My boys love chicken strips, especially from a certain anti-cow, pro-chicken place. So with that in mind, I tried to emulate their chicken strips with a gluten/grain free twist.

You can use chicken strips, or you can cut up chunks of chicken breasts to make nuggets, or you can make full pieces of your favorite deboned cuts of chicken. I do recommend pounding out larger pieces of chicken to ensure  even cooking.

With these delicious chicken strips, I decided to pair it with a homemade honey mustard sauce.

The sauce was super cinchy to put together and could easily be turned into a dressing for salad by adding a half cup olive oil, and two tablespoons of white or red wine vinegar. I used yellow mustard because it was what I had. Most honey mustard sauces use Dijon mustard. I have used both and like both, so pick whichever you like.

As I mentioned at the beginning, my boys love chicken strips, so here is my oldest, ABC, helping me make chicken tenders. He is 6 years old and was able to follow the dredging station flawlessly.

When I make these, I like to make them in large batches. Feel free to double the recipe below and freeze some tenders for future use. They can be reheated gently in the microwave or oven. It will not be as crispy as it is right out of the pan, but it will still be very delicious.

 

 

 

CRISPY CHICKEN TENDERS RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 2-3 lbs chicken tender cuts, or chicken breasts
• 1/4-1/2 C. Pickle juice (homemade or your preferred brand)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 tsp. salt, plus more for seasoning
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder
• 2/3 C. Tapioca or arrowroot starch
• Refined coconut oil (no coconut flavor) or your preferred cooking oil
• Honey mustard sauce, for dipping (optional)–recipe above

 

Directions:

1. Marinate your chicken tenders with the pickle juice in a large resealable plastic bag for about an hour and for no longer than 4 hours.
2. Place all dry ingredients in a bowl and mix until well incorporated and set aside.
3. Set up dredging station using two large bowls. Bowl one will have the two beaten eggs. The second bowl will be your dry mix.
4. Drain juices from the chicken tender bag. Lightly season with chicken tenders with a little salt before starting the dredging process.
5. Dip chicken strips in beaten eggs to coat.
6. Coat chicken strips in starch mixture. Be sure to shake off any excess starch mixture.
7. Gently place chicken strips into hot oil. Remember to lay the strip in the hot oil going in the opposite direction (away from you) to make sure you aren’t left with oil burns.
8. Cook until both sides are golden and crispy. 3-5 minutes on each side, depending on the size and thickness of your chicken strips.
9. Serve immediately. Devour.