5-Ingredient Baked Honey Mustard Chicken Thighs
If you are always on the lookout for healthy chicken thigh recipes, then you’ll want to save this recipe! Our 5-ingredient honey mustard chicken thighs are a fan favorite and the recipe has been shared thousands of times. Try it once and you’ll know why!
Love this flavor combo! Have made these dozens of times! Never disappoints! Most times I make half for dinner and freeze the other half to cook another night. The “marinade” still tastes great even from the freezer!
~Jackie
If you’re struggling with “what’s for dinner?” I am here to say: This healthy chicken thigh recipe is what’s for dinner! Just mix the ingredients together and bake them on a sheet pan and you have dinner ready just like that! These honey mustard chicken thighs are tried and tested and will be a new healthy basic to add to your menu rotation.
This post contains affiliate links. I originally shared this post on Jan 6th, 2015. I have updated the images and some of the text today.
Table of contents
- Make these Mustard Chicken Thighs for the perfect busy weeknight meal
- What you’ll love about this Honey Mustard Chicken Recipe
- WATCH: How to make Honey Mustard Chicken Thighs
- Baked Honey Mustard chicken Ingredients
- How to Bake Honey Mustard Chicken Thighs
- How to make Honey Mustard Chicken Thighs Ahead
- What To Serve With Honey Mustard Chicken Thighs
- Baked Honey Mustard Chicken FAQs
- More Healthy Chicken Thigh Recipes:
Make these Mustard Chicken Thighs for the perfect busy weeknight meal
No matter what life throws at us, I wanted to make sure you knew I got your back when it comes to getting dinner on the table. So amidst all the noise and chaos, if you’re struggling with “what’s for dinner?” I am here to say: This healthy chicken thigh recipe is what’s for dinner!
And who isn’t psyched to see a 5-ingredient recipe showing its pretty face around here today? I know I am! You may even be thinking it could be a contender for your weekly menu rotation. Maybe, just maybe it will become one of those family-pleasing dinner staples. I hope so.
What you’ll love about this Honey Mustard Chicken Recipe
- This honey mustard chicken thigh recipe makes 6 thighs, enough for four for dinner, plus two thighs left over for our lunches too.
- It is perfect to have over a salad for a high-protein, but light dinner or lunch.
- It is easy. No long wait time for the marinade. Just whisk together the marinade, coat the chicken in it, and bake!
- It pairs well with all sorts of side dishes such as Steamed Cauliflower, Roasted Broccoli and Sauteed Green Beans. Serve with Buttermilk Mashed potatoes or our Creamy Low Carb Mashed cauliflower for a lighter option and check out these Side Dishes For Baked Chicken for more inspo!
WATCH: How to make Honey Mustard Chicken Thighs
Baked Honey Mustard chicken Ingredients
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs: If you are not yet a fan of chicken thighs, this recipe may be the way you’ll be converted. I mean I love boneless skinless chicken breast too, but chicken thighs are wonderful because they are so juicy and it is nearly impossible to overcook them. If yours has a lot of excess fat, feel free to cut it off with a sharp knife before adding to the honey mustard mixture.
- Honey: Since this recipe is so very simple I love using a really good honey for the most flavor. Orange blossom honey is my all time favorite. But if you happen to have locally produced honey that is great too. If your raw honey has gotten granular, simply warm it up in the microwave to make it melted and liquid again, or you can place the jar into a bowl of warm water.
- Mustard: I use brown deli mustard for mildly peppery mustard flavor. You could make this more spicy by choosing a Dijon mustard.
- Thyme & Salt: To season I add fresh chopped thyme and salt to the mixture. You can use 1 teaspoon dry thyme too. And feel free to add in fresh pepper too here if you like.
How to Bake Honey Mustard Chicken Thighs
1. Make the honey mustard sauce
The healthy honey mustard marinade is a simple combination of mustard, honey, fresh thyme, and salt. I used brown deli mustard to really amp up the mustard flavor, but feel free to use whatever is in your pantry.
2. Coat the chicken
Fully coat the chicken thighs in the honey mustard sauce, making sure to get it into all the crevices (you may need to use your hands to really work it in!).
3. How Long To Roast Boneless Chicken Thighs at 375
- After the chicken thighs are fully coated in the honey mustard, arrange them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet (the parchment paper makes for easier cleanup).
- Roast the honey mustard chicken thighs for 30 to 40 minutes. I use a digital instant-read thermometer to check that they’ve reached an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees F.
- To make sure they stay juicy once they come out of the oven, let them rest for a few minutes before serving.
How to make Honey Mustard Chicken Thighs Ahead
You have two options:
- You can mix the chicken with the honey mustard mixture up to 1 day ahead and then bake them.
- Or they reheat really well. You can do so in the microwave, until they are steaming hot. Or you can set them in a pyrex baking dish and cover them with foil. Then just bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes until they are steaming hot.
What To Serve With Honey Mustard Chicken Thighs
- The honey mustard is a classic mellow flavor that pairs well with so many recipes. I like them with Caesar Salad made with my Egg Free Caesar Dressing. I have been making Homemade croutons with my day (or two) old sourdough bread.
- Right now Swiss chard is in season, and we are loving this Simple Sauteed Swiss Chard.
- My girls love green beans a lot, and this Simple Skillet Green Beans recipe is always a hit. I love the way the garlic tastes paired with the honey mustard!
- This Farro Salad would make it a yummy and hearty meal too. Bonus: it also makes great leftovers for lunches!
- If you’re up for a little baking, these Dairy-free Chocolate Molten Lava Cakes are amazing!
Baked Honey Mustard Chicken FAQs
Absolutely! I love Honey Cup brand and it is awesome. Use 1/3 cup mixed with the thyme and salt.
Yes! They will take a little longer to roast and the honey mustard coating will brown, but they will still be juicy and delicious. Make sure to use an instant-read thermometer to check that they are at least 165 degrees in the center (about 40 minutes.)
Yes! You can freeze the chicken before or after roasting.
Yes but foil is reactive with mustard (which has acidic element to it and cause pitting of the foil.) To prevent the chicken from reacting with the mustard mixture, brush the foil with oil before placing the chicken on top. This will help create a barrier to prevent the reaction.
Chicken thighs are great for reheating. Place them in a small casserole dish and cover with foil. Bake at 350 degrees until heated to 165 degrees F, about 25 minutes. You can also heat through in the microwave for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes per chicken thigh on high power.
More Healthy Chicken Thigh Recipes:
- Our Grilled Boneless Greek Chicken Thighs are great in the summertime when it is too hot to use the oven.
- If you have bone-in chicken thighs, this recipe Yogurt Curry Chicken Thighs is a great one!
- This is always a fan favorite. Check out the reviews for this Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore
- Though it’s not the prettiest, this Chicken and Brussels Sprouts Sheet Pan Dinner is sure tasty!
- If you love basic recipes, then you’ll have to check out my Simple Italian Balsamic Sheet Pan Chicken.
- This summer, you’ll totally want to try this Healthy Barbecue Chicken with Maple Chipotle Sauce
At Healthy Seasonal Recipes, we specialize in cooking with fresh veggies and creating weeknight meals. Sign up HERE to get more produce-forward dinner ideas for FREE! If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought! Happy Cooking! ~Katie
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Honey Mustard Chicken Thighs Recipe
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 6 thighs 1x
Description
These 5-ingredient honey mustard chicken thighs are so flavorful and easy to make, they will be one of those recipes that will be your new healthy basics. Just mix the ingredients together and bake them on a sheet pan and you have dinner ready just like that!
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons brown deli mustard
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs, about 2 pounds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375ºF. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment.
- Whisk honey, mustard, thyme and salt in a medium bowl. Add chicken thighs and turn to coat. Arrange chicken on the parchment-lined baking sheet, tucking them into neat thigh shapes.
- Roast chicken until cooked through and browned in spots, 30 to 40 minutes *See note. Let rest 4 to 6 minutes before serving.
Notes
- I use a digital instant read thermometer to check that they’ve reached an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees F.
To Make Ahead
- You can mix the chicken with the honey mustard mixture up to 1 day ahead and then bake them.
- Or they reheat really well. You can do so in the microwave, until they are steaming hot. Or you can set them in a pyrex baking dish and cover them with foil. Then just bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes until they are steaming hot.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 thigh
- Calories: 230
- Sugar: 5 g
- Sodium: 685 mg
- Fat: 9 g
- Saturated Fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 6 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 30 g
I make this once a week. It’s fantastic. I put the chicken in a plastic bag and let it marinade a couple of hours. Thanks for the great recipe!
Thanks so much Bob!
Made these chicken thighs for tonight’s dinner and they were delicious! Hubby said the recipe is a “keeper”! I accidentally bought bone in, skin on thighs and they turned out great. Baked them at 425 degrees for 28 minutes, turning them over once during cooking. Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you for reporting back, Fae. I am glad they turned out well!
Super easy, but the chicken did not absorb the flavour at all. Very bland.
Did you use granulated table salt, kosher salt, sea salt? They’re not all the same amount of sodium, so if you use a coarse salt the recipe will seem bland because it is supposed to be regular table salt (which is the saltiest of them all.) Read more in my guide to subbing salts: https://www.healthyseasonalrecipes.com/can-i-substitute-kosher-salt-for-table-salt/ If you used regular salt, let me know and I’ll help trouble shoot. Thx!
Nothing should be so easy to make and taste so incredibly good. I can see this being one of my favorite “go to” recipes in the future. I’m looking forward to playing around with different honeys and mustards to experience the results. The thighs are very juicy with just enough flavor to be enough to whet your appetite for more, but not so overwhelming that you only taste the marinade and not so much the chicken. I appreciate the flexibility of how to serve them, i.e., as a main dish or with a salad. Thank you very much for creating and sharing this most delicious, flavorful recipe.
Thank you so much for your five-star review! I appreciate your coming back to let me know you liked it. Please let me know which recipe you make next.
i want to make this recipe, it popped up in my search for a low salt recipe. i have all the ingredients but need to lower the salt in this. any tips for me? it is for a family member who had heart surgery recently. thanks so much. brenda
You can omit the added salt. Look for a low sodium mustard if possible.
Loved this! Skipped mixing in a bowl, mixed everything directly in a freezer bag, and put the chicken thighs in directly to marinate for a little bit before cooking. Thyme does a lot of great work on this one!
Just made this. Marinaded for couple hours ans used boneless skinless thighs. The flavour was aaahmazing! I used a brown mustard we had picked up in Eastport Maine and with the honey and thyme…soo good. Def going in the rotation!
Thank you for reporting back Andrea! I am glad you liked this recipe.