Pretzel-Crusted Chicken Breasts with Mustard-Dill Dipping Sauce

Serves 4

by Dina Cheney
from Fine Cooking
Issue 109
Last Edit Date: 1/13/2011 4:57:07 PM

Ground pretzels not only make a great crunchy-salty coating for chicken, they also make this dish a family-friendly favorite you'll get plenty of requests for.

more about:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
1/4 cup plus 1 Tbs. Dijon mustard
3 cups pretzels (not low-sodium)
3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 1-1/2 lb.)
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbs. finely chopped fresh dill
1 tsp. honey
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Put the flour in a wide, shallow bowl. In another wide, shallow bowl, lightly beat the eggs and 1 Tbs. of the mustard. Process the pretzels in a food processor until a coarse flour forms, about 30 seconds. Transfer the pretzel flour to a third wide, shallow bowl. Line up the flour, egg, and pretzel bowls in that order.

Put the chicken on a cutting board, and holding your knife parallel to the board, split each breast in half horizontally. Sprinkle both sides of the chicken lightly with pepper. Dredge both sides of the chicken in the flour, then the egg, and then the pretzel flour, coating well and shaking off the excess. Transfer to a baking sheet and refrigerate for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix the remaining 1/4 cup mustard with the mayonnaise, dill, honey, and 1/8 tsp. black pepper; set aside.

Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot but not smoking, add three of the chicken breast pieces. Cook until the first side is dark brown, about 2 minutes. Carefully flip and cook until the chicken is cooked through and the second side is golden-brown, about 2 minutes more; if the chicken seems to be browning too fast, reduce the heat to medium. Transfer to a clean cutting board and cover to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining chicken.

Slice the chicken on the diagonal. Divide the slices among four dinner plates and serve with the dipping sauce.

Serving Suggestions

Serve with tangy Sweet-Sour Red Cabbage.

nutrition information (per serving):
Calories (kcal): 810; Fat (g): 50; Fat Calories (kcal): 440; Saturated Fat (g): 8; Protein (g): 43; Monounsaturated Fat (g): 17; Carbohydrates (g): 47; Polyunsaturated Fat (g): 22; Sodium (mg): 1210; Cholesterol (mg): 210; Fiber (g): 2;

Photo: Scott Phillips

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by abby321, 3/23/2012An absolutely delicious chicken dish that has been added to my regular rotation of recipes. The most important part - my kids (ages 4 and 2) love it! The chicken is moist and perfectly coated, but it's the dipping sauce that is my favorite part of the recipe.

by gamesandcocktails, 8/15/2011This has quickly become a weeknight staple and is at the top of my boyfriend's request list. The pretzel coating gets perfectly browned, is wonderfully crunchy and doesn't fall off the chicken when you cut into it. I season the flour with salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika before dredging the chicken. I'm not a mayo fan, but the dipping sauce is very tasty and is even better the next day. The mustard, honey and dill outweigh the mayo taste. A surprisingly delicious dish!

by Ayslynn, 2/20/2011Easy weeknight recipe. My family loves and it's a no brainer after a hard days work.

by Elonios, 1/28/2011I thought this was really tasty-and I even used low salt whole grain pretzels. Very similar to chicken coated with bread crumbs-just a slightly different flavor. Next time I would add some hot sauce to egg/mustard dip. Also I didn't make the dipping sauce (cause I don't like mayo) but next time I make the chicen will try the dip with thick yogurt as a replacement. But still good without a dipping sauce.

by nashdash, 1/28/2011Easy, weeknight dinner that even my picky boys ate right up. I used chicken tenders and they worked well. The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is that I thought that it didn't have as much pretzel taste as I would have liked.

by joannedoucette2, 1/22/2011Excellent recipe!! Rave reviews from my family...they went back for seconds!! My only concern is that I felt it needed a little more salt. Perhaps when sprinkling pepper over raw breasts, a light sprinkle of salt could be added as well.

by Pielove, 1/21/2011Delicious and an easy weeknight supper. I used full-fat yogurt instead of mayo in the sauce, plus added a few dashes of hot sauce.

by anncancook, 1/6/2011Major win on this recipe! So easy to prepare with ingredients I always have on hand. Served with roasted asparagus (which was also delicious with the mustard dill sauce). A few additional notes: 1) You may substitute chicken tenders and avoid having to split the breasts. 2) I would recommend placing the chicken on some paper towels after cooking. 3) Low fat mayo can easily substituted in the sauce. My entire family loved this. Will be making it again!