I’m sharing my new recipe for hot honey mustard chicken thighs – a quick, easy recipe that should become a staple in your rotation of weeknight dinners. The natural sweetness of the honey creates a yummy sauce that even some of the pickiest eaters can enjoy. You can adjust the spice level up or down for young kids, so the entire family can enjoy this easy chicken recipe!

These honey mustard chicken thighs are made with simple ingredients, and will pair with some of your favorite sides. With wholesome ingredients like honey, Dijon mustard, herbs, spices, and extra-virgin olive oil, these hot honey mustard glazed chicken thighs can easily make their way onto your home’s main menu of easy and healthy recipes.

Tips for making crispy baked chicken thighs

My cooking method of baking bone-in skin-on chicken thighs yields juicy chicken, with crispy, hot honey mustard glazed skin.

If you want all my tips and tricks for baking bone-in skin on chicken thighs to get the perfect texture, I highly recommend you check out my recipe for perfectly crispy chicken thighs, where I go over all the best ways to marinate and bake this type of chicken that can be applied to so many recipes in the future.

What to eat with Hot Honey Mustard Chicken Thighs:

There are lots of side dishes that will pair excellently with this chicken. Since this is a hot honey recipe, I recommend pairing it with something slightly more mild if you don’t want a very spicy plate. Here are some of my go-to side dishes: 

This honey mustard mushroom recipe

This is a vegetable option that pairs perfectly with the flavor of these honey mustard chicken thighs! It also uses a lot of the same ingredients.

These Mediterranean potatoes

This is a flavorful side dish that complements the chicken well. They also bake at the same temperature as these chicken thighs, so you can save time and effort by baking them together in your oven in separate baking dishes.

They also use many of the same herbs like dried thyme and rosemary. Root vegetables in general will complement this honey mustard chicken thighs recipe, and I recommend potatoes or baked sweet potatoes as an easy side. I often make these hot honey mustard glazed chicken thighs with both the Mediterranean potatoes, and the honey mustard mushrooms – it’s a perfect complete meal!

Crispy brussels sprouts

I might share a recipe for crispy brussels sprouts in the future, and these would also pair really well with these chicken thighs.

What you’ll need for hot honey mustard chicken thighs:

Bone-in skin-on chicken thighs

I don’t recommend boneless or skinless chicken for this recipe. The bone adds extra flavor to the chicken, and the skin is necessary for getting the crispy skin we want. I also don’t recommend another cut of chicken for this recipe, since different cooking times will yield different results in terms of texture and doneness. 

Honey

Some sweet honey will give us the flavor we want for the honey mustard sauce. I don’t recommend substituting maple syrup, since the flavor will pair differently with the mustard. Honey is essential for honey mustard!

Dijon mustard

There are many different types of mustards, but I think any Dijon mustard will work to make these honey mustard chicken thighs. In the images, you’ll see me using a grainy mustard – that’s whole grain mustard that you can buy here. There are also mustards that are more of a smooth paste. You’re welcome try it even if it isn’t a whole-grain mustard, but I haven’t tried it myself. As long as you’re using a yellow mustard that’s also labeled “Dijon”, it should taste good in this recipe. I don’t recommend using a mustard powder.

Olive oil

Some extra virgin olive oil is a perfect base for the marinade of the chicken. If you don’t have any olive oil you could also substitute another neutral flavored oil like avocado oil.

Garlic powder

There’s no need to chop up anything for this recipe, even garlic cloves! While fresh garlic adds a great flavor to many foods, garlic powder has the right texture and moisture contents for this cooking method.

Cayenne pepper

This is where the “hot” comes from in this hot honey recipe. This recipe uses 1 tsp of cayenne pepper, but if you want extra spice you can always use more. And if you’re cooking for little kids who might be sensitive to spice, you can also adjust the cayenne pepper down or omit it all together for a more regular honey mustard recipe. There’s no black pepper included, and you won’t miss it! The cayenne pepper is part of the unique flavor profile of this chicken–you don’t need any other type of pepper here.

Paprika

This will add extra color to the chicken. Don’t substitute with smoked paprika.

Dried thyme

Thyme will bring out the herby notes that will pair so well with the mustard.

Dried rosemary

Like thyme, rosemary will add floral, herby notes to this recipe that will make it even more delicious!

Salt

Like in most recipes, some sea salt or kosher salt will bring out all the other flavors.

How to make Baked Hot Honey Mustard Chicken Thighs

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Step 2: Mix all of the ingredients together except the chicken and the honey

I do this in the baking dish, but you can also mix the marinade together in a small bowl. Make sure all the ingredients other than the chicken and the honey are well mixed until it forms a paste. This will be your marinade. We don’t add the honey at this step because the sugar in the honey can make the chicken burn.

Step 3: Marinate the chicken.

Add the chicken to your dish with the marinade and mix well to combine. Be sure your chicken is well coated with the marinade. If you want more details on the best ways to marinate chicken like this, I recommend checking out my article on tips and tricks for the best baked bone-in skin-on baked chicken thighs.

The only difference for this hot honey mustard recipe is that you should leave very little of the mustard grains on the top of the chicken skin to prevent burning during the cooking process. The mustard mixture should be swept over the skin of the chicken for flavor, and then any chunks or large amounts should be brushed off. This should leave a nice amount of color and flavor on the top of the chicken. See step 4 for what the chicken thighs should look like before they go in the oven.

Step 4: Arrange your chicken on the rimmed baking sheet

Lay your chicken thighs in your baking dish of choice. I used a deep, oven-safe stainless steel pan. Arrange the chicken thighs in a single layer with all of the skin unfolded and spread out as you can see in the picture. The chicken thighs should either not touch, or touch minimally. You should choose a baking dish without much extra space once all the chicken is laid out to prevent burning. Once cooked, the chicken skin should partially melt away, blending with the marinade to form a delicious bit of extra sauce that you can serve with the chicken.

Step 5: Put the baking tray in the oven

Place the chicken into the preheated oven. The cook time is usually about 50 minutes. But what’s most important is that an instant-read thermometer shows an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees F once the chicken is cooked.

Step 6: Remove your chicken thighs from the oven and glaze them with honey

Once at least 50 minutes has passed and a meat thermometer reaches 165 degrees F, remove the chicken from the oven.

Measure out the honey, and using a pastry brush, brush the chicken with the honey to form the glaze. I brush all over the top of each chicken thigh, and on as much meat as is exposed. Be careful not to burn your hands on the hot pan or the chicken while doing this. You can also wait until the pan is cool enough to handle.

Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, you can add extra glaze to the underside of the chicken. Just be sure to not place the chicken skin side down anywhere to keep the honey glaze attached and to keep the texture of the skin crispy.

If you want extra honey in your pan sauce, you can use more than the recommended amount of honey and drizzle some into the sauce that accumulated at the bottom of the pan. Be sure to scrape up the browned bits at the bottom of the pan, it makes the tastiest topping!

And it’s that easy! You just made some quick hot honey mustard chicken thighs. I hope you enjoyed this recipe. If you did, please give me a five star rating below. It’s an easy way to help keep these recipes coming.

How to store and reheat chicken thighs

How to store bone-in skin on chicken thighs

You can store any leftover honey mustard chicken thighs in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-4 days. 

How to reheat crispy chicken thighs

To keep the texture similar while also reheating in a speedy way, I like to reheat my honey mustard chicken thighs in the microwave in a microwave-safe, ventilated container with a lid until the chicken is warm all the way through, and then place it in an oven at 325 degrees F until the chicken skin is crispy again.

​If you enjoyed this recipe please give me a five star rating below! It’s an easy way to support my blog and help keep these recipes coming.