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
Description
Ingredients
- 5 Bone-in Chicken Thighs, see note*
- 1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- Black pepper
- 6-8 Small Yukon Gold Potatoes, , quartered
- 6 Bacon Slices
- ½-1 Whole Yellow Onion
- 2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
- ⅓ Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- ¼ Cup Dijon Mustard
- 2 Cloves Garlic, , minced
- ¼ Cup Granulated Sugar
- ½ Teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- 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.
- In a heavy cast iron skillet over medium heat, add the bacon and cook each side until crisp.
- 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 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.
- Once melted, add the onions to cook for 2-3 minutes and then add the potatoes, cooking for 3-4 minutes.
- 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.
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle with chopped bacon and parsley.
- Serve spooning the pan juices over the meat and potatoes.
Notes
Nutrition
Recommended Products
Leah
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!!
Leah
Also curious if there’s a way to make this less fattening–maybe using less bacon and/or skinless chicken thighs?
Sweet Basil
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!
Kim Lippy
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.
Sweet Basil
I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe Kim! It is a favorite for us!
Candis
I see salt and pepper listed in the ingredients but I am not sure when and how to add them to the recipe.
Sweet Basil
Hi Candis! Thank you for letting me know! I have updated the recipe card. It needs to be added to the chicken before browning it.
Mire
I have made this a dozen times at least since coming upon it. I love one pot dinners and I’ve always hunted for recipes everyone in my family will eat. We have one picky eater and I hate making separate meals. This is so good. It’s my indulgence during my carb free diet. I refuse to not eat this. I don’t do the bacon as I find it overpowering. The recipe sans the bacon is much better IMO. I double the recipe for the sauce because it’s so darn good. I also use a cuisanart enameled cast iron pot. I cover it in the oven and then uncover in the last 10-15 min. Sometimes I don’t uncover at all. It’s delicious.
Sweet Basil
Thank you so much for the feedback! This is definitely one of our favorite meals too!
Christina M
I hate to rate this so low – I’ve made a few of your recipes and I’ve always enjoyed them – this one, not so much. It very possibly could be something I did though I tried to follow the recipe carefully. I didn’t like the sauce. I found it overpoweringly vinegary and not very balanced. I did only use 3 chicken thighs, so many I should’ve adjusted the ingredients, which I didn’t. But when I pulled the dish out of the oven, there was hardly any sauce left. I put it back on the stove and added a little more chicken broth and a splash of wine. It seemed to work. But…I also felt it had a bitter aftertaste. Again, it could just be me. I’m recovering from a long illness and my taste buds seem a little off these days. I do enjoy most of your recipes. Thank you.
Sweet Basil
Hi Christina! I’m so sorry that this didn’t turn out the way you were expecting! Having less chicken could have been the issue. The chicken adds to the juiciness of the dish and spreads out the vinegar and mustard flavors. Thank you for the honest feedback!
Joan
I made this last night. It was delicious and everyone loved it. I doubled the recipe and finished it in the oven in a large enamel coated cast iron pot without the lid. The top was a beautiful golden brown when it was done. Served it with steamed green beans. Looking forward to the leftovers for lunch today!
Sweet Basil
I are making my mouth water over here! I wish I had these leftovers for lunch today! Thank you for the feedback and so happy you enjoyed it!
April
Just made this with rabbit instead of chicken and it turned out beautifully. Thanks for an awesome one pot dish that is versatile enough to move from chicken to rabbit seamlessly!
Sweet Basil
Ohhhhh….yummm! that is great to know! Thanks for the feedback April!
Kay Spencer
I can’t even begin to tell you how good this recipe is. I’ve never made a recipe of yours that wasn’t delicious, but this one is one of the best. As always, thanks for coming up with recipes that aren’t full of processed foods, are tasty, and not full of ingredients that can’t be found at my local grocery store. I follow your blog daily and also have your cookbook and am never disappointed. I also love how your faith and family is a priority. Keep up the great work!
Sweet Basil
Kay, so sweet of you! Thank you so much!
Tierna
What is the broth that is mentioned in the directions? I don’t see broth mentioned anywhere else, like the ingredient list. (I do have mom brain so I could totally be overlooking it!)
Sweet Basil
Hi Tierna,
The broth is listed under the paprika 🙂
Kalli
ooooo this looks soooo yummy!!! Planning to make this in the next day or two….
Wondering what the note was about the chicken thighs? Maybe I missed it?
Sweet Basil
I’ve fixed the error, there was a note that you can sub breasts but you’ll lessen the cooking time so you’ll want to watch that.
Shawnna Griffin
hey girl- this looks so yummy!
Amy Graham
I love chicken and potatoes and your braised Dijon chicken and potatoes look so juicy and moist. I can’t wait to make this and share with my family. I bet it would serve up nicely over a bed of white rice.
Sweet Basil
Oh definitely!