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I not messing with you here. There’s a reason this recipe is called No work Chicken. Cause it is absolutely NO work!

Back when I first met my husband, I had the opportunity to become pals with one of his mother’s best friends, Pat O’Keefe. Beautiful, lovely, charming and far younger than her chronological age, Pat is bubbly and full of life every time I see her.

A few years ago, Pat decided that she was starting her own cooking blog. She told me about all of the recipes she loved to create and share with her family — especially her beloved grandson, Toby — and now wanted others to discover.

Since then I have received an email from Pat almost every week featuring a new recipe — original ideas that are always a little out of the ordinary and with ingredient combinations I wouldn’t normally think of putting together but which make perfect sense when you taste the final product.

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I’ve enjoyed many of Pat’s recipes over time, but when I saw “No Work Chicken” as the subject line of last week’s email, I was beyond intrigued. After all, if there’s a recipe for something with little-to-no work involved and it’s very likely going to be delicious, I’m in! I tweaked Pat’s recipe slightly to suit our family, but this is my interpretation and it’s unbelievably good. Not just another chicken recipe, this one immediately earned a distinguished place in our dinner rotation.

All you do is quickly whisk the marinade ingredients together in the morning (or the night before), add the chicken breasts and then bake them when you get home that night. In less than an hour, you’ll have moist, juicy chicken with a sweet and tangy sauce that is heavenly served over brown rice.

Recipe courtesy of Pat O’Keefe

No Work Chicken
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons dijon mustard (mild)
- 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
- 1/4 cup chopped scallions
- 4 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- In a 9 x 13 baking dish, whisk the honey, soy sauce, dijon mustard, curry powder and scallions.
- Place chicken on top of sauce and turn to coat.
- Cover and marinate 30 minutes to overnight, flipping halfway through to coat with sauce.
- Cover with foil and bake chicken 30-40 minutes, depending on size of chicken breasts. Baste chicken with the sauce half way through cooking.
- Serve over rice or pasta.





any substitute for soy sauce? my daughter’s allergic to soy. 🙁
Dijon mustard and yellow mustard are so different in flavor that I wouldn’t substitute one for the other. You can substitute the dijon if you must, but just know that the flavor will be different!
i don’t have dijon mustard on hand. can i use another mustard? or is there a substitute? i have stadium mustard (not sure but i think it’s like a spicy mustard) and normal mustard on hand. thanks
This looks delicious! I will make it this week!
I tried this recipe with no curry powder and it just wasn’t as full-flavored. I scaled way back on the curry powder because I know it isn’t a super popular ingredient but it really does add that “extra something” to this dish, and you can’t even really pick it out when tasting this recipe! Curry powder is a mixture of: Turmeric, Corriander, Mustard powder, Cumin, Paprika, Cayenne, Cardamom, Nutmeg, Cinnamon, and Cloves. It’s just such a great combination of flavors I wouldn’t want to leave it out!
That’s what I’m wondering also. Should I just leave it out, or what would be a good substitue seasoning?
Do you think it would still be flavorful without the curry? My husband is not a fan of curry.
Hi Catherine,
Looks great! Would this work with a skinless boneless turkey breast?
I make something similar with just dijon, honey, and curry in the sauce and don’t marinate it before baking. It is so easy and one of our favorite dinners served with rice, quinoa, or couscous. I’m definitely going to try it with the soy sauce and marinading it beforehand next time!
I am terrible when it comes to cooking chicken. I always destroy it! I will have to try this recipe. That marinade sounds awesome.
This is fantastic! Have some chicken already defrosting and will serve with leftover vegetable fried brown rice. Thanks!
Hi. Just a hint – any marinade with that ratio of honey might burn on a grill. He should watch it very carefully.
Think I will use this marinade and have my husband grill the chicken. Thanks!
we don’t eat meat but that marinade sounds awesome! i think i’m going to try it with tofu. yummmm!
Thanks for good recipe. Gonna try this week!!!!
Yep. We are eating this tonight with asparagus, cabbage and brown rice!