Gluten, Dairy, and Egg Free Chicken Fingers - Super crispy!
This homemade version of the popular kid's meal is gluten, egg, and dairy free. Your kids won't even know you changed the recipe of their favorite chicken tenders. Great for kids with food allergies, or those who are eating gluten, dairy, and egg free.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into desired pieces
- 1 cup unsweetened milk substitute
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Tabasco optional
Breading
- 2 cups gluten free breadcrumbs see options above
- ½ cup tapioca flour
- 1-2 tablespoons Salt-Free Cajun seasoning OR 1 tablespoon Hungarian paprika If your seasoning contains salt, omit the extra salt below, and use half the amount of Cajun seasoning
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons oregano or thyme
- Allowed butter oil, or cooking spray
Instructions
- Create a pseudo buttermilk by mixing your milk of choice with the apple cider vinegar or lemon juice. (You can sub regular buttermilk if you like.)
- Mix the buttermilk, salt , and Tabasco together in bowl or Ziploc bag large enough to accommodate your chicken.
- Add the chicken and brine for 1-2 hours. (Do not skip this step!)
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
- Combine all the breading ingredients and remove the pieces from the brine, dredging each piece and pressing down for a thorough coating.
- Place coated pieces on a greased cookie sheet.
- Lightly spray the top of each piece with cooking spray so that the breading is lightly moist., or drizzle some melted butter or oil over each piece.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes until crispy and golden brown. How long this takes will depend on your chicken piece size.
Notes
Brining is a great step for adding flavor to otherwise bland meat pieces. You could forgo the brine and just dip the chicken in the buttermilk for a quicker version.This general technique can be used with any food such as shrimp or drumsticks.