Pecan Crusted Chicken

These Pecan Crusted Chicken Cutlets are the perfect healthy weeknight dinner. Easy to make, paleo, Whole30, keto, gluten free + so full of flavor! This is a quick meal everyone will love!

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I really try not to play favorites with any recipe that I come up with.. but this might be one of my best ones yet.

This Pecan Crusted Chicken is everything you could ever want in a dinner. They’re perfectly crunchy, jam packed with flavor, done in under 30 minutes, and they unintentionally are gluten/grain free + Whole 30 friendly. (Yea – you read that right!!).

Chicken cutlets are one of my favorite things to eat. I mean… hello.. coated in breadcrumbs and fried up to golden brown perfection? How could you not love them?!

This Pecan Crusted Chicken recipe is just like a chicken cutlet, but better! We love it for a few reasons:

• Baked, not fried – Not only does this make this chicken better for you.. buuuut your house won’t smell like oil for days!
• Gluten/Grain Free– Traditionally chicken is coated in bread crumbs, but we’re using nuts here which make these paleo/Whole30 and keto friendly
• Easy – literally just mix, dip and bake.. no need to stand over the pan frying!

Ingredients for Pecan Crusted Chicken:

To make Pecan Crusted Chicken you’ll need: chicken, pecans, an egg, salt, pepper, garlic powder and fresh rosemary. The rosemary is optional, see below for substitutions.

You’re also going to want to have a good food processor, parchment paper and some nice baking sheets.

If you can’t find chicken cutlets near you, you can make them out of regular chicken breasts. Simply butterfly them and place the butterflied breasts in between plastic wrap. Pound the chicken with a meat mallet until thin and tender.

How to make Pecan Crusted Chicken:

Making pecan crusted chicken is surprisingly easy. First, pulse your pecans, herbs and spices in a food processor. This helps you get the perfect crust-consistency.

Assemble chicken breasts, crust and eggs. Dip your chicken breast in your egg mixture, then dip in pecan crust mixture. You might have to press down to get the crust to really stick to it.

Lay on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake until brown and crisp! Soooo yummy!

Pecan Crusted Chicken Sauce Recommendations:

These healthy chicken cutlets are great on their own.. but even better with a sauce. Here are some of our favorites for serving with them!

• Buffalo sauce (get the recipe from my Healthy Buffalo Turkey Meatballs)
• Honey Mustard
• Healthy Cilantro Lime Sauce
• Ranch – we love this one from Sir Kensington’s!

Substitutions for this Pecan Chicken recipe:

You can swap out a few things in this pecan chicken recipe. Here are substitutions I’ve tried.

• Nuts: You can sub walnuts or cashews for pecans
• Rosemary: You can omit rosemary if you don’t like it, or sub in thyme
• Meat: You can use chicken tenders instead of chicken breasts. You can also check out our Healthy Baked Chicken Tenders or Whole30 Cashew Coconut Chicken Tenders recipe! You can also try this recipe with cod. I personally haven’t tried it – but I think it would work!

Storing/Reheating

You can store pecan crusted chicken in the fridge for 4 days. These chicken cutlets also freeze super well! I like to store them in a stasher bag and lay flat in the freezer after baking them.

To reheat I bake in my toaster over for 350 from frozen or refrigerated for about 5-10 mins!

Healthy Side Dishes to serve this Pecan Crusted Chicken with:

These Pecan Crusted Chicken Cutlets go well with pretty much anything, but here are some of my favorites to serve them with!

• Crispy Roasted Potatoes
• Garlic Rosemary Roasted Brussels Sprouts
• Healthy Baked French Fries
• Healthy Green Beans Almondine
• Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad
• Crispy Garlic Thyme Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Other healthy dinner recipes:

• BBQ Chicken Meatloaf
• Italian Pork Tenderloin Sheet Pan Dinner
• Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti Squash Casserole

Print Pin

5 from 8 votes

Pecan Crusted Chicken

These Pecan Crusted Chicken Cutlets are the perfect healthy weeknight dinner. Easy to make, paleo, Whole30, keto, gluten free + so full of flavor!

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword paleo chicken cutlets, pecan crusted chicken, whole30 chicken cutlets

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 6 people

Calories 425kcal

WW Freestyle Points 7

Author The Clean Eating Couple

Ingredients

• 1 lbs boneless, skinless chicken cutlets (approx 6 cutlets)
• 1.5 cups Diamond Nuts Pecans
• 1.5 tablespoons fresh rosemary chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon almond milk

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper
  
• In a food processor, pulse pecans, rosemary, and dried spices until they are a finely ground texture. Be careful not to over pulse (see photo for guidance on texture) Set mixture aside in a bowl.
  
• In a separate bowl whisk together egg and milk.
  
• Take chicken breasts + coat in egg mixture, then immediately coat in pecan crust mixture.
  
• Place chicken on parchment paper
  
• Bake at 400 for 30 minutes, flipping  at the 15 minute mark
  

Notes

Substitutions for this recipe:

• Nuts: You can sub walnuts or cashews for pecans
• Rosemary: You can omit rosemary if you prefer, or sub in thyme

Nutrition Facts

Nutrition Facts

Pecan Crusted Chicken

Amount Per Serving (5.5 oz)

Calories 425 Calories from Fat 261

% Daily Value*

Fat 29g45%

Saturated Fat 3g19%

Cholesterol 151mg50%

Sodium 584mg25%

Potassium 721mg21%

Carbohydrates 5g2%

Fiber 3g13%

Sugar 1g1%

Protein 37g74%

Vitamin A 170IU3%

Vitamin C 2.4mg3%

Calcium 42mg4%

Iron 1.7mg9%

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

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