Baked Chicken Fingers

If your kids – or the grown-ups in your family – are chicken finger lovers, my recipe for these will hit the spot, but in a more wholesome way, since they’re oven-baked and have an especially nutritious breading. Unlike carb-centric breadcrumbs, which are traditionally used in chicken fingers, the almond meal in this recipe adds protein and crunch without any big carbohydrate investment. 

For this recipe I prefer to use almond meal, which can be a bit coarse and is made from unpeeled almonds; the brown-flecked skin-on texture offers more fiber. But you can use almond flour, which is made from blanched almonds and has a finer texture, too.

One tip that helps the whole thing to be less messy and chaotic: I suggest using one hand to coat the chicken with the egg mixture, and the other hand to coat the chicken with the almond meal.

I’m actually such a fan of this almond coating that I’m now wondering about breading and baking cheese sticks this way since my family and I are such fans of fried mozzarella. If we try it, I’ll let you know how it goes.

Recipe Details: Baked Chicken Fingers

From Catherine Newman

Active time: 15 minutes

Total time: 45 minutes

Makes: 2 servings

Total carbohydrates: 12 grams per serving

Recipe Notes

While the buttermilk adds a nice tang, you don’t have to include it if you don’t have it on hand. You can also substitute it with the same amount of plain yogurt.

While chicken tenders are convenient, they tend to cost more, so you can also cut up a pound of boneless skinless chicken breasts into finger-sized portions for this recipe. 

Ingredients

• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon buttermilk 
• 1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
• 3/4 cup/105 g almond meal
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder (optional; if no one will freak out)
• 1 pound chicken tenders
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Olive oil cooking spray
• Ketchup, ranch dressing, and/or buffalo sauce, for serving

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
2. In a shallow dish or pie plate, beat the egg with buttermilk and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt.
3. In another shallow dish, combine the almond meal, garlic powder, cayenne pepper (if using), and 1 teaspoon kosher salt until well combined.
4. Dip chicken tenders one at a time, first in the egg mixture, turning to coat, and then in the almond meal mixture, until fully coated. If you have one, transfer the tenders to a sheet pan rack as you finish coating them.
5. Drizzle the oil across a rimmed baking sheet, and put the sheet in the oven to heat for 3 minutes.
6. Remove the hot sheet pan from the oven; carefully move the tenders from the rack into the hot pan, and spray them generously with olive oil spray.
7. Bake for 10 minutes, then flip the tenders over with a spatula and bake for 10-15 more minutes, until the tenders are browned and crisped and cooked through. Cool briefly before serving with ketchup, ranch dressing, or buffalo sauce.

Photo credit: Catherine Newman