You can’t go wrong with a one-dish dinner, especially on weeknights. I served this dijon kale and chicken recipe over mashed potatoes and used bone-in chicken thighs for extra flavor. Kale and chicken have never tasted this good!
One-Pan Skillet Chicken With Kale Recipe
Creamy, savory and oh-so easy to prepare, this one pan kale and chicken recipe will quickly become a new household favorite for any time of year! Below you’ll find a detailed step-by-step recipe including our recommendations for quick and easy sides to serve up with it.
Can I Use Boneless Chicken?
My 15-year-old thought the bones made it a little harder to cut into and eat—sometimes you have to work for your food, ha! But, I do think it would still turn out great without the bones if you prefer. You just might end up with more than four servings if you still go for the two pounds of meat. Either way, it’ll still taste great and hopefully have you licking your plates clean, too!
What to Serve with Dijon Chicken Skillet?
As I mentioned before, I served this over mashed potatoes, but homemade polenta or brown rice would be great options, too.
What Can you Substitute Kale With?
Much like most recipes with kale, you can always swap out kale for spinach if that works better for you. If you’re not a fan of either of them, feel free to leave it out of this Dijon Chicken Skillet recipe—the sauce will still be tasty!
Other One-Dish Chicken Recipes You Might Enjoy
- Chicken & Veggie Teriyaki Skillet
- Creamy Coconut Lime Chicken & Vegetables
- Chicken and Wild Mushroom Skillet
- Lemon Roasted Chicken and Cauliflower
Enjoy. :)
Dijon Chicken Skillet with Kale
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 pounds chicken thighs (bone-in, skin-on)
- 2 large shallots (peeled, cut in half, and thinly sliced)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons grainy Dijon mustard (whole grain or stone ground)
- 1 cup dry white wine ((such as Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, or Chardonnay))
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 bunch kale ( chopped (large stems discarded first))
- 2 tablespoons fresh sage (chopped)
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme (chopped)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- mashed potatoes (recommended for serving)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Heat the oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels (this is important so that the skin will brown instead of steam), and place skin side down in the pan. Cook until golden brown and crispy (but still raw in the middle), about 7 to 9 minutes, then transfer to a plate and season with salt and pepper.
- Remove all but a thin layer of the oil in the skillet. Still on medium-high heat, add the shallots and stir until soft and beginning to brown, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic and mustards, then pour in the wine and cook until it reduces by half, another 2 to 3 minutes.
- Pour in the broth, add the chicken back in with skin side up, and place in the oven (uncovered) until the chicken is done all the way through (165 degrees F internal temp), 15 to 20 minutes.
- Remove from oven and once again, remove the chicken from the skillet. Stir in the kale, herbs, cream, and parmesan. Bring to a light boil and stir until the sauce is smooth and the kale is wilted, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Season with more salt and pepper (to taste), add the chicken back in (skin side up), spoon some sauce over top, and serve. Tastes great over mashed potatoes.
Favorite with all adults and kids in the house! I was in a tarragon-y mood so subbed that for the other herbs (also delicious!) Also reduced mustard to about 3 Tbsp.
A way to do some of the prep in advance:
– Made the base of the sauce ahead: started with oil and shallots in the pan all the way through the steps of adding wine and reducing. Added in some broth, reduced a little more, then cooled and fridged it until evening time.
– In the evening, browned the chicken (boneless skinless thighs) in a big pan, added the pre-prepped sauce base with a little more broth, half-and-half (subbed for heavy cream), and the chopped kale.
– Covered the whole thing, gave it a shake, and let the chicken cook through / kale wilt at a low simmer.
– Parm, fresh pepper, and some chopped parsley at the very end before serving with farro and peas/carrots.
Doesn’t necessarily reduce the total labor, but it helps to have the base of the sauce done ahead of time!
We loved this and will be making for our Valentine’s Day dinner again. I did find that the kale was a bit tough. I removed the main stem and cut into strips. Is there a certain kind of kale that might work better or should I handle it differently?
YUM! Permanently placing this in the recipe box.
Love the flavor. Delicious. Love 100 Days of Real Food. However: 10 minutes prep is VASTLY incorrect. Would prefer that recipes start with time to gather, prepare. We started gathering and preparing ingredients at 5:10 PM. There were two of us. We peeled, cut and sliced the shallots, The recipe did not say what to do with the garlic cloves, so we peeled, and minced. Rinsed and removed stems from Kale, chopped. Cleaned the Chicken Thighs. We used no Skin, no Bone, so browning was longer. Plated at 6:40 PM. Total time: 1 hour 30 Minutes.
Can this be made in an instant pot?
It might be possible, however, we have not tried it so we don’t have instructions to give. – Nicole
This recipe was absolutely delicious! It was restaurant quality. We cooked according to recipe and didn’t change anything. I highly recommend!
We’re so glad to hear you enjoyed it! – Nicole
I love the idea of the one pot chicken and kale with a nice sauce; however the picky eaters in my household don’t like mustard. Any ideas for a substitution or can I just leave that out? Obviously will change the dish substantially….
This was delicious! I was a bit nervous about so much mustard but it mellowed out nicely and with the cream and wine/broth it wasn’t sharp like I expected. I used skinless thighs. And I had a HUGE bunch of kale that I didn’t think would cook down enough – but instead it actually became a good amount for a full veggie, not just part of the sauce. Delicious with mashed potatoes – I’m going to try the leftovers with some polenta cakes. Will definitely make this again!!
Glad you enjoyed it! Let us know how it tastes with polenta cakes. – Nicole
This was delicious! I had to make a few changes based on what I had. I used chicken breasts and broth instead of wine. I also ended up cutting up the chicken before putting back in the sauce to make it easier to eat. A huge hit with my 3 kids and husband. The suggestion to serve over mashed potatoes was spot on. We will be making this again!
You could probably try coconut milk or soy milk
This was tasty, but lacked the WOW factor for me.
This is a great recipe for the weather in Michigan right now (cold and blustery) – I’m making it this week. Plus I love that you’ve got some kale in there – trying to eat more of that as well.
This looks fabulous! My husband is a huge fan of mustard sauces like this too. We are trying to really cut back on dairy for him though – while he tends to do ok with small quantities of some of the hard cheeses like parmesan, things like ricotta or milk are a no go. Any suggestions for substitutions for the heavy cream?
Thanks!
You could probably try coconut milk or soy milk. Just be sure to read the ingredient labels and look for ones that don’t have unwanted additives or sweeteners. – Nicole
I believe Oatly makes (used to make?) a product that subs for cream. I’ve used that before for creamy soups with DF folks and it was delicious!