Almond Crusted Chicken Tenders

almond chicken tenders 3

I don’t know about you, but I’ve always loved this time of year.  This end of summer / start of fall / back to school season is one of my favorites, and it always has been.

Maybe because I was (and still am) a little bit of a nerd. Maybe because fall is my favorite season and I’m ready for sweaters and boots and football.

I think what I love most about this time of year is that, more than anything, it always feels like a fresh start. I know most people think of New Years as the time to “start over” and make resolutions, but September has always felt more like a reset button than any other time of year.

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It’s a time to reinvent yourself for the coming year, to meet new people, to make new habits.

Maybe your new habits will be studying more – or better – in school this year. Maybe it’ll be to step up at work and get a promotion. Maybe it’s to take better care of yourself. Maybe, like me, it’s a little bit of all of this (except the studying part….I am glad that’s over!).

My goal every year is to cook more at home and to find ways to make our favorite dishes just a little bit healthier, so I couldn’t be more excited about this recipe and this campaign!

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Partnership for a Healthier America, All-Clad and a great group of bloggers have gotten together to spread childhood obesity awareness with some great (and healthier!) back to school recipes and fantastic giveaways.

Did you know?

  • Approximately 12.5 million U.S. youth are obese and about 11 million more are overweight
  • 1 in 3 children and adolescents in this country are overweight or obese
  • More than 25% 17-24 year olds in the United States are now too heavy to serve in the military
  • Over the past 30 years, childhood obesity in the U.S. has doubled among ages 2-5 and more than tripled among ages 6-11 and 12-19.
  • Children with low neighborhood amenities or those lacking neighborhood access to side-walks or walking paths, parks or playgrounds, or recreation or community centers had 20-45% higher odds of becoming obese or overweight compared to children who had access to these amenities

I don’t know about you, but those stats aren’t very encouraging. What happened in the last 30 years that has changed the lives of the children in this country so much?

almond chicken tenders

I don’t think there’s one answer to the problem, but I do know that being more active and eating at home – and healthier dishes – is a great way to start solving the issue. Eating healthy and offering more balanced and tasty options definitely starts with the family.

For more healthy back to school recipes, make sure to check out all of these great options:

And to help spread the word (and give more families the chance to cook more at home and make healthier dishes), we’ve got some great giveaways!

Each of us are giving away this 11″ skillet, and one grand prize winner will get this incredible 7 piece All Clad set to spruce up your kitchen!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Almond Crusted Chicken Tenders

An update on your usual chicken tenders, this is a healthier option that uses finely ground almonds as the base of the breading. A little sweet from the almonds, a little kick from the spices, and even more flavor than any frozen chicken tender you can buy.

Ingredients:

  • about 1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken breast
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1 cup almond meal
  • 1 and 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Beat the eggs on a plate or in a shallow bowl.
  3. In a separate, shallow bowl or plate, mix the almond meal with the salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and pepper.
  4. Slice the chicken breast pieces into 1-2" wide strips, cutting them evenly as possible. You'll want a total of 12-16 pieces so each person gets 3-4 tenders.
  5. Place a medium skillet on the stove top and heat 1 Tbsp of oil in the pan.
  6. Dip each chicken tender into the egg, coating each side and then coat evenly with the almond meal mixture.
  7. Cook in the skillet 4-5 minutes on each side, letting the almond meal brown. Once the first batch of chicken is done, add the other tablespoon of oil to the pan and cook the remaining chicken tenders.
  8. When the tenders are evenly browned, remove from the pan and place on a cookie sheet.
  9. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes until the tenders are cooked through.

This giveaway has been sponsored by Partnership for A Healthier America and All-Clad. I did not receive any compensation for this post.

39 comments

  1. These look amazing! I love chicken tenders, especially fried ones, but this looks like such a healthier option. :) Definitely going to give this recipe a try!

  2. What a great idea to lighten up chicken fingers! I’m going to have to try this recipe for my family. I’m sure Liam will love them and I bet the flavor you get from the almond meal is delicious!

  3. I love using almond and other nut meals for crusting chicken and fish. Thankfully, my kids love it too! Great to be part of this project with you.

  4. I’m going to try to make less processed snacks. No more store bought granola bars or chips!

  5. These look great! I bet my whole family would enjoy them! Everyone loves chicken fingers!

  6. Love these!! Look so good…and I am on a mustard kick this pregnancy!

  7. These look amazing! I can only imagine how great they taste with the almond meal. My 8 year old loves when we make homemade chicken nuggets/tenders at home, these will happen for sure!

  8. Those tenders look awesome! I desperately need new cooking pans so here’s to crossing my fingers and hoping for the best!

  9. My hubs and I LOVE making homemade chicken tenders! I cant wait to try this version :)

  10. 1. I must admit that I haven’t had time to check out a lot of people’s blogs lately so I’m not sure when you got the redesign but it is absolutely BEAUTIFUL and SO YOU!! I love it!!

    2. I love that this is almond crusted!! Must have amazing flavors!!

  11. I am going to try and follow a Paleo diet.

  12. I always feel like back to school time is kind of like the “new year” to me, even though I don’t go back to school anymore! But it’s a great time to make new resolutions and start anew!

    This chicken looks fabulous! And also, I got all new All-Clad for my wedding last year and am in HEAVEN.

  13. Yummm! Those look deeeeelish to say in the least. I will certainly be trying them out :)
    I love this time of year! I’m always excited for summer but when fall rolls around, I am soooo ready.

  14. These look great! My son is on GAPS so I’ve been making a lot of things grain, sugar, and dairy free for the past few months and this recipe fits the bill. I love making wholesome fresh meals like this for my family.

  15. Love this idea and we already are working on it incorporating fresh fruit and lots of water. My husband is diabetic so we already watch our food.

  16. We are going totally grain and dairy free. In other words Paleo.

  17. Love this! just went GF and glad to see that even comfort foods like chicken tenders can be modified to be GF. this fall i’m planning on learning how to make more meals GF and healthier for me and my family

  18. I was JUST looking at these pans yesterday. :-) We already eat a pretty healthy diet, so I think I’ll just keep it up!

  19. These look so good! I’ve already started my diet renovation by cleaning out the kitchen cabinets and getting rid of any bad foods in the house. Keeping containers of pre-cut veggies in the fridge for healthy snacks and plenty of fruit choices right next to the back door as the kids come in seems to work pretty well for us.

  20. I’m trying to eat at home more and make healthier things for dinner. This will be a great start to use a healthier chicken tender recipe. :)

  21. Using less box and processed foods

  22. Looks like a great recipe for kids and adults alike! All-Clad yay!

  23. These chicken tenders look great- nice and crunchy. One change I plan to make is to incorporate more healthy fats (like nuts and avocados) into my diet

  24. If I have almond flour can I use that?

  25. I love this recipe. However, I am trying to go vegan, more for health reasons. So I am going to try this with portabella mushrooms and the flax seed substitute for the egg. Can’t wait to try it!!

  26. I am going to try and cut out more processed foods.

  27. I am going to try and cut out more processed food out of our diet!

  28. We will be spending more time outdoors as a family.

  29. What a wonderful campaign. Your chicken tenders look delicious. Love the idea of using almond meal instead of bread crumbs. This year we’ll be eating at home more and cutting back on overly processed foods wherever we can.

    Thanks!

  30. I’m so in love with chicken tenders – those were my favorite kids treat. You knocked these out of the park hun!

  31. I’m going to try and use less processed foods and get rid of products in my home that contain high-frustose corn syrup.

  32. I will continue to offer fresh and new tastes to my grandaughter.

  33. always on board for making more and more things from scratch- goat cheese is on the docket for this weekend :)

  34. Almond crusted chicken, yum!! This recipe is fantastic :)

  35. Yummmmm! Another fabulous meal idea.

  36. Trying to walk every night after dinner

  37. Awesome cooking ideas, so glad your here ;)

  38. I found you due to the Dr. Oz episode. Thank God I did because I am now gluten free and healthier than I have been in awhile. i made these for myself and my family. They are awesome!!! Thank you!!!

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