Everybody will love this Chicken in Creamy Mustard Sauce. It’s just 4 base ingredients – chicken breast or thighs, cream, Dijon mustard and wholegrain mustard. Optionally bump the dish up another rung with the addition of fresh tarragon and parsley too!
Chicken with creamy mustard sauce
This is one of those recipes that will save you on those nights you’re staring at chicken breast or thighs and wondering, “What the heck am I going to make for dinner, fast?”
Here, chicken is seared until golden and served with a creamy mustard sauce that takes barely a minute to come together. The trick to making such a simple cream sauce delectable is to mix the cream with 2 types of mustard. Dijon is there for its smooth and mild mustard flavour as well thickening power, while wholegrain mustard adds visual interest and lovely pops of mustard seeds.
If you want a truly guest-worthy version, there’s the option to add fresh tarragon. This soft herb is commonly used in French cuisine, and has a delicate but distinct flavour that goes wonderfully with anything creamy. It really gives this sauce a restaurant-like vibe. Try it once and you’ll understand exactly what I mean!
What you need for this dish
Here’s all you need to make this simple-yet-fabulous chicken dinner:
Chicken – While I prefer to make this with thighs because they’re juicier and require no prep, it will work just as well with chicken breast.
Other proteins – This sauce and same cook method will work perfectly with thin pork chops, turkey steaks or white fish fillets.
Cream – The creamy base for the sauce. It’s best to use thickened / heavy cream as you get a head start on thickening the sauce. However, it will also work with ordinary pouring cream.
Low fat cream – It will work but the sauce will not have the same luscious mouthfeel due to the lower fat content. The sauce will also be thinner for the same reason.
Dijon mustard – This plus the cream are the two key ingredients for the sauce. Dijon is a smooth, mildly-flavoured mustard that adds flavour as well as thickening the sauce. While not all Dijon mustards are created equal, there’s no need to use a pricey gourmet Dijon here. Just your everyday brands are fine.
Wholegrain mustard – The mustard seeds add visual interest as well as little pops of faint pungency in this sauce. Because this sauce is so simple as it is, I really urge you to use this mustard, but it’s handy to know that it’s not the end of the world if you don’t have it either. Just dial up the Dijon by an extra teaspoon or so to compensate.
Make it dinner party-worthy with fresh herbs
The mustard cream sauce is delicious as-is but the addition of fresh herbs really gives the sauce a bit more finesse. Here are the herbs that I like to use:
Tarragon – This herb has a mild aniseed flavour with subtle vanilla undertones. It’s commonly paired with both chicken and cream in French cuisine, which means I automatically think it gives this sauce a “fine dining” pedigree of sorts! 😂
Fresh parsley – For a hint of freshness but more for colour than flavour.
How to make Chicken with Creamy Mustard Sauce
If you’re using boneless chicken thighs as I’ve done, there’s no prep required. However, if you’re using chicken breast, you’ll need to split each breast in half to form 2 thin steaks. For the best results, I’d also recommend pounding them to an even thickness to both tenderise and cook through evenly.
Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. (Note: If using breast, cut in half to form 2 thin steaks, and pound into 1 cm / 1/3-inch even thickness).
Cook chicken – Sear the chicken until golden and cooked through.
– Thighs: Use medium-high heat; 4 minutes on the first side and 3 to 4 minutes on the second side.
– Breast: It will only take around 2 minutes on each side over high heat.Pro tip: Don’t use a non-stick pan. The secret to a great pan sauce is the residual golden bits of meat stuck to the bottom of the pan after searing the meat (called fond in French). They’re packed with meaty, umami-laden flavours and dissolve into the sauce once you add liquid to the pan.
However, if you use a non-stick pan, you will not get fond. So it is best to use a cast-iron skillet or other heavy-based pan that does not have a non-stick coating to encourage fond development – we want a little sticking!
Remove chicken to a plate. The chicken will rest while we make the sauce. Resting meat is a key step with any cooked protein. Resting time allows the juices to re-settle within the meat so when you cut into the chicken to eat it, the juices stay in the meat instead of bleeding on to the plate. Wasted meat juices are the tears of weeping food angels …
Scrape out and discard any loose burnt bits so you don’t end up with black bits littered in your sauce.
Sauce – To make the sauce, simply put the cream and both mustards into the pan and stir until the mustard has dissolved. Scrape the bottom of the pan as you stir if you can feel the fond still stuck, to get all that good stuff into the sauce. Keep heating the sauce until it’s hot and that’s all you need to do. You don’t even need to bring it to a simmer, nor do you need to reduce to thicken the sauce as the dijon mustard thickens it for us.
Stir in the herbs right at the end, which preserves their fresh vibrancy. Adjust the sauce consistency if needed with a tablespoon of water.
Serve – To serve, simply place a piece of chicken on the plate and spoon over the sauce. The recipe makes about 2/3 cups of sauce which is plenty for the chicken with some leftover to also sauce up your mash or vegetable sides!
What I serve with this
For a speedy dinner option, I served this today with a Rocket Salad (though I skipped the parmesan) and a bread roll for mopping my plate clean.
Other starchy options for sauce-mopping include mash, rice, everybody’s favourite no-knead Crusty Artisan Bread or pasta. Try it with a Mega Italian Salad on the side, a fresh Garden Salad or a big pan of roasted vegetables.
I’d love to know if you try this! Let me know what you think. 🙂 – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Chicken in Creamy Mustard Sauce
Ingredients
- 700g / 1.4 lb chicken thigh fillets , skinless boneless (4 – 6 pieces, Note 1)
- 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp cooking/kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Creamy mustard sauce:
- 1/2 cup thickened/heavy cream
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp whole grain mustard
- 1/4 tsp cooking/kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1-2 tbsp water , as needed
Optional herbs:
- 2 tsp fresh tarragon , finely chopped (Note 2)
- 2 tsp parsley , finely chopped
Instructions
- Season chicken with the salt and pepper.
- Sear chicken thighs – Heat oil in a large pan that is not non-stick over medium-high heat. (Note 3) Place chicken in pan smooth side-down and cook for 4 minutes or until deep golden. Turn and cook the other side for 3 minutes until cooked through (internal temperature 72°C/162°F, Note 4). Remove to a plate.
- Breast – If using breast (prepared per Note 1), sear on high for 2 minutes on each side, target temp 67°C/153°F.)
- Clean pan – Scrape any loose black bits out of the pan and discard.
- Make sauce – Return the pan to medium heat. Add cream and both mustards. Mix with a wooden spoon until mustard dissolves, scraping up any brown bits stuck to the pan. Once sauce is hot but not simmering, stir in salt, pepper and herbs (if using). If getting too thick loosen with a touch of water.
- Serve – Place chicken on serving plates. Spoon over sauce. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes:
- Thighs – pull off stove at 72°C/ 162°F, rises to 76°C/169°F after resting
- Breast – pull off stove at 67°C/153°F, rises to 71°C/160°F after resting
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
That time Dozer couldn’t attend an event with me so the organisers made a giant cut out of him to sit by my side on the stage. 😂 I’ll be doing a book tour update post soon where I’ll share more details about this event. I even did a cooking demo on stage!
Hi Nagi. I bought a cast iron pan but everything sticks! What can I do?
Also NEVER use soap or detergent to clean a cast iron skillet. People these days are MANIC about washing everything with soap, but this completely strips the seasoning from cast iron! To re-season your skillet, scrub it out very well, using steel wool but NO SOAP. You can even bring some plain water to boil in it then let it cool completely to soften any cooked on gunk. You can also use a metal spatula to scrape it; cast iron is pretty durable. Once your pan is clean and dry, rub it generously with bacon fat — most use plain, high temp vegetable oil, but I have heard this can become gummy over time but it should be fine if you have a reason you can’t use pork products. Place the pan in the oven and bake at 350°F for at least two hours. Let cool in the oven until completely cool, overnight is good. You may have some minor sticking at first until the seasoning deepens with use. In all honesty, I still get stuff crusted on the bottom sometimes, usually from a steak, but I bought a brass brush in the cleaning department of my grocery store which does a good job without scratching the surface the way a steel brush would
Hi Stephanie,
Was the pan pre-seasoned? That is, super heated and then treated with an oil coating.
Did you add oil to your pan when you used it?
When you clean cast iron you need to be gentle, so as not to take the “seasoning” layer off, allow it to dry and then add a very thin layer of a neutral oil on the surface so as to prevent it from rusting and food sticking at next use. I just use a little vegetable oil and spread it across the surface with a paper towel. Then it is good to go away until next use.
regards,
Ren
Love how simple this dish is, minimal ingredients, maximum flavour. Used chicken breast for this recipe and came out perfect. Paired with Nagi’s creamy buttery mash potato and green beans with garlic.
amazing, everyone loved it!
Love this dish. So easy, so tasty. Never get any complaints when I serve this.
A quick and easy to make dish that doesn’t sacrifice on flavour. Do use the fresh tarragon! Added a half cup of sautéed mushrooms to the sauce. Delish!
Well that was a winner. Plates were being licked clean in our house tonight, quite literally. Another one to add to the list.
Quick and easy and delicious, no tarragon here as not a fan.
Hi Nagi! I have made many of your recipes and they have all been delicious! We especially like the chicken thighs in creamy mustard sauce. I usually at least double the sauce and had some leftover one time which I served on roasted salmon. It was so great that last evening I made the sauce and served it on salmon on a bed of spinach for eight people. Absolute rave reviews!
The fresh tarragon and parsley are a must, both for flavour and color.
I am in Canada, impatiently awaiting delivery of your cookbook later this month and all my friends are now in the RTE fan club too. Thank-you!
I needed a quick, easy dinner tonight and this did not disappoint! So much flavor in the sauce from just a few ingredients. I didn’t have any of the herbs but it was still great without, served with just some simple cous cous.
The tarragon really makes this dish! Loved it. And so easy. Trust me, you’ll want extra sauce. It’s so tasty!
My husband is not keen on cream but this recipe has got the comment from him ‘this is a definite make again’ dinner. Delicious, subtle flavours and so easy! Yes, I agree, this is going on our favourite dinner list.
Made this tonight, and yes the tarragon made ALL the difference. Not feeling very healthy tonight so I forewent the salad and stuffed it into a crusty bread roll with heaps of sauce. Finger lickin’ good!!
I made the chicken in Creamy Mustard Sauce for tea last night and my husband and I loved it ! We have enough left over for tonight’s tea and wer’e really looking forward to it. A great success Nagi. thank you so much.
Loved this I added onion and garlic and served with creamy mash and peas
What a great, quick recipe. I am a terrible cook, and I hate cooking, but the adult children come for dinner every Sunday night and this was a winner. Thank you Nagi, I am so happy I found your website and recipes x
This is already a firm favourite in our house with friends requesting the recipe. Goes well with parsnip mash and peas for a lowish carb dinner party. Having it tonight with your Ottelenghi Cauliflower Salad – just because the salad is so fab and it’s too hot for mash!
Holy moly this was good! I didn’t have either of the herbs and it didn’t matter (although I will have to try it with tarragon). I did the chicken in the air fryer while I put the sauce together. Honestly, the sauce is so good you want to drink it!
Mum is on orders to try this 🙂 (she’s in NZ and I’m in Australia so I can’t make it for her)
So simple and delicious, will definitely be making again!
forgot to rate, would give this 10 stars.
Made this tonight with chicken breasts and substituted the cream for evaporated milk (I had no cream and it’s -27C here in Saskatoon)
Ah-May-Zing!!! Wonderful recipe Nagi.
Thank you.
Forgot to rate the 5 Stars!!!!