You’re going to love our Air Fryer Pretzel Crusted Chicken! This tasty, crunchy combo is seriously good and pairs wonderfully with your favorite honey mustard to dip your chicken.
The next time you’re looking for something that’s a little extra special and oh-so-satisfying, give this pretzel crusted chicken a shot. You won’t regret it – it’s an easy way to take a standard chicken recipe and add a gourmet twist, and it’ll make your taste buds dance with joy! Yum!
I have an appreciation for mustard pretzels and I love fried chicken dipped in honey mustard. That is why when it came to dipping, there were no options beyond honey mustard for me! Of course, spicy brown mustard, ranch, and BBQ sauce would all be good dip choices too. You really can’t go wrong!
You might want to double this one…people will be going back for seconds!
We served this with green beans (try our air fryer green beans) and a side of mac and cheese. The kids loved this one!
Ingredient Notes:
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Chicken – We are using thin sliced chicken breasts in this recipe. You could use chicken cutlets, or chicken tenders just the same.
Breading– You will need flour, eggs, crushed pretzels, and panko bread crumbs.
Seasoning – Pick up some spicy brown mustard, salt, garlic powder, and onion powder.
Dip- As mentioned, I went with honey mustard. You could use ranch or BBQ sauce as well!
Recipe Tips!
We went with plain pretzel twists this time around, but we’ve also made this with the honey mustard pretzels. Divine! Next up, we’re trying this with Dot’s Pretzels…they’re my fav snack.
To crush the pretzels, add them to a food processor and pulse until you have coarse crumbs. I like to leave it a mix of sizes, with some of the pretzels being finely ground like bread crumbs and others being a bit chunkier. The chunkier the pieces, the more crunchy the breading will be after cooking.
If you don’t have a food processor, place the pretzels in a zip-top bag, press out the air and seal, and smash the pretzels using a rolling pin or kitchen mallet.
Food Processor
This food processor is perfect for chopping, slicing, and shredding blocks of cheese. This model is made by Ninja, a brand I trust and love, and has thousands of excellent reviews on Amazon. It’s a budget-friendly food processor that gets the job done!
How to Make Pretzel Crusted Chicken:
- Bread the chicken– Grab three shallow dishes. In the first dish, add your flour, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and salt. Whisk these together to combine. In a second dish whisk together eggs with your brown mustard. In the third dish, add the crushed pretzels and panko and whisk to combine them also. Dredge the chicken pieces one at a time into first the flour, then the egg, and finally, the pretzel crumbs, pressing to make sure the pretzels fully coat the chicken.
- Air fry the chicken– Spritz both sides of the chicken with oil spray. Spritz an air fryer basket with oil spray and arrange the chicken pieces in an even layer with room between each for air to flow. You may need to work in batches, depending on the size of your air fryer. Air fry for 10 minutes at 390 degrees F, flipping halfway through cooking.
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FAQ:
To crush the pretzels, add them to a food processor and pulse until you have coarse crumbs. I like to leave it a mix of sizes, with some of the pretzels being finely ground like bread crumbs and others being a bit chunkier.
If you don’t have a food processor, place the pretzels in a zip-top bag, press out the air and seal, and smash the pretzels using a rolling pin or kitchen mallet.
You can use traditional bread crumbs in place of panko, if desired. We prefer panko because it’s so light, airy, and crispy. It makes for more of a crispy texture on the chicken after cooking.
Use your air fryer and heat for 3-5 minutes at 375 degrees F, until warmed through.
More recipes you might like:
- Air Fryer Frozen Pretzel
- Air Fryer Greek Chicken Kabobs
- Air Fryer Breaded Pork Chops
- Air Fryer Twice Baked Potatoes
Pretzel Crusted Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 thin-sliced chicken breasts
- 1 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
- 2 cups crushed pretzels see note
- ½ cup panko bread crumbs
- Honey mustard for serving
Instructions
- Add the flour, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and salt to a shallow dish and whisk to combine.
- Add the eggs and mustard to a second shallow dish and whisk well to combine.
- Add the crushed pretzels and panko to a third shallow dish and whisk to combine.
- Dredge the chicken pieces one at a time into first the flour, then the egg, and finally the pretzel crumbs, pressing to make sure the pretzels fully coat the chicken. Spritz both sides of the chicken with oil spray.
- Spritz an air fryer basket with oil spray and arrange the chicken pieces in an even layer with room between each for air to flow. You may need to work in batches, depending on the size of your air fryer.
- Air fry the chicken at 390 degrees for 10 minutes, flipping halfway through for maximum crust crispiness.
- Serve with honey mustard on the side for dipping.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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