Honey Mustard Pecan-Crusted Chicken

Full of flavor these chicken breasts come out so amazingly crisp and juicy you won’t believe it. Coated in a crisp pecan and panko mixture and air-fried, then topped with a sweet and tangy honey mustard glaze you won’t even miss the calories!

Ingredients

3/4 cup Farm Fresh Nuts Pecans, finely chopped*

2/3 cup panko breadcrumbs

1 1/4 tsp paprika

3/4 tsp garlic powder**

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 1/2 Tbsp dijon mustard, divided

2 1/2 Tbsp mayonnaise, divided

2 Tbsp honey, divided

4 (6 – 7 oz) boneless skinless chicken breasts

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a 18 by 13-inch baking sheet with foil, place an oven safe cooling rack over on baking sheet and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

In a shallow dish toss together pecans, breadcrumbs, paprika, garlic powder and season with pepper to taste.

In a small mixing bowl stir together 1 Tbsp dijon mustard, 1 Tbsp mayonnaise and 1/2 Tbsp honey

Pound chicken to even the thickness (about 1/2-inch). Dab dry with paper towels then brush top side of chicken with honey mustard mixture and season with salt.

Transfer one piece of chicken to panko mixture, honey mustard side down, press firm to get mixture to adhere on bottom. Brush top side of chicken piece with honey mustard mixture, season with salt then turn chicken and press to coat. Chicken should be very well covered with mixture, turn and press again on each side to coat well.

Transfer coated chicken to wire rack, repeat process with remaining pieces of chicken, leaving space between them on rack. Add any extra pecan mixture to tops of chicken and press down even. If you have olive oil cooking spray then spray tops of chicken with it (this is optional, just encourages browning of panko).

Bake chicken in oven until cooked through, center should register 165 degrees, about 20 – 25 minutes. If you find pecans are browning too quickly during baking then tent chicken with foil.

Meanwhile in a clean small mixing bowl stir together remaining 1 1/2 dijon mustard, 1 1/2 Tbsp mayonnaise and 1 1/2 Tbsp honey.

Drizzle chicken with honey mustard mixture and serve warm. Optionally you can garnish chicken with chopped parsley (about 1 1/2 tsp).