Texas Roadhouse Herb Crusted Chicken [Copycat Recipe]
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I love a good copycat recipe! They are super fun to make, as you have to engage all of your taste buds to choose the right ingredients. This one is inspired by Texas Roadhouse – the holy grail of chicken breast, at least in my opinion. Whenever I ordered this dish, it was packed with flavor and aroma, so this copycat recipe for Texas Roadhouse herb-crusted chicken is no less!
To be completely honest, this chicken tastes so much better than it looks! It may come off a bit burnt, but it really isn’t; those are just toasted herbs. They will pick up dark brown color when fried in oil, but it will enhance the taste to the maximum. So, full speed ahead for the recipe and instructions!
What Exactly Is Texas Roadhouse Herb-Crusted Chicken?
This is my favorite thing to order anytime I’m in Texas Roadhouse restaurant, as it is incredibly juicy and aromatic. The chicken breasts are coated in thick layers of different fresh or dried herbs, along with simple spices. You can choose from many sides of the menu, so I opted for my favorite one – garlicky mashed potatoes.
What’s interesting, I hate these potatoes by themselves, but drizzled with caramelized lemon, they are scrumptious. You will always get it with this meal in the restaurant, so don’t skip it when making it at home. This is my favorite combination, as textures and flavors go impeccably together!
How to Make Texas Roadhouse Herb-Crusted Chicken?
Ingredients for this mouth-watering chicken are rather simple – you’ll just need a few herbs more than usual. When it comes to sides, you can go for whatever you like, from fries to fresh veggies. Let’s see the list!
- Chicken – Use chicken breasts, as they are perfect to season with as many spices and herbs as you want.
- Oil – I picked out extra virgin olive oil, but you can go for any other frying-friendly one. Although, olive oil gives a special final flavor. For the mashed potatoes, I chose butter because it gives the best creamy texture and rich flavor.
- Herbs and spices – This is my list for almost-the-same taste of chicken: salt, freshly ground pepper, paprika, garlic powder, rosemary, parsley, basil, dill, and oregano.
- Lemon – Freshly squeezed lemon elevates this dish more than anything else!
- Potatoes – I opted for mashed potatoes for a side dish, so if you’re making the same – make sure to use the varieties intended for cooking.
- Shallots – Caramelized shallots give a special taste to the mashed potatoes, inducing them with a sweet note.
- Garlic – Garlic is the superstar of the Texas Roadhouse potatoes, which provides rich, nutty, and sugary notes.
- Sour cream – Sour cream influences the texture and taste by giving it some tang and richness.
- Milk – Add regular on any other non-dairy milk to reach wanted consistency. I used about half of the cup as I like it creamy and silky.
- Carrots – I added a few carrots on the side, as well, to add some color (and vitamins) to the plate.
Let’s make the signature Texas Roadhouse dish at-home atmosphere!
Step 1: Brining the Chicken
This step is optional, but I find it very effective to get succulent and tender meat. Just take a large bowl, fill it with 4 cups of tap water and 3 tablespoons of table salt, and stir till it dissolves. Submerge the chicken breasts and leave them to rest for about 45 minutes.
In the meantime, prepare everything for the side dish!
Step 2: Making the Mashed Potatoes
Peel the potatoes and cut them into chunks so they cook easier. Put them in a large pot and cover them with tap water so the liquid level is at least two fingers above the potatoes. Add a teaspoon of salt, too, and bring to a boil.
Let them simmer for about 20 minutes, depending on how big your pieces are. Check it by poking them with a fork – they are done when it can pass effortlessly. While the pot is on the stove top, prepare the garlic.
Take a whole garlic head and cut off the top, revealing the cloves. Drizzle it generously with olive oil and sprinkle with a tad of salt. Wrap it in baking paper or aluminum foil and bake at 350 °F (180 °C) for approximately 20 minutes, until soft.
Use your spare time to peel and dice some shallots along. When the potatoes are ready, drain the water and use the same pot to caramelize the onion. Fry it on a sprinkle of olive oil until golden brown.
Return the potatoes to the pot, squeeze out baked garlic cloves, season it with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste, and mash. Halfway along, add some sour cream, butter, and milk, and continue until you’re satisfied with the consistency. You can also blend it, but I like to feel a crunch of caramelized shallots, so I skipped that step.
Step 3: Preparing the Chicken
In a bowl, combine the spices and herbs you’re going to use. You can go for fresh or dried herbs; just keep in mind that fresh ones are pretty strong, so you’ll need less. I used dried herbs, and this is my mix: rosemary, parsley, basil, oregano, and dill.
Moreover, add salt, ground pepper, and paprika in the bowl, as well.
Remove chicken breasts from the wet brine and tap them dry with a paper towel. Thin them out if needed and beat them with a kitchen mallet so they are tenderer. Massage the herbal mixture into the breasts and do it properly – it can never be too much!
Pour some olive oil into the skillet, and heat it on medium. Slowly fry your chicken so it doesn’t burn. The herbs will be darker in color, but that’s okay. Crisp them out from both sides for a few minutes and fry a bit more until the internal temperature is 165 °F (74 °C).
Take them out on the paper towel to absorb the residual fat.
Step 4: Caramelizing the Lemon
Slice the lemon in half and sprinkle it with some salt. Plus, cover it generously with sugar and put it in the hot skillet flat side down. The sugar will caramelize in a few minutes and reach golden brown color, so that’s the moment to remove it from the stove.
Don’t worry about sticking the lemon to the dish – the juice will prevent it. You’ll be left with perfectly caramelly and crispy citrus!
Step 5: Serving
Take two bowls and serve garlicky mashed potatoes in one and in the other, serve a few baby carrots for additional texture. Arrange the herb-crusted chicken and top it with half of the caramelized lemon. I recommend you drizzle the lemon juice on both chicken and potatoes as it smashes the taste and skyrockets the flavors.
Bon Appetit!
Carrots In a Different Way
If you don’t fancy fresh carrots, you can serve them the same way Texas Roadhouse restaurant does. Steam it until soft and toss it into the pan with some butter. They will be super delicious, plus you can add some broccoli prepared the same way!
Did you like the recipe? I’m excited to hear your thoughts about it in the comments below!
Texas Roadhouse Herb-Crusted Chicken
Equipment
- 1 Potato masher
- 1 Pot
- 1 Pan
Ingredients
Brine
- 4 cups water (cold)
- 3 tbsp table salt
Herb-Crusted Chicken
- 18 oz chicken breasts
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp salt (or more to taste)
- 1 tsp pepper (freshly ground)
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp parsley
- 1 tbsp rosemary
- 1 tbsp oregano
- 1 tbsp basil
- 1 tbsp dill
- 2 lemons
Mashed Potatoes + Carrots
- 30 oz potatoes
- 2 shallots
- 1 head garlic
- 2 tbsp sour cream (less or more to taste)
- 1 cup milk (less or more to taste)
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 8 baby carrots
Instructions
Brining the Chicken
- Take a large bowl, fill it with 4 cups of tap water and 3 tablespoons of table salt, and stir till it dissolves. Submerge the chicken breasts and leave them rest for about 45 minutes.
Making the Mashed Potatoes
- Peel the potatoes and cut them into chunks. Put them in a large pot and cover them with tap water so the liquid level is at least two fingers above the potatoes. Add a teaspoon of salt, too, and bring to a boil.
- Let them simmer for about 20 minutes, depending on how big your pieces are. Check it by poking them with a fork – they are done when it can pass effortlessly.
- Take a whole garlic head and cut off the top, revealing the cloves. Drizzle it generously with olive oil and sprinkle with a tad of salt. Wrap it in baking paper or aluminum foil and bake at 350 °F (180 °C) for approximately 20 minutes, until soft.
- Peel and dice some shallots along. When the potatoes are ready, drain the water and use the same pot to caramelize the onion. Fry it on a sprinkle of olive oil, until golden brown.
- Return the potatoes to the pot, squeeze out baked garlic cloves, season it with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste, and mash. Halfway along, add some sour cream, butter, and milk and continue until you’re satisfied with the consistency.
Preparing the Chicken
- In a bowl combine the spices and herbs: salt, ground pepper, paprika, rosemary, parsley, basil, oregano, and dill.
- Remove chicken breasts from the wet brine and tap them dry with a paper towel. Thin them out if needed and beat them with a kitchen mallet so they are tenderer. Massage the herbal mixture into the breasts and do it properly – it can never be too much!
- Pour some olive oil into the skillet, and heat it on medium. Slowly fry your chicken so it doesn’t burn. The herbs will be darker in color, but that’s okay. Crisp them out from both sides for a few minutes and fry a bit more until the internal temperature is 165 °F (74 °C).
- Take them out on the paper towel to absorb the residual fat.
Caramelizing the Lemon
- Slice the lemon in half and sprinkle it with some salt. Plus, cover it generously with sugar and put it in the hot skillet flat side down. The sugar will caramelize in a few minutes and reach golden brown color, so that’s the moment to remove it from the stove.
Serving
- Take two bowls and serve garlicky mashed potatoes in one and in the other, serve a few baby carrots for additional texture. Arrange the herb-crusted chicken and top it with half of the caramelized lemon. I recommend you drizzle the lemon juice on both chicken and potatoes as it smashes the taste and skyrockets the flavors.
Nutrition
Before diving into the nutritional details, please review our Nutritional Disclaimer page for important context and clarifications.
