Pecan Crusted Chicken with Hot Honey or Honey Mustard Sauce
Crispy Pecan Crusted Chicken checks all the boxes! Tender, juicy chicken breasts get a crunchy double-pecan crust, then your choice of finish—spicy-sweet hot honey or classic honey mustard sauce.
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 395kcal
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts, about ½ inch thick
- ½ cup pecan meal, or very finely chopped pecans
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 egg, beaten, large or extra large
- ½ cup coarsely chopped pecans
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
Optional Honey Mustard Sauce
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 pinch kosher salt
Optional Homemade Hot Honey
- drizzle homemade or purchased hot honey, homemade hot honey
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F.
- Pour the buttermilk into a shallow dish and add the beaten egg. Mix well.
- Add the breasts to the buttermilk egg mixture and let them marinate for at least 10 minutes.
- Add the butter to a 13' x 9' baking dish and put the dish in the oven until the butter is melted. Remove the dish and set aside.
- Add the pecan meal, flour, paprika, salt, and pepper to a shallow dish and whisk or stir with a fork to combine.
- After letting the breasts soak in the buttermilk and egg mixture, work with one piece at a time, remove them, and let any excess drip off. Then, dredge each piece in the pecan flour mixture, making sure they are completely covered.
- Then, take the breast and place it in the baking dish with the melted butter. Turn each piece over and make sure both sides are coated with butter. Repeat with the remaining breasts.
- Sprinkle the coarsely chopped pecans evenly over the top of each breast and lightly press the pecans in.
- Bake for 14 to 18 minutes or until the chicken reaches 165°F as measured with an instant-read meat thermometer.
- Optional: garnish with chopped parsley and serve with homemade or purchased hot honey or honey mustard sauce. Serve immediately.
Honey Mustard Sauce
- Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.
Notes
If you don't have buttermilk, make your own: 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar stirred into 1 cup of whole milk, then left to sit for 5 minutes.
No pecan meal on hand? Pulse whole pecans in a food processor—just watch it closely, because a few seconds too long turns pecans into pecan butter instead of pecan meal.
Chicken breasts these days are often uneven and oversized. I usually slice mine in half horizontally rather than pound them thin—it keeps the pieces manageable and helps the crust actually stick.
Use a meat thermometer. I know the time range says 14 to 18 minutes, but ovens vary more than people think, and 165°F is the only number that matters.
If you're using store-bought hot honey, go with the regular kind, not extra hot—unless your family truly loves heat. Mine doesn't, so I keep both plain and hot honey in the pantry and let everyone drizzle their own.
Nutrition
Calories: 395kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 54g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 222mg | Sodium: 634mg | Potassium: 1011mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 822IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 98mg | Iron: 2mg
