Chicken with Mustard Sauce (creamy & delicious!)
Posted: 04/13/2020
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This chicken with mustard sauce is an easy and elegant one pan meal. The amazing creamy Dijon sauce with rosemary will have you wanting to lick your plate clean!
Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: This chicken is all about the sauce!
How long it takes: 45 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: large skillet, stove, instant read thermometer (opt.)
Servings: 4
I like all of the recipes we create for you on Rachel Cooks, but every once in awhile, we sit and eat one and just rave about it. This recipe was one of those. Not on the first test…that was a total fail. The sauce separated and it just wasn’t all that great.
However, that’s what we’re here for. The fails happen in my kitchen so that they don’t happen in your kitchen.
Everything after that, though, was a home run. We tweaked that original recipe to fix the problems and the result is this amazing chicken bathed in a creamy mustard sauce.
Let’s be honest, this is less about the chicken and more about the sauce. At least for me. I could drink this sauce. Serve this chicken with something that will soak up the sauce. I like jasmine rice, mashed potatoes, or cooked noodles. Lately I’ve been on a polenta kick. Instant Pot polenta is a game-changer.
P.S. If you’re a fan of creamy sauces, be sure to try my creamy chicken and asparagus pasta or creamy coconut shrimp.
About this recipe
To prepare this chicken, you’ll have to put it in the pan and take it back out a few times but it doesn’t change the fact that this is an easy one pan meal.
Less dishes always make me a happy, happy girl.
I’ll run you through the recipe here and give you a bunch of helpful tips.
Look for the printable recipe card with full instruction and nutrition information at the end of this post.
To start this chicken, you’ll heat some oil in a skillet, and then get that chicken nice and brown on both sides. This gives it SO much flavor and also starts the cooking process, so don’t skip it!
Cooking Tip
If the chicken feels like it wants to stick to the pan, it’s probably not brown enough yet. Give it another minute or two before you try to flip it.
Once you’ve browned the chicken on both sides, you’ll move the pan to the oven to cook it all the way through. This helps the chicken cook evenly without drying out.
After the chicken has cooked through, place it on a plate and cover with foil to keep it warm and let it rest. While the chicken rests (this step will make it extra juicy!), you’ll make the sauce.
The sauce begins with sautéed shallots. You’ll also add rosemary and garlic, which is when your kitchen starts to smell amazing. A bit of flour will help your sauce thicken.
This is where it gets really good. Wine, mustard, and chicken broth. So much flavor! THEN, heavy cream. It’s really just the perfect sauce. It will thicken up into an irresistibly creamy sauce that’s perfect for spooning over the chicken, or you could also use it for dipping.
FAQs
What does cooking wine do to chicken?
In this recipe, the wine is in the sauce, giving it a wonderful flavor. If you use wine in a chicken marinade, it will tenderize and subtly add flavor to the chicken. Some recipes, such as coq au vin, cook the chicken right in the wine. This recipe by Ina Garten uses half a bottle of red wine, plus 1/4 cup cognac.
What wine is best with chicken?
Hmm, to cook with or drink? Usually white wine is used in the preparation of chicken, especially white meat (breasts), such as Chardonnay or Sauvignon blanc. If the recipe includes dark meat or the whole chicken, red wine may be used, such as Burgundy in the case of coq au vin.
Addressing the question of what to drink, it all depends on how the chicken is prepared.
What is the difference between cooking wine and regular wine?
You’ll find bottles of cooking wine in the grocery store by the vinegars. It often has preservatives and salt added. I much prefer using wine that I would drink. It adds more flavor to your dishes without any additives. Bonus: You can enjoy a glass of wine while you cook!
Make This Chicken Recipe your own
- If you’d like to lighten this up a little or make it dairy free, you could try making it without cream. I just love the cream but it still has a lot of great flavor without.
- If you want to make this without wine, you can substitute an extra half cup of chicken broth instead.
- Love or hate garlic? Feel free to add more or leave it out. Amp up the garlic with sweet and creamy roasted garlic.
- If you don’t have shallots, you could also use finely diced onion.
- Prefer chicken thighs? They would work well with this recipe, too. Keep in mind that you may have to adjust cooking time.
- This sauce would also be amazing on pork or salmon. Or try this salmon with creamy spinach and poblano sauce. It’s so yummy!
- Beautiful weather calling you outside? You could make this with grilled chicken and then just whip up this sauce on the stovetop.
- Gluten-free? Instead of thickening with flour, try using a gluten-free flour or cornstarch.
Storage & Reheating Tips
Store any leftover chicken and sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.
Cream sauce can be a little tricky to reheat, but it’s doable. I recommend reheating on the stove in a small skillet or pan slowly over medium low heat. If you place a cover on the pan, it will prevent it from drying and will also help it warm faster.
More easy chicken recipes
You can never have too many easy chicken recipes, right? Here are some of the best one pan chicken dinners:
- One Pan Cuban Chicken and Rice
- Chicken Fricassee – with a creamy lemon dill sauce
- Orange Chicken Thighs with Bok Choy
- Sheet Pan Honey Balsamic Chicken
- Skillet Chicken Pot Pie
- Creamy Chicken Spaghetti
- Bruschetta Chicken
- One Pan Mediterranean Chicken
- Pizza Chicken
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @rachelcooksblog on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
servings
This chicken with mustard sauce is an easy and elegant one pan meal. The amazing creamy dijon sauce with rosemary will have you wanting to lick your plate clean!
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (1 ½ – 2 pounds total)
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon oil (vegetable, canola or grapeseed)
- 1 medium shallot, finely diced
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 large clove garlic, minced (about 1 teaspoon)
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- ½ cup dry white wine (not sweet wine)
- 3 tablespoons grainy Dijon mustard
- 1 cup unsalted or reduced sodium chicken stock
- ½ cup heavy cream
- Optional: fresh chives or parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400ºF.
- Trim chicken and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.
- Add oil to a large oven safe skillet over medium heat. When oil is hot, place chicken in skillet. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until golden brown and it removes easily from the pan (it shouldn’t stick). Flip each piece over and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes.
- Place the pan in the oven and bake for 10 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken breasts reaches 165ºF when checked with an instant-read thermometer in the thickest portion of the meat. Remove chicken from the pan and place it on a plate. Cover with foil.
- Return pan to burner over medium heat. Add shallots and cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until softened. Add rosemary and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute or until garlic is fragrant. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Whisk or stir in wine while scraping all the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Continue to cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until slightly reduced. Add mustard while whisking, and then add chicken broth while whisking. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes or until thickened slightly.
- Whisk in cream and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, or until thickened. Return chicken to pan to coat in sauce (or drizzle sauce over chicken) and serve immediately, garnished with fresh parsley or chives if desired.
Notes
- If you’d like to lighten this up a little or make it dairy free, leave out the cream.
- If you want to make this without wine, substitute an extra ½ cup of chicken broth instead.
- Love or hate garlic? Feel free to add more or leave it out.
- If you don’t have shallots, you could also use finely diced onion.
- Prefer chicken thighs? They would work with this recipe, too. Keep in mind that you may have to adjust cooking time.
- Gluten-free? Instead of thickening with flour, try using a gluten-free flour or cornstarch.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 445kcal, Carbohydrates: 6g, Protein: 51g, Fat: 21g, Saturated Fat: 9g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 8g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 185mg, Sodium: 567mg, Potassium: 973mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 515IU, Vitamin C: 4mg, Calcium: 47mg, Iron: 1mg
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
Robert Toth says
It was wonderful! Everybody enjoyed it and sent me back to the kitchen to make more sauce :)
Rachel Gurk says
I’m so glad it was a hit! Looks like a delicious dinner – thanks for sharing the photo!
Chris W. says
I made this recipe a week or so ago – very delicious! I also loved how easy it was to make – sometimes I just want to make something that doesn’t take hours to put together and this was one of the good ones. Where we live, there’s a major problem getting b/s breasts that aren’t the size of my head…my solution is purchasing split chicken breasts and removing the meat from the bones. Then I make chicken stock out of what’s left. A bunch of years ago, we used to live in the city of Chicago and there was this butcher shop I always used to go to mostly buying b/s breasts. One day there were no other customers in the store and the butcher told me to come behind the counter to see how to remove the bones. I’ll never forget his kindness and the fact that he saved me tons of money going forward.
Rachel Gurk says
That’s so awesome! What a nice man!
Nicole Liauw says
Used the capers, substituted Greek yoghurt for the cream and served over couscous. Got great reviews from the family! (And also scooped up the leftover sauce while I was washing dishes!)
Rachel Gurk says
So happy to hear it was a hit! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review, it means a lot!
Mindy says
This was SO good. My family lapped it up – even my picky eater. After dinner, I scraped the pan with a spatula to eat literally every last drop of the sauce (though there was not much left because others had gone before me). This is going to be a regular in our meal rotation – it has that magic combo of easy/fast to make + absolutely delicious.
Rachel Gurk says
So glad to hear you liked it! Your comment made me smile, thank you!
Amy says
This was quick, easy, and delicious. The chicken was moist and tender. I literally ate some of the sauce with a spoon. I threw in some capers for a little zing. Will definitely make again. Can’t wait to check out your other recipes!
Rachel Gurk says
So glad to hear this recipe was a hit. Love the addition of capers, yum! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!
Christan says
That sauce is drinkable *chef’s kiss*
Rachel Gurk says
I’m so glad to hear it! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review!
Jane says
Hi would like to try sauce with this pork tenderloin or pork loin
It looks delicious. Do you have any suggestions
I will try the chicken but family is all chicken out this week
Rachel Gurk says
Yes, I think that would be wonderful, so delicious!
Linda C says
I made this sauce to go with a roast pork tenderloin that was marinated in rosemary, white wine and garlic. I didn’t use the cream, just a little extra chicken stock. This sauce was delicious! I also could eat it with a spoon!
Rachel Gurk says
Oh I bet that it was delicious on pork! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!
Cindy says
I want to try this, but don’t have grainy Dijon. Have you made this with the creamy Dijon? If so, what are your thoughts?
Rachel Gurk says
Creamy dijon would definitely work in this recipe! It will have a slightly different appearance but will taste fantastic.
Cindy says
Thank you!
Rachel Gurk says
You’re welcome!
Suzanne says
Delicious! I doubled the recipe and made this with bone in chicken thighs and onions. I added mushrooms too. Definitely will be making this again and again. Thanks Rachel!
Rachel Gurk says
So glad you liked it! Love the addition of mushrooms!
Michael says
Help! Planning my shopping list. The recipe list calls for skinless breasts, but recipe says to saute them skin side down. (Maybe I’ll have to make it both ways!).
Rachel Gurk says
Hi Michael! Sorry about that! We tested it originally with bone-in, skin-on but liked it better with skinless. We found that the skin made the sauce a little too greasy. I think that part in the instructions was a remnant from the first test…going to change it now. Thanks for pointing it out. Sorry about that!
Stephanie W says
I have been eyeing this recipe several times now because the picture looks so delicious. However, I am the only one in my family that likes Dijon Mustard so I was hesitant. I made this tonight with no plan to reveal the big ingredient and see how it plays out. I am so glad I did because it was a huge success, even with my 12 and 14-year-old. My husband asked me how I made the gravy and he was surprised that it was Dijon. He knew mustard was used, but never thought it was the one he hates so much, but the other ingredients mellow out the mustard. And you are right…I could easily lick that sauce right out of the pan. The only thing I added was fresh spinach into the sauce to add some extra veggies and the kids didn’t even pick it out! Thanks for sharing! I will be making this dish more often!
Rachel Gurk says
This comment made my day! I’m so glad you all liked it so much! Reminds me that I should make it again ASAP! :) Thanks for taking the time to leave such a nice comment, it means a lot to me!
denise says
if I only had the ingredients… trying to avoid going to the store…
Rachel Gurk says
Totally understand that!