Sunflower-Crusted Chicken
with Lettuce, Apple & Parmesan Salad
- Eggs
- Milk
- Wheat
If you’re looking for a satisfying and low-carb weeknight option, look no further than this seared chicken cutlet—coated in a mixture of Parmesan, panko, sunflower seed, and lemon zest—then drizzled with honey-Dijon cream sauce. On the side, a crisp salad of baby greens, sliced apple, and more Parm coated in a lemony-creamy Dijon dressing. It’s a crunchy, crispy, juicy, and flavorful meal!
Ingredients
1 unit
Baby Lettuce
½ ounce
Sunflower Seeds
1 unit
Dijon Mustard
1 unit
Lemon
1.5 ounce
Honey Dijon Dressing
(Contains: Eggs)
3 tablespoon
Parmesan Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
1 unit
Apple
2 tablespoon
Mayonnaise
(Contains: Eggs)
0.13 cup
Panko Breadcrumbs
(Contains: Wheat)
10 ounce
Chicken Cutlets
1 teaspoon
Hot Sauce
Not included in your delivery
1 teaspoon (tsp)
Cooking Oil
0.18 teaspoon (tsp)
Sugar
1 tablespoon (tbsp)
Butter
(Contains: Milk)
1 tablespoon (tbsp)
Olive Oil
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Adjust rack to top position and preheat oven to 450 degrees. Wash and dry produce. • Finely chop sunflower seeds. Finely chop half the Parmesan (you’ll use the rest in Step 5). Zest half the lemon, then quarter.
• Place 1 TBSP butter (2 TBSP for 4 servings) in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave until melted, 30 seconds. • Let cool slightly, then stir in sunflower seeds, chopped Parmesan, lemon zest, half the panko (all for 4), and a pinch of salt and pepper.
• Pat chicken* dry with paper towels; season all over with salt and pepper. Place on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Evenly spread tops of chicken with mustard. Mound with sunflower coating, pressing to adhere (no need to coat the undersides). • Roast on the top rack until browned and cooked through, 15-20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together dressing, mayonnaise, and hot sauce.
• Trim and discard root end from lettuce; chop leaves into bite-size pieces. Core and thinly slice apple. • In a large bowl, whisk together 1 TBSP honey Dijon mayo (2 TBSP for 4 servings), a large drizzle of olive oil, a pinch of sugar, salt, pepper, and as much lemon juice as you like. TIP: If the dressing tastes too tangy, add another pinch of sugar. If it’s not tangy enough, add another squeeze of lemon juice. • Add lettuce, apple, and remaining Parmesan to bowl with dressing; toss to coat.
• Divide chicken and salad between plates. Drizzle chicken with as much remaining honey Dijon mayo as you like. Serve with any remaining lemon wedges and any remaining honey Dijon mayo on the side.
Chicken is fully cooked when internal temperature reaches 165°.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Many loved the sunflower crust's nutty flavor and the tangy honey-Dijon sauce, though some found the mustard overpowering.
- Ease of prep: Customers appreciated how quick and simple this meal was to prepare, with several noting it was perfect for warm summer evenings.
- Suggestions: Consider adding a starch or vegetable side to make it more filling; some found just chicken and salad insufficient for dinner.
- Leftovers: The chicken stayed juicy and flavorful when eaten cold the next day, making great leftovers for lunch salads or wraps.
- Salad: While many enjoyed the apple-Parmesan combo, some wanted more substance like croutons or additional veggies in the salad.
Reviews from our home cooks
The sunflower crusted chicken was so delicious and tender! I really like the use of lemon zest in the topping. It added such a nice bright flavor. The panko and sunflower seeds added a nice crunch. Using the mustard to get the panko to stick was really good too as it added a nice tangy flavor. The salad dressing was delicious. I didn't add any sugar to it as the honey mustard sauce was sweet enough on its own. I did add some avocado and croutons to the salad though because it seemed a little lacking (only lettuce, apple and cheese) lol. But that's my personal preference. Overall a very satisfying meal.
Loved the sunflower coating for the chicken and the salad was easy to make. This was delicious and I'd definitely purchase it again.
YES!! YES!! YES!! More of THIS please!! The sunflower seed, panko, parmesan, lemon zest crust... over the lightest layer of Dijon... (excuse me - I'm salivating)... took chicken to a new place for me. I am so glad I got two of them this week - and I will be getting four next time it comes around. I took the basic salad up a notch - and completely changed the dressing. (Tamari here?? I don't get it.) I sliced the apple into matchsticks and added sliced carrots (see where I'm going??...) and made a creamy lemon/mayo dressing. Paired perfectly with the mustard & lemon in the chicken. So delish.
The apple was sweet. A great compliment to the salad. In prepping the chicken, I slathered mustard and mayo on them after salt/ pepper, then added Parmesan cheese to the topping. The dressing added moisture to the chicken and the flavor with the toppings was excellent.
Loved the sunflower seeds in the recipe and the salad was absolutely 💯! The only thing is that it seemed like too little food for a dinner meal a needed either potato, rice, or couscous or a vegetable to make it a complete meal. We were hungry two hours later.
I liked the sunflower seeds for the crust, and the fact that the chicken was baked, not fried. I am tying to get away from all the frying of the meat for health reasons and the fact that frying is very messy.
I'm not typically a salad person but this was so refreshing and tasty! I have never had sunflower-crusted anything but it was so delicious. I could easily eat something like this every week.
We liked the Sunflower-Crusted Chicken better than the Chicken & Avocado Salad. While here the chicken was supposed to be the highlight (and still was) there was a fair amount of salad to go with it. The use of sunflower seeds vs. walnuts or almonds was clever and flavorful. Our main comment would be that while the honey dijon dressing is quick and easy, we would have preferred to made our own dressing. It felt like it "cheapened" the meal just a tad.
This meal was overall pretty great, but it was very lemon heavy. With the lemon zest in the chicken crusting and then lemon juice in the salad dressing, it was just a bit too much. My family opted out of the salad dressing entirely, and we used homemade ranch dressing. And we also chose not to add the apples into the salad. The apples were severely bruised, and once we pivoted away from the recipe salad dressing, the apples were no longer in the right flavor profile. But the chicken, lemon zest and all, was PERFECTION!
I enjoyed the pairing of the sunflower-crusted chicken with the salad. However, I wish there was more lettuce or additional toppings for the salad.
