This walnut-crusted chicken served with honey mustard glaze is altogether wholesome and savory, crisp and saucy, and very easy to make. It’s everything you want dinner to be, whether you serve it as a casual meal or for a special holiday gathering.
I originally published this recipe in 2017 and have since added new photos and made a few small updates to enhance the walnut coating.
I make this dish every spring season and over the years, I’ve perfected the recipe to help ensure the coating sticks AND doesn’t taste soggy. The toasted walnuts, tender + juicy chicken, and tangy-sweet honey mustard are made for each other, and it’s truly versatile enough for all occasions:
- It’s fancy enough for company and holidays. Spruce it up with fresh parsley and serve it with homemade biscuits, rice, steamed vegetables, and/or a fresh leafy salad.
- It’s also simple, yet special enough for a Sunday dinner with just the family.
- Finally, this walnut chicken makes for a quick, low-key meal on weeknights. And any leftovers keep like a dream—a quick reheat in the oven brings the crisp coating back to life. It’s one of my favorite fall dinner recipes for a reason!
One reader, Sammie, commented: “So good! I don’t love chicken, so I’m always looking for different ways to dress it up—this did not disappoint! My whole family loved it! I served it with roasted potatoes. Will definitely make again! ★★★★★“
Walnut-Crusted Chicken: What to Expect
- Texture: Served warm out of the oven, you’ll enjoy crunchy chopped walnuts, tender juicy bites of chicken, and sticky sweet glaze with every delicious mouthful. If you crave texture, this recipe totally delivers. FYI: those browned crispy walnut bits at the bottom of the pan are the best part. Don’t leave them behind!
- Flavor: This is a balanced dish. The seasoned chicken, the nutty walnuts, and the tangy sweetness of the honey mustard glaze work so well together. The white wine in the chicken marinade adds depth of flavor, but if you’d like to skip the wine, you can replace it with chicken stock. And feel free to replace the walnuts with pecans.
- Ease: This is a recipe for cooks of any skill level. Marinate the chicken, coat it in the nut mixture, and then bake. Serve with a 2-ingredient glaze.
- Time: Set aside about 30 minutes for hands-on prep, plus at least 4 hours to overnight for marinating the chicken. For an even quicker chicken dish (no marinating required), try my skillet apple cider chicken.
Don’t Skip Marinating the Chicken
Before coating the chicken in walnuts, you’ll want to marinate it for at least 4 hours and up to 12 hours. The marinade combines olive oil, Dijon mustard, dry white wine, garlic, and dried thyme, and serves 2 purposes:
- It adds delicious flavor to the chicken.
- It helps the walnut coating stick.
If you don’t want to use wine, you can substitute low-sodium chicken broth.
After marinating, you’ll coat the chicken in walnuts, flour, salt, and pepper.
Success Tip: The finer you chop the nuts, the more they’ll stick and stay on the chicken. Be sure to cut them up extra fine.
Sear & Bake the Walnut Chicken
Sear the chicken before baking it. Why are you doing this? First, it locks in the marinade’s flavor. It also helps ensure the walnuts stick to the chicken, and adds a delightful crunch, too.
Transfer the seared chicken to the oven and bake.
Success Tip: Make cleanup a breeze with an oven-safe skillet that can handle all the cooking, from searing to baking. I use an oven-safe skillet in the same way for lemon thyme chicken, cilantro lime chicken, and garlic chicken.
While the chicken bakes, whip up the glaze by mixing Dijon mustard and honey together. If the walnut-crusted chicken were an ice cream sundae, the honey mustard glaze would be the very necessary whipped cream + cherry on top—it just completes the whole dish!
Serve With:
If you need ideas for side dishes that pair well with walnut-crusted chicken, here are some of my favorites: homemade biscuits or dinner rolls, artisan bread or asiago-crusted skillet bread, brown or wild rice, steamed vegetables such as asparagus, green beans, or broccoli, and/or a spring greens salad.
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as our family has over the years. A familiar dish can remind you of home, but only the best can take you there.
More Favorite Dinner Recipes
- Honey Teriyaki Chicken
- Slow Cooker Chicken Chili
- Crab Cakes
- Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
- Honey Garlic Soy Glazed Salmon
- Baked Chicken Meatballs
- Creamy Garlic Chicken
- Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie
Walnut-Crusted Chicken
- Prep Time: 4 hours, 30 minutes (includes marinating)
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 5 hours
- Yield: serves 4
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Cooking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This walnut-crusted chicken served with honey mustard glaze is altogether wholesome and savory, crisp and saucy, and very easy to make. The dish pairs wonderfully with steamed vegetables, rice, and/or a spring greens salad.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup (80ml) extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1 more Tablespoon for pan
- 1/4 cup (60g) Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup (60ml) dry white wine (or chicken broth)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1.5 pounds (24 ounces/680g) boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts
- 1 and 1/2 cups (190g) very finely chopped walnuts
- 3/4 cup (94g) all-purpose or whole wheat flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- optional: chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
Honey Mustard Glaze
- 3 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1/3 cup (113g) honey
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk the olive oil, mustard, white wine, garlic, and dried thyme together. Add the chicken, turning to coat. Cover tightly and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 12 hours.
- In a shallow dish such as a 9-inch square baking pan or a pie dish, combine the walnuts, flour, salt, and pepper together. Remove the chicken, shake off any excess marinade, and dip both sides of the chicken in the walnut mixture. Make sure each side is generously coated.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (218°C).
- Heat 1 Tablespoon of olive oil in an oven-safe skillet* over medium heat. Add the chicken and sear for 2 minutes, 1 minute on each side. Transfer skillet to the oven and bake, covered loosely with aluminum foil, for 15–20 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked through. (Chicken is considered done when an instant read thermometer reads the center of the thickest part as at least 165°F (74°C).)
- Whisk the glaze ingredients together and serve with chicken. Garnish chicken with fresh parsley, if desired.
- Leftovers keep well in the refrigerator for a few days. You can reheat on the stove over medium heat, in the microwave, or in the oven.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: You can marinate the chicken for up to 12 hours in step 1.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9-inch Square Baking Pan (or other shallow dish) | Cast-Iron Skillet | Tongs | Instant-Read Thermometer
- Walnuts: The finer you chop the walnuts, the more likely they’ll adhere and stick to the chicken. Feel free to replace the walnuts with pecans, if desired.
- Skillet: If you don’t have an oven-safe skillet, simply use the skillet you have and transfer seared chicken to a parchment paper-lined or silicone baking mat-lined baking pan to bake.
- This recipe is a 20+ year family favorite, tweaked over the years and originally from an old Bon Appetit magazine issue.
Reader Comments and Reviews
In place of dijon(I have none on hand) could I use honey mustard or would yellow mustard be a better alternative? Would it also work if I substitute chicken thighs instead of breasts? I rarely buy them and usually opt for chicken breasts but the thighs were on sale and I couldn’t resist. Haha
Hi Brittany, yellow mustard would be a better replacement. Thighs should work as well. Let us know how it goes!
Hi Sally! The flavor of this chicken turned out amazing but I’m not sure why the crust didn’t work out for me. You are my go to for baking recipes (love your red velvet cake recipe) and I just had to try this when I searched for chicken dinner recipes. Do you have any advice for next time? The breading separated from the chicken completely after it was done cooking and I tried to transfer to plates. I usually let my chicken reach room temp prior to breading it but I was in a hurry and didn’t take the extra time. Could that be the problem? I also used unbleached white flour. I really want to make this recipe again just hesitant because of the way the crust turned out!
Hi Jamie! Are you coating the chicken and then searing right away? It’s best to coat and then put directly in the pan to sear — that helps the crust stay in tact.
Just tried this recipe but I added pistachios and it was AMAZING!!!! Seriously might be the best chicken I’ve made. I also used a Dijon that had mustard seeds still in it instead of a completely smooth Dijon. It’s savory and sweet and crunchy, this will be my new go to anytime I want to impress someone with my cooking skills because it’s seriously amazing and looks appetizing on the plate!
Made this for dinner tonight. It was delicious! Thanks.
Served this last night and my guests asked for the recipe. It was delicious. The meat was tender and flavorful.
I used boneless thigh meat. So what if the walnuts fell off when turning the meat over, I placed them on top when the meat was served. My other variant was that I drizzled the honey mustard on top of the chicken and then placed the skillet back in the cooling oven for another five minutes. It came out looking a lot like the photos in the article.
I did this again and added a tablespoon of bourbon to the honey mustard sauce. Wow!
Hi Sally. This looks so delicious. After reading the directions I am a little bit confused by the instructions (#1) “marinate 4 hours or overnight” and in the Notes section (#1) “marinate up to 12 hours”. If I marinate overnight, by the time I want to bake it for dinner it will be 24 hours or so. Will this be an issue?
Hi Lori, it’s best to keep the marination under or close to 12 hours. Let me clarify the timing in the instructions. Thank you for bringing to my attention.
OH my goodness, just made this for dinner – I didn’t have walnuts so I used pecans, but I followed everything else as written….this is amazing. Every bite my husband and I took, we said oh my God, get this in the recipe rotation! Absolutely delicious…we had it with your “everything biscuits” and steamed broccoli! 10 stars!!!!!!
This was really good! Mine was a little oily even after baking, but I think the pan wasn’t hot enough and I had a little too much oil in it when I seared it. Next time I will measure the oil, and make sure it is screaming hot when I put the chicken in. But we loved it anyway! There will be a next time. . .
My favourite chicken dish. So yummy and easy. I’m addicted 🙂
Great recipe taste great the only thing I added was a pinch of homegrown Greek oregano
I made this last night and it became my favorite chicken dish!!! I marinated the chicken for about 6 hours and I used almond flour. SOOOOOOO GOOOD!!!!! Will be saving this once for sure.
I would love to try this recipe but I absolutely HATE mustard of any kind. What would you suggest subbing for it Sally?
Hi Bethie, Without the glaze on top it really doesn’t taste like mustard, but you can try simply leaving it out. It won’t be a flavorful but it should still work.
I’m not usually a subber on your recipes but my peeps don’t like walnuts or pecans! Would cashews work on this? Thank you as always!
This was really delicious. I made a number of changes, swapping out the herbs for fresh coriander. I would use ordinary French mustard rather than Dijon next time. I found the Dijon a tad too strong. I had no white wine, so used a splash of liquid Maggi seasoning and a splash of red balsamic vinegar, with a sprinkling of celery salt too. I forgot all about the foil. Seared it in a cast iron frying pan and then straight into the oven. I shall definitely make this again. Thanks for the recipe.
I made this for dinner last night and it was incredible, so tasty and so tender! Would it be possible to marinate the chicken and freeze it?
I’m so happy you enjoyed it! Yes, you can freeze it after step 1.
Could you use almond flour for lower carbs?
Definitely!
Made this recipe this evening and it was absolutely fabulous. Ingredients easily available, really easy to assemble and make. Finishing it in oven perfect. Served a tomato, onion and avocado salad, small serving of pasta. BTW, the honey mustard sauce is a little extra surprise and was so great with the chicken. This recipe going into my “Make It Again” recipes. Thank you! Super good recipe!!
Absolutely fabulous recipe! My picky kids had second helpings! Definitely saving this one to go into the rotation. It’s really delicious!
LOVE! One of our new fav’s (along with your chili topped with cornbread)
Heaven!
Thanks for sharing 🙂
The flavor was great, but the walnuts didn’t stay on. Any suggestions? Mine didn’t look anything like yours. Mine looked very dry. Please help as my husband wants it again, but would like the walnuts to stay on the chicken.
Hi Stephanie, Are you coating the chicken and then searing right away? It’s best to coat and then put directly in the pan to sear.
Made this recipe, the chicken was super moist, delicious with the walnut crust/ Dijon mustard combination. The glaze tasted so wonderful with the chicken we drizzled it on a rice side dish we had with the chicken. I could definitely see using the glaze for dipping with other meats such as pork. Thank you, Sally!
Unbelievable is right! We loved this chicken! I made this a day after I intended, so my chicken marinated for a day and a half, and it was great! My whole family enjoyed this very much, and I will be adding it to our regular rotation. Thank you for sharing your family’s recipe!
This was FANTASTIC. I’ve never made chicken breasts this tender before! FYI, I didn’t put the glaze on top (completely forgot haha) and it was still great, so if you want to avoid the extra sugar that’s an option.
Can’t wait to make this again!
Yes, they stay super tender! I have skipped the glaze before and agree they are still great!
Would this work if I only marinated the chicken for one hour? I forgot to marinate the chicken this morning, and was going to try to make this for dinner tonight, but 1 hour is the max amount of time I’d have to marinate. I’d rather have it turn out, though, and make it tomorrow instead if need be!
1 hour would be fine, but when it comes to flavor and a tender texture– the longer the better!
Hi Sally! This looks amazing! I’m going to make this for dinner tomorrow but I’m wondering what kind of white wine you use for this? I never know what kind of wine to cook with
Lately I’ve been using Sauvignon Blanc for this 🙂
I made this last night and it turned out great! I was worried about the walnuts falling off the chicken but they stayed on just fine. I let the chicken marinade overnight and the next day prep was a breeze. The glaze is a perfect ratio of mustard and honey too. My *very* picky boyfriend approved of this dinner, whew! I paired this with homemade drop bisquits and a fresh salad, yum! Thanks for the awesome recipe!
I had my in-laws over for brunch and EVERYONE loved this! Thank you!
Oh my gosh, Sally! I tried cooking it today and my husband absolutely loved it! When I pulled it out of the oven, my husband peeked a little below the aluminum foil; He was very excited to try it cos it’s sizzling! I drizzled it with honey mustard glaze and it’s the bomb!!! Will def make it part of our weekly/monthly dinner 😉 thanks so much for the recipe!
Just made this for dinner today – awesome! I love your savory recipes – I am not much of a cook (hey, kitchens are made for baking, aren’t they?), but your recipes always turn out great!