Walnut crusted chicken with parmesan is a delicious and easy chicken dinner. This recipe is perfect for busy weeknights, and the flavors are versatile enough to work with many different side dishes. I love walnuts with chicken. But to be honest, my favourite thing about this dish is how impressive it looks although it honestly isn’t. All you have to do is roll some chicken in tiny walnut pieces and bake it in the oven. But your guests won’t know that!
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How to make walnut crusted chicken
First, preheat your oven to 195°C / 175°C fan oven / 380°F / Gas mark 5.
Crack your egg in a bowl, and add the mustard. Whisk to combine the yolk and egg white until it’s a smooth egg mixture.
Add your walnuts to a food processor and blend until you have finely crumbled walnuts. If you don’t have a food processor, you can also use a knife and chop the walnuts finely. Avoid any large chunks. Combine your walnuts, parmesan and black pepper, then add them to a plate.
Slice the chicken breast fillets in two straight down the middle, so that you end up with 4 thin chicken fillets. Use tongs or a fork, and dip one of the chicken fillets into the egg mixture. Make sure to completely coat the chicken with the egg. Then, move the chicken to the plate with the walnuts. Move the chicken around, making sure to completely coat it in the walnut crumble.
Place the chicken fillet on a baking tray, then repeat the process with the other chicken pieces.
If using 2 chicken fillets, you should now have 4 chicken pieces coated in walnuts. Bake the chicken fillets in the oven until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Make sure that the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 75° C / 165° F before eating, as this is the temperature which makes chicken safe for consumption.
What chicken to use for crusted chicken
I prefer boneless chicken for any type of breaded or crusted chicken. In this recipe we use chicken breast fillets, which is a very lean cut of chicken. They also cook very quickly in the oven, and are super easy to add the walnut crust to. If you prefer brown chicken meat, you could also use boneless chicken thighs in this recipe, but keep in mind that they will take a little bit longer to cook in the oven.
What to serve with walnut crusted chicken
You can serve this with almost anything. I love it with brussels sprouts, garlic parmesan potato wedges, green beans or a nice salad. Any salad can go with this dish, but I think broccoli salad, couscous salad, Mexican salad and quinoa salad go particularly well.
My best tips for a perfect result
- You can add any other seasoning that you enjoy to the walnuts before crusting the chicken. Try taco seasoning, cajun seasoning, Italian seasoning, ras el hanout or curry powder.
- Alternatively, replace walnuts with any other nuts that you enjoy. Try pecans, pistachios or hazelnuts. You can also toast the nuts before crumbling them if you like that toasted nut flavour.
- I like to use a food processor to quickly crumble the walnut pieces, but you can also use a knife. Just remember to chop it very finely.
How to store leftover walnut crusted chicken
Leftovers can safely be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can also freeze leftovers. Thaw frozen walnut crusted chicken thoroughly, then reheat in the oven for 5-10 minutes until piping hot.
More chicken dinners
- Moroccan chicken and couscous skillet
- Coq au vin – Chicken in red wine sauce
- Soy and honey chicken
- Lemon chicken
- Apricot chicken with thyme
Walnut crusted chicken
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breast fillets
- 175 g walnut pieces
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 15 g finely grated parmesan
- ground black pepper
Instructions
- First, preheat your oven to 195°C / 175°C fan oven / 380°F / Gas mark 5.
- Crack your egg in a bowl, and add the mustard. Whisk to combine the yolk and egg white until it’s a smooth egg mixture.
- Add your walnuts to a food processor and blend until you have finely crumbled walnuts. If you don’t have a food processor, you can also use a knife and chop the walnuts finely. Avoid any large chunks. Combine your walnuts, parmesan and black pepper, then add them to a plate.
- Slice the chicken breast fillets in two straight down the middle, so that you end up with 4 thin chicken fillets. Use tongs or a fork, and dip one of the chicken fillets into the egg mixture. Make sure to completely coat the chicken with the egg. Then, move the chicken to the plate with the walnuts. Move the chicken around, making sure to completely coat it in the walnut crumble.
- Place the chicken fillet on a baking tray, then repeat the process with the other chicken pieces.
- If using 2 chicken fillets, you should now have 4 chicken pieces coated in walnuts. Bake the chicken fillets in the oven until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Make sure that the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 75° C / 165° F before eating, as this is the temperature which makes chicken safe for consumption.
Notes
My best tips for a perfect result
- You can add any other seasoning that you enjoy to the walnuts before crusting the chicken. Try taco seasoning, cajun seasoning, Italian seasoning, ras el hanout or curry powder.
- Alternatively, replace walnuts with any other nuts that you enjoy. Try pecans, pistachios or hazelnuts. You can also toast the nuts before crumbling them if you like that toasted nut flavour.
- I like to use a food processor to quickly crumble the walnut pieces, but you can also use a knife. Just remember to chop it very finely.
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