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“I made this for the family yesterday and it got thumbs up from everyone, even my picky youngest, thanks so much Sue!!” ~Jordan
crispy mustard chicken recipe from Ina Garten’s Foolproof
Ina has a way of zeroing in on what makes food delicious, without unnecessary steps, frills, or ingredients. Her simple mustard chicken has mouthwatering eye appeal and always bakes up crispy outside, juicy inside. It’s a guaranteed family pleaser, and makes a perfect meal for entertaining ~ who doesn’t love roast chicken?
what’s in this post
- crispy mustard chicken recipe from Ina Garten’s Foolproof
- ingredients for Ina Garten’s mustard roasted chicken
- mustard chicken recipe note
- related: The recipes that made Ina Garten Famous!
- which cuts of chicken to choose for this recipe?
- how to make fresh breadcrumbs
- related: How to Make Homemade Breadcrumbs
- mustard chicken is like fried chicken without the frying!
- craving more chicken?
ingredients for Ina Garten’s mustard roasted chicken
- chicken pieces, skin on
- the cut is up to you (see our guide, below.) I use whole legs (thigh and leg attached) and breasts, but you could use all thighs, or a whole chicken, cut up.
- 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 freshly made crumbs.
- 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 zest
- garlic
- thyme
- use fresh thyme here.
- salt and pepper
mustard chicken recipe note
Usually I follow Ina to the letter, she’s that reliable. 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. The result is perfectly roasted chicken with a delightfully rugged crust.
related: The recipes that made Ina Garten Famous!
which cuts of chicken to choose for this recipe?
We’re using skin on chicken, and every cut of chicken will work, so use what you love. 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!
how to make fresh breadcrumbs
You can easily make your own fresh breadcrumbs for this mustard chicken ~ it’s so quick and easy you’ll wonder why you ever bought them. For this recipe Ina uses Japanese dried breadcrumbs (panko) but we’re using fresh bread, processed in a food processor until fine and fluffy. I think the fresh crumbs make a more luxurious coating.
- Take fresh or day old bread. You can remove the crusts, or leave them on.
- Break it 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. This only takes a few seconds.
- Store any unused crumbs in an airtight container.
related: How to Make Homemade Breadcrumbs
mustard chicken is like fried chicken without the frying!
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 giving it a try.
Ina Garten’s Mustard Roasted Chicken
Video
Equipment
- foil or parchment paper
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.
- Preheat the 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
- 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.
Nutrition
craving more chicken?
Lemon Chicken Salad with Buttermilk Dressing
Japanese Chicken Katsu Curry Bowl
The BEST Chinese Chicken Salad
Hi..I am in the no flour section…do you think we could use crushed pecans in place of the breadcrumbs?
I think that would work, I’ve actually seen ‘nut crumbs’ for sale in the supermarket lately. The only thing I would watch out for is the nuts getting too browned while in the oven.
What do your serve with this chicken?
Any green veggie, roasted or steamed, like broccoli, asparagus, green beans, peas. Then maybe roasted potatoes, couscous, or rice.
I plan to try this tomorrow night. Just bought leg quarters and was looking for different way to do them. I have used a similar bread mixture to top baked oysters but used Italian bread crumbs and no mustard or buttermilk. Never thought to use it on chicken. So thanks so much! I gave it five stars because I know how good this is going to be.
I made this for the family yesterday and it got thumbs up from everyone, even my picky youngest, thanks so much Sue!!
Place the garlic, thyme, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper in a food processor fitted with the steel blade and process until the garlic is finely minced. Add the panko, lemon zest, olive oil, and butter and pulse a few times to moisten the bread flakes. Pour the mixture onto a large plate. In a shallow bowl, whisk together the mustard and wine. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Sprinkle generously all over with salt and pepper. Dip each piece in the mustard mixture to coat on all sides, and then place skin-side down only into the crumb mixture, pressing gently to make the crumbs adhere. Place the chicken on a sheet pan crumb-side up. Press the remaining crumbs on the chicken pieces.
I used plain Greek yoghurt with whole grain mustard (I didn’t have buttermilk or Dijon!). I also crushed up butter crackers and added all the seasonings I’m not even sure with all these changes I can say I “made” this recipe, but it certainly was good! I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts as well. I was searching for a different chicken recipe because I was tired of my usual ‘goto’ chicken and was determined to make it work!
Changes are are always encouraged around here, and I’m glad it worked out so well for you!
This looks amazing! Any idea how long I need to cook these if I made it with boneless chicken breasts? My family is a little picky lol
I’d guess about 20 minutes, depending on the size of the breasts, Krista.
I made this with boneless skinless breast. It was really good. This recipe is a keeper.
Isn’t Ina fabulous?
Hi Sue,
Love all your posts & your bright, thoughtful approach to culinary arts.
With a nod to Thomas Keller’s *perfect baked chicken*, I switched out garlic cloves & fresh thyme with granulated. Mr. Keller’s methodologhy stresses no ingredeients which may add steam, prohibiting a crisp skin.
I’m making your recipe tonight & will report back.??
Thanks so much Kim, I appreciate the kind words 🙂 I hope your chicken turns out amazing!
I used 4 chicken thighs that I had on hand and ended up with enough crumbs for 6. It was tasty however I used panko bread crumbs, subbed all purpose seasoning for salt, and used dried thyme. I feel that the lemon zest is what really made the flavor pop.
Great to know it works with thighs, Rachel, I know a lot of people really prefer them, thanks!