Julie Clark
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Paleo Chicken Fingers
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These healthy, kid-friendly Paleo Chicken Fingers are gluten free and dairy free. Lightly breaded and pan fried to a golden brown in coconut oil.
I’m super excited about this little Paleo Chicken Fingers recipe I’m sharing with you today. If your family is anything like ours, you are busy. Running to soccer practices, cross country practices, ballet, piano…by the time dinner comes and it’s nearing time to plop down at the table, I like something fast. And healthy. And easy. And tasty.
What makes a dinnertime recipe really stand out is when I see smiles on my kids’ faces (and my hubby’s, too!) and statements of “Now THIS is GOOD!”. These Paleo Chicken Fingers hit every single one of those requirements.
What makes these chicken strips paleo?
Years ago, we ate a paleo diet 80% of the time. This was one of the recipes I developed at that time. They are paleo because they are grain free, gluten free, dairy free and sugar free.
Even if you are not gluten free or dairy free, this is a recipe you can keep on hand for when you have friends over who may be. It’s a chicken recipe everyone can enjoy.
Chicken for Chicken Fingers
To make these best paleo chicken fingers quick to cook, I used the chicken breast tenderloins that are already trimmed and ready. I know I’m not the only one out there that isn’t a huge fan of handling raw chicken. The fact that this comes trimmed and ready to cook is genius.
How to Make Paleo Chicken Fingers
- Heat ¼ cup coconut oil in a skillet over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, until it reaches about 350ºF.
- While the oil is heating, prepare the chicken. Place almond flour, tapioca starch, garlic salt, salt, Italian seasoning and pepper in a bowl and mix.
- Put the whisked eggs in a separate bowl.
- Dip each chicken tenderloin into the egg and then coat each with the almond flour mixture.
- Place the prepared chicken into the hot oil and fry it for 4 minutes. Once the first side is browned, turn the chicken and fry the other side for another 4-5 minutes, or until the chicken is golden brown and shows no pink in the middle. The exact timing will depend on how thick the chicken is.
- During the last minute of frying, sprinkle paprika over the chicken.
Our trick for crispy chicken
When the paleo chicken tenders are done frying, place it on a wire cooling rack with paper towels underneath to catch any drips. The wire rack will allow air to circulate around the chicken, preventing any soggy bottoms. This is how we keep our fried pork tenderloin crisp, too!
Recipe Variations
- We generally make ours Italian flavored, but add any other spice or seasonings you’d like: garlic powder, cayenne pepper or onion powder.
- Cut the pieces smaller and make healthy paleo chicken nuggets!
- I’ve not tried it, but you can most likely cook these paleo chicken strips in an air fryer, too. Spray the air fryer basket with cooking spray, then cook at 350ºF for about 10 minutes, turning once in between.
Serving Ideas
- Serve the paleo chicken fingers with several dipping sauces such as ketchup, ranch, bbq sauce, honey mustard or buffalo sauce.
- Served with spaghetti sauce over spaghetti squash: it’s your very own paleo chicken parmigiana.
- Slice the paleo chicken strips into bite size pieces and serve over a large salad with your favorite veggies.
Make it a meal.
Serve the paleo chicken fingers in a basket with sweet potato fries and a side of antipasto salad.
You may also like our paleo baked chicken and peach nice cream!
Paleo Chicken Fingers
These healthy, kid-friendly Paleo Chicken Fingers are gluten free and dairy free. Lightly breaded and pan fried to a golden brown in coconut oil.
Servings 8
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 22 minutes
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup coconut oil for frying
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken tenderloins
- 1 cup almond flour
- 3 tablespoons tapioca starch
- 11/2 teaspoons garlic salt
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 large eggs whisked
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
Instructions
- Heat ¼ cup coconut oil in a skillet over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, until it reaches about 350ºF. ¼ cup coconut oil
- While the oil is heating, prepare the chicken. Place almond flour, tapioca starch, garlic salt, salt, Italian seasoning and pepper in a bowl and mix. 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken tenderloins, 1 cup almond flour, 3 tablespoons tapioca starch, 1½ teaspoons garlic salt, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Put the whisked eggs in a separate bowl. 2 large eggs
- Dip each chicken tenderloin into the egg and then coat each with the almond flour mixture.
- Place the prepared chicken into the hot oil and fry it for 4 minutes. Once the first side is browned, turn the chicken and fry the other side for another 4-5 minutes, or until the chicken is golden brown and shows no pink in the middle. The exact timing will depend on how thick the chicken is.
- During the last minute of frying, sprinkle paprika over the chicken. When the paleo chicken tenders are done frying, place it on a wire cooling rack with paper towels underneath to catch any drips. ½ teaspoon paprika
- Serve with your favorite dipping sauce or with spaghetti sauce over spaghetti squash.
Video
Notes
Because these chicken fingers have a light, gluten free “breading”, that crispy coating may come off if you are not careful. We used a spatula (instead of a fork) to turn the chicken fingers and remove them from the pan when they were done. Our crispy coating stayed perfectly on the chicken.
Refer to the article above for more tips and tricks.
The calories shown are based on the recipe making 8 chicken strips, with 1 serving being 1 chicken strip. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. **
Nutrition
Calories: 316kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 119mg | Sodium: 2038mg | Potassium: 443mg | Fiber: 1g | Vitamin A: 170IU | Vitamin C: 1.3mg | Calcium: 50mg | Iron: 1.4mg
My go to recipe for chicken tenders! Delicious!
My entire family loved this (7 and 8 year old and my husband)! The chicken was moist and the breading was crispy. This will be added to our favorites!
Is the nutrition information you posted for 1 tender?
Great recipe! Easy to make!
This recipe is now part of our regular meal rotation. Question though: Is it possible to bake these instead?
Loved it. Thanks for posting this recipe.