Chicken in Mustard Sauce (Poulet à la Moutarde)
As winter approaches, I can’t help but find comfort in warm meals like this chicken in mustard sauce recipe. This French dish, Poulet à la Moutarde, is an incredible one-pot meal that you can make with ingredients you probably already have on hand.
Chicken in Mustard Sauce: the base
To create this chicken in mustard sauce recipe, you’ll obviously need chicken. The chicken can be made up of any part: drumstick, thigh, or even breast.
However, you should preferably use chicken that still has the skin on so that you can brown the chicken nicely without drying it out.
The Mustard
The mustard in this recipe takes on a very important role in providing fantastic flavor to the meal.
That’s why I suggest using the best quality mustard you can get your hands on.
Maille has been my go-to both in France and the U.S. No other mustard brand has crafted the variety of flavors and mastered them quite like Maille has.
Maille recently gifted me with their limited edition Black Truffle Cep and Chablis flavor, so for the photographed recipe here, I used a combination of that and the original flavor.
As the mustard-laden chicken browns in your pot, the mustard will stick to the bottom of the pot. This is not a problem, but rather a wonderful component of this meal.
Once you add some white wine and chicken broth, all those glorious mustard bits can be scraped from the pot and become one with the heavenly sauce.
Substitutes
I make most one-pot meals with the intention of not really measuring or fussing with ingredients. If the meal is going to be easy, I can’t be too strict with measurements and ingredients, right?
For example, in this recipe, I typically use thyme and a bay leaf as part of my bouquet garni. This is a preferred combination, but when I’ve run out of thyme before, I’ve used a small sprig of tarragon instead.
There is also a dose of milk in this recipe to mellow out the sauce. You can use cream for a richer sauce, or even creme fraiche, but whole milk has always done just fine for me.
In addition, I love using crispy onions in many of my stews and sauces. The crispy onions are coated in a flour mixture that help thicken the sauce.
If you’re using a regular onion, you can simply add a tablespoon of flour to thicken the sauce, or just use heavy cream or creme fraîche rather than milk later in the recipe. I’ve made all these notes in the recipe card for your convenience.
To Enjoy
My favorite way to eat this chicken with mustard sauce is to serve it with a big chunk of crusty French bread and a simple kale salad.
The chicken has rich flavor, so there’s no sense in creating any side dishes that will compete with that. Another side that would work well is classic mashed potatoes, as its comforting nature compliments the chicken beautifully.
This post has been made in collaboration with Maille.
Chicken in Mustard Sauce
A one-pot chicken dinner where the chicken is marinated in dijon mustard then cooked in a delicious mustard-cream sauce until tender and juicy.
Ingredients
- 4 pieces to 5 of chicken, preferably drumsticks and thighs with skin on
- 1/3 cup top quality dijon mustard, or more, if needed
- salt for the chicken
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup crispy onions, or one small onion thinly sliced*
- 1 can low-sodium chicken broth, (14.5 oz)
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1/4 cup whole milk **, or creme fraiche, or heavy cream
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 1 bay leaf
Instructions
- Season both sides of the chicken with a generous pinch of salt. Then spoon the mustard over the chicken, using your fingers to rub the mustard all over the chicken (front and back).
- Melt the butter in a large, heavy bottom pot (a dutch oven is good too) over medium-high heat. Once the pot is hot, add in the chicken. Cook each side until beautifully browned; approximately 5 minutes each side. Remove the chicken from the pot and place the pieces on a plate to rest temporarily.
- Lower the temperature to medium. To the pot, add the crispy onions and give them a quick sauté for a minute. (If you're using regular onion, add a tablespoon of flour to the pot first, and stir for a minute until a paste-like mixture forms. Then add the regular onion slices and sauté until softened and translucent; about 5 minutes.)
- Pour in the chicken stock and wine, and bring the mixture to a boil. Cook until the aroma of alcohol is gone; about 4 to 5 minutes. The liquid should have reduced a bit as well. Pour in the milk and give it a stir.
- Reduce the temperature to medium-low, and transfer the chicken back into the pot, pouring any residual juices in with it. Tie the bay leaf and thyme together with kitchen string, then add to the pot.
- Put the lid on the pot and cook for 45 to 50 minutes. The chicken should be tender and the liquid in the pot should have significantly reduced and be thick. Remove the herb bouquet before serving.
Notes
*If you're using a regular onion, you can add a tablespoon of flour to help thicken the sauce the way the crispy onions would have.
**This recipe does perfectly well with milk, but if you're looking for extra richness, go for the creme fraiche or heavy cream.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 4 ServingsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 423
This simple recipe is the perfect my chicken tenders YUM!
Tried this last night. What came out was delicious but not particularly “mustardy”. Not sure what happened but I would try it again sometime, regardless. any ideas?
Hi Chris! I wouldn’t say the flavor should end up too mustard-y because the broth and cream really mellow out the flavor. That said, different dijon mustards will provide varying strength in mustard flavor. For example, when I used the truffle mustard, the mustard flavor is more apparent than the plain mustard. If you want more mustard flavor, you can try using less broth and cream next time around. Hope that helps! 🙂
Absolutely beautiful photos! Sadly my version turned out with a blackish, brown sauce that looked nothing like the pics here. I used butter from Brittany, fresh Dijon mustard from Maille (hand pumped) and the crispy onions you recommended; I used creme fraiche. I followed your directions TO THE LETTER, but sadly got an entirely different result. The recipe looks amazing, but I am terribly disappointed and cannot figure out / understand what we did wrong!
Hi John! I’m sorry the recipe didn’t turn out the way you were expecting when you tried it at home. I’m not sure what went wrong as I’ve had several people try this recipe at home with success. When you say your version turned out with a “blackish brown sauce,” that makes me think that maybe your chicken burned slightly when you browned it in the pot? That would explain any burnt bits darkening the overall sauce. In general, this is a brown sauce (though not black in any way) that gets slightly lightened up in color with the addition of the milk/cream. If you decide to try this again, I would maybe lower the heat a bit when you’re browning the chicken and maybe try adding in heavy cream this time instead of creme fraiche, since I think the heavy cream does the best job of lightening up the sauce. 🙂
I did the exact same thing you did and mine, also, turned out brownish. There was no golden color at all. It tasted fine, but was not the same color, therefore, not as beautiful, as the photo. But will keep the recipe and try again.
I made this with spicy brown mustard and it was fabulous! Thanks for sharing!
Awesome! I’m so glad you enjoyed this, Emily! Thank you for the feedback 🙂
I came across your blog yesterday and just had to try this recipe. I just made it today and it tastes amazing! Thanks for sharing your recipe I will be making your tomato-crostini next! Will definitely be adding your blog to my list of favorites!
Thanks so much, Dustin! So happy you enjoyed it 😀
Love the idea of these flavors, but I am not a fan of dark meat chicken. How would I adjust the cooking time if I were to use breast and wings? Many thanks.
Hi Gail! Thank you for the comment and question!
So I would recommend using at least chicken breasts with skin on so you can render the fat and still get the flavor from the skin for your sauce. As far as cooking time, I would check the chicken after 25 minutes rather than the suggested 45-50min. You only need to cook the breast until it reaches 165 on a thermometer; any longer and you’ll get dry chciken. The reason the thighs are cooked longer is not because they don’t reach 165 before 45 minutes, but because they’ve got a lot of connective tissue that needs time to break down. Cooking thighs longer only makes them better, whereas overcooking breasts just makes them dry and rubbery.
Hope this helps! 🙂
This looks easy and delicious. Would like to try it tonight. When you say “crispy onions,” do you mean the canned onions that usually make their appearance on the ubiquitous green bean casserole?
Hi Elizabeth! Thanks for the question. Yes, that’s exactly the kind of crispy onions I’m referring to. The exact brand and product I use is shown above (Lars Own). I have never used the common French’s brand because I honestly adore the flavor and natural ingredients in the Lars one. If you’d like to use crispy onions but don’t have time to order via Amazon, I’ve heard that Lars is offered in some Whole Foods stores. I’ve also heard great things about the crispy onion pieces from Trader Joe’s. Otherwise, this recipe will still be fantastic with a regular onion. 🙂
Thanks. Sadly no Trader Joes or Whole Foods near me but real onions work too!
This looks incredibly delicious and it’s only 7 am and I want this! Hello to your dad and hope things are well. 🙂
Thank you, Kevin! Mustard chicken for breakfast? Why not! 😉 Dad says hi as well XO