Sweet and Spicy Paleo Chicken Fingers
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Craving chicken fingers but keeping things paleo? I’ve spent years perfecting this recipe, and these golden, sticky paleo chicken fingers deliver big crunch without breaking the rules.
Reader, Amy, said: “I truly can’t say enough good things about this recipe! Tonight was our second time making the chicken tenders and they were even better than the first time! This time we ensured to shake off the excess egg and let the tenders rest in the fridge for an hour which really helped the breading stay together! Thank you so much! This is a forever staple in our home now! ★★★★★“
These paleo chicken fingers are proof that you don’t need deep frying to get seriously crispy, satisfying chicken. The almond flour coating bakes up beautifully golden and crunchy while the chicken stays juicy and tender inside. Tossed in a sticky honey hot sauce glaze, they hit that perfect sweet-spicy-crispy combination that makes them hard to stop eating.
After testing a few versions, this coating was the clear winner. Almond flour creates a crisp exterior with lots of flavor and works especially well once the glaze caramelizes around the edges in the oven. I usually make these with chicken tenders, but sliced chicken breasts or boneless thighs work really well, too.
If you’re not into spice, you can easily skip the hot sauce or make my honey garlic paleo chicken fingers instead. And if you’re looking for something to dip them in, I highly recommend this paleo avocado ranch — it’s ridiculously good with its sweet-and-spicy glaze. Or check out my 7 staple paleo sauces for even more dipping inspiration.
Top tips to prevent the crust from falling off
When I first set out to make these, I found that beautiful crust didn’t want to stay on the chicken, where it belongs. I’ve found a few tips to help with this:
- Quality matters: Start with the best quality chicken within your budget. 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!
- Rest: After you coat the chicken in the almond flour, sea salt, and pepper, let it sit for 30-60 minutes in the fridge before popping it in the oven; this helps to bind the crust together so that it sticks to the chicken and turns golden brown.
- Egg mixture: Make sure to shake any excess eggs 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.
What to serve with baked paleo chicken tenders
I often keep things super simple and serve them next to vegetables or a big green salad on the side with lettuce, tomatoes, and onion.
For sides, you can’t go past these sweet and spicy yam wedges or Cajun sweet potato fries. These Honey roasted carrots complement the sweetness.
Store and freeze
How do you store leftover paleo chicken fingers? Leftover paleo chicken strips can be stored in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. They can be reheated in the oven or air fryer.
Can I freeze these paleo chicken fingers? Yes! Ideally, you’ll want to freeze them BEFORE you coat them in sauce. Once they’re baked, let them cool completely, then freeze them on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet. Once they’re frozen, transfer them to a reusable freezer bag. Note: if they are coated in sauce, you can still freeze them. They just won’t get crunchy when you thaw and warm them.
Sweet and Spicy Paleo Chicken Fingers
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups almond meal (can use almond flour)
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup tapioca or potato starch
- 1 lb chicken tenders
- ½ cup honey
- ⅓ cup hot sauce (Franks or Tapatio work great)
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- Minced cilantro or parsley (for serving)
- Optional: paleo ranch for dipping
Instructions
- 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 ½ cups almond meal, ½ teaspoon sea salt, ¼ 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.¼ 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.½ cup honey, ⅓ cup hot sauce, ½ 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
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This was delicious! Thanks for a great recipe.
You’re so welcome, Carly! So happy to hear you like it!!
Will definitely make these again because the flavor profile is definitely there. However I will need to adjust the cooking times for my oven. These started to burn in my oven on 425 degrees for 25 minutes. Once I added the glaze, it started to burn at the 2 minute mark. Some flavor still managed to shine through, so I know next time it’ll be awesome. Thanks for the recipe.
Thank you so much for the feedback! Cooking times can sometimes be tough to gauge accurately as all our ovens are a little different. Not all ovens are the temp they say they are. I’ll make a note of that in the recipe. Thanks again!
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. 🙂
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. 🙂
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 lighter 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. I’m 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. 🙂
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!
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!!
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. 🙂
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. 🙂
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. 🙂
this sweet and spicy chicken is very good
Thanks, Lonnie!
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. 🙂
Is that parsley on the prepared chicken strips??
It is 🙂
Thank you, will have to try this soon:)