Gluten & Dairy Free Hot Honey Mustard Pretzel Crusted Chicken!
A few months ago I created a DELIGHTFUL Gluten Free Extreme Crunch Baked Hot Honey Chicken & it has become one of our favorite things of all time. So when I saw a bag of gluten free pretzels at the grocery store and had the idea to use them to make another breading variation of the recipe incorporating mustard into the honey sauce I could not be stopped!!
I created this recipe in Atlanta while staying at my mother in laws house so that I could bring it to her to enjoy while she was stuck at rehab post stroke! She is Czech and generally enjoys any food that has a Eastern European flare to it! (And that woman LOVES pretzels!!) When I tell you she has them in every shape, size and flavor in her pantry it is no exaggeration!
It has a delicious flavor and crunchy breading from the crushed up gluten free pretzels (though regular pretzels can be used as well if you are not gluten free). I used ultra thin chicken breast (Which I had found makes a massive difference when it comes to getting baked chicken really crispy and tender!) and then created a slightly spicy hot honey mustard glaze to pull it all together. I am not a big mustard fan generally until its honey mustard and there’s just a nice little hit of flavor. SO that’s exactly what I did here. I think anyone and everyone would love the recipe a mustard fan or not.
This recipe is dedicated to Rosemary & the fabulous recovery that she’s making!!
How to make the sauce Sugar Free:
To make the sauce sugar free: Swap out the regular sugar/ honey for sugar free honey + add 1/4 Tsp of Liquid Stevia or Liquid Monkfruit.
Let’s talk about the sweetener options: Keto honey really isn’t a known ingredient…YET. I did a deep search on Amazon for it and since I found the first brand awhile back, a few more have come on the scent. My current favorites are:
The Nature’s Hollow brand can cause a little bit of digestive upset for some people, but not everyone. The other two are really gentle on your stomach. All 3 brands will work great in this recipe. Make sure you don’t skip the liquid stevia/monk fruit extract, either as it will bring the sweetness to the perfect level. Combining sugar free sweeteners really helps to create a more traditional balanced sweetness that your tastebuds expect.
Flour Options:
Better Batter Gluten Free Orginal Blend. This flour blend continues to amaze me. It can do so many things better than most other blends that I have tried. I cant live without for my bread recipes & have found it works exceptionally well in cookies too! .
What if you cant get your hands on it? This may be the case if you live outside the US. My friend Nichole from Gluten Free on a Shoestring has figured out a mock recipe for better batter. Her version should work great in this recipe! The owner (Naomi) of better batter has confirmed that the mix is similar to the official version.
While I did not test it out- I think that King Arthur Measure for Measure gluten free flour would be worth trying with 1/8 tsp of xanthan or guar gum added!
Feel free to experiment with other brands and please come back and let me know how it turned out!!
Gluten & Dairy Free Honey Mustard Pretzels Crusted Chicken!
Ingredients
- 6 Chicken Breast Pounded out thin & cut in half. (2 Lbs or so)
- 3/4 Tsp Salt
- 1/4 Tsp Black Pepper
- 1/4 Cup Gluten Free Better Batter Original Blend
- 4-5 Large Eggs (Or 3/4 "Just Egg"- for egg free)
- 8 Ounce Bag of Pretzels (I used gluten free) Crushed (This will be about 2 cups when they are crushed!)
- 4 cups gluten free Panko Breadcrumbs
- 1/2 Cup Gluten Free Better Batter Original Blend
- 1 1/4 Tsp Salt
- 1 Tsp Garlic Powder
- 2 Tsp Paprika
- 1 1/4 Tsp Mustard Powder
- 1 Cup Of Honey
- 1-2 Tbsp Franks Red Hot Sauce or other brand of choice (to taste)
- 4 Tbsp Butter (regular or vegan)
- 1 Tbsp Fresh Garlic finely minced
- 2-3 Tbsp Mustard (or 1 1/4 Tsp of mustard Powder)
- 1/4 Tsp Salt
- Big Pinch of Red Pepper Flakes (optional).
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.
- Pound out chicken breast thin & an even thickness. (If you pound too much to chicken will begin to break! When this starts to happen its time to stop trying to make that area any thinner. Using paper towels dry the chicken to re-move moisture. This is a crucial step in getting the finish chicken crispy!
- Add chicken to a bowl and toss it with the salt and pepper and then add in the 1/4 cup of flour to evenly coat all sides. Set aside.
- In a small bowl whisk the eggs.
- Make the breading : Finely crush the pretzels and add them to a medium bowl and stir in the remaining breading ingredients.
- Double bread the chicken: Dip the chicken into the egg mixture (draining off excess and then into the cornflake breading. Set on baking sheet. After breading all pieces- bread them a second time. Into the egg mixture- draining off excess and again into the cornflake breading.
- Place back on the baking sheet. Drizzle with oil (Using a quality spray oil works well as well to evenly coat the chicken.)
- Place into the oven and bake for ONLY 15-16 minutes. This is the amount of time the chicken needs- leaving it in longer may dry out the chicken breast!
- While the chicken is baking- make the honey mustard sauce. Add all ingredients to a small sauce pan & simmer on low for about 10 minutes allowing the garlic to toast and the sauce to thicken a little!
- Remove the chicken from the oven and spray it with oil once more. Brush the hot honey mustard sauce on (the amount is up to you!) and turn the broiler on. Broil the chicken (on a medium or rack) for just a few minutes. This will make it extra crispy! Keep a close eye on the chicken making sure not to burn it as this can happen quickly with the broiler on.
- Serve hot- with extra hot honey mustard sauce for dipping! Store leftovers in the fridge. Reheat in a microwave or air fryer.
Notes
THIN chicken is the secret to this recipes success!! The key is to purchase chicken breasts that are already labeled as thin sliced and then take the time to pound them out even thinner. As thin as you can get before the chicken fully starts to break apart!! If your chicken is too thick- it will not be as tender, as crispy OR as juicy!
