Baked Chicken Tenders
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Published Aug 27, 2021, Updated Sep 12, 2023
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These baked chicken tenders are coated in almond flour or meal, shredded coconut and a blend of spices. They’re absolutely delicious and perfect for dipping in your favorite sauce.
I feel like most adults deem chicken tenders as a kids food. But I’m a big fan of chicken tenders! They’re super flavorful, crispy and can be eaten on their own or in a variety of ways.
Instead of using traditional bread crumbs for breading, I made these baked chicken tenders paleo and grain-free by using almond meal. My family is hooked on this simple dinner!
Here’s What You Need
- boneless skinless chicken breast – cut into strips. You can also buy pre-cut chicken tenders but they’re usually more expensive and it’s easy to slice a chicken breast into strips!
- egg – to bind the almond meal to the chicken.
- almond meal – the base of the breading! I typically use almond meal, but you can definitely use almond flour instead. You’ll mix spices into the almond meal or flour to make it extra flavorful.
- unsweetened shredded coconut – to add flavor and crunch to the breading! If you’re not a big coconut fan, you can just use more almond meal.
- spices – a delicious combination of paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, sea salt and pepper.
tip! Bake these chicken tenders on a baking sheet with a wire rack. The wire rack will result in a crispier texture!
Dip Pairings
You can’t have chicken tenders without dipping sauce, right?! Here are some of our favorites:
What to Serve Baked Chicken Tenders With
Like I mentioned earlier, these baked chicken tenders are actually pretty versatile! Here are some ways to serve them:
- As a full meal – Eat them on their own with a delicious dip and vegetable fries – my favorites are baked zucchini fries or baked sweet potato fries!
- On a salad – Top a salad with crispy chicken tenders! The options are endless here – swap any protein out for these chicken tenders or add them to a side salad like this strawberry spinach salad for a complete meal.
- In a wrap – Make a wrap by adding greens, any extra veggies, chicken tenders and a sauce. Lunch on the go!
- As a side – Make a pot of vegan mac and cheese or protein packed healthy mac and cheese and serve chicken tenders on the side.
How to Store Baked Chicken Tenders
Leftover chicken tenders store really well! After allowing them to cool, store in an airtight container for up to 5 days. To reheat, I like to pop them in the conventional oven or toaster oven for a few minutes so they crisp back up!
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Baked Chicken Tenders
Ingredients
- 1 lb organic boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into strips
- 1 egg
- ½ cup almond meal (or almond flour)
- ¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut (or ¼ cup more almond meal)
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F and coat a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place almond meal, coconut, paprika, cayenne, garlic, sea salt and black pepper in a small bowl. Stir to combine.
- Crack egg into another shallow bowl and whisk.
- One by one, dredge each chicken tender in the egg bowl, wiping off any access and then dip each into the almond meal mixture. Roll until each tender is covered completely.
- Place the coated tenders on a baking pan lined with parchment paper or a wire rack that fits on a baking sheet. The wire rack will make for a crispier texture.
- Bake for 20 minutes, flipping the tenders once at the 10 minute mark. When done the chicken tenders will be golden brown and completely cooked through.
- Remove tenders from the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving.
- Leftover chicken tenders store really well. After allowing them to cool slightly, store in an airtight container for 5 days. To reheat, I like to pop them in the conventional oven or toaster oven for a few minutes so they crisp back up!
Video
Notes
- Looking for dipping sauce ideas? Try these: homemade BBQ, honey mustard dressing, homemade ranch, or healthy Chick-Fil-A Sauce.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Think this would work with almond milk in place of egg?
Hey Brandy – I haven’t tried it so I’m not sure how the tenders would turn out. I have seen people use full-fat canned coconut milk as a sub for eggs when breading chicken. Let me know if you try it.
Love this recipe!
Question, 1/4 serving size, what’s the conversion? I’m trying to log my calories but recipe isn’t an option.
Hey Jolee – I’m so happy to hear that you enjoy this recipe! If you use 1 lb of chicken breast one serving would be 1/4 pound. Hopefully that helps. 🙂
Love this so much. My husband ask for it all the time and I like that it’s Paleo . Thank you so much!!!
I’m so happy to hear that you and your husband enjoy this recipe!! Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment and star rating. The ratings are super helpful to other readers, so I really appreciate it. <3
This recipe was super easy. So delicious and yummy. Thanks for sharing this recipe. I can’t wait to try more recipes.
Yayy!! Thanks for trying this recipe, Rebecca. I’m so glad you enjoyed the tenders! And thank you so much for coming back to leave a comment and star rating. It means the world to me! <3
These were easy to make and delicious! Thank you for this recipe!
I’m so glad you liked the tenders, Cristin. And I so appreciate you taking the time to come back and leave a star rating on the recipe. The ratings are super helpful!
I would love to make these, but my daughter has a tree nut allergy. I saw someone made them with sunflowerseed meal. Any other ideas for a substitute?
Hi Garnett. I’m not sure if you’re trying to keep these paleo, but if not you could use bread crumbs. Another option is to try my chicken tenders that use brown rice crisp cereal for the coating. I shared this recipe over on myfitnesspal: https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/crispy-baked-chicken-tenders/ You might just want to leave out the hot sauce since you’re making them for your daughter. Hope this helps.
So tasty!! I don’t like too much spice so I halved the cayenne and it still had a good kick! I also double breaded them! Turned out UH-MAZING!
Can’t wait to try paleo chicken nuggets.
Just a suggestion. I plan to read most of plan quickly and then organize a week of meal plans and shopping list. Then start program.
Hi, sounds great I’m going to try it, is it freezeable though? I guess it is however let me know your thoughts please please ?
Thank you
I’ve never had a change to freeze them (we usually eat them all up), but I would assume that they freeze well. Let me know if you try it.
This was sooo good! I literally ate 3 pieces before I even sat down for dinner. Thank you so much for another delicious, healthy recipe 🙂