Get ready for a fast, simple and delicious recipe for gluten free chicken fingers!
I try to cook from scratch as much as possible for my family, keeping meals 30 minutes or less to prepare during the week. Sometimes though, I’m strapped for time and I need something that I can quickly pop in the oven. I used to keep a box of store-bought gluten free chicken fingers in the freezer for emergencies, but the truth is they’re expensive and have more preservatives in them than I’d like. So, I thought I’d try my hand at making my own chicken fingers. To my surprise, it turns out they’re simple to make, and freeze great for busy days in the future!
For supplies, I needed 1 pound of chicken breasts, gluten free panko breadcrumbs, gluten free spices to make homemade Italian seasoning, olive oil and almond milk. You’ll notice that I don’t use eggs in this recipe, which is great for those that are sensitive or allergic to egg. I started making egg washes without the eggs when my daughter was one because she couldn’t tolerate eggs until she turned 3. While she can eat egg now and we incorporate it them at breakfast and in other meals, I actually prefer the non-egg wash when it comes to breading foods. I find that they coat more evenly.
Gluten Free Chicken Fingers
Gluten Free Chicken Fingers
Ingredients
- 1 pound of chicken breasts
- 1 1/2 cups gluten free panko breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon parsley
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon basil
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
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Combine the salt, parsley, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano and basil in a small bowl to make the Italian seasoning. This is a great Italian seasoning you can store in your kitchen, so if you use it a lot then make more for later use.
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Add the panko breadcrumbs to the bowl and mix.
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Trim the fat and then slice the chicken breasts in half horizontally, so that they are half as thick.
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Slice the chicken breasts lengthwise into strips, about 1 inch wide.
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Place a medium sized skillet on your stove top with 1 tbsp of olive oil and turn it on to medium heat so that it can get hot while you prepare the chicken.
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Set up two plates and a soup bowl next to your cutting board with the sliced chicken like an assembly line.
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Pour the Italian seasoned breadcrumbs onto a plate and spread out evenly.
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Add the almond milk and olive oil to the bowl to create the non-egg wash and stir.
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Dip each slice of chicken into the non-egg wash and coat it turning it in the bowl.
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Lay the chicken strip onto the plate of breadcrumbs and turn to coat it twice, pressing down on each side to get as many of the breadcrumbs as possible.
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Set the coated chicken strip onto the empty plate.
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Repeat until you're finished preparing all of the chicken strips.
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Place the chicken onto the hot skillet, fitting as many as you can (with room to turn) onto the skillet.
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Cook for 3-5 minutes and turn over and cook for another 3-5 minutes. Repeat until the chicken is a nice golden brown and fully cooked.
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Remove cooked chicken from the skillet and place onto a paper towel covered serving platter. The paper towel will remove any excess oil.
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Repeat until all of the chicken is cooked, adding 1 teaspoon more of olive oil as needed. You'll know if you need more if the pan becomes dry.
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Enjoy with sweet and sour sauce, marinara sauce, barbecue sauce or ketchup.
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Love this recipe! I made it for the first time tonight since I can no longer feed my son frozen chicken nuggets. Unfortunately I couldn’t find bread crumbs, but I thought outside the box and made my own out of whole wheat bread that I toasted. They were a win in my amazing beautiful son’s eye’s! He ate every last bite! Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe! P.s my son has a milk and soy intolerance. I also have to stay away from all milk, soy and corn products. All preservatives as well
I love all the spices in this. I bet it makes the chicken extra flavorful! Nothing worse than bland breading.
Thank you! Yes, I think the crunch plus the flavors takes it to a whole new level. No bland breading around here 🙂
Fun! Do you ever use almond flour or ground nuts/seeds instead of panko crumbs?
I haven’t tried that, but now you’ve inspired me! I love almond flour and the nuts would create a panko style crunch.
These look so crunchy! I love all those spices, I’m going to have to try them soon!
They are full of texture! I hope you try them soon!
These look spot on! I’ve never really worked with panko crumbs. Do you make your own or is their a brand you buy that’s DF/GF?
Thank you Alisa! I love panko crumbs, and prefer their texture to regular style gf breadcrumbs. We use Ian’s as they’re GF and DF.
I bet all those spices in your mix just adds a ton of flavor! Sounds like 1 yummy chicken dinner.
Thank you, Nicole! The chicken fingers are very flavorful which means they taste great on their own and adding dipping sauces is optional.