This Whole30-friendly Orange Dijon Chicken recipe only requires five ingredients and the whole family will love it! You probably have the ingredients in your kitchen and pantry already!
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5 Ingredient Whole30 Chicken Dinner!
Lil-O, my picky younger son, recently anointed me with a lofty title: “The Queen of Being Good at Chicken.” When I asked him why he felt I deserved such an honorific, he shrugged and told me that he loves my chicken dishes (like Cracklin’ Chicken, Damn Fine Chicken, and Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken). Of course, he was quick to add a caveat: “No offense, mom, but Po-Po’s cooking is still a little better.” No offense taken—I’m fine with taking second place to my mom.
After some experimentation, I came up with this 5-ingredient (not including salt) chicken recipe, and it’s pretty much the bee’s knees. And after trying a bite, Lil-O confirmed that my new chicken-cooking royalty status remains safe. “For now,” he added ominously.
Fancy-sounding, but super easy chicken recipe!
I’m not sure I’m the queen of anything, but we certainly do love roasted chicken here at Nom Nom Paleo World Headquarters as evidenced by all the poultry dishes in my Recipe Index. To keep my boys happy, I’m always trying to come up with flavor-packed chicken recipes that deliver the most bang for the buck. After a meal at a local French bistro, I was reminded that Dijon-style mustard makes for a fantastic marinade base for chicken. But can a restaurant-quality mustard-marinaded chicken be made simply, and at home? Yes, 100%!
Ingredients
- Chicken: I use drumsticks for this recipe, but any cut of chicken will work! Just make sure you adjust the cooking time if you’re using skinless and boneless cuts or a whole chicken. Other tasty protein options include pork tenderloin, pork chops, lamb chops, and fish fillets.
- Dijon-style mustard: To keep things Whole30, make sure you choose a Dijon Mustard with compatible ingredients.
- Orange juice: Fresh squeezed is best! No OJ? You can also use apple juice or substitute 2 tablespoons honey (not Whole30-compatible).
- Avocado oil or extra virgin olive oil
- Garlic
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- Minced Italian parsley and/or chives (optional)
How to make Orange Dijon Chicken!
Combine the mustard, orange juice, olive oil, garlic, and salt in a large bowl.
Remember: the amount of salt is subjective. Adjust the amount to taste!
Mix well.
Add the chicken drumsticks, and mix well to coat. (Yes, boneless and skinless chicken will also work, but make sure to decrease the amount of cooking time.)
Personally, I recommend marinating the chicken in the morning, and cooking up the chicken in the evening—but the recipe works even if you have little or no time to marinate the bird legs.
If you’re gonna marinate it ahead of time, cover the bowl with a silicone lid (my fave!) or plastic wrap, and keep it in the fridge for up to a day. (Don’t leave the chicken in the marinade for more than a day, or the texture of the meat will turn a little mushy.)
When you’re ready to roast the chicken, heat the oven to 425°F (or 400°F on convection mode) with the rack in the middle position. Definitely use the convection option if you’ve got it! The circulating hot air ensures even cooking and crispy skin.
Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a stainless steel wire rack on top. Gently shake off the excess marinade and lay the chicken drumsticks in a single layer on the wire rack.
Roast in the oven for 20 minutes, and then flip the drumsticks over and rotate the tray 180 degrees.
Continue cooking for 20 minutes or until the skin is browned and the meat is cooked through (registering 165°F to 185°F for dark meat and 150°F for white meat on an instant-read thermometer).
Feeling fancy? Roughly chop a handful of Italian parsley and/or chives, and sprinkle the herbs on top!
What do you serve it with?
Serve the Orange Dijon Chicken with a large chopped salad, Instant Pot Braised Kale and Carrots, Whole Raosted Cauliflower, or Shaved Brussels Sprouts with Bacon!
How to save leftovers
Store them in a sealed airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days or in the freezer for up to three months. You can chop up the leftover chicken and use it in Cauliflower Chicken Fried Rice!
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2022).
PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD
Orange Dijon Chicken (Paleo, Whole30)
Ingredients
- ¾ cup Dijon-style mustard
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice you can also use apple juice or substitute 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil or extra virgin olive oil
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 3 pounds chicken drumsticks
- ¼ cup Minced Italian parsley and/or chives optional
Instructions
- Combine the mustard, orange juice, olive oil, garlic, and salt in a large bowl. Mix well.
- Add the chicken drumsticks, and mix well to coat. (Yes, boneless and skinless chicken will also work, but make sure to decrease the amount of cooking time.)
- I recommend marinating the chicken in the morning, and cooking up the chicken in the evening—but the recipe works even if you have little or no time to marinate the bird legs. Marinate the chicken in a covered dish in the fridge for up to a day.
- When you’re ready to roast the chicken, heat the oven to 425°F (or 400°F on convection mode) with the rack in the middle position. Definitely use the convection option if you’ve got it! The circulating hot air ensures even cooking and crispy skin.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a stainless steel wire rack on top. Gently shake off the excess marinade and lay the chicken drumsticks in a single layer on the wire rack.
- Roast in the oven for 20 minutes, and then flip the drumsticks over and rotate the tray 180 degrees. Continue cooking for 20 minutes or until the skin is browned and the meat is cooked through (registering 165°F for dark meat and 150°F for white meat on an instant-read thermometer).
- Feeling fancy? Roughly chop a handful of Italian parsley and/or chives, and sprinkle the herbs on top!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I love your recipes, but would love to know what your thoughts are for substituting garlic to provide an equivalent flavor? Our family can’t have garlic and onions anymore. 🙁
Hmmm…that’s a tough one. Can you use scallions? Otherwise, you can just leave them out and it should be okay.
I’m in the same boat! I’m making it now, but I added garlic infused olive oil and green onions to the marinade. I’m new to the garlic substitutions too, but so far this combo has worked well for me.
I too am in the same boat. I was recently put on a Low FODMAP Diet and garlic and onions are not allowed….this has made it very difficult to infuse flavor in recipes! I see on my app that I can have only the green tops of scallions!
You can add a tiny bit of hing instead of onions and garlic for a delicious substitute. Only a tiny bit as it is very potent!
You could use garlic infused olive oil. I can’t eat garlic or onions either.
Have you tried leek instead? Or garlic infused oil.
We were in the same boat for awhile. I ended up using dry or fresh sage at the recommendation of my friend who is a good cook. I also upped my use of rosemary and thyme in recipes where it made sense.
I thought white meat temp is 165????
You can cook white meat to 165F if you wish, but I think it makes it too dry. Here’s a great article that tells you why 150 F is okay for breast meat as long as you let it rest: https://blog.thermoworks.com/chicken/thermal-tips-simple-roasted-chicken/
Can you keep the left over sauce and use it on other pieces of chicken? Not sure because it has been on raw chicken. But if it is cooked again, it should be okay. Thank you. It is so yummy
I don’t like to use leftover marinade for other chicken because of food safety issues.
If using an air fryer, would you still do the drumsticks at 400 for 40 minutes? Thanks!
Nope, they’ll probably cook at 400 F for about 20-25 minutes or so.
Yes, I did this in the airfryer exadtly as you suggested. So good! 400F for 20 min. My family loves this marinade!
What if you accidentally marinate for two days?
I made this recipe using chicken thighs this week, and added apples and onions to roast underneath the chicken. My whole family said they want this added to our ‘regulars’ list!
I am new to using an air fryer so this was a practice run and it was a little browner than I would have liked but it was juicy and really good!
how would this be with breast instead? Hubby hates dark meat chicken.
I’m wondering that too!
It will work! Just make sure you don’t overcook them!
Easy and delicious! Made the marinade as directed but used boneless thighs. Cooked them on sheet pan with a rack (like some of your other recipes) and adjusted cooking time. Whole family loved it, definitely a keeper.
3/4 cup mustard seems like a lot of mustard. I assume that this is correct and not a typo?
It is correct!
Made this for dinner last night and it was incredible! Skin was crispy, chicken was moist and delicious. I will definitely make this again!