This past week while standing around on a photo shoot, my coworkers and I noticed that our conversations somehow kept circling back to food (as often seems to happen!). I was getting ready to go grocery shopping that night, so asked if anyone had any blog-worthy chicken recipes to recommend. My friend, Jen, immediately lit up and told us about this hummus-crusted chicken recipe she had recently tried and loved.
Um, “hummus-crusted”??? Sign me up!
Somehow the idea of using hummus as a sauce in baking had never occurred to me. But as soon as she mentioned it, the recipe moved to the top of my list. So this weekend, I picked up some chicken and my favorite hummus (thought about going homemade, but I was in the mood for quick and easy). And then in order to make it a one-pot meal, I also picked up a bunch of veggies to bake up alongside the chicken. And then in less than 10 minutes of prep time, roughly chopped the veggies and added them and the chicken breasts to a big baking dish, slathered the chicken with hummus and some lemon juices, sprinkled on a little sumac (or you can use smoked paprika), and popped it in the oven. About a half hour later, I learned what “hummus-crusted” is all about.
Pure deliciousness, people.
I took the dish to a friend’s house for dinner on Saturday night, and we couldn’t stop talking about how amazingly flavorful and yummy this dish was! The hummus was the total rockstar of the dish — it indeed developed a light crust on the chicken, and then some of the extra oozed onto the veggies to give them a little extra sauce to go with the light lemony flavor. You could easily add some extra herbs, or balsamic, or even a little white wine to go with this. And of course, you could customize it by using your favorite flavors of hummus. But honestly, I loved the simple version with classic chickpea hummus. And holy moly — you can’t beat a one-pot meal with less than 10 minutes of prep time!
Highly recommend that you give this one a try. Thanks, Jen!!
Hummus-Crusted Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- salt and pepper
- 1 zucchini, chopped
- 1 yellow squash, chopped
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 cup hummus, homemade or storebought
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 2 lemons
- 1 tsp. smoked paprika or sumac
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Prepare one large baking dish or two smaller baking dishes with cooking spray.
- Pat the chicken dry. Season the chicken breasts with generous pinches of salt and pepper. In a large bowl, toss the zucchini, squash and onion with olive oil until evenly coated. Season with salt and pepper.
- If using one baking dish, place all of the vegetables on the bottom of the dish in an even layer. Lay the four chicken breasts evenly on top, then cover each chicken breast with the hummus so that the entire breast is covered. Squeeze the juice of one lemon over the chicken and vegetables. Then sprinkle the pan with smoked paprika or sumac. Thinly slice the remaining lemon, and place the slices in between the chicken and vegetables if desired.
- **If using two pans, use one for the chicken and one for the vegetables.**
- Bake for about 25-30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender. Serve immediately.
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
Have cooked this twice and it is delicious
Tried this last night and it was wonderful!!!!
I made this recipe this afternoon – TWICE, BECAUSE IT WAS SO GOOD. (The oven was still on and I still had uncooked chicken and squash)
Your statement above is so true: “The hummus was the total rockstar of the dish — it indeed developed a light crust on the chicken, and then some of the extra oozed onto the veggies to give them a little extra sauce to go with the light lemony flavor”
I couldn’t believe how delicious it turned out. Moist and juicy in only 30 minutes.
A couple of notes about how I cooked the recipe:
1. I used a big package of summer baby squash from Costco. For the first recipe I used only about what would have equaled the amount of squash you mentioned in the recipe. For the second recipe I used the rest of the package because I wanted more squash to result (I only had two chicken breasts left.)
2. I used a Vidalia Chop Wizard (the “chop” blade) to cut up the onion and summer squash. With the baby squash you can just put the whole squash on the grate and swing down – it chops the whole squash into large dice. I actually like the texture the diced squash and onion makes. It picks up the lemon juice and hummus juice so well.
3. I used “Tribe Zesty Spice and Garlic” hummus. One container = 1 cup. Lovely flavor.
Absolutely stunningly delicious recipe! Thank you. A real easy stand-by dish for me now.
Just wanted to say this recipe has become a staple in our home!! Love how easy it is to prepare, and you can pretty much use any veggies you have in the fridge. I especially love it with some spicy 3-pepper hummus for a little extra kick, and add some sweet chili sauce on the side to dip in the veggies. Also, I cook it at 375 for at least 40 min. or else my chicken breasts won’t fully cook (but everyone’s oven is a bit different)!
I loved this dinner! It’s so elegant. I cooked the squashes for about10 mins. I added a side of black olives and some finely chopped bell pepper. Thank you!
Really loved this recipe! Served mine with a Mediterranean quinoa salad and it was a hit!
In the oven!!! After reading comments, I used less hummus. Looks and smells delicious!
I tried to make this tonight and was so excited about it…but mine didn’t turn out. The hummus didn’t get crusty, it just stayed mushy on the chicken and mostly slid off of it into the pan. If I had cooked it any longer the chicken would have been overdone. Made for a weird mix of textures. Did I use too much or too little or what? The veggies were great at least.
Hi Haley,
Oh man — strange! If the hummus was on too thick, it might not have gotten very crusty. Also be sure that the chicken is patted dry before you add the hummus. Otherwise, different brands of hummus have more oil than others. Could have been that. Hope it turns out better for you next time!
~Ali
I have made this 5 or 6 times now and my whole family loves it!!! Thank you so much for this easy and amazing recipe. The only thing I change is that I cook it at 375 for 40 to 45 minutes.
I’ve made a similar version with spicy garlic hummus and a little basalmic vinegar and it was wonderful! I also used mushrooms with it which were great!