This Pistachio Crusted Chicken is crispy and bursting with flavour. It’s served with a super easy honey mustard cream sauce too!
If you’re a fan of pistachios you’re gonna love this chicken. Typically you’d see a pistachio crust on a rack of lamb, but you’d be surprised how well chicken goes with pistachio. This makes for a restaurant quality dinner that’s so bloomin’ easy to make! Follow me…
Pistachio Crumb
The crumb itself is incredibly simple to make. Just grab a decent food processor and you’re well on your way!
What kind of Pistachio to use?
You can get shelled pistachios in most supermarkets, but if not just get unshelled pistachios and individually crack them open. In both cases I recommend getting unsalted pistachios, just so you’ve got more control over the seasoning.
Extra Additions
In with the pistachios I recommend adding fresh rosemary and lemon zest. These really liven up the crumb and pair beautifully with the pistachios.
Process shots: add pistachios, rosemary and lemon zest to food processor (photo 1), pulse into a fine crumb (photo 2).
Preparing Pistachio Crusted Chicken
When it comes to coating the chicken, you’ll want to dredge it through a classic flour/egg/crumb mix, just to ensure it all glues together nicely.
Honey Mustard
For this recipe you’ll want to whip up an easy honey mustard mix (50:50 ratio of honey:dijon mustard). This is mainly for the sauce, but I also like mixing in a tbsp with the beaten egg, just to pump a bit more flavour into the chicken!
Panko Breadcrumbs
You could just coat the chicken in the pistachio crumb, but I like to mix in some breadcrumbs for a little extra crunch. Panko breadcrumbs work great because they’re so big and airy. The pistachio crumb fills in all the gaps between the breadcrumbs so it works perfectly!
Process shots: coat chicken breast in flour (photo 1), mix together honey & mustard (photo 2), combine 1 tbsp with beaten egg and coat chicken (photo 3), mix breadcrumbs and pistachio crumb and coat chicken (photo 4).
Cooking Pistachio Crusted Chicken
When it comes to cooking the chicken, there’s two methods you could choose from:
Baked Pistachio Chicken
This is the easiest method of the two, simply because you just bung the chicken in the oven and leave it. I find with this method the crumb sticks slightly better too. However, it is ever-so-slightly less crisp. To bake you’ll just need a wire rack above and baking tray and some oil spray.
Pan Fried Pistachio Chicken
This is quicker, but slightly less healthy because you need more oil. It’s also slightly more risky for the crumb to stick. To pan fry you’ll need a non-stick pan, a couple tbsp of olive oil and some tongs.
If you’re stuck between two methods and this is your first time trying the recipe, you can do half and half to find out which method you prefer for the next time!
Honey Mustard Cream Sauce
This chicken is delicious by itself, but this sauce takes things to new heights. That and we’ve got some honey mustard we need to use 😛
The base of the sauce is equal parts cream and chicken stock. It’s got shallots/garlic, fresh thyme and then the rest of the honey mustard. Similar to the sauce for my Creamy Honey Mustard Chicken Thighs!
Process shots: fry shallot/garlic (photo 1), add honey mustard and chicken stock (photo 2), pour in cream (photo 3), season, add thyme and simmer to reduce (photo 4).
Serving Pistachio Crusted Chicken
I used to serve the breasts whole, but as of recently I like to slice the chicken into strips when serving, just so the sauce gets in around the chicken!
I usually serve with roast potatoes (Roasted Baby Potatoes or Crispy Smashed Potatoes) and either Green Beans or Asparagus. Check out my Sides for more inspo!
For more similar recipes check out these beauties:
Chicken Breast Dinners
Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for this pistachio crusted chicken shall we?!
How to make Pistachio Crusted Chicken (Full Recipe & Video)
Pistachio Crusted Chicken (with Bonus Sauce!)
Equipment
- 3 Large Shallow Dishes (for dredging)
- Food Processor (for pistachio crumb)
- Baking Tray & Wire Rack or Frying Pan & Tongs (for cooking)
- Small Pan or Pot (for sauce)
- Zester/Fine Grater (for lemon zest)
- Small Bowl (for combining honey/mustard)
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
Ingredients
Pistachio Crusted Chicken
- 2 large Chicken Breasts, butterflied right through the centre to make 4 even sized breasts
- 1 cup / 120g Shelled Pistachios, preferably unsalted
- 1/3 cup / 70g Plain/All Purpose Flour
- 1/2 cup / 30g Panko Breadcrumbs (see notes)
- 1 small Lemon, zest only
- 1 sprig of Fresh Rosemary, leaves only
- 1 Egg, beaten
- Olive Oil (for frying, or oil spray for baking)
- Salt & Black Pepper, to taste
Honey Mustard Cream Sauce
- 1/2 cup / 120ml Heavy/Double Cream, at room temp
- 1/2 cup / 120ml Chicken Stock
- 2 tbsp EACH: Honey, Dijon Mustard
- 1 Shallot, finely diced
- 1 clove of Garlic, finely diced
- 1-2 sprigs of Fresh Thyme
- Salt & Black Pepper, to taste
Instructions
Prep
- Honey Mustard: In a small pot combine 2 tbsp honey with 2 tbsp dijon mustard. Place to one side.
- Pistachio Crumb: In a food processor, add pistachios, rosemary and lemon zest. Pulse until a crumb like texture. Place to one side.
- Prep: Line up 3 large shallow dishes - the first is flour with a hefty pinch of salt and pepper, the second is beaten egg combined with 1 tbsp of the honey mustard mix, and the third is Panko mixed with the pistachio crumb and a hefty pinch of salt and pepper.
- Dredge: One by one, coat the chicken in the flour, then the egg, then finally into the pistachio crumb. Be sure to fully coat at each stage, namely the last one.
Cook
- Bake: Place chicken on a wire rack above a tray and bake in the oven at 200C/390F for 15-20mins, or until deep golden and piping hot through the centre. Timings will depend on the thickness of the chicken, just be vigilant if the crumb starts to char. If this happens just lower the heat slightly.
- Or Fry: Add a couple of tbsp of olive oil to a non-stick pan over medium heat. Place chicken in and fry both sides until deep golden and piping hot through the centre. You may need to do this in two batches.
Honey Mustard Cream Sauce
- Sauté shallots until translucent and fragrant. Add garlic and fry for a minute or so longer. Pour in the rest of the honey mustard mix, then stir in chicken stock, cream, thyme and salt & pepper. Reduce to a simmer until it thickens, stirring occasionally (5-7mins).
Video
Notes
Your Private Notes:
Nutrition
Looking for more?
You’ll find plenty more delicious comfort food like this in my Debut Cookbook ‘Comfy’
If you plan on making this Pistachio Crusted Chicken be sure to Pin it for later! Already made it? Let me know how you got on in the comments and pick up your free ecookbook along the way!
Hi Chris, could I freeze the chicken breasts at breadcrumb stage if I were to prepare a batch? x
Hey Claudia! I can’t say I’ve ever frozen these. I fear they may not be as crispy as if they were made fresh, but I imagine it should be fine if you thaw and then cook as stated. C.