Ina Garten’s Mustard Roasted Chicken is tender and succulent with a crunchy mustard and thyme crumb coating ~ it’s become a favorite in our house!
this crispy mustard roasted chicken recipe is from Ina Garten’s book Foolproof.
Ina is one of my favorite chefs, and I’m never disappointed by her recipes. Just look at the crunchy mustard and thyme crumb coating on this chicken, you just know it’s going to be amazing! This is one of those recipes to make and then memorize ~ it’s perfect for everyday meals, but also great for entertaining ~ there aren’t many souls who can resist a great roasted chicken.
Ina has a way of zeroing in on what makes food delicious, without any unnecessary steps, frills, or ingredients
We’re kindred spirits in the kitchen because this is the way I cook, too. She is always right on, and truly foolproof. In this case, though, Alexandra from Alexandra Cooks, one of my favorite blogs, made a couple of minor changes which I think are spot on. She substituted buttermilk for white wine in the coating/marinade for the chicken, and used fresh bread crumbs instead of the panko crumbs Ina calls for. I think they are brilliant changes, so I’ve kept them.
ingredients for Ina Garten’s crispy mustard roasted chicken
- chicken, skin on, the cut is up to you (see our guide, below.)
- buttermilk ~ why buttermilk? The acids and enzymes in buttermilk tenderize the chicken and the thick texture clings to the surface to grab ahold of all those wonderful crumbs.
- bread crumbs ~ fresh or dried? You can use either but we love the texture of fresh made.
- olive oil
- Dijon mustard ~ 1/2 cup of mustard is in the marinade, which sounds like a lot, but only a portion will remain in the finished dish.
- lemon ~ the zest
- garlic ~ minced
- thyme ~ fresh
- salt and pepper
which cuts of chicken to choose for this recipe?
Use what you like here, every cut of chicken will work. Just be aware that different cuts of chicken will cook at slightly different rates, so if you’re mixing large breasts and tiny thighs or legs, you’ll need to account for that.
- If you’re a fan of dark meat, use legs and thighs.
- If white meat is what you love, you can use all breasts. The buttermilk and crumb crust will keep moisture in, so don’t shy away from white meat in this recipe.
- Ina calls for a whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces.
- I used a combination of breasts and my new favorite cut, the whole leg (drumstick and thigh attached.)
- I even use this recipe to coat chicken tenders!
- Whatever you choose, we recommend skin-on (with the exception of the tenders.)
how to make your own breadcrumbs
If you’d like to make your own breadcrumbs, check out my How To Make Homemade Bread Crumbs post, they’re so quick and easy, you’ll wonder why you ever bought them. You can use just about any type of bread, or even crackers, in a pinch. For this recipe Ina uses Japanese dried breadcrumbs (panko) but I’ve chosen to use fresh bread, processed in a food processor until fine and fluffy. I think the fresh crumbs make a more luxurious coating.
- Take fresh, day old, or toasted bread. You can remove the crusts, or leave them on.
- Break up into rough pieces.
- Place in a food processor and pulse/process until the bread breaks down into crumbs. You can make them as coarse or as fine as you like.
- Store in an airtight container.
the verdict
This chicken is everything you’d hope it would be. Moist and perfectly done inside, with a golden, crunchy mustard and thyme crust, it’s like fried chicken without the frying! We’ve made it countless times and it has never let us down. I highly recommend it!
craving more chicken?
Lemon Chicken Salad with Buttermilk Dressing
Japanese Chicken Katsu Curry Bowl
Creamy Chicken with Wild Rice and Mushrooms
Ina Garten’s Mustard Roasted Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts and 2 whole leg/thighs, bone in, skin on
- ½ cup Dijon mustard
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 4 peeled garlic cloves
- a small handful fresh thyme leaves
- zest of one lemon
- 1 1/2 tsp salt, more or less to taste
- 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- 2 cups fresh breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup olive oil
Instructions
- Put the chicken pieces in a large zip lock baggie or other container. Mix the buttermilk and the mustard and pour over the chicken. Coat all the surfaces, and marinate, tightly covered, for a couple of hours or overnight.
- Set oven to 400F
- Set up a food processor fitted with the metal blade. With the machine going, drop in the garlic cloves to mince them. Turn off the machine and add the crumbs, thyme, lemon zest, salt and pepper to the bowl. Drizzle in the olive oil and pulse the machine to combine everything.
- Put the crumbs into a pie plate, or other wide shallow bowl, and press each piece of chicken, skin side down, into the crumbs. The marinade will help the crumbs adhere to the meat. Press the crumbs in with your hands to completely coat the top. Set the chicken down — crumb side up — on a foil or parchment lined baking sheet. Press any remaining crumbs onto the bare spots on the chicken. Don’t waste any!
- Bake the chicken for about 40 minutes, until the topping is browned and the chicken is cooked through (if you want to be exact, 165F.) I ran mine under the broiler at the very end to get a little more color.
Notes
Nutrition
I didn’t have the total amount of bread crumbs, used 1 1/4 cup. I used skinless chicken breasts and they were large.This is awesome, good enough for a dinner party! I’ll be saving this in my recipe binder with the small changes. Fabulous!