Malibu Chicken (Sizzler Copycat)

This easy, make at home version of Sizzler’s Malibu Chicken is a nostaglic blast from past! Panko breaded chicken topped with deli ham and Swiss cheese served with a creamy honey mustard dipping sauce.

After discovering how much my family loved these flavors, I came up with my Chicken Cordon Bleu Sandwiches. Another old family favorite!

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The first time I tried Malibu Chicken was at my mother-in-law’s house waaaayyy back in time when I was dating my husband. That sounded weird. I wasn’t dating my husband, I was dating the young guy who would one day become my husband. There, that’s better.

It was the early 80’s and this tasty chicken dish from Sizzler was quite the rage. It’s a bit ironic that I’ve never had the Sizzler version. In fact, I’ve never dined there – ever. My great big family of eight was not having fancy dinners out at Sizzler. Ha! So, needless to say, I was pretty pleased when Paul’s mom whipped this up for dinner one night. I promptly pulled out my trusty recipe cards and wrote the recipe down.

It is that very recipe that I’m giving a refresh today and bringing front and center to share with you. This nostalgic chicken dish was cooked and consumed in our home countless times when my boys were young.

Ironically, for years I assumed that Paul’s family was livin’ it up at Sizzler, ordering appetizers and Malibu Chicken while I was at home eating pot roast. When I was putting this post together I asked him to tell me about his glory days at Sizzler only to find out that they weren’t eating there either!

Like most of the popular recipes that made the rounds back then (I’m looking at you Tamale Pie and Cream of Mushroom Pork Chops), I have to assume she got the recipe from a magazine or a morning television show.

Ingredient Notes

• Chicken: Thin sliced boneless, skinless chicken breasts. If you’re starting with thick breasts, you’ll need to slice them through the middle, lengthwise, to create thin cutlets.
• Breading: All-purpose flour, a large egg, vegetable or olive oil, and seasoned panko bread crumbs.
• Oil: Vegetable oil or olive oil for cooking the chicken.
• Seasoning: salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• Ham and cheese: Sliced deli ham and sliced Swiss cheese.
• For the Malibu Sauce: This sweet and creamy honey-mustard dipping sauce takes this dish over the top! It consists of mayonnaise, Dijon mustard (regular or coarse ground), yellow mustard, honey, and onion powder.

How to Make Malibu Chicken

Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season it with a little salt and pepper.

1. Season each piece of chicken with a little salt and pepper. Then, dredge one piece in the flour, coating both sides, and shake off any excess.
2. Place the flour coated chicken in the egg mixture and flip it over to coat both sides. The flour helps the egg adhere to the chicken.
3. Finally, dip the chicken in the bread crumbs, coating both sides.
4. Transfer the breaded chicken to a baking sheet or sheet of foil and repeat the process to bread the remaining chicken.

This recipe yields four servings. If you’re skillet is not large enough, you may need to cook the chicken in batches.

1. Brown: Cook the breaded chicken in olive oil in a large, oven-proof skillet. You’re just browning it here – not cooking it through. It should only need 3 to 4 minutes per side to get nicely browned.
2. Bake: Layer each piece of chicken with a slice of deli ham, folded to fit the chicken, and a slice of Swiss cheese. Pop the oven-proof skillet in a pre-heated 350 degree F oven and let it cook for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F in the center of the thickest portion. Thicker pieces of chicken will require more time to cook through.

While it bakes, the edges of the ham get all nice and crispy and the cheese gets all melty and gooey. It’s a beautiful thing.

The Famous Malibu Sauce

Mix up the easy Malibu Sauce in a small bowl and refrigerate it until you’re ready to serve. You can do this while the chicken bakes or even a day in advance, if you’d like.

The combination of these ingredients creates a sweet and creamy honey mustard sauce that is very close to the restaurant version. It’s an irresistible flavor that makes the dish very kid-friendly and it also works well as a sandwich or burger spread. My boys loved the stuff!

Serving Suggestions

Here are some ideas for rounding out your menu. These recipes will make this a super family-friendly, delicious meal!

• Potatoes – Crispy Oven Baked Fries are my first choice. You could also do Crock Pot Baked Potatoes or Twice Baked Potatoes.
• Salad – Toss a Simple Italian Salad or Italian Chopped Salad.
• Vegetables – Sautéed Green Beans, Zucchini and Sweet Corn with Feta, or Sautéed Broccolini.
• Pasta or Rice – Easy Parmesan Noodles or Almond Rice Pilaf would both be delicious with this chicken.

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Malibu Chicken

5 from 4 votes

Author: Valerie Brunmeier

Servings: 4 servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 25 minutes mins

Total Time: 45 minutes mins

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Panko breaded chicken topped with deli ham and Swiss cheese and served with a honey dijon dipping sauce. A copycat version of Sizzler's classic Malibu Chicken.

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Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• ▢ 1 cup seasoned Panko bread crumbs
• ▢ 4 thin sliced boneless skinless chicken breasts
• ▢ Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• ▢ 3 tablespoons olive oil, or as needed
• ▢ 4 slices deli ham
• ▢ 4 slices Swiss cheese

Malibu Sauce

• ▢ ⅓ cup mayonnaise
• ▢ 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, regular or coarse ground
• ▢ 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
• ▢ 2 teaspoons honey
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon onion powder

Instructions 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Season each piece of chicken with a little salt and pepper, to taste.

Set Up the Breading Station

• Place the breading ingredients in 3 separate shallow bowls.

  Bowl 1: All-purpose flour

  Bowl 2: Whisk the egg with the vegetable oil.

  Bowl 3: Bread crumbs

Bread the Chicken

• Dredge a piece of chicken in the flour to coat both sides and shake off any excess. Place the flour coated chicken in the egg mixture and flip it over to coat both sides. Finally, dip the chicken in the bread crumbs, coating both sides.

  Transfer the breaded chicken to a baking sheet or sheet of foil and repeat the process to bread the remaining chicken.

Brown the Chicken

• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over MEDIUM heat. Cook for about 3 minutes per side, until nicely browned. You don't want to cook the chicken through at this point. Once browned, layer the chicken with a piece of ham and then top with the Swiss cheese.

Bake

• Transfer pan to the preheated oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F in the thickest potion.

For the Malibu Sauce

• While the chicken is baking, combine all sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Notes

Big Batch Instructions: Double the recipe and brown the chicken in batches. Line a large baking sheet with foil and generously coat the foil with non-stick cooking spray. Transfer the browned chicken to the prepared baking sheet and proceed with recipe as directed.

Nutrition

Calories: 559kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 11g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 0.04g | Cholesterol: 88mg | Sodium: 1003mg | Potassium: 203mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 268IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 210mg | Iron: 3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.

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This post was originally published on January 11, 2015. It has been updated with new text and images.