M and I don’t normally eat a lot of chicken, mainly because our freezers (yes, plural) are always full of elk and venison. While I love having lean, wild meat at my disposal, every once in a while chicken just sounds perfect. To satiate my most recent craving, I pulled out a recipe I hadn’t made since 2009, during my exchange in Scotland. I figured if 2009-Lindsey could handle it, 2013-Lindsey definitely could. (The 2009 version was substantially less domestically inclined.)

2009-Lindsey had mad skills. And ugly plates.

I love this recipe because in addition to being ridiculously easy and super delicious, I always have everything on hand (except maybe chicken.) Honey, mustard, and curry powder come together in a delightful sauce in which chicken breasts are baked to perfection. It goes perfectly with rice and a side of vegetables. Whether there is any chicken leftover or not, extra sauce and rice heat up well for a quick and tasty lunch the next day.

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts from the boneless, skinless chicken breast farm (joking) are my preferred cut of choice, but it should work with thighs or whatever is more your style; you might just have to adjust the cooking time a little bit.

Although the baking duration doesn’t make this a quick dinner, there’s not a lot of active cooking time. It also works really well to prepare everything in the morning (or the night before), stick it in the fridge, and throw the dish in the oven whenever you get home. This doesn’t save a ton of time, but if, like me, you don’t like to do a lot of dinner preparation after you get home from work, it gives you more time to relax without resorting to cold cereal for dinner. (This is something I may or may not do on a semi-regular basis…)

If you’re feeling the sweet & spicy flavor, throw this recipe together and let me know how it goes. Be sure to taste the sauce and adjust it to your preferences. I have a super low spice tolerance so maybe you want to up the curry powder. Maybe you don’t love sugar as much as I do and you want to decrease the honey. Or maybe you’re in a sugary mood and you want to up the honey. Play with it: I don’t think you can mess it up. (That is not a challenge.)

Sweet & Spicy Honey Baked Chicken

Adapted from Gretchen
Makes 4 chicken breasts and lots of sauce

Ingredients

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

8 Tbsp (1 stick) butter, melted¹
3/4 cup honey
1/2 cup mustard (I like Dijon)
1 tsp salt
1 – 1.5 tsp curry powder

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In a small bowl, whisk remaining ingredients until thoroughly combined.
3. Pour a small amount of the sauce in an 8″x8″ or 9″x9″ baking dish and squeeze in your chicken on top; cover with remaining sauce.
4. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until chicken reaches 165 degrees internally.
5. Let cool for a few minutes, then serve with rice and a green vegetable.²

Notes

¹ You could easily cut back the butter on this recipe, probably to 1/2 a stick (1/4 cup). I plan to do so next time I make it.
² I think this recipe would also be great with noodles. I’d probably cut up the chicken into bite-sized pieces and mix everything together before serving.