Almond crusted chicken tenders make a quick and delicious snack by dipping juicy chicken breast tenders and breading them in a combination of crunchy almond pieces, garlic, and cumin to make one addictingly satisfying gluten free, protein packed, and low carb dish that’s slightly sweet and oh so savory that everyone will love!
Almond crusted chicken was an idea that I’ve had for over a year.
I probably tried 10 to 15 different ways to try to make this recipe work.
Alex patiently tried version after version of this almond crusted chicken recipe on a monthly basis.
Sometimes the breading was too thin, other times too crunchy, sometimes really bland, and other times the breading would simply fall of the chicken tenders.
But I was determined to make this brilliant recipe that was in my head work somehow.
After over a year of failed attempts I figured out the right combination of ingredients and steps. All I needed was to be able to recreate it 3-4 times and told myself it was then immediately going up on these pages.
Last night was the fourth time making this final almond crusted chicken and I am waaaay too excited to finally be able to share this recipe with y’all!
The final recipe looks and tastes just like I imagined that it would in my head.
On top of the savory crunch of the garlic breading on top of the juicy chicken centers and the slightly sweet aftertaste of the almonds, these tenders are gluten-free, low carb, and protein-packed from the almonds and chicken.
All you need to do is finely ground almonds to the consistency of breadcrumbs and then slowly toast them with other spices like garlic, cumin, and paprika until golden brown.
You simply dip each chicken breast piece in a bit of flour, then beaten egg, and then in the almond mixture.
Then all you have to do is let them bake for about 15 minutes.
And that my friends is an easy recipe that took waaay too many attempts for me to figure out.
But now that it’s here, I want everyone to enjoy the benefits.
So grab your ingredients and indulge in this sweet and savory snack in 20 minutes flat.
Or make this almond chicken into a meal. Serve with some steamed green vegetables and warm quinoa, overtop a big salad, on maybe over pasta and sauce of your choosing.
Yeah, we’ve tested all these scenarios and all are approved 😉
Almond crusted chicken tips:
- Watch your almonds in the food processor. If you like your chicken tender breading very fine, pulse your almond pieces for a longer period of time until you find your desired consistency.
- After toasting the almond mixture in your skillet. let it sit and cool for a few minutes before transferring it to a bowl and breading your chicken with it. Why? Because it’s going to be so dang hot and I don’t want you burning your fingers.
- Because ovens (and chicken tender sizes) vary, you may need to cook your tenders for a shorter or longer amount of time.
- If your tenders are not crispy on the underside, flip them over and bake for an extra 2-3 minutes or until golden and crisp.
- The cayenne pepper is optional and only leaves a slight hint of heat. It’s perfectly paired with the sweetness from the almonds.
- The recipe calls for the use of either olive oil or butter to create the almond breading mixture. Both options taste wonderful and it just depends on your preference which one you should use.
Almond Crusted Chicken Tenders
Ingredients
- 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts sliced into tenders
- 1 cup almonds
- 1 large egg beaten
Almond Breading
- 4 TBSP butter or olive oil
- 1/4 cup GF all-purpose flour
- 1 TBSP garlic powder
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin
- pinch of cayenne pepper optional
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 400*F and line a baking sheet with tin foil. Lightly spray the tin foil with cooking spray or a light coat of olive oil. Set aside.
Pulse the almonds in a food processor until finely ground. In a small bowl, beat the egg. And in another bowl place the flour. Set aside.
In a medium skillet heat the butter or oil over medium-low heat. Add in the garlic powder, minced garlic, black pepper, paprika, cumin, and cayenne and mix well. Add in the ground almonds and allow to brown for about 5 minutes. Allow the breading mixture to cool for a few minutes before transferring to it's own small bowl so you don't burn your hands while breading the chicken pieces.
Dip each chicken tender into the flour bowl making sure to get all sides coated. Then dip each tender directly into the egg bowl, wipe off any excess egg, and then dip directly into the toasted almond breading bowl. Press the almond mixture into each chicken piece with your fingers.
Place each tender on the greased baking sheet and cook for 14-16 minutes or until the tenders are golden brown and the chicken is cooked thoroughly. Enjoy!
Items used to make these almond crusted chicken tenders:
- I absolutely love this skillet to toast the almond mixture in!
- This is my go-to food processor and does an awesome job chopping up the almonds!
- I get a lot of questions about the serving board used in these pictures. Here is a similar serving board to the one used in this post.
Thanks for stopping in friends!
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