CRANBERRY CREAM CHEESE STUFFED PECAN CHICKEN

Are you looking for a delicious and unique way to spice up your chicken dinners? Look no further! This Cranberry Cream Cheese Stuffed Pecan Chicken is sure to impress with its combination of sweet and savory flavors. The juicy chicken is stuffed with a mixture of cream cheese, cranberries and pecans, then breaded and baked to perfection. Not only does it taste amazing, but it’s also a healthier alternative to traditional fried chicken. So why wait? Let’s get started on this delicious dish!

With something like two hundred chicken recipes on this here site of mine I started thinking that maybe I had done all there is to do with chicken. . .

Then I had a dream. A food dream like I often do involving dried cranberries and cream cheese. A delicious idea but what to do with it. . .

Chicken. Stuff it inside chicken. Silly girl. With a pecan crust and honey mustard drizzle. Take that. Elusive chicken.

The recipe starts by coating chicken cutlets on one side with pecan bread crumbs and setting it pecan side down on a baking sheet. The cream cheese filling is smeared over one half of the pecan free side and the other half is folded over to encase it. Kind of like a taco where the chicken is the shell.

The filling is made of cream cheese, dried cranberries, red onion and a little Parmesan cheese to hold it together so it doesn’t melt all over and ooze out of the chicken.

It bakes up quickly, in about 20 minutes because chicken cutlets are so thin. The pecans get all toasty and crunchy, the chicken tender and juicy and the insides soft and creamy.

I like to finish it with a light drizzle of honey mustard. It adds a little tangy bite to offset the sweetness of the cranberries and the dryness of the pecans.

I’m head over heels in love with chicken again!

I bet you’ll fall hard for this one too.

CRANBERRY CREAM CHEESE STUFFED PECAN CHICKEN

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Serves: 4 servings

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 1 voted )

Ingredients

• Filling:
• 8 ounces cream cheese (light or regular)
• 2/3 cup chopped dried cranberries
• scant 1/4 cup minced red onion
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper
• Chicken:
• 3/4 cup crushed pecans
• 1/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 5 - 6 chicken cutlets (about 1 + 1/4 pounds)
• Glaze:
• 1/3 cup Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/2 tablespoon water

Instructions

Make the Filling:

Place the cream cheese in a small bowl and microwave 20 seconds. Stir it up and microwave 20 more seconds. It should be soft enough to easily mix with a spoon.
Add the cranberries, red onion, parmesan and a couple dashes each of salt and pepper. Mix well, cover and chill.

Bread the Chicken:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet or roasting pan with parchment or coat with non-stick spray.
2. In a flat, shallow dish mix the pecans and bread crumbs together. Add a couple dashes each of salt and pepper.
3. In a small bowl mix together the mayo and mustard.
4. Working one at a time brush one side of each cutlet with the mayo mixture then coat with pecans and place pecan side down on the baking sheet.
5. Divide the cream cheese mixture among them spreading it out on one half of the cutlet. Fold the other side of the cutlet over the cream cheese filling.
6. Bake 20 - 25 minutes until cooked through.
7. Whisk the mustard, honey and water together in a small bowl, taste and add more honey or mustard if needed.
8. To serve drizzle the mustard over the chicken.

Notes

The quantities listed above are for a serving of 4. The recipe can be easily adjusted to serve a larger or smaller group by increasing or decreasing the ingredients accordingly.