Pistachio Crusted Chicken (with Bonus Sauce!)

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

• Garlic Butter Chicken
• Creamy Bacon Chicken
• Honey Garlic Chicken
• Creamy Tarragon Chicken

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!)

This Pistachio Crusted Chicken is crispy and bursting with flavour. It's served with a super easy honey mustard cream sauce too!

5 from 5 votes

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Servings (click & slide): 4

Course: Dinner / Main Course

Cuisine: Universal

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Calories per serving: 588kcal

Author: Chris Collins

Cost per serving: £3 / $4

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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 (check list):

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).

Quick 1 min demo!

Notes:

a) Pistachios - I used a 200g bag of shelled unsalted pistachios from Tesco (UK) for £2, which for pistachios is very reasonable! It just means you have the slightly tedious task of de-shelling the pistachios. Most supermarkets will sell shelled pistachios, just a slightly higher price.

b) Panko Breadcrumbs - These are great because they're so big and airy, meaning they help the chicken crisp up. The pistachio crumbs fills in the gaps between the large crumbs so it works perfectly. You'll find them in most regular supermarkets in the Asian section.

c) Do I have to use Breadcrumbs? - I have made this without the breadcrumbs and it still works well, just not as crispy. You'll have to make up the 30g/1oz in pistachios.

d) What to serve with Pistachio Crusted Chicken - Roasted Baby Potatoes or Crispy Smashed Potatoes with Asparagus or Green Beans! Check out all my Sides for inspo 🙂

e) Calories - whole recipe (with sauce) divided by 4, assuming the breasts are baked:

Your Private Notes:

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Nutrition:

Nutrition Facts

Pistachio Crusted Chicken (with Bonus Sauce!)

Amount Per Serving

Calories 588 Calories from Fat 276

% Daily Value*

Fat 30.7g47%

Saturated Fat 9.876g49%

Trans Fat 0.014g

Polyunsaturated Fat 5.81g

Monounsaturated Fat 12.163g

Cholesterol 181mg60%

Sodium 274mg11%

Potassium 887mg25%

Carbohydrates 37.6g13%

Fiber 4.5g18%

Sugar 13.29g15%

Protein 42.17g84%

Vitamin A 673IU13%

Vitamin C 7.1mg9%

Calcium 100mg10%

Iron 3.27mg18%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition is based on the absence of salt unless stated as a measurement in the ingredients. Cost is worked out based on ingredients bought from UK supermarkets, then divided by the number of servings. In both instances these values are just for guidance. Please check out my FAQ Page for more info.

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