Walnut Crusted Chicken

Walnut Crusted Chicken is a healthier alternative to your typical fried chicken. This rosemary chicken recipe is packed full of flavor and crunch! The whole family will fall in love with this Walnut Crusted Chicken!

Walnut Crusted Chicken is a deliciously healthy, crunchy chicken with a cool dipping sauce! Made with chopped walnuts, panko bread crumbs, and fresh rosemary! #walnutcrustedchicken #rosemarychicken www.savoryexperiments.com

Walnut Crusted Chicken is a crunchy, oven-baked chicken with a zesty yogurt dipping sauce. Perfect for those craving crispy chicken cutlets, but without the fat.

A few weeks back, California Walnuts sent me a little note asking if I’d like to try their product and, of course, I accepted because I love walnuts! One interesting fact I learned before my burlap bag of walnuts arrived was that they actually stay fresh longer when refrigerated. I had no idea!

Walnut Crusted Chicken is a deliciously healthy, crunchy chicken with a cool dipping sauce! Made with chopped walnuts, panko bread crumbs, and fresh rosemary! #walnutcrustedchicken #rosemarychicken www.savoryexperiments.com


 

How many walnuts have sat on my pantry shelves in plastic baggies that may not have lived up to their full potential? Who knows!?

Walnuts are also rich with omega-3 fatty acids and have been linked to better brain functioning and lower risks of a variety of cancers.

Super simple to incorporate into any diet, they can be used in baked goods, tossed into salads or eaten plain by the handful! I had some fun perusing through the California Walnuts website to find other fun recipes and also see how walnuts are harvested.

Walnut Crusted Chicken is a deliciously healthy, crunchy chicken with a cool dipping sauce! Made with chopped walnuts, panko bread crumbs, and fresh rosemary! #walnutcrustedchicken #rosemarychicken www.savoryexperiments.com

Walnut Crusted Chicken is a “skinny” version of a classic chicken cutlet. Instead of using breadcrumbs and then pan frying in olive oil and butter, I opted for finely chopped walnuts with whole wheat panko crumbs and fresh rosemary. Then baked to perfection with no additional oils.

Paired together, rosemary and walnuts give the chicken a fresh and earthy flavor combination that no bread crumb will ever achieve. The other benefit is that walnuts do not get soggy, so your chicken will never lose the crunch factor, even if you are eating leftovers.

Walnut Crusted Chicken is a deliciously healthy, crunchy chicken with a cool dipping sauce! Made with chopped walnuts, panko bread crumbs, and fresh rosemary! #walnutcrustedchicken #rosemarychicken www.savoryexperiments.com

Although Walnut Crusted Chicken does not need much additional flavor, I added an “aioli” for a little but of intrigue and cream. Instead of using mayonnaise, I opted for plain Greek yogurt mixed with fresh lemon, salt and pepper. Simple and fresh.

Very basic, but very good, and it is great on a whole host of other foods such as roasted or grilled vegetables, turkey burgers and salmon. I even use it as a salad dressing.

Walnut Crusted Chicken is a deliciously healthy, crunchy chicken with a cool dipping sauce! Made with chopped walnuts, panko bread crumbs, and fresh rosemary! #walnutcrustedchicken #rosemarychicken www.savoryexperiments.com

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Walnut Crusted Chicken is a deliciously healthy, crunchy chicken with a cool dipping sauce! Made with chopped walnuts, panko bread crumbs, and fresh rosemary! #walnutcrustedchicken #rosemarychicken www.savoryexperiments.com
Walnut Crusted Chicken is a deliciously healthy, crunchy chicken with a cool dipping sauce! Made with chopped walnuts, panko bread crumbs, and fresh rosemary! #walnutcrustedchicken #rosemarychicken www.savoryexperiments.com

Walnut Crusted Chicken Recipe

4.64 from 19 votes
Walnut Crusted Chicken is a crunchy, oven-baked chicken with a zesty yogurt dipping sauce. Perfect for those craving crispy chicken cutlets, but without the fat.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients

Walnut Crusted Chicken:

Lemon Yogurt Sauce:

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. 
  • Cut each breast in half, then place on a cutting board and cover with plastic wrap or wax paper.  Beat with a meat mallet until 1/2 inch uniform thickness.
  • Arrange three shallow bowls on the counter. In the first bowl, combine walnuts, rosemary and panko. In the second, lightly beaten eggs and the third, flour mixed with fine sea salt and pepper.
  • Lightly dredge each breast halve in flour, then egg and finally walnut mixture. Pat in walnuts to make sure you get a good, even coat. Place in a single layer in prepared baking dishes. Repeat with all chicken.
  • Bake chicken for approximately 20 minutes.  For the last 2 minutes, change to a low broil to get a nice brown on top.
  • While chicken is cooking, whisk together all ingredients for Lemon Yogurt Sauce in a bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.
  • Remove chicken from oven and serve immediately.  Sauce can be served on the side or directly on top of the chicken.
  • If you’ve tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was! 

Notes

You can omit the panko or reduce amount. 

Nutrition

Calories: 815 kcal, Carbohydrates: 39 g, Protein: 70 g, Fat: 42 g, Saturated Fat: 5 g, Cholesterol: 230 mg, Sodium: 1249 mg, Potassium: 1261 mg, Fiber: 4 g, Sugar: 4 g, Vitamin A: 250 IU, Vitamin C: 3.9 mg, Calcium: 182 mg, Iron: 4.7 mg
Author: Jessica Formicola
Calories: 815
Course: Main Course, Main Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: oven baked chicken, walnut crusted chicken
Did you make this recipe?I’d love to see your recipes – snap a picture and mention @savoryexperiments or tag #savoryexperiments!

What is your favorite way to eat walnuts? Tell me in the comments!

Jessica Formicola in her ktichen

About the Author

Jessica Formicola

Jessica the mom, wife and food lover behind Savory Experiments. She is obsessed with butter, salt and bacon and spends all her time in the kitchen and behind a camera. Jessica is a contributor to PopKitchen by Parade, Better Homes & Gardens, The Daily Meal Food + Travel and more!

Read More About Jessica

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Questions and Reviews

  1. I love to use walnuts in desserts such as brownies, cookies and baklava. I never thought of using them to give my chicken a crispier crunch.

    1. I have the same problem Lydia- I “blindly” eat and since they are healthy, I tend to eat too many. They are just so good!

    1. Salad seems be winning over brownies… which is probably the only time you will ever hear me say (type) that! LOL.

  2. Your chicken looks so crispy and yummy! I am pinning for later! My favorite use of walnuts…hmmm….I can’t narrow it down! I eat them all by themselves and really like them in salads too. 🙂

  3. I learned that nuts stay fresh longer in the fridge from Rachael Ray (or some other Food Network show), it’s amazing what you can learn on TV. I love walnuts and like Debbie my favorite way to use them is in brownies!

    1. I had to stop watching the Food Network- I was on “idea overload”… too many things I wanted to try and not enough time (or money)!

  4. I love them in kiffles (Christmas cookies) or stuffing or by themselves or in pumpkin bread or in pasta….. I really love them! LOL

  5. his looks really good Jessica. I’ve used crushed pecans in breading, but not walnuts. The combination with the lemon sounds great. I’ll need to try this soon.

    1. Oh yes.. probably a heavy fish, like salmon or halibut. Walnuts are pretty heavy. I know for a fact that the lemon sauce is great on fish and shellfish!!!

  6. I’ve been wanting to crust chicken with some kind of nut for a couple of weeks now. I’m leaning towards cashews, but walnuts could be tasty, too.

    1. Cashews would also be a good choice! I might try mixing the ingredients with Asian spices, maybe some dried chile’s in the crust and Chinese Five Spice powder in the yogurt sauce?

  7. I love walnuts toasted and on the top of salads. But I also like them in breads, cookies and brownies. They are my favorite nut