Nutty, fragrant, flavorful, and so delicious! This Dukkah Crusted Chicken Breast couldn't be any simpler to make and is amazing with your favorite side dishes or over salad. The recipe has oven and air fryer instructions.
½-1tablespoonolive oil or melted butterfor brushing the chicken (I really love this refillable sprayer)
Optional: salt and pepper(use only if your dukkah does not contain salt)
Instructions
Combine the water and salt in a ~2 quart container and mix until the salt is half dissolved (it will continue to dissolve on its own). Depending on the container size and the amount of chicken you're adding to it, you might need anywhere between 4 and 6 cups of water. Use 1 tablespoon of salt for every cup of water. Add the chicken to the container and make sure it's covered. Let it brine for at least a half hour, or up to 6 hours. If brining for more than a half hour, place the chicken in the fridge. Otherwise, the cold water and cold chicken will stay cold enough for a half hour at room temperature to keep the chicken safe.
Once ready to cook, remove the chicken from the salt water, rinse it carefully (try to minimize splashing, and make sure to wash the sink and your hands after). Place the chicken on a large plate and pat it really dry with a paper towel.
Preheat oven to 400F. Spray or brush your baking pan with oil.
Place the chicken breasts on your baking pan and brush or spray the chicken with olive oil, or brush with melted butter.
If your dukkah seasoning is not very salty (or salt-free), season the chicken breast on all sides. Otherwise, skip this step.
Sprinkle dukkah seasoning on top of the chicken breasts. Use your hands to gently press the seasoning into the chicken and spread it all around the top and sides of the chicken breasts.
Bake at 400F for 25-35 minutes, or until the thickest part of the chicken is at least 165F when measured with a meat thermometer. The exact cooking time will vary, check on the chicken after ~22-25 minutes to make sure you're not overcooking it.
Remove from oven and let the chicken rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
Air fryer dukkah chicken
Preheat air fryer to 350F. Place dukkah-crusted chicken on the air fryer tray or basket. Air fry for 18-22 minutes, or until the thickest part of the chicken is 165F when measured with a meat thermometer. Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing or serving.
Notes
Try making your own pistachio dukkah!If you don't have a meat thermometer, you can check on the chicken and carefully slice through the center to peek inside. If it is all white inside (no pink left!) then it is cooked. If you find that the dukkah seasoning is getting too brown during baking but the chicken is not cooked through yet, you can lower the heat and/or carefully cover the chicken with foil and let it continue cooking.Dukkah is gluten-free, but not nut-free. If you want to make a nut-free dukkah seasoning, you can crush sunflower seeds with coariander seeds, cumin, sesame seeds, and your choice of other seasonings, such as fennel seeds, dried mint, dried marjoram, salt, and pepper/peppercorns.The nutrition facts are estimated assuming a portion of ½ chicken breast per person, but will vary depending on the size of chicken breasts and the brand of dukkah seasoning used.