Add excitement to your weekly meal rotation with easy Honey Pecan Chicken Breasts. They only take 20 minutes, and you likely already have everything you need in your pantry. With a sweet, smoky flavor and nutty crunch, this stovetop recipe is a true winner-winner chicken dinner!
Table of Contents
- 🗝️ Key takeaways: why this recipe is your new favorite
- 🧾 Gather your ingredients: what you'll need
- 📖 Make it your own: yummy variations
- 🔪 Step-by-step guide: instructions for success
- 🥫 Leftover love: how to store and reheat
- 🍴Must have tools: essential equipment
- 💭 Insider tips: things to know
- Marye's Tip o' the day
- 👩🍳 Let's answer those questions: FAQs
- 📚 More Southern comfort: related recipes you'll love
- 🍽️ Perfect pairings: what to serve with
- 🍽️ No waste: creative ways to repurpose
- 📞 Wrapping it up: the last word
- 📖 Recipe
- 💬 Comments
🗝️ Key takeaways: why this recipe is your new favorite
- This fun chicken recipe is effortlessly easy and uses super simple ingredients—without sacrificing taste.
- Honey pecan chicken breasts are quick enough for a busy weeknight dinner but tasty enough for weekend company!
- Pounding the chicken with a meat mallet helps it to cook evenly, resulting in a tender, juicy piece every time.
Sweet honey and buttery pecans perfectly complement the garlic and chipotle for a mouthwatering blend of flavors.
So, switch up your regular chicken rotation with a simple recipe that the whole family will love.
🧾 Gather your ingredients: what you'll need
This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
📖 Make it your own: yummy variations
- Chicken thighs work well instead of chicken breasts if you've got some to use up or prefer dark meat.
- Use hot honey to kick up the spice a little bit more.
- Don't have chipotle powder on hand? Replicate the smokiness with smoked paprika. It's not quite the same, but will do in a pinch.
- Use walnuts in place of pecans if you'd like—though, I don't feel they're quite as tasty as pecans in this recipe.
- At the end, add some dried cranberries or a sprig of thyme for an extra dash of fall flavor.
🔪 Step-by-step guide: instructions for success
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page. Click on the image to see it full size.
Flatten the chicken breasts to an even thickness.
Season chicken and cook, flipping once, until done.
Drizzle chicken with honey.
Sprinkle with pecans and cook a few minutes more.
🤫 Marye's secret for zhuzhing it up -
Be sure to scoop up any caramelized pecans that fall off the chicken to the bottom of the skillet. Don't let those sweet, crunchy bits go to waste.
zhuzh: verb. To make something more interesting or attractive
🥫 Leftover love: how to store and reheat
Honey pecan chicken breasts are as easy to store and reheat as they are to make the first time around.
Let the leftovers cool a bit, then transfer them to an airtight storage container. Keep 'em in the refrigerator for three or four days at the most.
You can also freeze leftovers for up to three months. Seal them in a freezer-safe container to prevent freezer burn.
The best way to thaw frozen, cooked chicken is in the fridge overnight. From there, slice the chicken breast into a few pieces (so it reheats evenly without drying) and warm in the microwave until hot.
🍴Must have tools: essential equipment
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💭 Insider tips: things to know
- Raw chicken breasts only keep for a couple days in the refrigerator. If you want to use frozen chicken for this recipe, be sure to let it thaw fully before getting started cooking.
- If the chicken is really wet straight out of the package, dab it dry with some paper towels before flattening and seasoning it.
- A cast-iron skillet heats meat the best, but you can use any lidded frying pan if you don't have one.
- Don't fiddle with the chicken too much when you first put it in the skillet. Moving it around a lot prevents it from getting a good sear.
- Use a silicone spatula to scrape the honey and caramelized bits of butter from the skillet—this is where all the flavor is! A metal utensil will scrape (and potentially ruin) the finish on your cast iron pan.
Marye's Tip o' the day
Don't add the honey too early. We drizzle it on after cooking the chicken to prevent it from burning to the bottom of the skillet.
👩🍳 Let's answer those questions: FAQs
Have other questions? Ask me in the comments!
The best way to know for sure that the chicken is finished is to use an instant-read thermometer. Color isn't the best indicator. It should reach 160-165 degrees F in the center of the chicken.
In this honey pecan chicken breast recipe, look for 160 degrees F since we'll keep cooking the chicken for a few minutes after taking the temperature.
Sure. I prefer the nutty, buttery flavor of brown butter, which complements the other ingredients in this recipe. However, oil will do the trick if you need a dairy-free option or just ran out of butter.
You can, but watch the internal temperature closely. Thin-cut chicken breasts are usually very, very thin, so they'll cook more quickly than whole chicken breasts.
It's easy! Heat them in a skillet (no oil) until they're fragrant and browned—it'll take less than ten minutes. You can also roast them in the oven at 350 degrees F for about the same amount of time. In either case, be sure to give them a good shake/stir a few times.
⏲️ Marye's time saving hacks -
Remove the chicken from the plastic packaging when you get home from the store, and flatten the chicken at that point. Keep it in an airtight container in the fridge until you're ready to cook. That way, when dinnertime rolls around, you can just season, sear, and savor it!
📚 More Southern comfort: related recipes you'll love
- Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken is packed with flavor and only takes five minutes to prep—plus, you can cook it in the oven or
slow cooker ! - When you're craving something savory, Grilled BBQ Chicken Breast hits the spot, is done in just a half hour, and is wrapped in smoky bacon.
- Skip the take-out line and make this family favorite at home—versatile Copycat Popeye's Chicken Tenders taste as good as the real thing!
🍽️ Perfect pairings: what to serve with
Whipped Sweet Potatoes go well with any type of chicken, but the sweet cinnamon and smoky chipotle make this side dish an extra-delicious complement to honey pecan chicken breasts.
Bulk up dinner with easy Corn Muffins. This copycat Cracker Barrel recipe is just slightly sweet and completely irresistible—everyone always reaches for a second!
With the warm flavors of fall and savory brown butter, this easy Pumpkin Bundt Cake is the perfect autumn and winter dessert. Plus, it stays moist for days, so you can snack on it all week long.
🍽️ No waste: creative ways to repurpose
Honey pecan chicken breast has such a versatile flavor profile, so you can enjoy the leftovers for lunch or dinner:
- Chicken salad (just chop it up—pecans and all)
- Cold chicken sandwiches on sweet rolls
- Loaded baked sweet potatoes
- Pot pie or Shepherd's pie
- Nutty chicken and cranberry casserole (think, Thanksgiving leftovers!)
- Loaded stuffing—stir diced chicken into leftover or Stovetop stuffing
📞 Wrapping it up: the last word
If you ever needed a fancy recipe to impress the boss, the in-laws, or the next door neighbors, well this is it.
It's sweet and garlicky, crunchy and juicy, with just a tiny burst of smoky heat. This honey pecan chicken is so easy it can be a regular weeknight dinner but so fancy that truly it seems like you had dinner catered.
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need.
If you love this recipe please comment below and give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
Honey Pecan Chicken Breast
Print Pin Recipe Save Recipe Rate RecipeIngredients
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground chipotle pepper
- 2 tablespoon butter
- ⅓ cup honey
- ⅓ cup finely chopped pecans, toasted
Instructions
- Pound chicken with a meat mallet to ½-in. thickness.
- Sprinkle with seasonings.
- In a large skillet, heat butter over medium heat; brown chicken on both sides.
- Cook, covered, until chicken is no longer pink, 6-8 minutes, turning once. An instant-read thermometer should register 160 when poked in the center.
- Drizzle with honey and sprinkle with pecans. Cook, covered 2-3 minutes.
- Spoon a little of the honey in the bottom of the pan over the top of the chicken.
- Let stand for 5 -10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Raw chicken breasts only keep for a couple days in the refrigerator. If you want to use frozen chicken for this recipe, be sure to let it thaw fully before getting started cooking.
- Don't fiddle with the chicken too much when you first put it in the skillet. Moving it around a lot prevents it from getting a good sear.
- Use a silicone spatula to scrape the honey and caramelized bits of butter from the skillet—this is where all the flavor is! A metal utensil will scrape (and potentially ruin) the finish on your cast iron pan.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.
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