
Crispy Braised Chicken Thighs in Dijon Sauce
These mouthwatering crispy braised chicken thighs in Dijon sauce were adapted from Melissa d’Arabian’s recipe “Chicken in Mustard.”
I love my slow cooker, I do. But sometimes I need to do a job that requires more than just letting food cook slowly for hours on end.
Sometimes I need to sear and meld flavors, to bring a sauce to a boil stove top and then cover it to bake for a while.
Enter, the Dutch oven.
We’re fans of chicken thighs, and because they’re my son’s absolute favorite, I make easy oven fried chicken thighs with perfectly crispy skin at least twice a month.
But when I stumbled across Melissa d’Arabian’s recipe for Chicken in Mustard, I knew I had to forgo our usual nosh for something a little more special.
A recipe that would allow me to make good use of a Saturday afternoon at home.
Her recipe uses chicken thighs without the skin, but I knew that if I seared my skin-on thighs really well and got the skin SUPER crispy, it would hold up to braising without getting gummy.
Because, no one likes gummy chicken skin. (Ewww.)
The layers of flavor with the chicken and the sauce are tremendous here! I made a few substitutions based on what I had in my fridge and pantry (beyond leaving the skin on), but over all kept the integrity of her recipe.
She seemed pleased when I shared my thoughts on twitter. YES!
And her super buttered noodles? They were a fantastic compliment, although I used linguine instead of egg noodles because that’s what I had on hand.
And, I’d imagine it would be tasty served over rice or even mashed potatoes (anything that can sop up the super tasty Dijon sauce).
Here’s the recipe with my tweaks.
And, yes. I would’ve used fresh chopped tomato if I had one.

Crispy Braised Chicken Thighs in Dijon Sauce
Adapted from Melissa d'Arabian's Chicken in Mustard.
Ingredients
- 4 to 6 chicken thighs (bone in, skin on)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
- 1 14.5-oz can petite diced tomatoes, drained and rinsed
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
Instructions
Notes
Serve with mashed potatoes, steamed rice or Melissa d'Arabian's recipe for Super Buttered Noodles.
Last Updated on February 23, 2019 by Liza Hawkins


8 Comments
Morgan Kane
Could you cook this only on stovetop vs. finishing in the oven?
Liza Hawkins
Hi Morgan! Yes – you could. You’d have to play around with the temp and time though, since you’d lose the all-around indirect heat the oven gives.
Laura
What do you think would happen without the sour cream? Is there another non dairy way to make it creamy?
Liza Hawkins
It’s only two tablespoons of sour cream, which means you could leave it out, OR you could use something like almond or cashew milk as a substitute.
Dave
Could I replace the Petite Diced Tomatoes with Ro-Tel for a bit of spice
Liza Hawkins
I don’t see why not!
Mary
Has anyone tried this with bone in breasts?
Liza Hawkins
Hi Mary! I haven’t tried this one with bone-in breasts, but I’d imagine since they’re braised they’d probably turn out OK! Sometimes subbing breasts for thighs can be dangerous since chicken breasts have a tendency to dry out, whereas thighs don’t. If you try it, you’ll have to report back!