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Honey Mustard Chicken just might become your favorite dinner, especially when it’s smothered in this dreamy, creamy sauce topped with crispy bacon. It’s rich, sweet, tangy, and unbelievably simple to throw together. And yes, there’s even a dairy-free option if you need it!
This honey mustard chicken recipe comes together in minutes with just a handful of pantry staple. The honey mustard chicken marinade works its magic fast, coating every bite with flavor you’ll want to lick of the spoon. It’s the kind of mustard chicken that has you going back for seconds…maybe thirds.
What Makes This Honey Mustard Chicken Work
What makes this Honey Mustard Chicken work is the balance of bold and comforting flavors in every bite. The honey mustard chicken marinade brings that perfect mix of sweet, tangy, and savory, while the creaminess takes it to the next level. You don’t need any fancy ingredients; just mustard, honey, garlic, and a few pantry staples to create something that tastes like pure magic.
Whether you’re making it on the stove or finishing it in the oven, this dish deliveries big flavor with minimal effort; ideal for weeknights, but impressive enough for guests.
What Goes Into Honey Mustard Chicken
To make this Honey Mustard Chicken extra flavorful and irresistibly creamy, you’ll need just a few everyday ingredients, most of which you probably already have in your kitchen.
- Honey: The natural sweetness balances the tang of the mustard and helps caramelize the sauce for that glossy, golden fish.
- Whole Grain Mustard: This adds bold, savory depth and texture to the honey mustard chicken marinade. You can swap in Dijon for a smoother finish if your prefer.
- Garlic: Fresh minced garlic builds flavor right from the start, giving the dish a savory backbone that complements the sweetness.
- Chicken Thighs or Breasts: Choose what you love; thighs for juiciness or breasts for a leaner bite. Both soak up the creamy mustard sauce beautifully.
Note: Please see recipe card at the bottom for a full list of ingredients with measurements.
How To Make Honey Mustard Chicken
- Make the Marinade In a dish, mix the honey, mustard, garlic, olive oil, and salt. Add the chicken and coat in the mixture. Set aside to marinate while you prep the other ingredients.
- Cook the Bacon Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat. Add the diced bacon and cook until crispy. Transfer to a plate, leaving the bacon fat in the pan to flavor the chicken.
- Sear the Chicken Using the same pan, sear the chicken on each side until lightly browned, about 3 minutes per side. Don’t worry about fully cooking it yet; we’ll finish it in the sauce.
- Add the Sauce Base pour any leftover marinade into the pan, then add the cream and milk. Stir gently and bring to a simmer, letting the flavors come together for about 3 minutes.
- Simmer Until Cooked Through Let the chicken simmer in the sauce until it’s cooked through and tender. This should take another 4–5 minutes depending on the thickness of your fillets.
- Thicken the Sauce Remove the chicken and set aside on a warm plate. Stir in the cornstarch slurry and cook for a minute or two until the sauce thickens into a smooth, creamy consistency.
- Finish with Bacon and Herbs Return the chicken to the pan and spoon the thickened sauce over each piece. Top with the crispy bacon and finish with a sprinkle of chopped parsley.
- Serve and Enjoy Serve hot over steamed or roasted vegetables, or pair it with mashed potatoes, pasta, or rice for a heartier meal. Spoon extra sauce over everything—it’s too good to waste!
This Honey Mustard Chicken pairs perfectly with bold and flavorful sides like Twice Baked Chicken Fajita Sweet Potatoes or Crispy Sweet Potato Wedges with Garlic Avocado Aioli. For something more elegant, try it with Creamy Garlic Scallops. You can also keep it simple with Garlic Butter Rice or Oven Roasted Vegetables to soak up all that delicious sauce.
Recipe FAQ’s
Absolutely! Chicken thighs work wonderfully in this honey mustard chicken recipe—they stay extra juicy and soak up the sauce beautifully.
Even 15–30 minutes makes a difference, thanks to the bold honey mustard chicken marinade. If you have time, marinate for up to 2 hours for deeper flavor.
Yes! Use unsweetened almond milk and coconut cream or a dairy-free cooking cream to keep the sauce rich and creamy without the dairy.
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Creamy Honey Mustard Chicken With Crispy Bacon
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup honey
- 3 tablespoons whole grain mustard level tablespoons
- 1 1/2 tablespoons garlic minced, or 3-4 cloves crushed garlic
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pinch salt to season
- 5 skinless boneless chicken breasts or chicken thighs
- 1/2 cup diced bacon trimmed of rind and fat, I used 4 small bacon rashers
- 1/3 cup cream light or reduced fat, see notes for substitution options.
- 1 cup milk skim, 2% or full fat – almond milk may be used for a dairy free option
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch corn flour mixed with 1 tablespoon water
- 2 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- In a large, shallow dish, combine the honey, mustard, garlic, oil and salt to taste (not too much salt if serving with bacon as the bacon will add a salty flavour when served). Coat chicken evenly in the sauce. Set aside.
- Heat a nonstick pan (or skillet) over medium heat. Fry bacon until crispy; transfer to a plate. To the same pan, sear chicken fillets on each side in the oil left over from the bacon until just beginning to brown (about 3 minutes per side — not completely cooked through as we will finish them in the sauce).
- Add any remaining honey mustard sauce into the pan along with the cream and milk. Bring to a simmer while stirring occasionally to mix the favours through the sauce (about 3 minutes), until the chicken is cooked through. Transfer the chicken to a warm plate.
- Pour the cornstarch mixture into the centre of the pan, mixing it through the sauce until it thickens. Place chicken back into the pan; coat with the sauce. Top with the bacon and garnish with parsley.
- Serve over steamed / roasted vegetables for lower cal options. Also great with pasta, rice or mashed potatoes!
Notes
Nutritional information is based per serve, including cream.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made this tonight and it turned out fantastic! I did have to cook my chicken longer as it was still very cold in the middle from being frozen, but I did a mixture of tenting so it would retain more heat and then adding it back to the sauce & basting to finish. This was so good and SO easy to make! Definitely going on our favorite’s list! Even my picky kiddos gobbled it up!
I’ve never cooked with mustard and honey…. gotta say it was delicious. Did some things different…. I didn’t have whole grain mustard so I just used regular yellow mustard. I followed the instructions up until after searing the chicken. I removed the chicken and added remaining honey mustard along with the cream and milk, but then I put the chicken in a 9X13 and poured the mustard mixture over chicken and baked it at 375 for 30 min. I thicken the sauce as instructed. it came out so juicy and yummy.