I know, I know, I said I wasn’t doing much Gluten Free these days.  But, I had the ingredients on hand so why not use them! I had gluten free flour leftover from my baking over the weekend.  Plus, I had some Organic Coconut that was finely shredded for baking.  My kids love chicken tenders, whether homemade/baked at home or out at a restaurant/fried (which I am not a fan of them ordering).  So, I thought why not make some healthier chicken tenders for my kids.  At first they looked at me like “hey mom, why do these look so different; what did you do to our chicken tenders”!! I made sure to coat the chicken in the finely shredded coconut; this was the closest to a breadcrumb.  But, they gave them a try and they absolutely loved them.   I also made my homemade honey mustard dipping sauce to go with them, which my daughter loves.  Had to also put out the ketchup for my son.

Coconut Chicken over Salad

The coconut I have is unsweetened and the only ingredient in the bag was coconut.  I try to look for and buy products that have as few ingredients in them as possible; this definitely fit that category.  It has no sugar, a very low carb content compared to breadcrumbs and no sodium.  The tenders were much lighter but so tender and very tasty.  The kids ate their tenders with dipping sauces and my husband and I put ours over a salad.  Either way, we all enjoyed them.

Maybe next time I will even toast the coconut first to give it an even bolder taste.  I am thinking some coconut shrimp is in order too!   Give it a try; it won’t disappoint!

Coconut Chicken Tenders

Gluten Free Recipe

Ingredients

3, Chicken Breasts, boneless/skinless

1-2 Cups, shredded Coconut

Dash, S&P

½ Teaspoon, Garlic Powder

½ Teaspoon, Onion Powder

1 Cup, All-Purpose Flour

3 Eggs

Olive Oil, for drizzling over chicken

Honey Mustard Sauce

Instructions

 

Shredded Coconut

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heat oven to 425 degrees.  Spray a baking sheet, set aside.

Cut chicken into strips to make tenders.  You could also cut smaller into nuggets if you like.  In a small bowl, combine flour, S&P, garlic powder and onion powder, mix well and set aside.  Crack eggs into a separate bowl, season with S&P and set aside.  In a third bowl, add your shredded coconut flakes.

Making a chicken coating station:  line your bowls up so you have your flour bowl first then your egg bowl, then the coconut bowl and finally your baking sheet.  

Start by dredging the chicken in the flour mixture to lightly coat.  Then dip the chicken into the eggs then into the coconut.  Then lay the chicken onto the baking sheet, leaving a little bit of room in between each piece.

Before cooking the chicken, drizzle each piece of chicken with olive oil and bake in oven for approx. 15 minutes.  Cooking time will vary depending on how big your chicken is.

Serving Tips

Drizzling the chicken with the olive oil before baking helps to keep the chicken from drying out.

For the flour:  I used All-Purpose, Gluten Free Flour leftover from my baking over the weekend.  But you can use regular baking flour (all-purpose) if that is what you have on hand.

The Coconut I used in this recipe was finely shredded for baking.  The shredded coconut is also Gluten Free.  You could use a larger flake if you wanted to.  However, for my kids, this was closer to a breadcrumb.  They didn’t miss the breadcrumbs though.

These chicken tenders were so much lighter but so tasty.

Serve with your favorite dipping sauces or with some ketchup.  I like to make my homemade honey mustard sauce.

How to make Honey Mustard:  combine equal parts of either honey or Agave and Dijon mustard and mix well until smooth.  My honey mustard dipping sauce is also gluten free.

That’s it, super easy and delicious!  Mangia! Enjoy!