Creamy Maple Mustard Chicken Breasts
There’s something about a slightly sweet creamy mustard sauce that pairs so well with chicken. Be it honey mustard sauce on your chicken strips, or something a little more elevated like this Creamy Maple Mustard Chicken Breasts, the combination of these ingredients is a true taste bud pleaser! This recipe for Creamy Maple Mustard Chicken Breasts involves chicken breasts that are sear-roasted, to develop that beautiful golden crust, to aid in the flavor, while ensuring they are not overcooked. Shallots, onions, white wine, and the browned bits from the pan are utilized to create a pan sauce. Fresh, ultra-fragrant rosemary joins the party to add a herby roundness to the sauce. And of course the stars of the show are the delicious grainy Dijon mustard, palette pleasing fresh heavy cream, and the maple syrup for that slight touch of sweetness. The creamy maple mustard sauce is finished with a small dash of cayenne pepper for that perfect kick! Perfect for any weeknight!
Mustard + Cream + Maple
If you’re like me, you absolutely love mustard. I mean, I will seriously put mustard on anything that can take it. But being that mustard is so acidic and pungent in flavor, you can only have so much before you start getting overwhelmed by it. That’s why the cream and the maple are so great, and frankly necessary, here! The cream and the maple mellows the acidic taste of the mustard, allowing the mustard’s true flavors to shine through, and allowing us to eat it on a large scale. The perfect pairing, if you ask me.
Using White Wine
If you follow my recipes, you have probably guessed by now that I am a huge fan of cooking with wines, particularly white wine. Cooking with wine achieves many things. Mainly, though, it acts as a way to add a serious amount of flavor with a small amount of liquid. The white wine in this recipe gives that sauce a wonderful bright flavor, that is also aromatic and very slightly sweet. This multi-dimensional flavor can not be achieved with any other ingredient (except maybe beer or spirits). However, I understand some do not wish to use wine, and in that case chicken broth can provide a nice bit of flavor in place of the wine.
When choosing a white wine for this recipe, you want to choose a wine you would drink (i.e. don’t use ‘cooking wine’ found at the grocery store), one that is dry, and one that is described as crisp or fruity. Refrain from using wines that are described as sweet, or wines that are described as having ‘oak’ flavor. When wine is cooked down, it’s flavor intensifies, so if we choose a sweet wine, the sauce will become overly sweet. If a ‘oak’ profile wine is used, it will impart a heavy vanilla flavor into the sauce – definitely not what we’re looking for here! Here are some good white wines to use:
Good Whites: Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Semillon, White Bordeaux
Substitutions and Variations
• If you’re wanting to keep this gluten free, feel free to leave out the flour, and instead use a cornstarch slurry at the end of cooking, to thicken the sauce. 1-2 tsp of cornstarch plus a bit of water should do the trick.
• Honey would be a great substitute, if you do not have maple syrup.
• If you cannot find shallots, 2 or so cloves of garlic can be used in a pinch.
• The white wine can be substituted with chicken broth.
• If you prefer chicken thighs, feel free to use those!
• You can substitute the grainy mustard for any spicy mustard
Get the Recipe: Creamy Maple Mustard Chicken Breasts
Ingredients
- 4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
- Salt & Pepper, for seasoning chicken
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil, divided
- 1 Small Yellow Onion, diced small
- 1 Large Shallot, diced small
- 2 tsp Finely Chopped Fresh Rosemary
- 1 tbsp Flour
- ½ cup Dry White Wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc
- 1 cup Half & Half
- ½ cup Heavy Cream
- 2 tbsp Quality Grainy Mustard
- 2 tbsp Dijon Mustard
- 1 tbsp Maple Syrup
- Dash of Cayenne
- Salt & Pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Pat chicken breasts dry and then season with salt and pepper.
- In a large pan over medium heat, heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil until it begins to shimmer, then add chicken. Brown the chicken on each side for about 3-4 minutes, then transfer to a baking sheet and place into the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until cooked through.
- Meanwhile, add the other 1 tbsp of olive oil to the pan that the chicken was browned in. When the oil is hot, add the onion, shallots, and rosemary. Use the onions to deglaze the pan, scraping at the browned bits. Fry until the onions are almost cooked through, about 7-8 minutes.
- Add flour to the pan and stir to coat the onions with the flour. Add white wine and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the wine has reduced by about half. Then add the half & half, heavy cream, grainy mustard, dijon mustard, maple syrup, and cayenne. Stir to combine. Bring the sauce to a bubble and cook until the sauce has thickened nicely. Season with salt and pepper, and then spoon over the cooked chicken breasts to serve.
