Here's a crunchy treat with lots of flavor; high protein, antioxidants in nuts and low saturated fat -- an alternative to deep-fried chicken.
Copyright 2006 Jean Carper. Printed first in USA WEEKEND. All rights reserved.
This was a favorite with everyone in my house. After reading the reviews that the chicken needed a bit more of a kick, I added 1/4 tsp. curry (since it goes so well with coconut), a dash of red pepper and a little garlic to my chopper while everything was grinding. I also kept my chicken breasts whole and double dipped them in the coating so they'd be nice and crunchy and cooked them on a rack on a baking sheet so I wouldn't have to flip them. Even the people that don't like coconut liked this one--I gound everything so finely they could only taste the sweetness of the nuts without the texture that they don't like. After my alterations it is 5 stars all the way.
Read MoreThis had zero flavor and didn't crisp up. I was expecting it to have a sweet "crust", like on coconut shrimp, and this wasn't even close. The yogurt gave it an almost sour flavor.
Read MoreThis was a favorite with everyone in my house. After reading the reviews that the chicken needed a bit more of a kick, I added 1/4 tsp. curry (since it goes so well with coconut), a dash of red pepper and a little garlic to my chopper while everything was grinding. I also kept my chicken breasts whole and double dipped them in the coating so they'd be nice and crunchy and cooked them on a rack on a baking sheet so I wouldn't have to flip them. Even the people that don't like coconut liked this one--I gound everything so finely they could only taste the sweetness of the nuts without the texture that they don't like. After my alterations it is 5 stars all the way.
This was exceptional! I did a 'search' for 'chicken' and 'yogurt' and came up w/ this recipe. I substituted stuffing mix, unsweetened shredded fresh coconut and walnuts (what I had on hand) and I was delighted with the results! Nice and crispy, with a delicate coconut flavor enhanced by the herbs in the stuffing mix. The walnuts toasted up nicely and added another layer of flavor. This one's a keeper -- don't be afraid to play with the ingredients.
This dish was very easy to make and fairly tasty. However, I agree that it needs a little extra "something" to give it more punch. After reading the reviews, I added a pinch of garlic and 1/4 tsp. curry powder to the dry mix before coating the chicken. I also added salt and pepper. The final product had a nice, crunchy texture and wasn't too sweet at all. We liked it quite a bit, but it did seem to need some extra seasoning. I like the idea of this recipe enough that I'll probably continue to experiment with it.
This had zero flavor and didn't crisp up. I was expecting it to have a sweet "crust", like on coconut shrimp, and this wasn't even close. The yogurt gave it an almost sour flavor.
This recipe was great because it's healthful and is relatively quick to prepare. The texture and aroma are nice, but it does lack a bit in flavor; lightly sprinkle soy sauce on the cooked chicken and you'll be all set. Side note: I used the recipe for "Quick Sesame Green Beans" as a side dish, and it complimented the chicken nicely.
A great light meal. Perfect with rice pilaf and steamed sugar snap peas. I used boneless, skinless chicken breast and cooked at 450 for 15 min then flipped and lowered to 350 for 35-40 mins. I also, sprinkled some garlic powder. Very good!
When I rate recipes, I rate the recipe and comments together. I never follow a recipe exact anyway. I found these to be fantastic. My husband loved them and thought they were better than any homemade "breaded" chicken he's ever had. I made these using chicken tenders. I didn't have yogurt, so I used a beaten egg with a little soy sauce to add salty flavor. I ground the pecans and coconut with a little curry and garlic powder before tossing the mixture with the panko. Then I baked them as directed. Great. I didn't have the fixings, but these would also be delicious on a salad with asian dressing.
This is officially my favourite way to eat chicken YUM! I had a bunch of pecans and a bunch of coconut and needed a way to use them. I had this brainstorm that they'd taste good with chicken and found this recipe using the ingredient search. I took the suggestions of other reviewers - added a tsp. of curry paste to the yogurt and some garlic powder to the breading. Unfortunately I didn't have panko but I know it would just be that much yummier with panko! (I used regular bread crumbs instead).
This was pretty good however I agree with previous posts that it's a little bland. I will try sprinkling them with a small amount of cayanne next time. I served this with banana yogurt.
This is so easy and very yummy. I flattened a chicken breast, but did not cut it into strips. I used vanilla yougurt, not plain. I used italian bread crumbs, not panko. I baked it in the oven for about 25 minutes and it came out juicy. I love the coconut and pecan combination. Thanks for sharing this recipe, I will make it often.
Wow! I used plain greek yogurt and added some cayenne pepper to the coconut pecan breading mixture for a kick. We LOVED this chicken. I do think the heat was a bit high for the first portion of the cooking time so next time I make it I'll probably start it at 400 and reduce to 350 and if the coating is not crispy enough, I'll broil it at the end. Thanks for the recipe!
This is good, it just isn't as good as another similar recipe I make. My 2-year-old didn't care for this at all and chicken strips are usually a sure way to get him to eat dinner. So I probably won't make it again. The coconut and pecans were what made me want to try this and they were good -- I think the yogurt was the biggest problem with this recipe. It does make this healthier than the recipe I usually make (which uses a combination of mayo and vegetable oil to stick the topping), but it is a little too sweet in combination with coconut and pecan.
Delicious. I made some changes. First of all, marinated the chicken strips in a mixture of "ketjap medja" (a dutch sweet soy sauce) and ginger. Also used peach yogurt instead of plain. gave it a nice flavor.
Fantastic! Like others, I added sea salt and black pepper and throught they were a great part of the finished product. I did try a bit of garlic & I'll definitely leave it out next time. I put all dry ingredients in the food processor, and the fine grind made it adhere easily to the yogurt-coated chicken. Between arranging the pieces on the roasting rack, cooking, and getting it onto my plate, very little of the crust came off. I think using a rack helps tremendously - the crispiness was perfect! This is not a lot of effort for a tremendous result. LOVE!
This was very good and easy to make! I did change some things though. We didn't have panko bread crumbs so I finely crushed rice crispie cereal. I also used someone else's suggestion and dipped them in homemade mayo instead of yogurt. We served them with pumpkin butter and that was just what they needed to round out the flavor. They would also be good served with marmalade.
Super easy to make. I read through all of the reviews and made it with chicken tenders that I had on hand. I also scaled the recipe for two person (instead of 6 servings). I put the equal parts of panko bread crumbs and coconut flakes into the small blender, also added some curry powder (1/4 tsp), some garlic flakes, season salt and walnut. Then I blended until all ingredients are equal sized. Since I only had Greek yogurt on hand, that's what I used (1 cup of the Fage 2% plain). I dipped the chicken tenders in the yogurt and then breaded it in the crust. Then sat it out for about 15 minutes while my oven was heating up. Cooked according to the reviews (450 F for 15 minutes and then 350 F for about 30 minutes). The yogurt kept the chicken so moist. Only the one small piece that I had was a little bit dry, but the flavor is still really good. Super easy and definitely will make again. It's even healthy too. No oil in this whole operation, only some coconut flakes... =)
Much too sweet even though I added the cayenne! If I were to make it again I would not dredge - probably just brush with yogurt...Thanks for the experience and I can see how others might enjoy this dish.
Easy to make and easily improved. After reading other reviews on blandness of recipe, I added lime juice, coriander, cumin, curry, and tumeric to the yogurt. Result is a favorite "go to" fast chicken recipe.
I ommitted the pecans but otherwise followed this exactly. Came out great! served with orange marmalade as a dipping sauce.
The flavor from the pecan/coconut was very good. However, I had an incredibly frustrating time with this recipe. I used chicken breasts that I'd sliced into thinner pieces because I knew it'd never cook if I left it as thick as it came. And yet, even with doing that, the chicken just never cooked! The outside began to burn, so I had to lower the heat, and the chicken was still not done....I'm willing to try this recipe again, but not for awhile. I feel drained from this failed attempt. I'll have to figure out exactly what went wrong, and what I plan to do differently before I try this again.
This was okay. I think it would taste better using mahi or shrimp instead of chicken.
Not super flavorful. Although I normally love coconut anything, but I prob won't make it again.
I finely chopped the pecans and the shredded coconut. I also ran herb stuffing mix through the processor to get a texture of crunchy breadcrumbs. I combined all the above with the panko crumbs. This mixture had a great flavor balance between sweet, nutty, and herb/salt. Also the ground texture stayed on the chicken. I marinated the chicken in a mixture of plain, non-fat yogurt mixed with mustard, curry powder and chili powder. As another reviewer suggested, I baked the chicken on a rack over a cookie sheet (spray rack with PAM). The chicken came out crunchy and delicious. I served with an assortment of sauces - pineapple mango ginger, rasberry BBQ, and honey mustard. Took to a dinner party - everybody loved it!
I found it to be pretty bland. I feel like the idea has potential, but it's missing something (for me anyway).
This was pretty good. I love coconut so this caught my interest. I did add some cayenne pepper and seasoned salt to the plain yogurt to add more flavor and it did help. Next time I want to mariante the chicken to get a little more flavor.
I wasn't too crazy about this, I thought there would be a lot more crunch and I'm not sure I'm too big on all that coconut flavor with the chicken. Who knows, maybe it's more of a kid recipe and less of a college student recipe.
Quick, easy, and delicious! I added curry powder and garlic as suggested by others. Everyone enjoyed this dish.
I followed the lead of other reviews and added spices. I added curry, fresh garlic to the yogurt before putting it on the chicken. I also used cutlets. I might process the coconut next time to conceal it from my child next time, but it was a tasty dinner and eaten by the whole family.
WOW! Full of flavor and sweet and spicy. This recipe will be rotated into out monthly meal planning.
Pretty good - but like others stated, it is lacking something...just not sure what!! I didn't have panko crumbs, so I used cornflake crumbs..I also used a whole chicken breast - rather then cutting into strips. I would make again, since it is just for me as my husband would not like it!
I read this while trying to find something different for dinner. I love coconut, and had to make this tonight! No bread crumbs or bread. As a last resort I used rice krispies. Not as much as the amount of crumbs, but they worked just fine. My husband even liked it. This is a keeper for sure. I will try with bread crumbs next time.
Instead of yogurt, I marinated the chicken in coconut milk (13.5 oz. can Goya). Also substituted plain bread crumbs for panko and added 1/4 tsp. curry powder. This came out so moist and delicious!!
I made this for me and my girlfriend and it came delicious. I substituted walnuts for pecans to save money. This goes great with corn on the cob as a side dish !
I think this recipe is great but i have used a shortcut for some time now. Try using the coconut pecan icing by betty crocker. Batter the chicken in flour and then bake it. pull the chicken out 10 minutes before being done and spread the icing on the chicken and turn your oven on low broil for ten minutes. YUMMY
Awesome! I also added a little curry powder and cayenne pepper for a little extra zing. My picky husband and I both LOVED it...and he hates everything!
I made this last night but as usual, made some adjustments for ingredients I didn't have on hand. I used low-fat Greek yogurt and walnuts rather than pecans and was very pleased with the results. It was crunchy, tasty and had a bit of a tang, thanks to the yogurt. Considering these facts -- it had no additional seasonings (not a pinch of SALT), was delicious, made for a healthy entree AND was ready in 35 minutes -- I'd call it a real winner. This is a dish I'll make again and again.
I love a crispy chicken tender and this is a good one. The coconut adds a nice flavor and this was easy to make.
very good, i think next time I will keep the chicken breasts whole though and make the coating thicker. also, I think baking on parchment paper will prevent the bottoms from getting so dark. seems like a little zing would be great, I may add some ginger or pepper next time.
This was an excellent recipe. It was easy and tasted wonderful! I am definitely going to add this to my favorites.
Loved it - no heavy sauce but still have the coconut flavor. Both husband and 5-year old son loved it as well. Fast and easy - my favorite!
This was pretty good. It was a little hard to get the breading mixture to stay on the chicken, and the coconut did not really bake evenly for me (some parts had no color, while others were near black). That being said, it was very nice and crispy and had a great sweet flavor. I had no Japanese breadcrumbs, and had to use Matzo Meal instead, which was very good. We dipped ours in the sauce from the Orange Sauce Chicken on this website--I thought it was yummy, but hubbie liked it better plain.
Great fast easy. Mom thought it would have been better if it had some crushed red pepper
I substituted Pistachios for the Pecans, and it was delicious! I will make this again.
OK, I read all the other comments before I made this so I changed one of the main ingredients. I chopped up half of a can of French fried onions instead of the pecans and it was very flavorful. The chicken was so moist and the coating was nice and crunchy. This is a keeper!
I read through all of the reviews and added ¼ tsp “smoked” curry powder, a pinch of cayenne and I used whole wheat Ritz crackers and toasted walnuts (what I had on hand). I also scaled the recipe for two persons (instead of 6 servings). The most interesting change I made was to use MANGO YOGURT. Being an island girl, the coconut, curry, mango flavor is a staple in our home. I cooked the chicken on a rack 15 minutes at 450 degrees and 15 at 350 degrees. I will cut the last baking time down to 10 minutes next time but they were fabulous all the same. My husband raved about it and told me to add the recipe to our master list. Thanks so much for a GREAT recipe
This recipe sounded amazing to me considering I love all the ingredients in it. But I will admit that the final product lacked a little something. I even added a pinch of nutmeg and cayenne pepper and dipped the strips in honey, but it just needed something...
Loved this, but I made some changes the last time. I added some dry mustard and cayenne pepper to the dry mix, I dipped the chicken cuts in light coconut milk (no yogurt on hand) and then salted flour (very light layer) then coconut milk then finally the pecan mix, just to prevent the pecan mix from coming off. I also pounded out the chicken a little and cooked the chicken for the 15min on 450 but only 10min on 350 because the first time I made this the chicken dried out.
Great recipe! A keeper for sure. I didn't have yogurt, so I used milk and an egg, and it worked well. I didn't have curry either, so I used 1/4 tsp. chili pepper. It could have used more. Next time I hope to try curry. I served it with the options of a honey dijon dip, soy/ginger dip, and a cream sauce.
I was very pleasantly surprised how good this was and simple to make. I will make this again.
Tried this twice. I have a family of 10. The general consensus was that it had no flavor and that we shouldn't waste our chicken again. Sorry, just not good.