These Grain Free Chicken Strips are kid-friendly, Paleo, and totally delicious. Serve them up with my Tangy Apricot Mustard Sauce, which is perfect with the strips and almost everything else.
The coating for the strips is made from coconut flour and coconut shreds, but the end result doesn't have an overly coconutty flavor - the chicken really shines through. Using coconut without added sweetener makes a huge difference. The grain free chicken strips and the tangy sauce can both be easily made Paleo or Keto friendly too.
About the Apricot Mustard Sauce for our Grain Free Chicken Strips
First, let's talk about the sauce. If you're a fan of Honey Mustard, you will absolutely love it. You real-deal sweet & sour fans will love it too. You can use any apricot preserves that you like, but if you'd like to keep the recipe refined sugar free & Paleo-friendly, choose one that works for you. (My favorite all-fruit one is from Crofter's.) I use preserves or jam so the sauce has some texture in addition to the grainy mustard. I've tried different brands of mustard, but Maille remains my favorite. In addition to being gluten-free, it has a consistently delicious and tangy flavor. But you use what you love!
The sauce is also fabulous on roasted shrimp (or cold shrimp, for that matter) and on lamb. It works really well as a dressing from wrap sandwiches too, which is great, since these chicken strips are a fab wrap filling.
Making Grain Free Chicken Strips
The Grain Free Chicken Strips themselves are actually pretty easy to make. I use a cooking oil with a high smoke point, like grapeseed, and I usually prep the sauce first and set it aside. I also usually make a double batch of the strips - one for dinner, and one for leftovers for salads/wraps/snacking for the next day, since I have everything out. My one warning: DO NOT BUY SWEETENED COCONUT. It will burn, plus your breading will be oddly sweet-ish, not in a good way. (Yes, I know from experience.) As long as you use the right coconut and high-quality coconut flour, these have a lovely taste and texture. Not too "coconutty" but a hint of it, of course.
You could serve the chicken strips with Grilled Pineapple Salsa too!
My kiddo loves these and so do I. Let me know what you think when you try them! They are also great with Grilled Pineapple Ginger Salsa, which may become your second-favorite condiment after Tangy Apricot Mustard Sauce.
Grain Free Chicken Strips with Tangy Apricot Mustard Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 lb about 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup coconut flour
- ½ cup shredded coconut unsweetened
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt divided
- 1 teaspoon pepper divided
- ½ teaspoon dry mustard
- cooking oil of your choice
for the Tangy Apricot Mustard Sauce
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil or butter
- 3 tablespoon apricot preserves
- ¼ cup whole grain mustard
- 1 teaspoon cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sriracha
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cut the chicken into strips as evenly as you can (I ended up with 10-12 strips).
- In a shallow bowl or pie plate, whisk together the eggs, paprika, and ½ teaspoon each or the salt and pepper.
- In another shallow bowl or pie plate, combine the coconut flour, shredded coconut, dry mustard and remaining salt and pepper.
- Dunk each chicken strip in the egg mixture to cover, and then dredge in the coconut mixture and coat thoroughly. Place the coated strips on a plate.
- Heat 1 inch of cooking oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Oil should be hot enough to sizzle and turn the strips golden brown without scorching them.
- Cook the strips a few at a time (don't crowd the pan) for a about 3-4 minutes on each side, until the chicken is cooked through. Set cooked strips on a paper towel-lined plate to cool while the rest of the chicken is cooking.
- Season the finished strips with a sprinkle of salt and serve with your favorite sauce!
for the Tangy Apricot Mustard Sauce
- Warm the oil or butter in a small saucepan over medium high heat. Stir in the apricot preserves, mustard, vinegar and sriracha. Stir to combine thoroughly and remove from heat. Once cooled, season with salt and pepper as desired. Serve with chicken strips.
Notes
Nutrition
Photos by my friend Meg of This Mess Is Ours
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Meg @ this mess is ours says
you know I LOVE these...like LOVE these!!!!!
K.C. Cornwell says
I know you do!