If you're looking for easy chicken dinner ideas, this Dijon chicken thighs recipe will do the trick! Made all in one pan, the apples and kale serve as the side dish! Ready in about an hour.
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I love mustard. It is so tasty. I have four kinds in my fridge right now, no lie. And vinegar, too – 6 kinds right now and counting...
When I saw this chicken thigh recipe in my New York Times Cooking email, with a sauce made of mustard AND cider vinegar - all of my little vinegar-based bells and whistles started going off.
And chicken thighs. The thigh has always been my favorite. My grandmother made fried chicken for absolutely every family dinner and the thigh was always mine. You keep your drumsticks and all that gristle. This child is sophisticated.
And kale? I love kale. And apples, and sage. This recipe is like all the fall and winter fun, rolled into one.
But when I tried the recipe as written, I found it to be a little bit fussy. A few too many times of taking things in and out of the pan and the oven. This is supposed to be an easy chicken thighs recipe, so I fixed it for you.
And, of course, I upped the mustard and vinegar measurements. You're welcome.
Dijon Chicken thighs recipe with kale and apples
This dijon chicken is a great idea for a weeknight dinner. Do your apple slicing and shallot chopping while the chicken thighs are browning and then all that's really left to do is pop it in the oven.
The kale and apples count as your side dish. Serve it over brown rice or with crusty bread to soak up the dijon sauce if you want something more.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Pat the chicken thighs dry with a paper towel and season on both sides with salt and pepper.
Place a deep ovenproof skillet or casserole dish over medium high heat. I used my Lodge enameled cast iron casserole dish for this recipe.
Disclosure: I am a member of the Lodge Blogger Network and this dish was provided to me free of charge.
Working in two batches, place chicken thighs skin side down and let them get golden brown and crisp, about 8 minutes. Flip over and brown on the other side, about 2 minutes more. Set chicken aside on a plate.
You will probably need to carefully drain off the hot fat from the pan before starting the second batch.
While the chicken thighs are browning, slice the shallots thinly.
Then slice the apples into thin little wedges.
You can use a mandoline to do this if you're not good at thin slices with a chef's knife. I have this OXO Good Grips mandoline and I love it because it stands up on its own so I don't have to worry about my other hand going unsteady and slicing a finger off! It also has a really good slicing guard. (not shown)
Remove the kale from the stems and tear into large pieces.
How to remove kale stems
Fold the kale leaves toward each other like a greeting card. Grasp the stem with one hand and grasp the leaves with the other and pull both hands away from each other. The kale leaves will come away from the stem easily and quickly.
When the second batch of chicken thighs are done, leave the fat in the pan. Add the shallots and garlic to the remaining rendered fat, stirring frequently and scraping up the browned bits of chicken until shallots are translucent and garlic is fragrant, about 4 minutes.
Add the mustard, vinegar, apple cider, and sage to the pan and whisk to combine. If using an enamel or non-stick pan, be sure to use a silicone whisk to avoid damaging the surface of the pan.
Bring the sauce to a boil, then turn heat down to a simmer. Allow the dijon sauce to reduce slightly, then season with salt to taste.
Add the kale to the dijon sauce and keep turning it over in the pan until it is wilted. This will seem like SO. MUCH. KALE. But it wilts down considerably, don't worry!
Add the apples to the pan and stir to combine.
Nestle the browned chicken thighs back into the pan and place in the oven for about 25 minutes.
Serve with crusty bread or over brown rice.
This dish reheats well, just pop it into the oven at 250 until the sauce is bubbling and thighs are heated through.
More one pan chicken dinner ideas
Try these creative chicken thigh recipes when you want something easy, but not the same old same old!
Dijon Chicken Thighs with Apples and Kale
Ingredients
- 3 lbs bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 1 cup chicken stock
- ¾ cup apple cider
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh sage
- 3 shallots thinly sliced
- 3 garlic cloves finely minced
- 1 large bunch kale about 8 ounces once stems are removed
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.Pat the chicken thighs dry with a paper towel and season on both sides with salt and pepper. Place a deep ovenproof skillet or casserole dish over medium high heat.
- Working in two batches, place chicken thighs skin side down and let them get golden brown and crisp, about 8 minutes. Flip over and brown on the other side, about 2 minutes more. Set chicken aside on a plate.You will probably need to carefully drain off the hot fat from the pan before starting the second batch.
- While the chicken thighs are browning, slice the shallots thinly and mince the garlic. Slice the apples into thin little wedges. Remove kale from stems and tear into large pieces.
- When the second batch of chicken thighs are done, leave the fat in the pan. Add the shallots and garlic to the remaining rendered fat, stirring frequently and scraping up the browned bits of chicken until shallots are translucent and garlic is fragrant, about 4 minutes.
- Add the mustard, vinegar, apple cider, and sage to the pan and whisk to combine. Bring the sauce to a boil, then turn heat down to a simmer. Allow the dijon sauce to reduce slightly, then season with salt to taste.
- Add the kale to the dijon sauce and keep turning it over in the pan until it is wilted, then add the apple slices and stir to combine.
- Place the chicken thighs back into the pan and bake uncovered in the oven for 25 minutes.
Notes
- To remove kale leaves from stems, fold the leaves toward each other and grasp with one hand, then grasp stem with the other hand. Pull both hands away from each other, the leaves will come off easily.
- When you add the kale to the pan, it will seem like SO. MUCH. KALE. But don't worry, it wilts considerably. Just keep going!
- I used my Lodge enameled cast iron casserole for this recipe. It has high sides, so that keeps the spatter from browning the chicken to a minimum. You can also make this in a good ovenproof skillet, I've made this type of dish in my GreenPan skillet, too. (Disclosure: I am a member of the Lodge Blogger Network and this casserole dish was provided to me free of charge.)
- If you don't like attempting thin slices with a chef's knife, a kitchen mandoline might be just the thing you need. I have the OXO Good Grips Chef's Mandoline Slicer and I love it because it stands up on its own, has a wide range of adjustable widths, and a really good safety guard.
- To avoid damaging the surfaces of pans and casserole dishes, a good silicone whisk is a nice thing to have.
Nutrition
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Read my full disclosure policy here.
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