Baked Honey Mustard Chicken
This Baked Honey Mustard Chicken features juicy chicken tenderloins cooked in a sweet and savory honey mustard sauce with sprigs of fresh rosemary. It’s a simple, 7-ingredient recipe that requires little to no prep to assemble and bake!
★★★★★
“I made this for dinner tonight and I’m so glad that I did! It was so easy to make (few ingredients) and the taste was phenomenal! I paired it with some wild rice and zucchini. My husband loved it as well….I’ll definitely be making this again in the near future.”
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The Quick and Easy Chicken Dinner I’ve Been Making for Years
This simple, no-fuss honey mustard chicken recipe is a family favorite that I’ve made hundreds of times over the years. My kids, husband, and extended family all adore this recipe — which is fine by me because it takes less than 10 minutes to assemble.
Just when I was starting to worry that that I’d made this recipe one too many times, my sister exclaimed “Yes! Honey mustard chicken!” when she spotted it last week on the dinner table. That settles it! I’m never throwing this recipe out of my recipe box.
Here’s why we LOVE this recipe:
✔ Minimal Prep Work and Ingredients: This fast and easy chicken recipe rescues me time and time again when I want something good for dinner but I don’t really have a lot of time (or ingredients) on my hands.
✔ Easy to Customize: You can use pretty much any cut of chicken you like, as well as any kind of mustard(s). This is a flexible recipe that works with what you’ve got!
✔ Oven Baked and Grilling Options: Guess what? I’ve tested this recipe for the grill as well, making this a no-fuss weeknight dinner any time of year.
Enjoy!
-Katie
The 7 Ingredients You’ll Need
You’ll be amazed at how these simple ingredients give such rich flavors. For the complete ingredient list and detailed instructions to make this honey dijon chicken, scroll to the bottom of this post for the FREE printable recipe card.
- Honey — You can use any variety you like.
- Mustard — Over the many, many years I’ve been making this recipe, I’ve found that using a blend of Dijon and whole grain mustard delivers the best, most complex flavor. But really you can use any mustard or blend of mustards you have on hand.
- Olive Oil — Helps thin the honey mustard and make it more of a sauce.
- Aromatics — Yellow onion and garlic give the honey mustard baked chicken even more flavor.
- Chicken — I almost always use chicken tenderloins to shorten the cook time, but breasts or thighs work too.
- Fresh Rosemary — Can be swapped with fresh thyme or oregano, if desired.
How to Make Honey Mustard Chicken in the Oven
- Prepare the honey mustard sauce for chicken: In a small bowl, combine two types of mustard, honey, and olive oil. Set the honey mustard mixture aside. Then sauté the onion and garlic.
- Assemble the honey mustard chicken bake: If you’re using a pan that’s oven-safe, place the chicken tenderloins in a single layer atop the veggies and season the chicken with salt and pepper. Pour the honey mustard sauce over top, and arrange the rosemary sprigs in the pan.
- Bake the honey mustard chicken: Bake until the chicken pieces are fully cooked through, removing the aluminum foil covering halfway through the bake time.
- Serve: Discard the rosemary sprig. Then, serve spooning extra sauce over the honey mustard chicken tenders.
The above is simply a quick summary of this easy chicken recipe. Check out the full recipe in the free printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for all the detailed instructions.
Recipe Tips
- Want even more flavor? When I have a few extra minutes, I sauté a half an onion and a few cloves of garlic before adding the rest of the ingredients to the pan. I like to use my Le Creuset Cast Iron Rectangular Roaster to bake this recipe in.
- Having a really busy or lazy day? Skip the onion and garlic steps completely. Just stir the honey, mustards, and all 3 tsp of the olive oil together. Then proceed with the rest of the recipe.
What to Serve with Honey Mustard Chicken
We most often serve this Easy Honey Mustard Baked Chicken alongside our favorite sides: Smashed Potatoes with Parmesan Herb Gremolata and Roasted Broccoli.
The delicious savory, sweet chicken in sticky honey mustard sauce served alongside the potatoes and broccoli was a welcome meal in the bellies of all of my visiting family after a long day snowmobiling out in the cold.
Here are some other side dish ideas:
- Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- Cream Cheese Chive Duchess Potatoes
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Roasted Cauliflower
- Roasted Green Beans
A simple side salad also goes well with this great recipe. We often use mixed greens, lettuce, cucumber, shredded carrot, and tomato for a simple green salad. Check out these 3 Simple Salad Dressing Recipes to go along with your salad.
Can I Make this in a Slow Cooker or Instant Pot?
I don’t see why not. It might be a good idea for lazy days, but I haven’t tried it myself. Here are my suggestions:
- I predict, however, that in the slow cooker the homemade honey mustard sauce will be less thick due to the condensation of the slow cooker. You may want to thicken the sauce using a cornstarch slurry.
- If I were to test out and Instant Pot honey mustard chicken with my pressure cooker, I would probably follow the guidelines in this Instant Pot Mustard Chicken Recipe to start with. And, of course follow all manufacturer required safety protocols and instructions.
Can I Use Chicken Breasts or Thighs Instead?
Yes, you can use boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs in this recipe in place of the chicken tenderloins.
I recommend cutting the chicken breasts in half. Then, browning both sides of the chicken stove top in a large skillet first since they’re a thicker cut of chicken and take longer to cook. Even with the browning, you’ll likely have a slightly longer cook time.
For dark meat, I prefer boneless skinless chicken thighs. Follow the recipe as written with this substitution. If you like bone in, skin on thighs, then I recommend giving the skin side of the chicken a nice sear first so the skin is nicely browned.
More Easy Weeknight Chicken Dinners
FYI, you can also browse all of the chicken recipes through the Ingredient Index!
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Baked Honey Mustard Chicken Recipe
Baked Honey Mustard Chicken is one of our favorite recipes. Chicken tenderloins are baked in a sweet and savory honey mustard sauce with sprigs of fresh rosemary. This recipe for Honey Mustard Chicken is sure to please even your pickiest eater!
Ingredients
For the Honey Mustard Sauce
- 1/4 cup of grainy, course mustard
- 1/4 cup smooth dijion mustard
- 1/2 cup honey
- 3 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
For the Chicken
- 1/2 cup yellow onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken tenderloins
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 3 - 4 small sprigs of fresh rosemary
Instructions
- Make the honey mustard sauce. In a small bowl, combine the mustards, honey, and 2 teaspoons of the olive oil. Combine using a small wire whisk or a spoon and stir until smooth. Set aside.
- Sauté the aromatics. In a sauté pan or cast iron skillet, add 1 teaspoon of olive oil. I like to use my Le Creuset Cast Iron Rectangular Roaster for this because this piece can be used for the whole recipe and go from stove to oven to table. Add the onion and sauté over medium heat until golden and tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for an additional 1 - 2 minutes, until fragrant.
- Assemble. Place the chicken tenderloins on top of the onion and garlic mixture (or transfer to a baking dish if your skillet isn't oven-safe). Salt and pepper the tops of the chicken according to your personal preference. Pour the honey mustard mixture over top. Arrange the rosemary sprigs around the chicken in the pan.
- Bake. Bake the chicken covered at 400ºF for 15 - 20 minutes.Remove the cover, baste the chicken with the sauce, and return to the oven and cook for an additional 20 - 30 minutes uncovered, or until the sauce has thickened, the chicken is browned on top, and is cooked through.
Notes
Chicken: Chicken thighs also work well. I prefer boneless skinless thighs, but you can use bone-in or skin-on if you prefer. I have also used pork chops, but I brown both sides of the chops first before baking.
Having a really busy or lazy day? Skip the onion and garlic steps completely. Just stir the honey, mustards, and all 3 tsp of olive oil together. Proceed with the rest of the recipe.
To store: Store leftovers chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Reheat at partial power in the microwave, 30-60 seconds at a time, or on the stovetop in a lidded skillet.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 414Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 135mgSodium: 596mgCarbohydrates: 21gFiber: 2gSugar: 18gProtein: 45g
GoodLifeEats.com offers recipe nutritional information as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although GoodLifeEats.com makes every effort to provide accurate information, these figures are only estimates.
K says
Thanks for posting about Easy Honey Mustard Baked Chicken. I like your post. Thanks for sharing information. I love it.
Mimi says
I made this for dinner tonight and I’m so glad that I did! It was so easy to make (few ingredients) and the taste was phenomenal! I paired it with some wild rice and zucchini. My husband loved it as well….I’ll definitely be making this again in the near future.
Laura says
This recipe was delicious! I love the rosemary flavor! I did a cookoff between this recipe and my own concoction of sauteed tenderloins that I had coated in 1st flour, 2nd egg wash, 3rd crushed honey mustard and onion pretzels. The winner was… a combination! Your sauce on top of my crunchy chicken tenders was my favorite! Thanks for a great recipe!
Samantha says
Made this last night and it was AMAZINGGGG!! My 10 year old son and hubby both loved it too! Baked some sweet potatoes and roasted some broccoli to go with…perfect meal, thanks for sharing!!!
Heather says
Do you think this could be cooked on the BBQ?
Katie Goodman says
I haven’t tried that but I suppose you could baste the chicken with the sauce while it grills. Let me know if you try it. 🙂
Nicole says
That looks amazing!
Lindsay says
Do you think this would freeze well?
Katie Goodman says
I have frozen it after baking and it has been fine. I have not tried freezing it prior to baking.
Josephine B says
@Katie Goodman, I’m a little confused with your above comment being that you have frozen “AFTER” baking and it has been fine. I have “NOT” tried freezing it prior to baking.
When in your write up back with the recipe you have written – You can freeze! I recommend freezing the chicken in the sauce with the chicken “UNCOOKED” then, when you want to cook the recipe, thaw the chicken and sauce and proceed with baking like normal.
I would just like to know which way your instructions mean before I try making this. I love “Honey Mustard Chicken” and only being two of us I’d like to know when is it preferable to freeze half – before or after baking. Thank you.
Katie says
I’m sorry for the lack of clarity, I will certainly edit the post after I answer your question. At the time of mentioning that I have only frozen after baking I had indeed only tested it that way. Since then I have gone back and tested freezing it prior to baking so that I could make sure that worked well and it did, so I included those instructions in the recipe card for those interested in freezing. Both work fine. If you have leftovers, it is great to freeze after baking. If you are wanting to freeze for meal prep purposes of having a whole meal in. your freezer, then I recommend freezing before baking and then baking when you plan to cook it. I hope this makes more sense now as to why there were multiple answers to the freezing question. This recipe has been around for 6 or so years on the website so there have been many questions over the years and as always I continue to work to improve past recipes and the information provide in the post based on my most current testing of the recipe. Thank you for your question! Have a great day!
Abby C says
I made this tonight and it turned out delicious! It was very easy and definitely will be making this again! Thanks for sharing!
Holly says
I want to double the recipe !! should I use 2 9×13 rectangular dishes and 1 bag costco tenderlions per dish……same temperature and same time ???
THANK YOU
Katie Goodman says
How many pounds is a Costco bag of tenderloins? If you want to double it, just double all of the amounts listed in the recipe and split it between two 9×13 pans. The baking time and temp are the same as long as you can fit both on the middle rack of the oven together or if you have double ovens and can bake them separately.
NiNkitty says
wow… Thank you so much for this recipe! I will be making it over and over again throughout the years, definitely will be one I’ll keep all my life. So delicious!
Crystin says
i just HAD to stop back to leave a comment on this recipe, i made it last night & it turned out AMAZING! thank you for sharing this, it will most certainly be worked into my dinner rotation!
Susan says
I’m going to try this tonight. Looks and sounds yummy!! I don’t have fresh rosemary on hand. Can I use dried and if so how much? Thanks
Susan says
Oops, sorry for the repost. My first one didn’t show up until just now. Thanks for the response and the recipe.
Susan says
I’m going to try this tonight. Looks and sounds yummy!! I don’t have fresh rosemary on hand. Can I use dried and if so, how much?
Katie Goodman says
I would try 1/2 – 1 teaspoon. Good luck!
Marcia says
Made recipe with chicken breast which I had on hand. I do not like chicken breast, they are too dry, however, with this recipe they were very juicy and tasty. I went back for seconds. This recipe is definitely a keeper, I will make it again and again.
Sara Ann says
In the summer, I “bake” in a crock pot on the porch or patio…..
But this is going in the oven tonight!
Sara Ann says
I was dubious as this cooked. All I could smell was the mustard. But…OH, MY!! This was so good! I used boneless, skinless thighs but made the mistake of not trimming the fat well, so the final results were a little soupier than they should have been. Also made the Smashed Potatoes but left out the add-ins (one of us is extremely picky), and they were awesome with just olive oil, salt, and pepper! Thanks so much for two easy recipes that will even impress company!
Lily says
Looks really good… can honey be substituted (bf is allergic to honey)?
Katie Goodman says
you could try it with maple syrup