Crispy Mustard Chicken With Bread Crumbs Recipe (2024)

By Melissa Clark

Published Oct. 26, 2023

Crispy Mustard Chicken With Bread Crumbs Recipe (1)

Total Time
40 to 50 minutes
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
35 to 45 minutes
Rating
4(1,448)
Notes
Read community notes

A modern take on a retro classic, these bread crumb-coated chicken thighs, helped out by a generous dose of melted butter, get especially crisp as they roast. To keep the crumbs from falling off, the chicken thighs are first coated with a piquant mix of mustard and Worcestershire sauce spiked with garlic, lemon zest and red-pepper flakes. This both seasons the meat and keeps it juicy. Using panko gives the golden chicken skin a light and feathery crunch, but regular bread crumbs would also work. If you’d rather use white meat, whole bone-in, skin-on breasts are the best bet here; boneless breasts tend to dry out in the time needed for the crumb coating to crisp and brown.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings

  • 3pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (or use a mix of thighs and drumsticks)
  • ¾teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal), more for sprinkling
  • ¼cup/57 grams unsalted butter, melted
  • cups panko bread crumbs (or use regular bread crumbs)
  • ¼cup Dijon mustard
  • 2garlic cloves, grated
  • tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, chopped
  • 1tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  • 1teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1teaspoon finely grated lemon zest, plus lemon wedges for serving
  • ½teaspoon red-pepper flakes
  • ¼teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

643 calories; 48 grams fat; 15 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 20 grams monounsaturated fat; 8 grams polyunsaturated fat; 11 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 39 grams protein; 565 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Crispy Mustard Chicken With Bread Crumbs Recipe (2)

Preparation

  1. Step

    1

    Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Sprinkle chicken thighs lightly with salt.

  2. In a small bowl, stir together the melted butter, panko and ¼ teaspoon salt until the panko is well coated.

  3. Step

    3

    In a medium bowl, combine the mustard, garlic, thyme, olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, lemon zest, red-pepper flakes, black pepper and remaining ½ teaspoon salt.

  4. Step

    4

    Lightly brush the thighs all over with the Dijon mixture and place them on the prepared baking sheet, skin sides up. Top evenly with the panko mixture and drizzle lightly with oil.

  5. Step

    5

    Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the panko topping is golden brown. If you want more color on the thighs, broil on high for 30 seconds to 1 minute, watching closely. Serve with lemon wedges.

Ratings

4

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1,448

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Zips

In my experience when you leave the skin on while baking bread crumb chicken, it all falls off with the first bight. Also, if cooked right on a sheet pan, the bottom will be greasy and wet. Take off the skin, salt and pepper liberally and then slather on the mustard mix and the panko. cook the pieces on a rack set in the sheet pan and you will have great results.

Greg

I like all of Melissa Clark's recipes, so I suggest modifications with trepidation. But here you go: I make a Dijon chicken much like this, but marinate the chicken thighs in Greek yogurt for a few hours before applying the herby mustard coating and panko. Worcestershire sounds like a great tweak. Thanks Melissa (and Mom)!

Auralee

I have been making a similar recipe for years and I highly recommend mixing some freshly grated parmesan cheese and a teaspoon of smoked paprika in with the crumbs. This is a great way to cook thighs!!

Harriet

I agree with Julie from Sonoma that this is a riff on Laurie Colwin's baked chicken. I've made my own version of it for years. But this recipe changes what I think is the key to Colwin's recipe: the long low-temperature bake. If you bake chicken thighs low and slow (I start at 275F and gradually increase to 325 over 90 minutes), the meat comes out luscious and juicy, and the skin crisps beautifully if you baste with the juices every half hour. Try it.

Jen W

We made this exactly as instructed as per the recipe and … wowza! We paired the chicken with a kale Cesar salad (from the artisan bag in the Whole Foods fridge) and a medley of different sweet potatoes we roasted underneath the chicken. We tossed the sweet potatoes in the leftover ingredients from the main dish— the juice of the lemon we zested for the recipe, as well as the fresh thyme. We added olive oil, orange zest and fresh squeezed orange juice, red pepper, black paper, and kosher salt.

Steve

I use cast iron griddles instead of sheet pans. I find that cleaning a cast iron griddle is much easier than cleaning a sheet pan and the griddle heats more evenly and keeps food warm for longer.

William Wroblicka

If your family likes breasts then just use breasts in this recipe. There's nothing about it that absolutely requires thighs. If you don't overcook the breasts they won't be dry. Just temp them from time to time with an instant-read thermometer. When the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees, they're done!

John

Really delicious. Recommend serving with white rice. The excess Panko crust that falls off the chicken in the plate is delicious when used as a mix-in with the rice.Also, don’t skip the lemon juice squeezed on the top. It adds a brightness to the chicken which is wonderful.

Allison

I have been doing similar variations of this for many years: different types of mustard (spicy brown, yellow, honey, etc.), and combining it sometimes with mayonnaise, sometimes with chili garlic sauce. In addition, I add a little complementary spice to the Panko to boost the flavor. As for browning, I start the pieces skin side down for about half the cooking time.

Andree

A variation of this is a staple in our house. To cut fat remove the skin and slather on Dijon mustard. Roll the chicken in a mixture of breadcrumbs or pinko with some thyme and tarragon or herbs of your choice and some grated Parmesan cheese.

Donna

Just cooked this recipe’s near identical twin a few days ago. It was delicious, especially with apple chutney and an arugula salad.

Julie, Sonoma

Sometimes you just gotta eat the fat! This is quite good. Credit to Laurie Colwin in her "Home Cooking" book, 1988, for the first iteration of this that I tried. This version is higher end, a few more tasty ingredients, but anytime you put Dijon on chicken, top it with buttery goodness and bake it, it's going to be a winner. Eat that crispy skin! Toss some root vegies on that sheet pan and you have dinner.

RES

Yes. Olive oil is an excellent substitute for butter in this dish.

jordan

Had bacon I needed to cook, I took two cooked slices and crumbled into the crumb mix. Great addition IMO. Served with roasted brussels and pickled shallots, spätlese riesling

Richard

What do you normally substitute for butter?

dhwsmith

In my oven the bottoms get browner than the tops so I put the thighs skin-side down and the skin comes out very brown and crisp.

MHL

My grandmother added a hefty dose of parmesan & some finely chopped French's onion rings to the bread crumbs. We couldn't get to the table fast enough when this was coming out if the oven!

rfroode

Followed recipe exactly ..Flavor is very good, the crumb topping is also great The skin on thighs was limp and I weird under that topping. Will do skinless thighs next time , maybe skinless and boneless Cook time was adequate

PraeB

Didn’t have any bread crumbs to speak of so I used cornmeal. Only needed 1/4 of a cup. Results:

xtraspice

This was delicious and easy. Followed recipe other than I slathered the mustard sauce all over the chicken and rolled it in the panko patting the crumbs to stick baked at 425 for 40 mins. Crispy coating that stayed on the chicken.

Bryan

This is kind of a fancy version of Shake and Bake, and it’s quite good! I had about half a container of fresh oregano left over from another recipe, so I used that in place of the fresh thyme. Worked out great!

Bree LaFin

Tried it as written the first time. Completely agree with the top comment about removing the skin, be sure to keep the bones. Sincerely disagree about using a baking rack. Since you aren't breading the underside you want it nice and moist with a crispy top. Recommend marinating in fermented dairy that needs using the night before (I usually have leftover buttermilk or plain yogurt in the fridge, both do wonders for tenderizing!), then wipe off and otherwise follow the recipe.

Susie

Truly a quick weeknight prep with pantry items for a super tasty meal! For 6 thighs (3 lbs), 1 cup panko/3 T olive oil was plenty/quicker/healthier. For the mustard mixture, fresh thyme is a must, cut back the red pepper flakes to 1/4 t (unless you want the heat to overtake the other flavors), and skip adding salt. Half skin on, half skin off--all cooked perfectly at 45 mins with browned crispy tops. This goes in the rotation!

Colette

I halved the recipe, used boneless skinless thighs and substituted a squirt of sriracha for the red pepper flakes. I made it a sheet pan dinner by cooking the chicken in the middle of a parchment paper-lined pan for about 20 minutes, then adding a chopped sweet potato and red pepper, tossed with a tablespoon of olive oil in the same bowl I used to mix the mustard combination. Cooked for another 20-30 minutes. Everything was delicious, and the chicken is great cold, too.

BG Gruff

Very tasty chicken thighs. The instructions were simple and easy to follow. I cut back the salt (1/4 tsp total) and used 6 thighs well trimmed, (about 2 lbs.) I dipped the thighs into the Dijon mixture, instead of brushing it on, both sides and then dipped them again into the Panko mix. Cooking time was spot on 35 minutes to nice and crispy. At least the skin side was. The bottoms were a bit soggy. Next time I will place them on a rack in the pan so that the bottom gets a bit crispy too.

Mickey

I made this exactly as written & it was excellent!

Catherine

I agree with he others who say to use boneless, skinless thighs. It cooked them for 30 minutes instead and they were delicious and juicy.

twinsmn

Made this with boneless skinless thighs. Everything else the same. Delicious!

Stephen

I made it as directed but used a lot of the glaze (nice) and it was fully cooked and browned on top in 35 minutes. Yummy. Also added paprika and parmesan cheese to crumbs as another cook had suggested. I did not experience the crust sliding off the skin as another cook reported.

dhwsmith

I don't know how to efficiently remove thyme leaves from fresh thyme. Accumulating1.5 TB would take me a long time. I believe thyme is one of the herbs that dries well and retains a lot of flavor. Can't that be used, perhaps in some smaller amount?

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Crispy Mustard Chicken With Bread Crumbs Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the trick to getting crispy chicken? ›

Fry it twice.

Try Fontana's method for “blanching” fried chicken: Heat oil to 250 degrees and cook chicken breasts for about five minutes, or bone-in chicken for about 12 minutes. Let them rest for 15 to 20 minutes, then fry again, two to three minutes for breasts or five minutes for bone-in.

Why do you put mustard on chicken before frying? ›

Mustard is a binder, just like egg, and it will help to hold the breading in place. It also adds a bit of flavor to the meat. Yes, you can use mustard as a substitute for egg when breading meat. Mustard helps the breading adhere to the meat, providing a similar function to eggs in this context.

Why do you put breadcrumbs on chicken? ›

There's nothing quite as good as a breaded chicken cutlet, served hot and crisp on, well, anything at all. Crispy chicken tenders, or baked breaded chicken, Chicken Parmesan, Chicken Milanese, or Chicken Piccata—they all rely on a coating of breadcrumbs for their mouthwatering, crunchy texture.

Is cornstarch or baking soda better for crispy chicken? ›

Ingredient Tips

My not-so-secret tip to the best fried chicken is a combination of FLOUR, CORNSTARCH, and BAKING POWDER. When mixed with the flour, the cornstarch makes the flour coating crispier and gives it that golden brown color! (It has to do with prevention of gluten development.)

What is the secret to keeping fried chicken crispy? ›

The best way to keep fried foods crispy? Just place them on a cooling rack set over a baking sheet. If you're frying multiple batches, throw the whole setup into a low oven to keep everything warm as you keep frying and adding to the rack.

Do you put mustard before or after seasoning? ›

Mustard is a common ingredient in barbecue cooking, and it's commonly “slathered” onto pork butt or ribs before the application of rub. Most people report that they cannot taste the mustard after cooking, so why use it in the first place? One reason is that mustard acts like glue to hold the rub on the meat.

Can I use mustard instead of egg for fried chicken? ›

This mustard fried chicken recipe uses wings seasoned with a delicate mixture of spices, coated in mustard, and floured before being fried until crisp. If you don't have a deep fryer, you may use a heavy skillet, but I recommend a deep fryer for crispier chicken. This chicken is so good!

What mustard does to meat? ›

The mustard actually works to tenderize the meat and you will notice little more than a thin crust of it over the surface of the meat. In fact, mustard can help to produce the crust that is so sought after in traditional barbecue.

Why do my bread crumbs fall off the chicken? ›

You Don't Start Dry

The first step to breading chicken is crucial; make sure the chicken is completely dry before starting the dredging process. Using a paper towel, pat the meat dry on all sides. Excess moisture will cause the flour to get soggy and thus will not adhere properly to the chicken.

Why doesn't my bread crumbs stick to chicken? ›

Meat is not properly dry

Most home cooks often struggle with getting the breading part right because they do not let their meat dry properly. If the meat is wet, it will make the flour soggy. In that case, breading will not stick properly and may fall off when deep frying.

Why does the breading fall off my chicken when I fry it? ›

Place the breaded chicken on a cooling rack (or a platter) and chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. This cooling time will help the layers of breading ingredients solidify and adhere better after the chicken cooks. Once you start cooking the chicken, be patient and don't flip it over too early.

Why are my breadcrumbs not crispy? ›

The secret to browning the crumbs on chicken, or any dish topped with breadcrumbs, is making sure the bread you're making the breadcrumbs from is a little dry. A loaf that is several days old will have lost a little moisture. Blitz the crumbs in a food processor then toss through a little oil.

When not to use breadcrumbs? ›

Use breadcrumb navigation for large websites and websites that have hierarchically arranged pages. An excellent scenario is e-commerce websites, in which a large variety of products is grouped into logical categories. You shouldn't use breadcrumbs for single-level websites that have no logical hierarchy or grouping.

Do you dip chicken in breadcrumbs or eggs first? ›

Dip each breast into the flour, then shake off the excess. Next, run the breast through the egg to coat it lightly and hold the chicken over the liquid to let any excess fall back into the bowl. Finally, lay the chicken in the bread crumbs, turn it over and press it into the breading to coat.

What makes chicken skin extra crispy? ›

Rub with Salt and Baking Powder

Both substances pull moisture out of the skin. But baking powder has additional powers. It prods some of the skin's proteins and fat to break down, which, combined with its alkalinity, accelerates the Maillard reaction, for skin that browns and crisps more quickly.

How do Chinese get their chicken so crispy? ›

The chicken is then air-dried for 10 to 12 hours before being flash-fried, then oil-poached. The skin gets its signature crispiness from 10 to 12 minutes of basting with scalding hot oil right before serving.

What's the secret to good fried chicken? ›

The secret to succulent fried chicken starts with a marinade or brine, which keeps the chicken at its peak juiciness. Fried chicken traditionalists generally choose a buttermilk marinade while others swear by a brine, which is a mixture of sugar, salt and sometimes spices dissolved into water.

What makes chicken crispy flour or cornstarch? ›

Cornstarch Is the Secret to the Crispiest Fried Chicken

It's primarily used as a thickening or gelling ingredient, but it's also a smart ingredient for making cookies softer and for holding together fillings for jammy bars. And, it's the secret ingredient for getting crispy coatings like tempura paper-thin.

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