You may have noticed that simple is hard for me.
But the things I make really aren’t hard!
I like ingredients, and I find its easy to toss together a bunch of spices quickly. But I get it. Long ingredient lists are intimidating. So here’s a recipe that couldn’t be any easier.
Dijon Baked Chicken only calls for 3 necessary things: chicken, Dijon, and red wine vinegar (you could use *almost* any acid you have on hand). I have made it as part of my food prep 2 weeks in a row! Click here for a full post on that.
The simplicity of this dish doesn’t make it any less delicious. In fact, this is one of the best baked chickens I’ve made yet (and I make a lot of chicken).
Two things will make this better than your average chicken: use a GOOD mustard (I used a beer dijon) and tenderize your chicken. Tenderizing is a pain in the arse, but it makes such a huge difference that I always, always do it. I hate touching raw chicken, so I put mine between 2 sheets of wax paper before beating it.
Easy clean up and it’s not a bad stress reliever. 😉
You know me. I couldn’t leave it at just the 3 ingredients. I added rosemary, black pepper, and a touch of lemon stevia (honey mustard!). And red pepper flakes. Add your favorite flavors or keep it super simple. It won’t disappoint either way.
I used this chicken many ways, but the simplest meal was for lunch over a bed of spinach and broccoli slaw. Tossed with a little hummus dressing (hummus mixed with apple cider vinegar and a little cumin), it was the perfect midday meal!
Easy Dijon Baked Chicken
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1/4 C Dijon mustard
- 1 T red wine vinegar
- Optional adds: lemon liquid Stevia, rosemary, red pepper flakes, black pepper… etc.
Preheat oven to 425.
Tenderize chicken breasts and place in 9×13 glass baking dish.
In a small bowl, mix together mustard, vinegar, and any additional flavors.
Pour mustard mixture over chicken, taking care to coat each one.
Bake for ~30 mins, until 165 degrees.
Tip: I only cook mine to 160 degrees to keep it nice a juicy. I take it out and let it rest, which allows it to cook the rest of the way, and for the juices to soak in.
***
I made so much of this… and then I made it again. Chicken for days in the freezer when I get home and I couldn’t be happier. 🙂
Do you have a go-to way to make chicken? (Or tofu… the vegan chicken. 😉 )
How about some mustard love – have you tried any of the fun flavors? Sweet potato and caramelized onion mustard is also delish in this!
Mmmm, I love Dijon! Its such a simple ingredient that can elevate any dish to flavor greatness! I also love Westbrae’s no salt stoneground mustard. It is awesome even without the salt!
I have that mustard in my fridge!! SO good. Why do people think mustard needs so much salt?!
I am totally in love with baked chicken. I think I don’t even use my skillet ever again for making chicken, it just gets so much better when baked. I love to marinate it with a mix of coconut milk and mustard – so good! But the idea of red wine vinegar sounds so delicious too.
I love honey mustard! Could eat it with a spoon out of the jar, no shame 🙂
Agreed! Same with fish. I don’t know why I was only using a grill plan for so long. The clean up sucksssss!
You make something ‘normal’? Never. I’ve never thought to marinate/bake chicken in mustard before, I’ll have to give it a go, as like you, chicken is a protein I bake quite often!
Please let me know if you try it! And I’m counting on you to make it more strange. 😉
ooh i love dijon! this sounds so good!
Sounds great! I’m a big fan of dijon mustard and always have it in the house.
such a good idea to marinate chicken, I love dijon flavor more than anything else
Well, the awesome part is you DON’T marinate it. I can never remember to plan that in advance. Just coat it cook!
Love simple recipes like this! I have a mango-chipotle chicken, so that’s always my go-to whenever I make it. I never really bother to tenderize it, but you’re right – it’s definitely a good stress reliever :-p
And I’m not a huge mustard fan…I do like honey mustard though!
Ohhhh… I always forget chipotle but I love it! I need to thow that in next time too. 🙂
I am very boring with my mustard. I like basic yellow mustard and that’s pretty much it!
Sooooo weird I just marinated an entire farm of chickens (that sounds bad) with a dijon marinade…except I included half a bottle of honey lol…My sweet tooth will always get the best of me! I should probably add that I also added pickle juice since this is probably the only blog that won’t judge me for my strange food combos!
A farm? LOL! Pickle juice is totally legit. Lawd, I miss sodium…
I love using mustard for dressings and marinades. I do a super simple one with mustard, honey, balsamic vinegar and some spices for tofu or tempeh.
I love the balsamic idea! Totally trying that. 🙂
Your dijon baked chicken salad looks amaaaaazing! I want some! My go to for chicken is usually baked with a light bread crumb coating and spices. I’ll check this one out soon though!
Thank you!! I don’t so bread crumbs much, but I do a sweeter chicken with a ground flax and cinnamon crust that’s pretty tasty!
I love dijon baked salmon, im sure it would be excellent with chicken as well.
I’m SO not a chicken fan (even before I stopped eating meat), but mustard I love!! From a simple dijon to the craziest combo I can find. 🙂
Great minds… we make this exact same recipe, but with just a drop of honey. I love the simple and delicious combo of mustard and vinegar. I need to put this back on our menu!
You do have a great mind. 😉 I’d do the honey if I could have it… but the lemon Stevia worked quite well! I may try the orange next and do an Asian twist!
I like dijon. I like chicken. I LOVEEEEE this combo TOGETHER 😀
Oh – that might be dinner tonight – I know the boys would love it and I love how simple it is!!! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much!!! Please let me know what you think. 🙂
I LOVE chicken, and I am absolutely going to make this recipe ASAP. Seriously, the amount of chicken I make every week is insane.
Awesome!! I’d love to hear what you think. I eat a ridiculous amount of chicken too. 🙂
Mmm, I love me some mustard! My go-to way to make tofu is with soy sauce, honey, and rice vinegar. With chicken, I usually use rosemary and olive oil!
I do rosemary a lot too – it’s (one of) my favorite herbs!
OMG, I have done this – of course I have – it is easy but I only used the mustard & some no salt seasoning! 🙂 I used the TJs hot/sweet mustard!!!!
Try adding some herbs too! That hot and sweet mustard would rock with some cilantro. 😉
PS: I cook at 350 for about 20-25 minutes… you have up at 425 for longer – they don’t get dry?
Nope… but that’t why I check the temp too. That’s really the best way because the thickness and moisture content varies.
Oh, this reminds me (for some reason) of the best easiest (yes, the “best easiet”) marinade I’ve ever used (usually on pork – kecap manis, balsamic vinegar, and five spice. SO GOOD. Lve dijon, too.
What’s kecap manis?
I keep forgetting: America. It’s a thick, slightly sweeter soy sauce. Indonesian soy sauce.
Have I tried any fun mustard flavors? Who ME?! 😉 Hard to pick a favorite, but right now I’m loving the Herbs de Provence mustard that the man-friend got me for Valentine’s Day…yes, I JUST opened it a couple of weeks ago…I have no excuse for that one…especially since I already had five opened jars in the fridge when I decided I wanted to open that one! Lol
Tenderizing meat is the best! Though you have to watch it on the stress relief…I accidentally made ground chicken once! Oops? I usually grill my chicken (or “bake” it in the microwave in my Pampered Chef stoneware pan) because I hate it when baked chicken gets all dry and stuff, but I’ll have to give your lower temp method a try!
I hope you know I thought of you the entire time I wrote this post. And you have started me on a habit of scouring aisles for the most random mustard flavors.
And my little mustard-loving heart swells!! 😀
Amazing blog! Do you have any hints for aspiring writers? I’m planning to start my own blog soon but I’m a little lost on everything.
Would you suggest starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for a
paid option? There are so many options out there that I’m totally overwhelmed ..
Any suggestions? Bless you!