Recipe: Walnut-crusted chicken salad - Coaldale Walnuts Tasmania

By Deborah Freudenmann BHSc Naturopathy

You’ve probably had breadcrumb-crusted chicken before… but let me introduce you to my walnut version instead.

Finely chopped walnuts mixed with a little walnut flour make the chicken deliciously nutty and crunchy, while still keeping it really juicy. It’s comforting in the way crumbed chicken is but nutritionally, it’s doing so much more. Walnuts are rich in omega-3 fats, plant-based protein, and polyphenols, which support heart and brain health and help keep inflammation in check.

I love how grounding and versatile walnuts are. They pair so well with fresh greens and a bright, tangy pickled-walnut dressing. When I cook, I’m always aiming for balance… so protein for blood-sugar stability, healthy fats for satiety and hormone support, and bitter greens to gently support digestion and liver function – and this dish does exactly that!

Serves 2-4

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts

50g chopped walnut kernel

30g walnut flour

2 eggs

2 garlic cloves

Salt and pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

4 cups mixed greens (e.g. rocket, spinach)

150g cherry tomatoes

120g cucumber (optional)

40g red onion (optional)

2-3 chopped pickled walnuts

2 tbsp walnut oil

4 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp pickled walnut paste

2 tbsp water

Parsley (optional)

1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (dairy free)

Method:

Preheat oven to 180°C fan-forced. Finely chop your walnuts, and then altogether in a shallow bowl add your walnut flour, salt, and pepper.

Then you take your chicken breasts and cut them in half or even in thirds. My chicken breasts were really big… you want nice chunky pieces but you also want them to bake evenly and have as much delicious crumbing as possible.

In a bowl crack your egg and mix it tougher with your mince garlic, more salt and pepper. Then coat your chicken breast in the egg mixture until nicely coated!

Place them into the walnut crumbing, coat all sides and place into your bake tray.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden and cooked through.

Into your salad bowl add in finely sliced red onion, halved cherry tomatoes, cucumber slices and crumbled feta cheese.

Add your greens, then add 1 tbsp walnut oil and 2 tbsp lemon juice. Mix.

For the pickled walnut drizzle, whisk together walnut pickle paste, lemon juice, walnut oil, water and a pinch of salt until smooth. It should be runny and not too thick.