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Honey-Mustard Baked Chicken Legs
By Alexandra Stafford
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Last Updated: 01/31/2026
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
These honey-mustard baked chicken legs take no time to throw together and are incredibly delicious, a hit with adults and children alike! This has been a family favorite for decades!
During my recent trip home to CT, my mother taught me how to make her homemade hamburger helper, a favorite of mine and my siblings growing up, a meal we thought the toddlers in the house would enjoy as well.
While the children ate it without complaint, each favoring a different component — macaroni, hamburger, melted cheese — it was the adults who really went to town on it, in particular my brother and brother-in-law who polished off the leftovers after a late-night game of darts (and a few too many whiskeys).
I don’t know if it’s the need to feed the toddlers I suddenly find at my feet or the trip home or the winter weather, but recently I can’t get enough of these old family recipes. My mother learned this chicken recipe from her aunt Rene, who has been serving it at dinner parties since the 1960’s. It is truly a crowd pleaser.
Now, a note, likely an obvious one: For those of you who like savoring the flavor of chicken in its most unadulterated form, perhaps roasted with a few herbs and maybe a lemon wedge or two, this one is not for you. It’s all about the sauce, a mixture of honey and mustard, curry powder and mango chutney, that thickens and concentrates during the hour or so spent in the oven. It’s the kind of thing that is nearly impossible not to pick up off the plate with your hands, gnaw at the bone, lick your fingers when you’re finished. Sorry for the image.
All of that said, the chicken cooks perfectly — the tender, moist meat, which retains its heat so nicely, falls off the bone with every prod of the fork, making a more civilized approach to its ingestion certainly an option.
My Great Aunt Rene would be so proud — my children gobbled it up, and for the first time in a long time, not a word about ketchup was uttered.
Honey-Mustard Baked Chicken, Step by Step
First gather your ingredients: honey, mustard, butter, curry powder, and mango chutney.
Whisk them all together to combine.
Place your chicken in a baking dish and season on both sides with salt.
Pour the sauce over the chicken and toss to coat.
Roast at 375ºF for 1.25 hours or until the meat fall of the bone when gently prodded.
Honey-Mustard Baked Chicken Legs
- Total Time: 1 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 to 8 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
These honey-mustard baked chicken legs take no time to throw together and are incredibly delicious, a hit with adults and children alike! This has been a family favorite for decades.
Source: My Great Aunt Rene
Notes:
Chicken: You can use all thighs, all drumsticks or whole legs intact. Recently I’ve been making it with all thighs (8 to 10), and my family can’t get enough of it. My favorite brand is Bell & Evans. I love the size of their chicken legs and the flavor is great, too.
Rice: I serve this with rice because the sauce is so, so tasty. I use this Cuckoo Rice Cooker and typically cook 2 cups of basmati rice for my family.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds bone-in skin-on chicken legs, see notes above
- kosher salt, preferably Diamond Crystal
- 1/2 cup butter, melted (salted or unsalted is fine)
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons mango chutney
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
- Place the chicken in a 9×13-inch baking dish. Season the chicken generously on both sides with salt.
- Whisk together the remaining ingredients in a medium bowl. Pour the sauce over the chicken, then toss with a spatula (or your hands) until the pieces are evenly coated. Arrange the chicken skin-side up.
- Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 1.25 to 1.5 hours. I find 1.25 hours to be perfect. Keep an eye on it — the sauce chars quickly, especially at the end.
- Let cool briefly before serving.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hours 15 minutes
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
183 Comments on “Honey-Mustard Baked Chicken Legs”
My Zonirushi rice cooker (an appliance I swore I would never own but now use several times a week for more than just rice) came through for perfect rice and steamed broccoli to accompany the chicken.
I second Sarah’s recommendation on the Zojirushi.
Living in Hawaii, and eating rice with multiple meals a week, I’ve gone through a good number of rice cookers. I considered the Cuckoo after seeing it at a friends’ house but it seemed hard to wash. I went for the “Zojirushi NHS-18 10-Cup (Uncooked) Rice.” I’ve now had it for 6 years, and it’s going strong! I feed my little family of 5… or 20 people if I need to!
I third the suggestion for Zojirushi! It always makes perfect rice. I always struggled making rice on the stovetop. With the Zojirushi I just select jasmine rice and press start. And it’s literally perfect fluffy rice every time. This is not due to my skill. Just the rice cooker. Lol
Oh yes…I’ve had my Zoe for at least 20 years and it’s still going strong…perfect rice every time. I’d replace it if it ever croaked. The chicken is beyond fantastic too!!!
Rice cooking experiences.
Mine is not labour saving nor does it use “fancy” equipment but it always products fluffy rice with each grain separate so if I may, let me lob it in the pot, as ’twere. It works for whatever quantity you need if your vessels are big enough.
Rinse basmati rice three times in cold water.
Cook in plenty of boiling, salted water for 3 minutes.
Drain and set the colander/sieve of rice over a pan of boiling water (I use the dained water to save energy), cover with a suitably sized saucepan lid and steam for 10 miutes.
Turn off the heat and rest for 5 minutes or until you need it.
This is particularly useful for rice you want to later add ingredients to and serve as fried rice.
Zojirushi! I’ve been using a Zojirushi rice cooker for many years ( my friends use them too) for great rice. I even use it to make oatmeal, grits/polenta, quinoa, lentils, and millet. Makes great brown rice, white long grain varieties, and short grain rice. It has a timer so I can load it up before work and have rice ready when I get home, or set it up at night for oatmeal in the morning. Really worth the investment. Also, replacement pots, lids, rice measuring cups, rice paddles, and silicone pieces are available for replacement if needed.
I haven’t tried this recipe so I’m not rating…
Let me add my voice to the many who have praised Zojirushi rice cookers. I’ve had mine for almost 30 years and there are weeks where I use it daily. Not only does it cook any type of rice to perfection, it cooks other grains as well. This time of year I use it to make steel cut oats for breakfast. I also have used it to cook beans and lentils. I’d rather be without my left arm than without my Zo.
And this recipe of yours — five stars. It’s going on weekly repeat around here. Thanks!
For years, decades, I have made rice in Zojirushi rice cookers. Don’t get me wrong, they are outstanding appliances and if you want rice at a push of a button I think they are hard to beat.
However, even my top-of-the-line Zojirushi doesn’t get used as much since I started cooking in a traditional Japanese Donabe. It is almost easier than the Zojirushi once you dial-in your method.
I love the kamado-san double-lid rice cooker from Iga Japan. It just provides more joy when making rice than pushing a button, but sometimes I know you need the convenience which is why I still have the Zojirushi.
It is as simple as washing the rice, adding to the donabe, cooking for 12-15 minutes on medium high heat until steam “puffs” from the vent, then allowed to rest for 20 minutes with the heat off. Done. Perfect. Rice.
Cleanup is easier, for the Teflon-phobic it fills the bill, comes in 4 sizes depending on the amount of rice you want to cook, and you get to enjoy the beauty of hand–made art when doing something as simple as cooking rice.
No affiliation, but I have purchased mine from Naoko-san at TOIRO and she has done a lot to make these beautiful donabe available here in the US.
I came here to say exactly what you did. I too have the Zojirushi which never did (for me) the kind of job that I wanted for basmati. I never use it any more since I have learned the donable for all kinds of rice, easy to use (unfortunately not induction), great ceramic, nothing to plug in and just a great unit. Though I do think now an induction one is available.
As for the chicken recipe – terrific, simple, easy and easy to scale up or down. And always great results.
I, too, add my praise for the Zojirushi rice cooker. We’ve had our very simple 1 liter / 4 cup version for over 14 years and use is a few times a week. I has no fancy features (like the “fuzzy logic” on some current models), just a lever to press to start cooking and a keep warm setting to which it reverts when it’s done. The inner cooking bowl is non-stick and has markings for the amount of water to use with measured rice. It cooks 4 cups as perfectly as 1 cup so I suspect cookers with larger capacities would work well, too.
I use the Aroma Rice Cooker. It is non stick and very easy to use. Press “On,” (timer up to 9 hours, if you want to set it early in the morning), and after it cooks, it keeps everything warm.
The plastic rice paddle that comes with it is made for non stick. Then, I hand wash to keep it in good condition. The Aroma also has a slow cooker feature and brown rice. I don’t measure the water, but use the Japanese method if water to the first knuckle of your index finger after rinsing. I use Nishiki Rice. The plump Japanese kind.
I was taught to cook rice by my Indonesian mom. A steamer pan, rice, your thumb, and water. Works every time
Another old school comment. I thought I should get a ricer cooker, since everyone has one but I don’t need one. I make often. I use a small ALL CLAD. It’s thick, stainless. Either white or brown. I rinse the rice, boiling salted water. Stir rice a couple of times. Turn to lowest setting ( I have a wolf gas range). Cover.15 mins for white. 30 for brown. Let sit for 5 with heat off. Always seems perfect.
Loved every recipe I have tried on your fantastic website.
1 question. Making this for 2 people.
If I halve the chicken do I halve the sauce.
Ty in advance.
Yes! Apologies for the delay here 🙂
I haven’t had a chance to cook the chicken yet but the combination will be sure to please my family. About quantities of rice: I use a Dutch oven, start the rice on the stovetop, then cover and put it into the oven at whatever temperature is convenient for other foods that may go in there at the same time, generally 350-400 F.
And for Now Ruz I make steamed rice, which requires parboiling the rice in a large quantity of water (not a bad way to eliminate arsenic if you worry about that), then draining and proceeding, but on the stovetop.
What curry powder do you use?
Madras! It comes in a decorative little tin and can be found in most grocery stores.
Re: rice cooker. I use my insta pot to cook rice. It does a good job. The pot is not non stick but I’ve never had it stick.
Brown rice! I love this recipe. In fact I prefer it to white rice….i use my instant pot mini which get’s a ton more use than the massive one. But maybe these directions work in your rice cooker! I will do three cups on monday as I have souper cubes arriving and i wanted to freeze brown rice for lunchrs…https://lifemadesimplebakes.com/instant-pot-brown-rice-5/
I found this easy fix on Pinterest that eliminates another appliance. I’ve made rice this way many times and love it. https://pin.it/6xgDfRr6f
RE RICE COOKER: I think your problem is two-fold. First when you say you make 2C, are you using a regular 8oz measuring cup? Capacity of rice cookers is measured by “go” the little cup that came with your cooker and which measures 6oz. So 3 go is a much smaller volume than 3C. Secondly, I would suggest getting a cooker that has a much larger capacity than what you usually cook. You want enough room for the rice to steam. I have a 6C (uncooked) Zojirushi but it is non stick. I’ve had it for 6 years with no problem with the coating. For something that is not non-stick look at the Elite Gourmet ERC2010B with a stainless inner pot. It is rated at 5C (really 5 go) uncooked. It is also a one button appliance – push down to cook. I bought my Zojirushi to replace an old one that cost $14 and lasted 25 years. There’s very little that can go wrong with such a a pot – just put in rice and water and click the switch. My old one only died when it finally stopped heating. Good luck. I love my rice cooker. I can make rice on the stove top, but I love the dump-it-in-and-walk-away nature of the rice cooker.
I have 2 different sized Zojirushi rice cookers. I cooked jasmine rice for decades using my high end stainless pots and think there is no comparison. The Zoji rice is superior in several ways: 1. it doesn’t produce a stuck on layer on the bottom of the pot. 2. it keeps the rice hot for an extended period of time. 3. easier to use, you just push the button versus waiting for the water to boil and turning down the heat 4. the rice is superior because it is more evenly hydrated. The drawbacks are the one hour of cooking time and the cost.
I’m here to add a comment about rice cookers – the BEST rice cooker and the only one I have had for decades is made by Zojirushi and it’s called the Neuro Fuzzy. I own both sizes, the small one and the larger one and it makes cooking rice a breeze and so is clean-up. It’s a bit of an investment, but well worth it.
Much like your baked polenta, I now also bake my rice.
I use an 8×8 pyrex dish. Spray with nonstick spray. Pour in 1 cup of rice, season with salt, and any herbs or spices that would be appropriate for what you’re serving and add 13/4 cups boiling water. You can dab the top with pats of butter if desired.
Cover with foil and bake for 25-30 minutes at 350 or 325 in convection setting.
I have cooked short grain sushi rice, basmati and jasmine rice successfully this way.
Rice cookers – Zojiruchi is the best. If you can afford it get a fuzzy logic one. I bought a low end model many years ago and it is still working perfectly –
I have a southern rice cooker that has water in the bottom and rice cooker on the top, it makes perfect rice every single time, stove top, and makes up to four regular cups of long grain rice from scratch. I use equal amounts of rice and water, plus a tad more water in the top, with salt mixed into the water and rice. Bring the bottom water to a rolling boil and keep boil on low to steam and cook the rice on top. It takes about 45 minutes for 3-4 cups of rice, and about 30 mins or so for two cups. These cookers are usually purchased in the low country of South Carolina, and are stove top only. Perfect every time, I have used this pot for over 35 years, and one before that wore out. They are aluminum. This one is from Sumter, S.C. I live in Rock Hill, S.C. My husband is true south.
We have a zojirushi rice cooker and it is amazing. It creates delicious rice every time, with clear markings on the pot for each type of rice- brown, sushi, white etc. I love it and highly recommend the brand. Very easy interface as well.
I love my Zojirushi rice cooker. I use their rice measuring cup and put six of these in the rice cooker (after washing rice), fill with water to #6 and it is perfect every time. It is full to the top and works great for my family dinners with 7 of us every week. Usually enough for a cup or two of rice to go with the leftovers.
I like the Instant Pot. I have a 6-quart, but bought a 3-quart size for cooking rice and for smaller meals (kids grow up and move out). Stainless steel pot is far preferable to nonstick for me.
I made this last week and it was excellent. I’m having the last of it tonight.
Re: rice cookers, I highly recommend the Zojirushi models. They are bombproof and make all sorts of rice (and porridge) perfectly. Capacity is also large (up to 5 cups of rice), but they are not huge machines like the IP. Mine is the “Neuro Fuzzy” unit, model NS-ZCC10 and is made in Japan (but I got mine on Amazon over 8 years ago). They take a while to cook rice, usually around 40 minutes, but they have a great “keep warm” setting that allows you to make it hours before it is needed with no worry.
This brown rice recipe from Cook’s Illustrated has never failed me. Fluffy and delicious every time. I do use either a Pampered Chef 9×13 or a glazed ceramic 9×13. I think using a metal 9×13, you might need to adjust the time. I have always doubled this and the recipe below is doubled:
3 cups Rice
4 2/3 cups water
A little over Tablespoon Butter
1 tsp salt
Bring water and butter to a boil. Add salt once boiling. Pour rice into 9×13. Pour boiling water over rice. Cover pan with a double sheet of aluminum foil. Bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for 1 hour. I think this essentially creates a rice cooker in your oven.
*If I do cut the recipe in half, I normally cook for 45 minutes instead of 1 hour.
Love this recipe – so easy and so tasty.
Sorry your rice cooker isn’t behaving. I splurged on a Zojirushi rice cooker 16 years ago and it was an excellent choice. Reliable, versatile and so easy. It’s been a delight.
I also have a Cuckoo and love it! I just made a batch of 3 cups of rice and it was perfect. The only thing I did differently was added an extra 1/4 c water. For other amounts in the Cuckoo you use a 1:1 ratio, but with 3 cups of rice I used 3 1/4 c water. I also always use the quick function. Not sure if that matters, but so far I haven’t had any issues.
This sounds yummy and I will try it, but mostly I’m coming here to share my rice cooker. It’s the Zojirushi one and I love it. It was recommended by a friend. A word of cation. Be careful with the little plastic vent cover. It can come off and get lost. (Ask me how I know.) I have this exact one. It even cooks brown rice. Be sure to read the instructions. I keep the measuring cup inside the bag of rice.
https://amzn.to/3ZbnOFa