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Serve a plate of baked Pecan Crusted Chicken for a flavorful, easy dinner that’s ready for the oven in just 15 minutes! The chicken breasts are coated in a mayonnaise and honey mustard sauce, then dredged in a crunchy toasted pecan and breadcrumb mixture so that they’re crispy on the outside, but tender and juicy on the inside. Serve the flavorful chicken on top of salad, tucked inside a sandwich, or with a side of coleslaw, cornbread, green beans or rice!
Honey Pecan Crusted Chicken Breast
Crispy chicken that’s baked and not fried?! Sign me up! It’s just an added bonus that this honey pecan crusted chicken comes together easily with only a handful of pantry staples. The flavorful chicken breast is slathered in a mayonnaise and honey mustard sauce, then coated in seasoned breadcrumbs and pecans. With so many layers of flavor and texture, you know it’s bound to be delicious!
Ingredients
This is a quick overview of the simple ingredients that you’ll need to make pecan chicken breast. As always, specific measurements and complete cooking instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.
- Chicken breast: pounded flat to an even thickness.
- Mayonnaise, Dijon mustard and honey: the creamy honey mustard sauce that you’ll brush onto the chicken for added flavor and moisture, and to help the breading adhere.
- Breadcrumbs: I prefer regular breadcrumbs (rather than Panko-style breadcrumbs) because the finer texture coats the chicken more evenly and fills in any gaps that the pecans might leave behind.
- Pecans: start with pecan halves and use a food processor (or just a large knife) to chop them into fine pieces. You want the nuts small enough to adhere to the meat, but you don’t want to grind them into a fine powder or you’ll miss that great crunchy texture.
- Paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, kosher salt and pepper: seasoning for the breadcrumb coating.
- Oil: stir a neutral oil like canola oil or vegetable oil into the breadcrumb mixture to coat completely. This will help the chicken brown nicely and get extra crispy in the oven. It’s my “secret” ingredient for any oven-fried chicken or pork recipe.
How to Cook Pecan Crusted Chicken
This baked pecan crusted chicken breast comes together quickly and easily with handful of basic ingredients!
- Place the chicken between plastic wrap and pound the breast to an even ½-inch thickness. This helps the meat cook evenly so that it doesn’t dry out, and it also shortens the total baking time so that the pecan crust doesn’t burn before the meat is cooked through.
- Whisk together mayonnaise, Dijon mustard and honey in a medium bowl.
- Stir together the seasoned breadcrumb and pecan mixture in a separate shallow dish.
- Drizzle the breadcrumb mixture with oil, then use a fork to make sure that the oil is completely incorporated. The mixture should look like wet sand.
- Pat the chicken dry and season with salt and pepper on both sides.
- Brush each piece of chicken on all sides with the mayonnaise mixture, then dredge in the pecan mixture.
- Arrange the coated chicken on a wire rack on top of a baking sheet.
- Bake in a 350° F oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165° F.
What to Serve with Pecan Crusted Chicken
This baked chicken goes well with just about any of the classic Southern sides. Here are some of our favorites:
- Southern Buttermilk Biscuits, Aunt Bee’s 3-Ingredient Buttermilk Biscuits or Drop Biscuits
- 3-Ingredient Sour Cream Muffins
- Pumpkin Bread or Pumpkin Muffins
- Cowboy Baked Beans
- A simple green salad dressed in Buttermilk Dressing or Pepper Jelly Vinaigrette
- House Salad with Candied Pecans
- Creamy Baked Mac and Cheese, Crock Pot Mac and Cheese or Creamy Stovetop Mac and Cheese
- Skillet Cornbread, Honey Cornbread or Corn Muffins
- Southern Macaroni Salad, Classic Pasta Salad or Shrimp Pasta Salad
- Coleslaw or Vinegar Coleslaw
- Southern Collard Greens
- Baked Potato Wedges, Mashed Potatoes with Sour Cream and Chives, Skin On Mashed Red Potatoes, or Easy Potato Salad
- Arkansas Green Beans with Bacon or Southern-Style Green Beans
- Broccoli Cauliflower Salad
- Fried Apples
- Southern Succotash
- Creamed Peas
And don’t forget some extra honey mustard sauce for dipping on the side!
Preparation and Storage Tips
- Prep Ahead! You can assemble the chicken in advance and keep it refrigerated until you’re ready to bake. Allow the chicken to come to room temperature for at least 30 minutes before baking.
- Leftover pecan-crusted chicken breast will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
- Reheat the pecan chicken in the oven (or in a toaster oven) at 325° F until warmed through (about 10 minutes).
Recipe Variations
- If you don’t want to bother with pounding the chicken flat, purchase “thinly-sliced chicken breast” or “chicken cutlets” at the store. In this case, the butcher has already done the work for you!
- Swap out the Dijon mustard for regular yellow mustard.
- Make maple pecan crusted chicken by substituting maple syrup for the honey.
- If you don’t like the flavor of honey mustard pecan crusted chicken, you can brush the chicken with plain mayonnaise.
- Make a pecan crusted chicken salad by slicing the chicken and serving it on top of a big salad — just like you would with fried chicken tenders. The salad would be delicious with bacon, tomatoes, blue cheese, cucumber and either honey mustard dressing or my homemade buttermilk ranch dressing!
- Pecan Crusted Chicken Tenders: use chicken tenderloins or cut the chicken breast into long, thin strips. Bake the chicken tenders at 350° F for 25-30 minutes, since they tend to be a bit thicker than pounded cutlets.
Tips for the Best Pecan Crusted Chicken Recipe
- Cooking Just for Two? You can easily cut the ingredients in half and just prepare 1 lb. of chicken breast.
- Pound the Chicken: by flattening the chicken breasts to about ½-inch thickness, you not only tenderize the meat, but you also ensure a quick, even cooking time.
- Chop the pecans into small pieces so that they adhere easily to the chicken; however, don’t process them into a fine powder or you’ll lose that great crunchy texture. I pulse the nuts in a food processor to make this step quick and easy.
- Since the pecans are crunchy, I prefer regular breadcrumbs (rather than Panko breadcrumbs) for this recipe. The finer breadcrumbs coat the chicken more evenly and fill in any gaps that the nuts leave behind.
- The oil in the breading helps the chicken turn crispy and golden brown in the oven — no frying necessary! Don’t skip the oil, or the end result won’t be nearly as good.
- If the crust starts to get too dark before the inside of the chicken is cooked through, tent loosely with foil. This will prevent the nuts from burning.
- Prepare some extra mayonnaise honey mustard sauce to serve for dipping on the side.
- Use an instant-read thermometer to know when the chicken is done. It’s ready when it reaches an internal temperature of 165° F.
More Baked Chicken Recipes to Try
- Roasted Chicken Thighs with Garlic and Herbs
- Cornflake Chicken
- Oven BBQ Chicken Breast
- Whole Roasted Chicken
- Baked Chicken Kiev
- French Fried Onion Chicken
Pecan Crusted Chicken
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Total: 35 minutes
Serve a plate of baked Pecan Crusted Chicken for a flavorful, easy dinner that's ready for the oven in just 15 minutes!
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or thinly-sliced chicken cutlets)
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 ½ teaspoons honey
- 1 cup dry breadcrumbs
- 1 cup pecan halves, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning the meat
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons canola oil or vegetable oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper, then set a large wire rack on top. Spray the rack with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Lightly pound the chicken breasts to uniform thickness (about ½-inch).
- In a medium bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, Dijon mustard and honey. Set aside.
- In a shallow dish, mix together breadcrumbs, pecans, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, kosher salt and black pepper. Drizzle with oil and mash with a fork until the oil is thoroughly incorporated.
- Pat the chicken dry; season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Brush each piece of chicken on all sides with the mayonnaise mixture. Dredge in the pecan mixture, gently pressing to make sure that both sides are evenly coated.
- Place the coated chicken breasts on the wire rack set on the baking sheet. Bake until the chicken is golden brown and the meat reaches an internal temperature of 165° F, about 20-25 minutes. Check the chicken towards the end of the cooking time, and if it’s starting to get too dark, tent loosely with foil for the remainder of the time. You don’t want the pecans to burn while the chicken cooks through.
Notes
Nutrition information provided below is merely an estimate, assuming that all of the breading and all of the mayonnaise mixture is used. If you don’t use all of the ingredients, the nutrition facts will vary.
- Cooking Just for Two? You can easily cut the ingredients in half and just prepare 1 lb. of chicken breast.
- Pound the Chicken: by flattening the chicken breasts to about ½-inch thickness, you not only tenderize the meat, but you also ensure a quick, even cooking time.
- Chop the pecans into small pieces so that they adhere easily to the chicken; however, don’t process them into a fine powder or you’ll lose that great crunchy texture. I pulse the nuts in a food processor to make this step quick and easy.
- Since the pecans are crunchy, I prefer regular breadcrumbs (rather than Panko breadcrumbs) for this recipe. The finer breadcrumbs coat the chicken more evenly and fill in any gaps that the nuts leave behind.
- The oil in the breading helps the chicken turn crispy and golden brown in the oven — no frying necessary! Don’t skip the oil, or the end result won’t be nearly as good.
- If the crust starts to get too dark before the inside of the chicken is cooked through, tent loosely with foil. This will prevent the nuts from burning.
- Prepare some extra mayonnaise honey mustard sauce to serve for dipping on the side.
- Use an instant-read thermometer to know when the chicken is done. It’s ready when it reaches an internal temperature of 165° F.
Nutrition
Serving: 1/6 of the chickenCalories: 473kcalCarbohydrates: 18gProtein: 36gFat: 29gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 101mgSodium: 783mgPotassium: 686mgFiber: 3gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 227IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 57mgIron: 2mg
Cook time was way off in my oven. After 25 minutes, it was still raw in the middle.