Our whole family loves chicken strips. They are great for a weeknight dinner or you can double the recipe and serve to a crowd. Because they’re baked {not fried} they can be made in advance and kept warm in the oven. This recipe is amazingly heart-healthy AND delicious! It’s takes just a few minutes to prepare and pop in the oven. Loads of seasoning and of course the almonds create that crunchy exterior and fabulous taste we all crave in a chicken strip. My husband looked at me a little strange when I told him I’d be making heart-healthy chicken strips. He came into the kitchen just as I was getting ready to put them in the oven and said “Wow! Those actually look really good!”
Not only do these chicken strips look good – they taste amazing! The chicken comes out perfectly moist and tender. The seasonings are spot-on providing tons of flavor that everyone can enjoy. If you’re not cooking for kids, feel free to add a little spice to the seasoning to kick it up a notch.
I picked up everything I needed for this recipe at Save Mart and was happy to see all the signage for “heart-healthy” ingredients. Chicken tenders contain almost no fat. Breading the tenders in almonds make this recipe a heart-healthy option that can be enjoyed by the whole family!
I served these chicken strips with bbq sauce and ranch dip but honestly, they were terrific on their own!
Ingredients
- Canola oil cooking spray
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
- 1/4 cup whole-wheat flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 large egg whites
- 1 pound chicken tenders
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 475°F.
- Line a baking sheet with foil. Set a wire rack on the baking sheet and coat it with cooking spray.
- Place almonds, flour, paprika, garlic powder, dry mustard, salt and pepper in a food processor and process until the almonds are finely chopped and the paprika is mixed throughout.
- With the motor running, slowly drizzle in olive oil; process until combined.
- Transfer the mixture to a shallow dish.
- Whisk egg whites in a second shallow dish.
- Coat chicken tenders and transfer each tender to the almond mixture; turn to coat evenly.
- Place the tenders on the prepared rack and coat with cooking spray; turn and spray the other side.
- Bake the chicken fingers until golden brown, crispy and no longer pink in the center, 20 to 25 minutes.
Looking for more heart-healthy recipes? Check out all these delicious recipes from the American Heart Association! Save Mart is partnering with the American Heart Association to help tackle heart disease in 2013 and they have clearly labeled heart-healthy products in their store to make it easier for all of us to choose heart-healthy items while shopping. I’m excited to continue serving heart-healthy dishes to my family this year. It’s so easy to do and when the results are as delicious as these Almond-Crusted Chicken Strips it’s a decision the entire family can appreciate.
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Linking up here, Home Stories A2Z, Savvy Southern Style, and My Repurposed Life.
Disclosure: Save Mart provided me with a gift card to develop and share a heart healthy recipe. All opinions are, as always, 100% my own.
These look fantastic!
Oh my! These sound divine, and are definitely getting pinned!
Woohoo! Thanks Laurel :)
These sound delicious! And I love that they are baked!
This looks amazing! Yum. and Pinned!! I hope you’ll come share at my New Super Saturday Show & Tell Party today :) You’re awesome and I love your mad cooking skills! xoxo~ Ruthie http://www.whatscookingwithruthie.com
Oh my gosh – I am so excited to try this. My kids will LOVE them (and so will everyone else!)
Those look so good! Pinned & we’ll definitely be trying out this recipe. Thanks for sharing. :)
Thanks Ginger!
These look awesome, Trish!! I am on a super low carb diet…do you think I could use almond or coconut flour in place of the whole-wheat flour? Love that they’re baked, too!!
I bet you could! And good for you – I could never do a low-carb diet :)
My family will love this! Good to eat and good for you… Awesome! Thanks for sharing!
Liz
They were really yummy Liz!
These look delicious and healthy! My kind of recipe! Thanks for sharing!!
These look really good,
Thank you so much Kristin!
Love homemade chicken fingers!
They’re the best! Thanks for stopping by Meg!
These are perfect for heart healthy February! I really love that they are baked and the addition of almonds. We would love for you to link them up with our Wednesday Link Party!
I love this idea! I bake in breadcrumbs all the time, but haven’t tried almonds. Must give them a fantastic crunch! Will try :)
Looks great! I’m always looking for better Chicken Nuggets. Pinned! Thanks for sharing at Two Cup Tuesday at Pint Sized Baker! Hope to see you there again on Monday night!
Thanks for the pin Karyn!
Oh, I know these would be a hit with everyone in my house. My 5-year old is so picky, but chicken strips are always a winner! We’ll try these for sure!
Those look yummy!
They are! So yummy and the kids like them too :) Thanks so much for your sweet comment!
I was wondering could use bread crumbs can not have some of the stuff you use in this receipe i though i would dry bread crumbs we do not do fried here glad to see baked here. we are on low fat diet husband is diebetic since we have done this sugar way down. thanks
That will work fine Sharon. The almonds just add some additional protein and heart-health benefits to the recipe. Good luck!