
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