Sweet and Spicy Paleo Chicken Fingers
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These delicious Paleo Chicken Fingers are sticky and sweet with just the right amount of spice. They're a quick and easy, healthy dinner recipe your whole family will LOVE!
In the off chance that you can't tell by the picture, I'll say it here, āthese sweet and spicy paleo chicken fingers are amazing.ā Wait ā¦ paleo? Yep, you heard right. The chicken is coated in an almond meal (aka almond flour) crust that is both 100% paleo and gluten-free.
After a bake in the oven, it's dunked in a deliciously sticky sweet and spicy sauce. If you forget about your knife and fork, you'll be licking the sauce off your digits for sure.
One thing you'll notice is, because of the almond meal the chicken is VERY filling. The first time I made this I was super starving and thought that the recipe would only serve 2, at most. Even with the best of intentions my handsome man and I could barely finish half this recipe.
I should warn you that it is not quite as crispy as it would be if it were coated in panko or breadcrumbs. Maybe that seems obvious to you, but I had my fingers crossed that it would be.
The almond meal does give the chicken a nice coating that adds extra flavor and helps all the delicious sauce to cling better.
Watch the Video How to Make Paleo Chicken Fingers {1 min}
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These guys have become a family favorite for us. We've made them many times over the past few years and never seem to tire of them. Our little girl loves them as much as we do.
I think the best part about them is that they taste like something that shouldn't be healthy. They're like your favorite deep-fried Honey Garlic Chicken Wings or breaded chicken nuggets dipped in a sweet sauce.
But these chicken fingers are neither of those things. These babies are HEALTHY. It's crazy, I know. It does my head in each time we eat them.
While these chicken tenders are delicious all on their own, they're also delicious dipped in a little paleo ranch dressing.
If you include a little dairy in your diet, some plain yogurt (is there really any other kind?) or sour cream on the side for dipping is nice, too.
Enjoy!
Update: since first making this Sweet and Spicy Paleo Chicken Fingers recipe, I've played around with other versions. This Paleo Honey Garlic Chicken Fingers recipe is amazing, too!
Your Paleo Chicken Fingers Game Plan:
- Pour some tapioca starch into a bowl, whip some eggs, and season some almond flour. Dip the chicken fingers from one bowl to the next. Set them aside and go relax.
- Put the chicken in the oven. Quick boil the honey, hot sauce, and garlic powder. Go relax some more. (Truth: you might want to put on some cauliflower rice and make a quick salad.)
- Pour the sauce over the chicken and put it back in the oven for a few minutes to caramelize the sauce.
- Dig in and watch the smiles spread across everyone's faces!
How to prevent the crust from falling off?
- Start with the best quality chicken you can afford. Cheap chicken is typically pumped full of water, making it look like it's better value than a smaller piece of chicken. The problem with this is that when the chicken cooks the water is released, and it pushes the crust off. Don't be fooled!
- Let the chicken sit for 30-60 minutes after you coat it in the almond flour; this helps to bind the crust together so that it sticks to the chicken.
- Make sure to shake any excess egg off the chicken before dipping it into the almond flour. You need some moisture to help it stick, but not so much that it causes the breading to fall off.
PS. If you're looking for some more deliciously paleo inspiration, make sure to check out the Paleo Recipe Category. While I'm not strictly paleo myself, I eat a grain-free, bean-free, sugar-free diet about 90% of the time and totally love it!
What to serve with baked paleo chicken tenders?
I often keep things super simple and serve a big green salad on the side. But sometimes it's nice to make this an even heartier meal. Here are some of our favorite sides:
- The Best Greek Salad (paleo if you skip the feta cheese)
- Asian Salad with Sesame Ginger Dressing
- Sweet and Spicy Yam Wedges
- Cajun Sweet Potato Fries
- Honey Roasted Carrots
- Smoky Roast Potatoes
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popular Paleo Dinner Recipes:
- Creamy Paleo Cauliflower Soup with Bacon
- Paleo Orange Chicken with Cauliflower Rice
- Coconut Thai Chicken Zoodle Soup
- Cashew Coconut Salmon Curry
- Perfect Baked Chicken Breasts
Sweet and Spicy Paleo Chicken Fingers Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Ā½ cups almond meal (can use almond flour)
- Ā½ teaspoon sea salt
- Ā¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 large eggs
- Ā¼ cup tapioca or potato starch
- 1 lb chicken tenders
- Ā½ cup honey
- ā cup hot sauce (Franks or Tapatio work great)
- Ā½ teaspoon garlic powder
- Minced cilantro or parsley (for serving)
- Optional: paleo ranch for dipping
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the almond flour, sea salt, and pepper into a bowl and stir it together. Place the eggs in another bowl with a splash of water and whisk them.1 Ā½ cups almond meal, Ā½ teaspoon sea salt, Ā¼ teaspoon black pepper, 2 large eggs
- Dip the chicken tenders, one at a time, into the tapioca or potato starch, then into the egg, and then into the almond flour. (Keeping one hand for the egg and one for the starch and flour makes this a lot less messy.) Lay the chicken tenders on the baking sheet.Ā¼ cup tapioca or potato starch, 1 lb chicken tenders
- *OPTIONAL STEP*: Let the chicken rest for 30-60 minutes in your fridge before you bake it. This step will help the crust to stick to the chicken.
- Bake the chicken for 25 minutes, or until it is crispy and beginning to look golden brown.
- While the chicken is baking, prepare the sauce. In a small frying pan over high heat bring the honey, hot sauce and garlic powder to a boil then set it aside.Ā½ cup honey, ā cup hot sauce, Ā½ teaspoon garlic powder
- When the chicken has finished baking, remove it from the oven and turn the oven to broil. Dip each of the chicken tenders in the sauce then lay them back on the baking sheet. Save the extra sauce.
- Put the chicken back in the oven for 2-5 minutes for the glaze to caramelize slightly. Keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't burn.
- Baste the chicken with any extra sauce once they come out of the oven, sprinkle with some minced cilantro or parsley, and serve immediately.Optional: paleo ranch for dipping
Video
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
For more inspiration, check out all of our paleo recipes!
Yummo. Made this with cauliflower rice and a dollop of coconut cream on top. Some of my breading came off when I did the coating of the sauce, which was fine. Just scooped it back on top at the end. Next time I might just do a little less hot sauce – I am a wimp when it comes to spice.
Coconut cream on top sounds awesome! I’m so doing that next time I make these. š
Hey, Erin! I just wanted to let you know that I’ve made a few small changes to the recipe as well as added some tips that should make the breading stay on better for you next time. š
Very tasty recipe but the recipe calls for far too much breading. I had almost half the breading left when using over a pound of chicken tenders. Between the California drought (each almond requires multiple gallons of water) and the price of almonds, the amount of leftover almond meal was a big concern for me.
I’m sorry to hear you had leftover breading! That’s never happened to me before, but then maybe I put a thicker coating on. I know the price of almonds is through the roof right now so I understand you’d be upset about the waste.
OMG Kristen! This recipe was awesome. I make my fiance eat healthy some times and he says I ‘deprive’ him–even though he is joking but there was no depriving in this recipe. It has so much flavor it was amazing! I did just ground up dry roasted unsalted almonds instead of the meal/flour because I thought it added more crunch though! But this recipe rocks! Definitely a keeper!
I LOVE that you ground almonds instead of the almond meal. Iām doing that next time I make this for sure!
I’ve made this several times now and it turns out fantastic every time. Super easy to make. Set the fire alarm off the first time because my parchment paper burned under the broiler, but I learned my lesson and cut the paper shorter now. š
Thanks for this recipe!!
I’ve done the same thing with parchment before! I’m actually really happy that you mentioned that; I’ve updated the recipe so no one else smokes out their house.
So happy you enjoy the recipe!
Wow, they do look really good! But are they healthy? Because they also seem kinda fatty and covered in oil.
Hi Lynn,
What youāre seeing is actually the glaze, not oil. They werenāt fatty at all. ?
I made this for my family tonight and there was great disappointment from the masses when they discovered there was no extras. I even waited to tell them that I had put hot sauce in it until I was sure they would give it a fair appraisal. The most I got was a shoulder shrug as they kept eating. I did use less honey/hot sauce. I didn’t have enough of the sauce to dip them in, so I drizzled them with sauce before broiling. Other than that I followed your recipe and we ended up with a crunchy coating.
I love it! I’m so happy your family loved this recipe as much as I do!!
I can’t find almond flour anywhere, but I do have coconut flour and arrowroot powder. Would either of those work?
I’ve never used arrowroot powder before so I’m not sure about that one. I bet coconut flour would do the trick though. Or if you have almonds and a food processor you can make your own almond flour. š
All my crumbs fell off and weren’t crunchy. Any reason as to why this happened?
Hi Amy,
I’m sorry to hear your crumbs fell off!
Was the chicken well coated in the almond meal when you baked it? What happens when I make it is the almond meal and egg bind together to create a crust. Perhaps if you used a little more chicken the crust wouldn’t be as thick and so wouldn’t bind together.
The crust isn’t crunchy. I wish it was too. I did mention that in the blog post but I should probably put it in the recipe too. š
Hi Amy,
I just wanted to give you a heads up that I’ve made a few small changes to the recipe and posted some tips that should help the crust stick better. š
this sweet and spicy chicken is very good
Thanks, Lonnie!
What is the nutritional value for the meal?
Hi Jennifer,
Hereās a link to a recipe calculator that you can use whenever you have questions about calories, etc. in a recipe. Hope that helps!
http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp
this looks amazing! I was wondering if you had a version that doesn’t use almond meal? I have been eating completely paleo for a little over a month and love how it makes me feel! The hardest part for me is I’m allergic to almonds so have had to find substitutions for almond flour/meal. Any suggestions for this recipe?
Thanks!
Thank you so much!
You could try coconut flour and see how that works. I haven’t tried it in this recipe, and I know that it does behave differently than almond meal, but it might be worth a shot.
If that doesn’t work I’d honestly just leave off the coating. They’ll still be delicious with the sweet sauce over top.
Hope that helps!
I just tried it with coconut flour, it was VERY good as long as you like coconut. The coating was fragile but very tasty
Hi Jamie,
Thanks so much for letting us know! You da best!!
My family really liked these…although a little sweet for my taste. I have a very hot broiler, so these burned in 4 minutes. It’s a new oven, so I am learning how to adjust cooking times. Family said it was a repeater.
I’m so happy to hear your family liked them! You can definitely reduce the amount of honey next time if you’d like them a little less sweet.
New ovens can be hard to adjust to. I very nearly burnt something at a catering event recently because of a crazy super hot broiler. Yikes!
These look crazy mouthwatering! Wow.
faganeatspaleo.com
Thank you so much, Jamie!
Just had this for dinner … absolutely FAB! The sauce is nice and sticky, sweet with a tiny kick. This recipe is easy to make, albeit messy. I took a pic of a piece on my fork but I don’t see a way to attach it to this comment. That’s okay ‘cuz my finished product wasn’t quite as pretty as the images above. But that didn’t stop me from the NOM NOM NOM. THANKS for the recipe! It’s a keeper!
I need to figure out how to allow picture in comments. Sharing food pics is the best!
So happy you like the recipe. š
Is that parsley on the prepared chicken strips??
It is š
Thank you, will have to try this soon:)
oh my goodness they look so good!! Can I just check – is the almond flour the same as ground almonds – sort of tiny grains? I’m in the UK, where we don’t see almond meal, but I’m guessing it’s the same thing judging by the photos.
Hi Nicky,
It is the same thing. I should make a note of that!
Thanks Kristen š
I’m going to try mixing in corn chips for extra crunch (tostitos are GF, not sure if they count as paleo)
That sounds tasty! Not paleo (corn isn’t paleo) but it does sound extra deliciously crunchy!!