This Honey Mustard Chicken tray bake is a deliciously sticky and tasty one pan meal. The recipe includes new potatoes and carrots for a complete easy dinner – hardly any washing up!
I love a meal that includes simple, budget-friendly ingredients that are thrown in a pan and and left to do their thing in the oven, leaving time to get on with a busy evening… picking the kids up, doing homework, sorting a load of washing, watering the plants, sitting down for FIVE MINUTES maybe?!
This is one of my favourite one pan bakes for these very reasons. And the good news is this Honey Mustard Chicken recipe is flipping delicious too. After almost an hour in the oven, the waft of sticky, sweet, spicy, savoury sauce is the stuff foodie dreams are made of.
Even better, this recipe is made with low cost chicken thighs, and other than the carrots and potatoes, the rest is made up of store cupboard staples, meaning this is fantastic for budget meal planning as well as convenience.
You’ll love this recipe because:
✅ Budget meal but impressive
✅ Low effort, maximum results
✅ Delicious, sticky sauce
FAQs about this Honey Mustard Chicken Recipe
How do I make this recipe?
Start by rubbing the chicken with garlic powder and salt and pepper. Pan fry them in a hot pan with olive oil until they are brown all over. Add carrots and potatoes, and whisk up a sauce of garlic, honey, mustards and water.
Bake until the chicken is cooked through. I use one pan to brown the meat and cook everything in, but if you don’t have an ovenproof frying pan, just transfer it from a frying pan to a lidded casserole dish.
What kind of chicken is best to use?
I tend to use chicken thighs with skin and bone as it keeps them tender, but if you prefer chicken fillets with no bone or skin, that’s OK. You may just need to reduce the cooking time slightly.
You could even use chicken legs or wings for this recipe if you want.
I don’t have runny honey. Is normal fine?
Yes it is. I use runny because it’s easier to whisk in.
Can I make different variations of this recipe?
Sure! You could omit the carrots and potatoes, reduce the sauce by half, and use the cooked chicken to make a Honey Mustard Chicken Salad instead.
Or how about making a creamier sauce by adding 4tbsp of creme fraiche at the end of the cooking time?
You could also swap the carrots for another vegetable like broccoli or green beans. Just add them towards the end of the cooking time.
Some ingredients notes:
⭐️ Chicken thighs I use these with bone in and skin on. They are cheaper and also the skin becomes deliciously crispy and golden. You can use boneless or skin off but they may not look quite as good. They may also need slightly less cooking time.
⭐️ Dijon mustard This is French mustard. It gives the sauce a subtle creaminess. Don’t substitute for English mustard! Your nose and tastebuds would get a shock.
⭐️ Wholegrain mustard This gives the sauce texture and ‘bite’ if you don’t have any you can leave it out but the flavour won’t be quite as good.
Fancy more easy chicken recipes?
- Chicken Noodles with Curry Sauce – A slow cooker winner
- Tasty Chicken Tikka Burgers – Fantastic 20 minute meal
- Cajun Chicken Pasta – Another one-pan favourite
Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do.
I’d love to know how you got on and what you thought of it if you make this Honey Mustard Chicken recipe. Please rate the recipe using the ⭐️ by the recipe. Also, if you’d like to show me a photo by tagging me on Instagram (@tamingtwins) I LOVE to see your creations.
Originally published on Jun 24, 2019 and fully updated on Aug 28, 2022.

Honey Mustard Chicken {One Pan Meal}
Ingredients
- 8 Chicken thighs I use bone in and skin on.
- 1 tsp Sea salt
- 1/2 tsp Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tsp Garlic powder
- 1 tsp Olive oil
- 750 g New potatoes Quartered
- 500 g Carrots Peeled and chopped
For the sauce
- 4 Cloves Garlic Peeled and crushed
- 150 g Honey
- 6 tbsp Wholegrain mustard
- 4 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 4 tbsp Water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C.
- Rub the chicken thighs with the salt, pepper and garlic powder.
- Heat the olive oil on the hob in a very large oven proof lidded dish.
- When the oil is very hot, put the chicken thighs in, skin side down, and cook for about 5 minutes until browned all over.
- While the meat is browning, mix the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until combined.
- Add the potatoes and carrots to the chicken and pour over the honey and mustard sauce. Make sure everything is coated.
- Pop into the preheated oven with the lid off for about 45 minutes. (I always use a pan with a lid as if at any point it looks like the dish may be burning and the chicken isn't cooked through yet, I can pop the lid on).
- Check that the chicken is cooked through and the potatoes are tender and serve immediately. If either are not fully cooked, pop back in to the oven until they are.
Notes
NOT Garlic Salt! (I once made this mistake – YUK). It’s just a dried, blended garlic. I like using it for rubbing meat to fry as it doesn’t burn like fresh garlic. Olive oil:
This should be regular Olive Oil NOT Extra Virgin Olive Oil. For one, that’s too expensive for this! Plus it will smoke too much when you fry the chicken. Garlic:
In the sauce I use fresh (not dried) garlic. Frozen, pre-prepared, is perfect (it’s what I use mostly as one of my favourite shortcuts). Honey:
Runny honey or regular honey is fine. I use runny just because it’s easier to whisk in. Mustards:
Dijon is also called French Mustard (it’s slightly different in the US but not enough to affect the recipe). Wholegrain is important as it also adds a little texture. Potatoes:
I used new potatoes with the skins on. You could also use any other potato chopped into small chunks. Carrots:
I used baby carrots as they were what I had at home. If you’d prefer to use regular carrots, just peel and chop them into large chunks.
Nutrition
The Breastest News says
This looks totally delicious! I really need to try this for the family as will save time putting everything in the oven. It’s hard making the kids wait for a family dinner isn’t it. We all eat together as much as we can but def have to get the snacks out for my two (6 year old and 19 months) as they just can’t last till 5pm/5.30pm.
Sarah Barnes says
Oh my goodness, the waiting for dinner grumpiness has reached new heights this week since they started school! Pleased to hear it’s normal! Hope you enjoy the recipe 🙂
Debbie says
Made this for my family last night and it was a big hit. Feel like i’m in a dinner time rut at the moment so need some new ideas. Looking forward to trying some of your other recipes that have taken my fancy.
Sarah Barnes says
Ahh that’s great to know Debbie, thanks for your comment!
Alan Loaring says
My Wife and Stepdaughter absolutely love this dish and make me cook it at every opportunity.
Anna Field says
We’ve just finished eating this and it was GORGEOUS!!
Sarah Barnes says
Yay! So Pleased you liked it Anna!
Sarah says
Delicious!!! Stumbled across your insta the other day, I had got chicken thighs out of the freezer this morning but no idea what to do with them until a quick search of your page, this recipe is such a winner! Thank you from another Sarah and another twin mum! x
Melanie Clark says
This was a bit of a gamble for my 4 year old and sometimes fussy husband, but it was amazing! Had some leftovers for lunch the next day too, will definitely add it to my repertoire and make again! 👍🏼
Bev May says
Just made this and it was fab! Thank you so much. Bev
Dani says
This dish never disappoints, enjoyed whenever presented as a meal. My husband loves this dish.
I always add the carrots and potatoes, sometimes l add french beans to the dish for the last 5 minutes or so. I like serving this with some fresh crusty bread to soak up the juice.
Kerryanne says
Delicious! Next time I make this I think I will cover with foil (my lided dish is too small) and then take the foil off to crisp up the skin near the end.
Nicky says
Yum!! I made this last night, really tasty. I used chicken breasts, turned out really well.
Following you from New Zealand 🇳🇿💗
Jade says
Made this today and it was brilliant.
Husband said it was the best traybake we have ever had (and we have had lots!) Daughter was eating the dressing out of the jug she loved it so much and toddler actually stayed at the table. Incredible. Plus it’s so easy to make that the kids helped too and it was still speedy. Thank you.
Abi says
I made this on Sunday as a quick mini roast as the day just flew by with boys having 2 lots of football. It went down a treat! Super quick and easy with clean plates at the end.
Love, love, love your recipes and working my way through the alow cooker meals now 😋