Foodie Friday: Crispy, Crunchy Baked Chicken Tenders

It all started with a love for this quinoa crusted chicken strips recipe. I’ve said it before but Nathan is a huge fried chicken fan so anyway that I can find a healthier way to get him his fix [sort of..] is good in his book. I made these chicken strips once before and he loved them so he was more than happy to see them on the menu again this week. Well, all is well and good assuming you don’t forget to buy the right ingredients.. like quinoa.

I could have sworn I had a ton of quinoa in the pantry! I practically tore the place apart only to find that I used up the last of it. Ahhh yes, now I remember! Crap.

Well luckily for me, we did have a few ingredients I could use to substitute and make an equally crispity, crunchity [peanut-buttery? ;)] chicken tender. I whipped up the same BBQ honey mustard sauce, adjusted the breading ingredients, and went to town!

Crispy, Crunchy Baked Chicken Tenders

Adapted from Quinoa Crusted Chicken Strips
Serves 4

Ingredients
BBQ Honey Mustard
– 1/3 cup dijon mustard
– 1/4 cup honey
– 3 tbsp your favorite bbq sauce
– 1/2 lime; juiced

Chicken Tenders
– 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast; sliced into tenders
– 1/2 cup low fat buttermilk
– 1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
– 1/2 cup steel cut oats
– 1/2 cup almond meal [can sub more panko or another flour]
– 1 tsp salt
– 1 tsp black pepper
– 1 tsp garlic powder

Directions
Preheat oven to 450°F. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil and a cooling rack, sprayed with cooking spray. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients for the BBQ honey mustard.

In another medium bowl, combine the buttermilk and 1/4 cup BBQ honey mustard. In a large bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients. Add the chicken to the buttermilk mix, shake off excess liquid, and dredge in the panko mixture. Lay the pieces flat on the cooling rack and lightly spray the chicken.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, flip the chicken tenders, and spray the other side. Bake for another 8-10 minutes, then broil for 2-4 minutes. Remove from the oven and drizzle with more BBQ honey mustard and devour!

Nutritional Information
For 1/4 recipe of chicken without extra sauce

200 Calories / 6g Fat / 13g Carbs / 1g Fiber / 0g Sugar / 18g Protein

This will definitely be a recipe I’ll be creating again in the future. Love when the substitutions work out! And if you’re ever looking to shake it up in the kitchen, I couldn’t recommend Half Baked Harvest more. Tieghan’s recipes are amazing and never fail to impress!

Food for Thought

What’s your go-to blog for recipes?
Any fun plans for the weekend?