Honey Mustard Chicken Pasta

By Dan Pelosi

Updated May 15, 2026

  • Julia Gartland for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.
Media 1 of 1
Ready In
30 min
Rating
4(61)
Comments
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While there are endless sweet and savory flavor combinations out there, the pairing of honey and mustard is among the most popular. It shows up in a dressing for salads, a dip for finger foods, a spread on sandwiches—and here, as a way to enhance a weeknight pasta dinner with ingredients that are often on hand. In this dish, the savory tang of Dijon mustard and the floral sweetness of honey are added to a garlicky white wine cream sauce that perfectly coats every strand of pasta. For added zing and texture, top each serving of pasta with crushed honey mustard pretzels along with chopped fresh parsley and grated Parmesan, if you like. This recipe starts with browning chunks of chicken, but they can easily be left out to make it vegetarian-friendly. Save a bit of extra pasta water to help bring any leftovers back to their original creamy, saucy state. 

Watch Dan Pelosi make this dish in this video.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings

  • Kosher salt

  • 1 pound dried spaghetti

  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

  • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes

  • Freshly ground black pepper

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • 4 garlic cloves, minced

  • ½ white or yellow onion, diced small

  • ½ cup white wine

  • 1 cup heavy cream

  • 4 tablespoons Dijon mustard 

  • 1 tablespoon honey

  • Coarsely crushed honey-mustard or plain pretzels (optional), for serving

  • Grated Parmesan (optional), for serving

  • Chopped fresh parsley (optional), for serving

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add spaghetti and cook until al dente according to the package directions. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water, then drain the pasta and set aside. 

  2. Step 2

    Meanwhile, warm the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper, then add to the skillet. Cook, without stirring, until browned, about 4 minutes. Flip the chicken and cook until cooked through, about 4 minutes more. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to a plate and set aside. 

  3. Step 3

    In the same skillet on medium, melt the butter then add the garlic, onion and a big pinch each salt and pepper. Cook until the garlic is fragrant and the onion is translucent, about 2 minutes. Pour in the wine and simmer until reduced by about half, about 2 minutes. Stir in the cream, mustard and honey and stir to combine. Bring to a gentle simmer. Cook until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes.  

  4. Step 4

    Return the chicken to the skillet along with any juices. Add the drained pasta along with ½ cup of the reserved pasta water. Toss continuously until the sauce is thick and creamy and coating the pasta, about 3 minutes. 

  5. Step 5

    Remove from the heat and serve warm topped, if desired, with crushed pretzels, chopped parsley and grated Parmesan.

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    Ratings

    4 out of 5
    61 user ratings
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    Comments

    Lin from Madison

    This was lovely. We omitted the pretzels, which didn’t appeal to either of us, and added a large sliced shallot with the onion and garlic. Once I added the white wine, I also added about half a bunch of asparagus, sliced on the diagonal into one inch pieces. I appreciated the scaling feature to make a half batch and there was enough for seconds plus my lunch for tomorrow!

    cf

    And it sounds gross!

    Matt

    This just didn’t work on so many levels. Bland and overly fatty

    jonas

    Made as described. Really nice. If you wanted to add a green or spice element, it probably doesn’t hurt.

    Jess

    This was delicious!! I didn’t have pretzels or parsley so I made some seasoned breadcrumbs and used chives instead, my husband said this was one of his favorite pasta dishes! It is basically a white white cream sauce with a bit of Dijon so don’t let the mustard part scare you off! It’s so tasty! And definitely don’t skip the pasta water!

    Dave H

    Almost didn’t make this after reading the first comment. But we were out of truffles and foie gras so i decided to take my chances and just use what we had on hand which aligned remarkably well with this recipe. Easy. Tasty. Cheap. Perfect for a busy weeknight. And healthier/tastier/cheaper than take-out. Just had the leftovers for lunch. It goes in the rotation for the nights when we’re coming up fast on the drive thru lane.

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