This baked hummus crusted chicken is a complete sheet pan chicken dinner with crispy-tender roasted green beans! Tender and juicy chicken breasts on the inside and crispy on the outside!

Love sheet pan chicken dinners? Try our Sheet Pan Garlic Herb Butter Chicken or Baked Chicken Milanese and Veggies.

There’s a reason hummus is so widely used throughout Middle Eastern cuisine, and in the wider world of the Middle Eastern diaspora and sphere of cultural influence. A simple paste of chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, and garlic (plus whatever seasonings or spices you like), versatile enough to go on or with just about anything, and absolutely delicious. It’s nutritious too! What more could you ask for?

Baked Chicken Breast

One of the most common issues with cooking chicken breast, and particularly with baking it, is the chicken drying out. There are many solutions to this, including basting and marinating, but what if we told you that a simple crust made from hummus can do the trick, too?

The hummus forms a crispy, crunchy crust, and keeps your chicken tender and juicy on the inside. No more dry, stringy chicken. No more leftover hummus taking up space in the fridge. Say hello to a new kitchen favorite packed with protein and fiber that’s super easy to make, and easily served with veggies, in a wrap, over rice, couscous, or for the more health-conscious, on a bed of green veggies. Let’s take a look.

How to Make Hummus Crusted Chicken

As the name implies, you don’t need many ingredients.

Hummus
Chicken
Spices

Our first tip is to use homemade hummus. Store bought hummus is fine, but you can make a sizable quantity of hummus at home. Use your favorite hummus recipe for this chicken dish and you’ll be stunned at the results!

Use boneless, skinless chicken breast for this recipe. Chicken thighs can be too fatty for a clean, lean meal, and besides you don’t want to be spending time trimming fat.

For your spices, we recommend ground cumin, and some salt and pepper. This gives your chicken an exotic Mediterranean flavor profile. The Mediterranean diet is all the rage these days, so this will be both fashionable and functional!

First, you’ll want to season your chicken breasts with cumin, onion powder, garlic salt and pepper. Rub hummus all over the chicken, getting an even spread. Bake the chicken for 20 minutes, remove from the oven, arrange the green beans around the chicken, drizzle everything with the oil mixture and bake until it’s cooked all the way through.

Then serve! Easy, right?

Tips For Making Baked Hummus Crusted Chicken

You’ll want to make sure that any excess moisture has been removed from the surface of your chicken. Do this, gently pat them with a paper towel. This will help them to crisp up and develop a beautiful golden brown color when baked.
Use a meat thermometer. This is a great way to check if your chicken is cooked without having to cut it open and let all the delicious juices spill everywhere. The right temperature for cooked chicken is 165˚F (74˚C). Using a thermometer allows you to precisely determine when your chicken is cooked, and avoid over or undercooking it.
Allow your chicken to rest for five minutes after cooking. This helps the juices to settle in the chicken flesh, not explode onto your plate. Just like a prize steak, you want your chicken to stand so every last bite will be tender and juicy.

Hummus Crusted Chicken FAQs

What Can You Serve With Hummus Crusted Chicken?

Because this is such a quick and easy sheet pan dinner, you don't need any side. But you can roast a tray of your favorite vegetables like Roasted Brussels Sprouts or Roasted Cauliflower with Tahini to serve as a side , or prepare a salad if you feel like something fresh. A Mediterranean Fattoush salad is particularly well suited to this dish’s flavor profile.

You could also look to some regional hummus variations for inspiration. You could try fried eggplant, perhaps topped with balsamic vinegar, as a side dish. In the Yemenite quarter of Tel Aviv, hummus is served with traditional skhug hot sauce, so you could try topping your hummus crusted chicken with a hot sauce of your choosing!

Potato fries are another great addition to this chicken dinner, or classic Garlic Roasted Potatoes. It really just depends how hungry you are and how much time you want to spend on your side dish!

Can You Make it Ahead of Time?

Chicken is always best served freshly cooked, for both flavor and health reasons. However, if you’re pressed for time, this can be a useful meal to make in advance. You can prepare your chicken breasts ahead of time, storing them covered in the fridge for up to 24 hours before cooking. Leftovers will keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to three days.

Leftover chicken is wonderfully diverse. You can slice it up for sandwiches or salads, or reheat it in the oven. The hummus crust should help prevent the chicken from drying out when reheating, but be careful not to overheat your chicken.

Can You Use Chicken Thighs?

You can adapt this recipe to use chicken thighs if you want, but be aware that you may need to bake them for a little longer.

What Should I Use for a Garnish?

In the Middle East and the Mediterranean, the traditional garnish for hummus is olive oil, cumin, paprika, a couple of whole chickpeas and parsley.

For this chicken dish, which already has cumin in the chicken crust, you can simply top it with parsley for a hint of freshness. A lemon wedge on the side can bring some refreshing acidity to this dinner, too.

If you make this recipe be sure to leave a comment or give this recipe a rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐! I will be happy to hear from you!

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