Sheet-Pan Honey Mustard Chicken and Cauliflower
Lightly sweetened, tangy and bold honey mustard dressing flavors this whole meal. Adults can pour it on and kids can skip the dressing if they like. In this way, it's a meal that satisfies both mature eaters and less adventurous eaters.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 45
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4 to 6 1x
- Category: Chicken
- Method: Roasting
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 6 to 8 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs *see notes about chicken below
- 2 small heads or 1 large head cauliflower
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus a little more for roasting
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons seeded coarse ground Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons honey (or add more to taste)
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- Fresh thyme, dill or parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 F
- Whisk together olive oil, both types of mustard, apple cider vinegar, honey and salt. I prefer my honey mustard dressing to be heavy on the mustard and light on the honey. You can certainly sweeten the dressing up with more honey if you like.
- Cut cauliflower into small florets. Cut the leaves and stems up too, they’re deliciously edible. Clean the leaves and stems well (dirt tends to gather) then slice into bite-sized pieces.
- On two rimmed sheet pans, toss all cauliflower parts lightly in olive oil - 2 to 3 tablespoons. Spread out evenly on the sheet pans. Set chicken on top, skin side up. Lightly salt the chicken and cauliflower.
- Roast 30 minutes, then baste the chicken with the honey mustard dressing. First, pour 1/4 cup of the honey mustard dressing in a small bowl. Use this amount to brush on top of the chicken, then discard any remaining in that bowl to avoid cross contamination.
- Roast another 10 to 15 minutes until chicken and cauliflower are deeply golden and cooked through. (165 F for chicken thighs)
- Serve the chicken and cauliflower with the remaining honey mustard dressing on the side. Garnish with fresh thyme, parsley or dill.
Notes
*This recipe can be made with up to 8 chicken thighs. It can also be made with much fewer, depending on how much chicken you want. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs can also be used but they take less time to cook (only about 25 minutes). I'd start roasting the cauliflower first, then add the boneless, skinless chicken thighs to the sheet pans after 15 minutes. You can brush the honey mustard dressing on the boneless chicken thighs right when you put them in the oven.
Go ahead and roast even more vegetables if you like. The honey mustard dressing is also delicious on Brussels sprouts, potatoes and asparagus.
Remember to pour a little bit of the dressing in a separate bowl before brushing it on the chicken, to avoid cross-contamination.
