By: Sarah NevinsPosted: 1/13/17Updated: 10/26/22
Paleo Chicken Tenders crusted in a almond flour blend and mixed with Chinese five spice with a sweet & spicy Asian dipping sauce | Gluten Free + Dairy Free + Low FODMAP option
Aww yes.
Chicken tenders. What me and all the10 year olds loves to order and any and all fast food joints. Though thinking about it, it’s been years since I’ve been to a fast food joint, let alone have ordered chicken tenders there. Not because I havesuperior will power or anything. Believe me – far from it! There are just no fast food restaurants that can cater to gluten free diets without the worry of cross contamination. It’s both a blessing and a curse.
Even if they could though, I think I’ve seen far too many food documentaries and new stories that have officially turned me off on the idea of ordering fast food meat. Definitely wouldn’t say no to any fries though!
Five Spice Paleo Chicken Tenders
Fortunately for us, chicken tenders are actually really easy to make. Not only that, but they’re easy to dress up and season any way you’d like. Usually I just stick with the basics as far as seasonings go: garlic powder, paprika, oregano, etc. Wanting to make something a little different I tried add in some five spice powder and we were not disappointed. And then of course chicken tenders would not be complete with some sort of dipping sauce to go along with it.
I use almond flour in the recipe for my bread coating, but if you have nut allergies, or just don’t want to use almond flour you can try tapioca flour in its place. You do get a slightly different flavor because almond and tapioca taste differently of course, but tapioca is actually really great at locking moisture and taking on the flavor of your spices. Just be aware that your tenders may come out looking a little more gray than these ones. Almonds flour turns a nice golden color after cooking while tapioca mixed with five spice doesn’t have the same look. Regardless of color – it’s still delicious and a great substitute if you need it!
Who needs fast food joints?
Recipe
Yield:4 servingsPrep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes Total Time: 30 minutes
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Paleo Chicken Tenders crusted in a almond flour blend and mixed with Chinese five spice with a sweet & spicy Asian dipping sauce | Gluten Free + Dairy Free + Low FODMAP option
Ingredients
Chicken Tenders
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into ?" / 1.5cm thick slices, lengthwise)
- 1 cup | 96 grams almond flour or almond meal
- 1 teaspoons Chinese five spice
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoons ginger powder
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 eggs, whisked
- oil for greasing the pan
Sweet & Spicy Dipping Sauce
- ¼ cup | 60 ml apple cider vinegar*
- 2-3 tablespoons honey or maple syrup for low FODMAP
- ¾ teaspoon garlic powder optional - leave out for low FODMAP
- ¾ teaspoon hot pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste or 100% tomato sauce for low FODMAP, Pomi is a brand that makes 100% tomato sauce with no added garlic onions
- 1 tablespoon Coconut Aminos
- salt to taste
Need help converting to weights? Check out my cups to grams Conversion Guide.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F
- Grease a large baking sheet.
- In a large, shallow bowl mix together the almond flour, five spice, paprika, ginger, turmeric and sea salt.
- One by one, dredge your chicken pieces in the mixed eggs, let the excess egg drip off before laying the chicken down in the almond mixture. Press the chicken down in the almond flour to coat well, and then do the same on the other side. Transfer to the greased baking tray and repeat until all the chicken in coated. Spray the chicken pieces with cooking oil (olive oil in a spray bottle is great if you don't want to use refined oilBake in the oven for 12-15 minutes, flipping halfway through.
- Once finished, remove from the oven and serve with the dipping sauce.
Dipping Sauce
- While the chicken is baking in the oven work on the dipping sauce. Add all of the ingredients needed to small pan. Mix together until no lumps remain and then warm the mixture on a medium heat and bring to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, lower the temperature to medium low and let it simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring often. Make sure to taste and season with salt as needed.
Nutrition Information
Yield: 4Calories: 387Saturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 154mgSodium: 868mgCarbohydrates: 17gFiber: 3gSugar: 10gProtein: 33g
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© A Saucy Kitchen, Sarah Nevins
Course: Dairy Free MainsCuisine:American
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About Sarah Nevins
Hi, I'm Sarah! Welcome to my little gluten free corner of the internet. I like eating vegetables, but sometimes I get distracted by cookies...
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Reader Interactions
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Alicia says
Was excited to try these but out of our family of 4 only the hub enjoyed, I’m sorry to say. I don’t usually rate negatively, as why bother, but I did want to note that in the comments it was mentioned they should be crispy with the poster’s go-to flours (I always read comments!) but doing it exactly as written with almond flour they were so so soggy (and I really wiped the egg off each time I dipped and had the spray oil and everything). They crisped up a bit after broiling for a minute at the end but right when they got put onto the plate they softened again. Interesting idea but not sure it works with nice juicy white chicken 🙂 I have a recipe where the almond flour crisps but it’s on skin-on chicken so maybe that locks the juices in better? Thanks 🙂
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Beth says
I made these tonight…..They were AMAZING!!
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Sarah says
Yay! So glad you liked them! Thanks so much for coming back and letting me know what you thought, Beth!
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Shannon says
What is the Chinese 5 spice?
See AlsoWelsh Cakes | LovefoodiesReply
Sarah says
Hi Shannon! Chinese 5 spice is a blend of 5 spices: cinnamon, cloves, fennel, star anise & Szechuan peppercorns. You can buy it (a lot of large grocery stores carry it) or make your own at home http://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/chinese-five-spice-powder-24232#activity-feed
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Lisa says
Hello! This looks delicious. Is it possible to use plain white gluten free flour?
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Sarah says
Definitely! Hope you like it!
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Cece says
Looks delicious! (: I wondered if you thought these would freeze ok? Like if made in bulk then cooked, cooled, and froze? You think they’d still be good once reheated and how long they’d keep for?
Thanks!!Reply
Sarah says
Hi Cece! Since I haven’t personally tried making these in bulk and freezing them I can’t say for sure. I think you would be able to, but it might slightly change the texture/moisture once reheated. You might find this thread helpful – it’s about a different chicken tender recipe but I think it still applies. Once person suggests cooking from frozen at 375 for about 30 minutes if you wanted to give it a try.
Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful here!Reply
Danielle says
Is the nutrition info per serving or for the recipe?
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Sarah says
It’s per serving but that also includes the dipping sauce divided up four ways. I use myfitnesspal to calculate the nutrition info if you’d like the find out what the nutrition info would be for the sauce and chicken individually
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Kristin says
would it be better to broil these to make sure they end up crispy? i’ve made other paleo chicken tender recipes mandy times and they always end up soggy
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Sarah says
You can certainly broil for a little bit at the end, but you might run the risk of drying out the chicken too much. What kind if flour are you using to bread the chicken in other recipes? I’ve seed a lot that ask for coconut flour which always end up soggy for me. Almond flour or tapioca are my go to breading
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Margo Virden says
Paleo chicken tenders are a staple around our house. LOVE this new version!
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Sarah says
So glad you like it!
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Michelle says
These look delicious and I am definitely intrigued by using the 5 spice!
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Kristen Chidsey says
Sarah–Can’t wait to try these! I love the addition of 5 Spice
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Sarah says
Hope you like them!
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