bacon honey mustard chicken bowls

The sauce is the whole thing.

You are going to make the honey mustard sauce and think you did it wrong.

You did not.

Four ingredients, no cooking, nothing impressive happens while you stir. Dijon, honey, vinegar, water. Then it goes over chicken, rice, broccolini, and bacon, and that is dinner.

The bacon does more than sit on top. You cook the chicken and vegetables in the drippings, then add the rice and honey mustard so the whole skillet turns tangy, smoky, and just sweet enough. The broccolini stays crisp, the radishes soften, and the bacon goes back on top. My kids pick out the radishes. I do not.

You can make this the night of, everything in one skillet, about 35 minutes. That is how the recipe below is written.

Or, if you like prepping components ahead, I wrote this one up that way too. The PDF is available below the recipe. Chop on Sunday, bag it like a meal kit, and dinner night is fifteen minutes with no cutting board.

I have been doing this on Sundays lately. We do not have weekend games right now, so I actually have the time. By Tuesday, there is the pool, there is practice, and somehow it is 6 p.m. Having dinner already chopped helps.

start the bacon in a cold pan. Cold skillet, then turn on the heat. The fat renders slowly as the pan warms up, so you get crisp bacon and enough grease to cook everything else in.

chicken tenders are the easy pick. Breast works, but tenders are faster to dice and usually cheaper. Either one is a pound.

frozen rice is the shortcut, fresh is fine. A bag of prepared frozen rice goes straight in at the end, no thawing. If you would rather cook rice from scratch, use about 2 cups and add it the same way.

radishes can be quiet or loud. Thinly slice them if you are unsure about cooked radishes. Quarter them if you want to notice them.

Three more one-pan dinners from the archive.

chili crunch pork bowls Another bowl, another sauce doing the work. Browned pork and cabbage over rice, mild on purpose, built on freezer shortcuts.

the birthday carbonara Six ingredients, one pan, twenty minutes, and the sausage does all the flavor lifting. My son requests it for his birthday and I make it most Tuesdays.

the sloppy joe Ground beef, a can of tomato sauce, one pot. I have made it around four hundred times, which tells you what you need to know.

serves: 4

time: 35 minutes

for the chicken & vegetables

• 1 pound chicken breast or chicken tenders, cut into 1-inch pieces

• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

• 2 bunches broccolini, tough ends trimmed, thick stalks halved lengthwise

• ½ cup radishes, thinly sliced or quartered

• 6 bacon strips, cut into 1½-inch pieces

• 2 cups prepared white or brown rice

• 3 green onions, thinly sliced

for the honey mustard sauce

• ⅓ cup Dijon mustard

• 1 tablespoon honey

• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

• 3 tablespoons water

make the sauce: stir together the Dijon mustard (⅓ cup), honey (1 tablespoon), apple cider vinegar (1 tablespoon), and water (3 tablespoons). set aside.

cook the bacon: place the bacon (6 strips, cut into 1½-inch pieces) in a cold skillet in a single layer. turn the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp, 8 to 12 minutes. transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. pour off about half of the bacon grease, leaving enough to coat the pan and cook the chicken in.

cook the chicken and vegetables: season the chicken (1 pound) with kosher salt (½ teaspoon) and black pepper (¼ teaspoon). add to the skillet in an even layer and cook undisturbed for 4 minutes. flip the chicken and add the broccolini (2 bunches) and radishes (½ cup). cover and reduce the heat to medium-low for 3 minutes.

finish the bowls: remove the lid. add the prepared rice (2 cups), the honey mustard sauce, and half of the green onions. stir to coat and cook until the chicken reaches 165°F and the vegetables are crisp-tender, about 4 to 5 minutes. taste and season with additional salt and pepper if needed.

serve: divide between bowls. scatter the bacon over the top and finish with the remaining green onions.

store: keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. portion into individual containers for easy lunches.

reheat: microwave with a damp paper towel over the container to keep the rice from drying out.

about the bacon: the bacon softens in the fridge. it will not be crisp the next day. it still tastes good, but if you are meal-prepping this on purpose, keep the cooked bacon separate in its own container and scatter it on after reheating.

chicken: breast and tenders both work. thighs or turkey breast are good swaps too. cook poultry to 165°F.

broccolini: asparagus, fresh green beans, or regular broccoli all work. pre-cut broccoli florets are fine.

radishes: sliced carrots or jicama if you would rather skip them.

bacon: turkey bacon works for a leaner option, but it renders less fat, so add a little oil to the pan. prosciutto crisps fast and barely renders, so it needs added oil too.

rice: any cooked grain works. quinoa, farro, or wild rice. cauliflower rice keeps it low-carb, but it does not soak up the sauce the same way, so the dish comes out looser and wetter.

Dijon mustard: honey-dijon is the main flavor here, so Dijon is the pick. whole grain or spicy brown will work in a pinch.

apple cider vinegar: white wine vinegar or rice vinegar.

honey: maple syrup at 1:1, or 1 teaspoon brown sugar.