Creamy Dijon chicken
Succulent Dijon chicken thighs cooked in a creamy leek sauce. This fuss-free, quick and easy recipe is perfect served with steamed rice and greens.
The love for creamy chicken recipes is strong my friends. But can you blame me? Who wouldn’t love succulent, juicy chicken cooked in a savoury cream sauce? And then you add soft, silky leeks, a punch of Dijon mustard and a good squeeze of lemon and you know what you have? Creamy Dijon chicken perfection.
I’ve been making this recipe for absolute ages. Kind of one of those recipes you don’t even follow anymore, you just throw everything into a pot and know what the outcome will be. It’s instinct at this point. But it’s always a winner. As is the case with Nigel Slater’s Coq au Riesling, this can be served with rice, mashed potatoes, crusty bread and even polenta but I chose rice here because I have fallen back in love with Jasmine rice and will serve it with everything I possibly can. A side of steamed green veg or salad will round this out perfectly and will result in a seriously good, really simple weeknight meal.
How do you make Dijon chicken?
Brown chicken thighs in a large pot/deep pan then remove and fry leeks and garlic until soft and aromatic. Mix cream, chicken stock and Dijon mustard and pour in. Add the browned chicken thighs then allow to simmer until the sauce has reduced and thickened and the chicken is fully cooked.
What is Dijon mustard?
Dijon mustard is a French mustard named after the town of Dijon in Burgundy, France. It’s a rich and creamy with a strong mustard flavor. It’s perfect used in creamy sauces and dressing.
Can I use regular mustard instead of Dijon?
Yes, you can use any mustard to replace the Dijon mustard in this recipe but it won’t have quite the same flavor.
Can I bake this recipe in the oven instead of cooking on the stove?
Yes, you can. Follow the recipe all the way up to adding the chicken back into the sauce and then place the pan in an oven, pre-heated to 180ºC/350ºF, and bake for 20-25 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
What can I make for dinner with chicken thighs?
- Chicken Piccata Thighs
- Easy chicken tikka masala thighs
- Sticky lemon-turmeric chicken thighs
- Crispy chicken thighs on cheesy broccoli rice
- Coconut curry chicken thighs
- Creamy sundried tomato and basil chicken thighs
- Sticky apricot chicken thighs
- Peri-Peri grilled chicken thighs
Creamy Dijon chicken
Ingredients
- 8 chicken thighs
- 4 small-medium leeks washed and finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves crushed
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1½ cups cream
- 3 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- juice of ½ lemon
- salt and pepper to taste
- chopped parsley to serve
to serve
- steamed rice
- steamed greens
Instructions
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large, hot frying pan and brown the chicken on both sides. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Add the chopped leeks and garlic to the pan and fry for 30 seconds – 1 minute until soft and fragrant.
- Mix together the cream, chicken stock and mustard. Pour into the pan.
- Allow to simmer for 2 minutes then add the browned chicken thighs back into the pan. Turn down the heat and allow to simmer for 20-25 minutes, covered, until the chicken is cooked through. If needed, add more stock to the pan.
- When the chicken is cooked, season with lemon juice, salt and pepper.
- Sprinkle over the chopped parsley then serve with rice and steamed greens.
Found it really easy and delicious. Ingredients are always easily accessible and instructions simple to follow.
Thanks Bianca!
This sounds plain fantastic, nothing can go wrong with this killer ingredient list! Thank you for sharing, Alida! 🙂
Thanks Nicole. It’s a winner for dinner!
This looks sooooo incredibly delish Alida! That sauce. Perfect over the rice! And you can’t beat the juiciness of those chicken thighs!
Thanks Mary Ann. Chicken thighs are my fav!
Can I substitute the leeks with something else?
Definitely! You can use red onions, shallots or regular onion. Just chop it finely and cook a little longer to develop the sweetness in the onion.
Has anyone putting this all in the slow cooker? I wonder if the end result is the same!
I haven’t yet but I think it will work very well in the slow cooker. You might just need to thicken the sauce a little with a mixture of cornstarch and water.
I made this last night. My four leeks didn’t cook down and blend in with the sauce; my sauce looks nothing like yours. I used only the white and light green parts of the leeks. My sauce is chock full of leek pieces.
The flavor is good, though, and my chicken thighs were tender. My leftovers are in the fridge, covered in the bountiful sauce.
It could be that your leeks were very large (I’ve amended the recipe). It’s also important to slice them nice and thin and then to give them enough time to soften properly before adding the rest of the sauce ingredients. If the leeks bother you, you could also run the sauce through a blender to smooth it out.
It looks amazing. But can I change the mustard for something else? (we do not like the taste of mustard) Thank!
You could simply omit it, but I would then up the amount of salt and lemon juice added to add more flavour.