Dijon mustard chicken legs in air fryer are great. You can use this same sauce on drumsticks, chicken thighs or breasts too. They turn out great baked in the oven or as air fryer chicken leg quarters too. Both methods and different cuts shared here.
We are going to focus on mustard chicken in air fryer below but will share them baked along the way too. Both turn out tender inside but crispy skin on the outside with this killer sauce. One of our favorite easy air fryer recipes we make often. (affiliate links present)
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Air Fryer Mustard Chicken Legs
The sauce remains the same no matter how you cook them. You can use it on all the pieces of the bird but we are showing you drumsticks in these photos. If you are forgetful and your meat is still hard there is a way to use it on frozen chicken legs in air fryer too, with a small adjustment.
With that you’ll just need to brush this mustard sauce on halfway thru after they have defrosted for a bit. Then it will stick nicely and not slide all the way off. That would be no good. Left as is it is it’s great but you can make air fryer honey mustard chicken with a bit of maple syrup too. Leave that out if you wanted to but it is a nice duo.
Mustard Chicken in Oven
For either baking chicken drumsticks at 400 in the oven or air frying them you’d use the same sauce ingredients you see here. Multigrain mustard would be the same as Dijon, depends on how it is labeled. You will need to dry meat and skin off with paper towels so this sticks well, that is a very important step for success.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken legs
- 3 tsp dijon mustard
- Maple syrup
- Salt and pepper if you like
- Olive oil
- Thyme
- Paprika
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet or baking dish with aluminum foil, then place a wire rack on top. Mix mustard sauce together in a bowl and then toss with legs to coat. Spray rack with olive oil so they don’t stick and then lay on top so they don’t overlap. Bake for about 40 minutes or until they reach internal temperature of 165 F in thickest part.
If you want to keep the legs and thighs together you can. You would need to follow the temperature and cook time for our baked chicken leg quarters though since they are larger.
How to Make Mustard Chicken Legs
Make note that these baked chicken legs will turn browner if you air fry them than baked because of the syrup. Not that it changes the flavor at all but it will brown quite a bit so don’t worry if that is what you see. I have a way to tame that down if you brush it on halfway thru instead of right at the beginning. Go ahead and try both.
- Rinse chicken legs and dry with paper towels. Put in a deep bowl.
- Add salt, spices, herbs, mustard, olive oil and maple syrup in a small bowl.
- Gently mix everything so that each leg is covered.
- Air fryer drumsticks – Transfer the legs to the air fryer basket in a single layer.
- Bake at 380 F for 15 minutes cooking time. Since the marinade contains sweet maple syrup, the legs will turn very brown on top.
- Flip the chicken legs over and bake for another 10 minutes if they are medium sized.
- Bake larger legs for another 15 minutes instead or until they reach 165 F in thickest part.
- Serve the finished legs immediately
** Alternatively if you don’t want them to turn out as browned you can cook legs alone with olive oil sprayed on top for the first 10 minutes, then flip and brush mustard sauce on now, then bake for remaining 10-15 minutes.
You should not. The magic of a hot air machine is to make food crispy. If chicken legs in air fryer are overlapping the portions that touch won’t. Instead of stacking, cook drumsticks in multiple batches so you get the ideal texture you want.
Mustard Chicken Thighs
If you wanted to make crispy chicken thighs instead you could follow the directions in this link. We first use a cast iron pan for this to get the skin crispy and browned, then transferring it to the oven to cook thru. If you want a larger piece of dark meat that works quite well, and they’re pretty cheap if you use bone-in skin on.
Mustard Chicken Breasts
This is how long to cook chicken breast in oven at 350 so it is moist in the center but the skin is golden brown. You will want to brush this honey mustard sauce on halfway thru so it bakes on nicely but doesn’t get too deep and blackened. I use bone in for these as well as they are the cheapest and with the skin on maintains a lot of moisture too.
Honey Mustard Chicken in Instant Pot
Now we have also made Instant Pot honey mustard chicken. If you do have a pressure cooker you can use this recipe as well. It comes out very tender but not crispy at all. Still good but different texture. Typically I work with boneless skinless chicken but when I want a sauce to really stick on I want all that good stuff stick on still.
Wholegrain Mustard Chicken
There are many quick and easy chicken recipes on our site. This air fryer or baked honey mustard chicken recipe is just one of our faves that is done in about 30 minutes. With a simple side dish or just enjoyed as is as a high protein meal that is low carb and keto friendly I assure you it will be a fave at your house too.
Can you reheat cooked chicken drumsticks?
Yes but keep in mind it will dry out more than it was fresh. The best way to add moisture is to pour more sauce over the top and then microwave for 1 minute or you can reheat chicken in air fryer too. You can mix up some more of this sauce or add 1 tbsp of chicken broth per piece. Bbq sauce works well with this to add flavor and get it tender again.
Mustard Chicken
Equipment
- 1 air fryer or sheet pan
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken legs
- 3 tsp dijon mustard
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp paprika
Instructions
- Rinse chicken legs and dry with paper towels. Put in a deep bowl. Add salt, spices, herbs, mustard, olive oil and maple syrup Gently mix everything so that each leg is covered.
- Air Fryer Mustard Chicken Legs – Transfer the legs to the air fryer basket in a single layer. Bake at 380 F for 15 minutes. Since the marinade contains sweet maple syrup, the legs will turn very brown on top.
- Turn the legs over and bake for another 10 minutes if they are medium sized. Bake larger legs for another 15 minutes instead or until they reach 165 F in thickest part. Serve the finished legs immediately
- ** Alternatively if you don't want them to turn out as browned you can cook legs alone with olive oil sprayed on top for the first 10 minutes, then flip and brush mustard sauce on now, then bake for remaining 10-15 minutes.
- Mustard Chicken in Oven – Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, then place a wire rack on top. Mix mustard sauce together in a bowl and then toss with legs to coat. Spray rack with olive oil so they don't stick and then lay on top so they don't overlap. Bake for about 40 minutes
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Absolutely delicious! Crispy outside, moist in the middle. I didn’t really change a thing. I made them in the Instant Toaster Oven/Air Fryer using Bake. I didn’t even flip them. If you’re making it this way, be sure to cover the bottom because the sauce really makes a mess when it cooks on. You might also double the delicious sauce. I had to make a little more when I reheated the leftovers. I used the Instant oven to reheat them, too–about 6 minutes at 350.
OH yay!!