Preheat your oven to 400°F and line a 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper (game changer for cleanup). Pat your chicken thighs dry with paper towels—this helps them brown instead of steam. Sprinkle salt evenly over all the pieces and set them aside while you make the glaze.

Whisk together honey, Dijon mustard, minced garlic, grated ginger, and apple cider vinegar in a small bowl. The mixture should look smooth and glossy. Don't skip whisking—it helps everything combine so the honey mustard chicken glaze coats evenly instead of settling in chunks.

Pour the olive oil into your baking dish and heat it in the oven for 2 minutes until it shimmers. Carefully remove the hot dish and arrange your chicken thighs skin-side down in the oil. You'll hear it sizzle immediately—that's exactly what you want.

Pour the honey-mustard glaze over the chicken, making sure each piece gets coated generously. Don't panic if there's still some oil visible—it'll combine as everything cooks together. This step is crucial for that sticky-sweet coating everyone will love.

Bake for 25-28 minutes until the chicken hits 165°F at the thickest part (use a meat thermometer, seriously). The kitchen's gonna smell absolutely amazing at this point. I always check at 24 minutes because my oven runs hot—yours might need the full 28.

Mix cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water to create a slurry, then stir it into the pan juices while everything's still hot. Return to the oven for 2 more minutes to thicken the sauce—this turns it from watery to that gorgeous, glossy glaze. One pan chicken never looked better.

Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds and chopped green onion over everything before serving. Let it rest for 3 minutes (I know it's hard to wait). This honey mustard chicken recipe yields a beautiful, restaurant-quality presentation without any fuss.