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Hands down, our absolute most favorite recipe ever is this juicy, saucy dijon braised chicken thighs with potatoes that’s a one-skillet wonder!
Easy Braised Chicken Thighs
This is it!! Our absolute most favorite recipe we’ve ever created for our cookbook, Our Sweet Basil Kitchen. Like, seriously. I crave this stuff like a pregnant lady craves hot french fries and ice cream. Well, no I didn’t because I was too busy trying to survive, but I hear that pregnant people have cravings. The point is, this dijon braised chicken and potatoes is the bees knees.
Which is one of those sayings I still don’t understand but continue to rattle off when something is awesome. And I’ll be honest, this is completely out of our little heads, but doesn’t it seem like a good home cooking Southern meal? Maybe something you’d see them cooking up at the Whistle Stop Cafe in Fried Green Tomatoes. Man, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen that movie.
Ingredients for Dijon Braised Chicken Thighs and Potatoes
Dijon braised chicken and potatoes requires very few ingredients. Here’s everything you’ll need to make this recipe:
- Chicken thighs
- Yukon gold potatoes
- Bacon
- Yellow onion
- Unsalted butter
- Apple cider vinegar
- Dijon mustard
- Garlic
- Sugar
- Smoked paprika
- Chicken broth
- Fresh parsley
How to Make Braised Chicken Thighs and Potatoes
Start out by cooking up your bacon and then instead of cleaning out the pan, drain off most but not all of the bacon grease, season your chicken and pop it in the pan, skin side down to get all golden and pretty.
Pull the chicken out after both sides are cooked and move on to the onions and potatoes. You’ll get them cooked down a little in the leftover bacon fat, chicken juices and a touch of butter. I know, this is getting crazy already.
Now add your chicken and any juices on the plate back into the dish, pour in your mustard mixture and broth and get the whole thing in the oven for a good 40 minutes. Don’t worry about over cooking things, you’ll know it’s done when the sauce has reduced, the potatoes are roasted and tender and there’s a deep color on the chicken. Now spoon the sauce and onions over everything and sprinkle with bacon.
“Have. Mercy.” ~Jesse Katsopolis
Can I Use Chicken Breasts Instead of Thighs?
Chicken thighs offer the most flavor, but chicken breasts can be used as well. Just shorten the cooking time since there isn’t a bone involved.
Tips for Making Dijon Braised Chicken Thighs and Potatoes
You may be able to use another type of mustard, or a blend of mustards, instead of Dijon. However, we prefer making classic Dijon chicken and find that using just the one type of mustard works well with the other flavors in the sauce.
We highly recommend using a cast iron skillet for this recipe since cast iron conducts heat the best. However, if you don’t have a cast iron skillet you can likely use another oven-safe skillet.
Lastly, these braised chicken thighs and potatoes pair nicely with a simple side salad or roasted veggies. We like adding something green to the plate, but you could also enjoy this meal as is.
More EASY CHICKEN RECIPES:
- Italian Dressing Chicken
- Simple Garlic Butter Parmesan Chicken with Lemon Rice
- Panko Crusted Chicken with Lemon Cream Sauce
- Thai Peanut Sauce Noodles and Chicken
- Quick and Easy 15-Minute Chicken Stir Fry
- Easy Asian Orange Chicken
- Cheesy Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole
- Teriyaki Chicken Casserole
- Easy Coconut Chicken Curry
- Better Than Grandma’s Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
- BBQ Instant Pot Whole Chicken
- Quick and Easy Cornflake Ranch Chicken
Braised Dijon Chicken and Potatoes
Dijon Braised Chicken Thighs and Potatoes
Ingredients
- ⅓ Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- ¼ Cup Dijon Mustard
- 2 Cloves Garlic, minced
- ¼ Cup Granulated Sugar
- ½ teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- 6 Bacon Slices
- 5 Bone-in Chicken Thighs, see note*
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- Black pepper
- 2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
- ½-1 Whole Yellow Onion
- 6-8 Small Yukon Gold Potatoes, quartered
- 1 ¼ Cup Chicken Broth
- 1 Tablespoon Fresh Parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, mustard, garlic, sugar and paprika. Set aside.⅓ Cup Apple Cider Vinegar, ¼ Cup Dijon Mustard, ¼ Cup Granulated Sugar, 2 Cloves Garlic, ½ teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- In a heavy cast iron skillet over medium heat, add the bacon and cook each side until crisp.6 Bacon Slices
- Drain the bacon on a napkin lined plate and drain off all but 1 tablespoon of the grease.
- Chop the bacon and set aside.
- Turn the heat to medium high and add the chicken seasoned with salt and pepper on the skin side), skin side down, season the other side with salt and pepper5 Bone-in Chicken Thighs, 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt, Black pepper
- Turn down to medium-low heat and cook for 3-5 minutes or until the skin is golden brown, flip and continue cooking another 5 minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate.
- Increase the heat to medium and add the butter to the pan.2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
- Once melted, add the onions to cook for 2-3 minutes and then add the potatoes, cooking for 3-4 minutes.½-1 Whole Yellow Onion, 6-8 Small Yukon Gold Potatoes
- Nestle the chicken and any juices back into the skillet, add the vinegar mixture and the broth, simmer for 1 minute and place in a 450 degree F oven for 35-40 minutes. The juices will thicken up and the chicken will stay moist due to the liquid.1 ¼ Cup Chicken Broth
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle with chopped bacon and parsley.1 Tablespoon Fresh Parsley
- Serve spooning the pan juices over the meat and potatoes.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Do you put it in the oven with or without the lid?
Hey Linsee! No lid needed! I hope you enjoy it!
I make this recipe all the time! It’s soooo good.
I like to mop up the juices with crusty bread, which works great the first time. But once I refrigerate the leftovers, the juices disappear. I’m wondering two things:
a) am I leaving too much bacon grease in the skillet, which makes leftovers conjeal?
or
b) if I double or triple the recipe (minus the chicken, bacon, and potatoes) there will be enough reserved liquid for refrigerated leftovers?
If you have any advice, please let me know. Thanks so much!!
Also curious if there’s a way to make this less fattening–maybe using less bacon and/or skinless chicken thighs?
Hi Leah! I’m so glad you enjoy this recipe! I think the leftover juices will congeal not matter what just because there is quite a bit of fat in it. I wouldn’t double or triple the recipe because then the chicken will just boil instead of braising. You could try creating more juices after the chicken and potatoes have cooked with the leftover drippings. Add some more chicken broth and maybe thicken it a little with some cornstarch and water mixture.
You could reduce the fat by using skinless thighs or by switching to chicken breasts. You could also use turkey bacon instead of regular bacon. I hope this helps!
Fixed this tonight. I’m guessing you really meant cook at 450 degrees? I used the oven probe thermometer because I really do detest dry meat. Followed your directions to the T, and when I put it in the oven, it was already at 150 degrees. It only took 15 minutes to get the thickest piece up to 165 degrees, so I took it out then. Everything tasted great, but the sauce was more like a clear broth. So I strained it, and put the sauce back in the skillet with 1/2 T. cornstarch. That made into a luxurious gravy type sauce (still clear). Will DEFIINTELY add this to our regular repertoire of recipes, just adding in the cornstarch at the end & reducing time in the oven. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe Kim! It is a favorite for us!