These delicious almond flour chicken tenders are baked in the oven and ready in about 30 minutes. They are easy to make and are incredibly flavorful, with or without the dipping sauce.
Chicken tenders are like magic. You take a bland chicken breast, coat it, bake or fry, and you've got yourself a tasty, crispy delicacy! This is an easy recipe - for sure, easier than deep-frying (though perhaps not as easy as these grilled tenders). Coat the chicken pieces in seasoned almond flour, bake them for 15 minutes in a 450°F oven, then briefly broil to brown them.
Ingredients
Here's an overview of the ingredients needed to make this recipe. The exact measurements are included in the recipe card below.
For the Dipping Sauce:
- Mayonnaise: I like to use avocado oil mayonnaise.
- Dijon mustard: Dijon is creamier and less vinegary than yellow mustard.
- Unsweetened ketchup: Traditional ketchup is quite sugary, so I prefer unsweetened ketchup.
- To season: Kosher salt, black pepper, and garlic powder.
For the Chicken:
- Avocado oil spray: I use it both for the pan and to spray the chicken pieces before I bake them.
- Coating: A creamy coating of mayonnaise and Dijon mustard, followed by a crispy coating of almond meal and grated (not shredded) parmesan.
- To season: Kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, dried thyme, and cayenne pepper.
- Raw chicken tenders: 1 pound, which is about 8 pieces.
Variations
- Make the dipping sauce spicy by replacing the ketchup with hot sauce.
- You can use sour cream in the dipping sauce instead of mayonnaise.
- Add more spices to the chicken. Sometimes, I add ½ teaspoon of onion powder and ¼ teaspoon of ground cumin.
Instructions
Scroll down to the recipe card for detailed instructions. Here are the basic steps for making this recipe:
Your first step is to mix the dipping sauce ingredients. Then, set it aside.
Coat the chicken pieces in a mixture of mayonnaise, Dijon, and spices.
Dredge the chicken pieces in a mixture of almond meal and parmesan.
Place the tenders on a greased roasting rack fitted into a rimmed, broiler-safe baking sheet. Spray them with oil.
Bake the tenders for 15 minutes at 450°F, then briefly place them under the broiler to get them browned. Serve them with the dipping sauce.
Expert Tip
It's best to use almond meal in this recipe and not blanched, finely ground almond flour. Almond meal is made with ground almonds that were not blanched, so they still have their skin. Its texture is coarser than that of blanched almond flour, so it more closely resembles breadcrumbs. However, if all you have is blanched almond flour, you can use it in this recipe.
Recipe FAQs
There's no need for breadcrumbs. Instead, I use a mixture of almond meal and grated parmesan cheese, which is just as good, although it doesn't adhere to the chicken pieces as well as bread.
Yes. You can fry them in an inch of avocado oil in a nonstick skillet for about 3 minutes per side over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium after flipping them if the pan gets too hot and the oil starts to smoke.
I don't recommend that. Almond and coconut flour are very different and are not interchangeable. This recipe was tested with almond flour only.
Serving Suggestions
Since I bake them in a 450°F oven, I like to serve these chicken tenders with a side dish I can cook in the same oven. So, I often serve them with roasted green beans, roasted okra, or roasted bell peppers.
They're also good with salads, including Israeli salad, creamy cucumber salad, and homemade coleslaw.
Storing Leftovers
You can keep the leftovers for up to 4 days in an airtight container in the fridge. The almond flour coating will lose its crispness, but you can get some of it back by reheating them in a 350°F oven for about 15 minutes or until heated through.
More Chicken Tender Recipes
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Recipe Card
Almond Flour Chicken Tenders
Video
Ingredients
- Avocado oil spray
Dipping Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened ketchup
- ¼ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt - or a pinch of any other salt, including Morton kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
Chicken tenders:
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt - or ¼ teaspoon of any other salt, including Morton kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 pound raw chicken tenders - 8 tenders
- ½ cup almond meal
- ¼ cup parmesan - grated
- Pinch paprika - optional, added for color
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a rimmed, broiler-safe baking sheet with foil and fit it with a roasting rack. Spray the roasting rack with oil.
- If using, mix the dipping sauce ingredients (mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, ketchup, salt, pepper, and garlic powder) in a small bowl. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, use a spatula to mix the mayonnaise, mustard, kosher salt, garlic powder, dried thyme, and cayenne. Add the chicken tenders and toss to coat.
- In a 9 X 13 baking dish, whisk together the almond meal and parmesan. Place the chicken pieces in the mixture, one by one, and press on both sides until well-coated.
- Place the coated chicken tenders on the prepared roasting rack. Lightly spray them with avocado oil and sprinkle them with paprika.
- Bake the tenders for 15 minutes in the middle of the oven, then switch the oven to broil, keeping the baking sheet on the middle rack, and broil them until golden brown and cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Their internal temperature should reach 165ºF.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- Nutrition for 2 tenders plus ¼ of the dipping sauce: Calories 320; fat 19g; saturated fat 3g; carbs 4g; sugars 2g; sodium 628mg; fiber 2g; protein 31g.
- It's best to use almond meal in this recipe and not blanched, finely ground almond flour. Almond meal is made with ground almonds that were not blanched, so they still have their skin. Its texture is coarser than that of blanched almond flour, so it more closely resembles breadcrumbs. However, if all you have is blanched almond flour, you can use it in this recipe.
- You can keep the leftovers for up to 4 days in an airtight container in the fridge. The almond flour coating will lose its crispness, but you can get some of it back by reheating them in a 350°F oven for about 15 minutes or until heated through.
Nutrition per Serving
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Tina says
Have you made these in an air fryer?
Vered DeLeeuw says
Hi Tina,
I have not. I don't own one. 🙂
Leigh Ann says
What is dry grated Parmesan cheese?
Vered DeLeeuw says
Hi Leigh Ann,
Thank you for this question. It's just grated parmesan. This is the one I typically use. I'll go ahead and edit the recipe to remove the word "dry" - it's confusing.