Almond Flour Chicken Tenders

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.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Diet Gluten Free

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 20

Total Time 35

Servings servings

Calories 269kcal

Author Vered DeLeeuw

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.

Video

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