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Pretzel Crusted Chicken with Creamy Dijon Mustard Sauce. This lightly fried, then baked, pretzel crusted chicken is a delicious weeknight meal to serve your family or enjoy with friends.
There’s something so classic, simple and nostalgic about fried chicken. Growing up, our grandma would always make fried chicken legs crusted in cornflakes every time we would visit her. Ever since we were little, crusted chicken has been one of our favorite comfort foods.
We wanted to pay homage to the nostalgia of our grandma’s chicken meal growing up, but also wanted to create a fun, modern twist. The crust of the chicken is one of our favorite salty snacks—pretzels! We thought the chicken would taste amazing with a creamy dijon mustard sauce (that tastes strikingly similar to Cane’s sauce), and we were right! The sauce is the perfect pair!
This pretzel crusted chicken is the perfect weeknight meal for your family or hosting a dinner party for friends. It’s a meal everyone will love!
This post is all about pretzel crusted chicken.
Pretzel Crusted Chicken with Creamy Dijon Mustard Sauce
What’s in this recipe?
Pretzel Twists: The pretzels are the star of this dish! They are crushed, coated, lightly fried and then baked to form the outside layer of the crust.
Flour: Flour is mixed into the pretzel and spice blend to form a delicious battered crust.
Spice Blend: A blend of paprika, onion powder, garlic powder and chili powder are added to the dry batter mixture.
Eggs: Three eggs are beaten and used to dredge the chicken in twice to form a delicious, thick coating.
Chicken Breasts: We always cook with the best chicken we can find at the store. We always look for chicken that doesn’t have antibiotics and if we are able to source pasture-raised chicken breasts, we prefer to buy it.
Olive Oil: A light coating of olive oil on the pan is used to lightly fry the chicken before it is baked in the oven. This helps to get the crispy coating on the outside.
Parsley: We love adding a fresh flavor to meats that are richer in flavor. For this recipe, we sprinkled parsley on top of the chicken, which gives it a delicious herby flavor.
Mayonnaise: The base of the creamy mustard sauce is mayonnaise. We aren’t fans of mayo by itself, but combined with the other ingredients in this sauce, it becomes and entirely different experience.
Ketchup: The ketchup adds som sweetness and acidity to the sauce. We recommend allowing the space to rest for at least 24 hours before serving with the chicken, otherwise it may taste too strong of ketchup.
Dijon Mustard: Dijon mustard adds some warmth to this sauce, and pairs deliciously with the pretzel crusted chicken.
Pepper: Pepper adds a but of s spice and looks gorgeous in the sauce as well.
Garlic Powder: Garlic powder adds a delicious flavor and pairs so beautifully with the other ingredients in the sauce.
Worcestershire Sauce: We tiny bit of Worcestershire sauce is added to the cream dijon mustard sauce adds some richness, saltiness and tang.
How to Make the Pretzel Crusted Chicken
Make the Sauce 24 Hours Before…
You may be thinking…”Why do I have to make the sauce 24 hours before?” It may seem a bit excessive, but we recommend prepping the sauce 24 hours before you serve the chicken to allow it to rest. Otherwise, it may taste too strongly of ketchup. The length of time gives the ingredients time to sit and meld all the flavors together.
That being said, if you’re running short on time, you can certainly make the sauce and serve it immediately. It will still taste delicious. It’s totally up to you!
Dredge and Batter the Chicken…
Before cooking the chicken, you’ll need to prep it. To start, you’ll need a cutting board to place the chicken breasts on. We cut each chicken breast in half, diagonally because ours were so thick, but if you have small chicken breasts, you can keep them the way they are.
Using a meat mallet, flatten the chicken breasts until they are about 1/2 inch thick. Then dredge your chicken in the beaten egg, followed by the pretzel crust. Repeat this step another time for a thicker crust. Then transfer the chicken to a large plate or platter for frying.
Lightly Fry, Then Bake the Chicken…
In order to get the crispy crust on the outside of the chicken, we decided to lightly fry the chicken (not cooking it all the way through, but enough to crisp up the edge), and then bake it in the oven to cook the meat fully.
To start, add 1/4 cup of olive oil to a cast iron pan (we love this brand) and allow it to get hot. Then, fry each side for 1 minute 30 seconds and transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet. Once all the chicken breasts are fried, bake the chicken in the oven (at 350°F) for 20 minutes — flipping the chicken to the other side after 10 minutes.
Lastly, top the chicken with chopped parsley and serve with the creamy dijon mustard sauce.
Pretzel Crusted Chicken with Creamy Dijon Mustard Sauce
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup olive oil (for light frying)
- 5 cups pretzel twists
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 3 eggs (beaten)
- 2 lbs chicken breasts
- chopped parsley (for topping)
Creamy Dijon Mustard Sauce
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 2 tbsp ketchup
- 2 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- **You will want to prepare the sauce at least 24 hours before serving with the chicken. To prepare the sauce. Add mayonnaise, ketchup, dijon mustard, pepper, garlic powder and Worcestershire sauce to a bowl and whisk until combined. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 24 hours before serving.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. In a skillet, preheat 1/4 cup olive oil on medium/high heat in the bottom of the pan.
- On a cutting board, flatten the chicken breasts with a mallet or rolling pin until they are 1/2 inch thick.
- Add the pretzels, flour, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder and chili powder in a plastic bag. Crush the pretzel mixture with a rolling pin until it’s reduced down to crumbs. Then, dump the pretzel crumbs into a shallow bowl.
- Next, beat your eggs in a shallow bowl. Dredge the chicken in the eggs and then in the pretzel crumb mixture. Repeat this step one more time for a thicken, crunchier crust. Then place the chicken on a plate to get ready to lightly fry.
- Place two chicken breast in the pan at a time—you don’t want to overcrowd the pan because the temperature will drop. Cook for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes on the first side, then flip it over and cook for another 2 minutes. Then, transfer the chicken to the prepared baking sheet.
- Once the chicken breasts have all been cooked on the stovetop, transfer the baking sheet to the oven and bake for 10 minutes, flip them and bake for another 10 minutes on the other side. The internal temperature should be 165°F.
- Top the chicken with herbs and serve with the cream dijon mustard sauce. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: dinner, Main Course
- Cuisine: American
This post is all about pretzel crusted chicken.
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