Herb and Walnut Crusted Chicken

This easy and delicious walnut chicken thighs recipe is a staple in our household. You'll have dinner on the table in 20 minutes flat!

So there's a little secret here, and it'll have your kitchen smelling amazing in about one minute-more on that below. 😉 Plus, an incredibly delicious walnut and herb crusted chicken dish to follow.

This is my favorite easy dinner recipe when everyone's asking for chicken but there just isn't a lot of time to actually get it on the table. One of the best things about it is that it only involves a few ingredients besides the chicken thighs, and they're all standard pantry staples. Or, upgrade to these chicken thighs with broccolini dish and you've got yourself a great meal.

If you need some other sides to go with it, some wild rice, steamed broccoli, or roasted sweet potatoes all go well. It also goes great alongside a Greek salad or simple greens with Greek dressing or apple cider vinegar dressing.

Jump to:

• 🌿 Ingredients
• 📝 Instructions
• 📋 Substitutions
• 📖 Variations
• 🔪 Equipment
• 🍱 Storage
• 🎉 Top tip
• 💭 FAQ
• 🍳 Recipe
• 🌡️ Food safety tips

🌿 Ingredients

That secret aromatic combo I mentioned above? That would be the Dijon mustard combined with garlic and herbs. You're welcome. 🙂

Here's the full list of ingredients you'll need:

• olive oil (butter or coconut oil work too)
• walnuts
• Italian seasoning
• garlic powder
• sea salt
• pepper
• Dijon mustard
• boneless, skinless chicken thighs

See recipe card below for exact quantities.

📝 Instructions

So how to make crusted chicken? Let's get started.

First, heat a little olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. While it's warming up, add a little Dijon mustard to a small mixing bowl.

Finely chop the walnuts, and then add them to a separate small bowl along with the Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Give everything a little mix until it's all incorporated.

Add each chicken thigh to the mustard bowl first, and use your hands to mix and coat all surfaces of the chicken. Then, one by one, add each thigh to the walnut and seasonings bowl, coat, and add to the pan. I like to place the smooth side of the chicken facing down first, as pan fried chicken thighs seem to brown more evenly that way.

Now here's the part where your kitchen will smell divine.

Cook the chicken thighs in the oil for about 4-5 minutes on the first side, take a peek, and turn each thigh over when the bottom side is just roasted to a medium brown. (Don't peek earlier than that though, for best results!)

Cover the pan, lower the heat slightly, and continue to cook for another 5-6 minutes until the juices run clear when pierced with a fork. You can also slice through one of the thicker sections to ensure the meat is cooked through.

And that's it! Your walnut crusted chicken is ready to go and will have your family or guests asking for seconds.

📋 Substitutions

As written, this is a dairy free and gluten free crusted chicken recipe. Feel free to make any of the following substitutions!

• Olive oil - substitute butter, coconut oil or any other mild cooking oil such as canola oil
• Walnuts - pecans, almonds, cashews and peanuts are all great choices too (also see variations below)
• Italian seasoning - if you don't have any on hand, any combination of dried basil, oregano, parsley, thyme, sage or rosemary is great
• Garlic powder - use freshly chopped garlic if you'd like, substitute with onion powder, or just leave out
• Dijon mustard - stone ground mustard is the best substitute, or use a little fresh lemon juice if you have a lemon
• Chicken thighs - you can substitute chicken breasts, but keep in mind that they made cook faster depending on thickness, and will require a bit more olive oil or butter since they don't have as much fat on their own; I don't recommend bone-in chicken thighs for this recipe, but skin on thighs is fine

📖 Variations

Here are a few super tasty variations on these pan fried chicken thighs:

• Pecan crusted chicken - substitute chopped pecans for walnuts
• Almond crusted chicken - substitute finely chopped almond pieces for walnuts
• Honey walnut chicken - add a couple of teaspoons of honey along with the mustard and leave out the herbs if desired (I love this variation!)
• Lemon crusted chicken - use fresh lemon juice instead of mustard, and serve with some sliced lemon for garnish

🔪 Equipment

I used the following equipment to make this walnut chicken recipe:

• large skillet
• cutting board
• chef's knife
• mixing bowls

🍱 Storage

Pan fried chicken will stay fresh in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days, or in the freezer for up to two months.

🎉 Top tip

When you're cooking the first side of the chicken, resist the urge to peek at the underside for at least 4-5 minutes. Giving it this time for the pan fried magic to happen is one of the keys to making this recipe a complete success.

Enjoy!

💭 FAQ

🍳 Recipe