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 the 10 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 have superior 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?

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Recipe

Five Spice Paleo Chicken Tenders with Sweet + Spicy Dipping Sauce

Yield: 4 servings Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 25 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

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F
2. Grease a large baking sheet.
3. In a large, shallow bowl mix together the almond flour, five spice, paprika, ginger, turmeric and sea salt.
4. 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.
5. Once finished, remove from the oven and serve with the dipping sauce.

Dipping Sauce

1. 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: 4 Calories: 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

Cuisine: American

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