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A recipe for healthy baked chicken tenders that are made with just 3 ingredients. Grain-free chicken tenders are an easy kid-friendly recipe that is made with mayonnaise and tortilla chips – no egg wash!
3 Ingredient Baked Chicken Tender Recipe (Grain-free)
I don’t know about you, but my four kids LOVE chicken tenders. Problem is, I HATE doing the whole egg wash thing. You know – it’s so messy … set up a few stations and coat the chicken in flour, egg, etc. Plus since we are gluten-free, there’s that variable.
So I realized that instead of the egg wash, you can simply dip them in … mayonnaise before breading them. But not just any mayo – it’s avocado mayo!! So it’s a cleaner, healthier version and soooo much easier. And did I mention that my family loves these? Total win!!
These Easy Grain-free Chicken Tenders are:
- Gluten-free
- Grain-free
- Dairy-free
- Made with 3 ingredients
- Baked
- Have no egg wash
- Made with avocado mayonnaise
What do you dip chicken in before breading?
Okay – so typically you would coat them in flour and then a whisked egg. We are skipping that step totally and just using crushed tortilla chips. The reason? One, they are just good. And two, how many times do you have the end of the bag that’s full of crumbs? This is where to use them!!
How about the breading?
To prepare your breading, either pull out crumbs of tortilla chips from the bottom of the bag, or put chips into a bag and smash with the back of a spoon. I’ve even pressed with a little pressure with the palm of my hand on a closed bag with chips in it to make them into crumbs. You’ll want the chips to be broken up enough that they are not big chunks of chips but also not as small as chips.
I have to mention that I use no seasoning (ie salt, pepper, paprika, etc.) in this recipe since the flavoring comes from the crushed chips. If you feel like you need more, be sure to adjust accordingly.
What to serve with grain-free baked chicken tenders?
Well, it’s tough to beat ketchup – but we also love mixing equal parts of honey and mustard (yes, that’s it!) to make a yummy honey-mustard dipping sauce. In addition, a tasty barbecue or even ranch sauce would be tasty. Don’t forget a side of veggies (maybe this broccoli salad??!) to go with these baked tenders!
A recipe for healthy baked chicken tenders that are made with just 3 ingredients. Grain-free chicken tenders are an easy kid-friendly recipe that is made with mayonnaise and tortilla chips.
- 3 pounds chicken tenders
- 1 cup avocado mayonnaise
- 3 cups tortilla chips , crushed (organic recommended)
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Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
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Set up your station: on the left, a shallow bowl with 1/3 of the mayo in it. Next, a plate with some of the tortilla chips crushed (see notes below). Finally, place the prepared baking pan on the right.
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Start coating the chicken tenders in the mayo. They should be covered but not goopy. Next, dredge the tenders in crushed tortilla chips, making sure to get both sides. Lay them on the baking sheet.
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Bake for 15 minutes. Flip and bake an additional 8-10 minutes. Chips should be starting to look golden.
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Serve warm with desired dipping sauces.
To crush tortilla chips. place in a plastic baggie and ensure it is sealed. Use a spoon to hit the chips and crush them. Ideally you don't want big chunks, but you don't want it to resemble the size of salt flakes - somewhere in-between is best.
So tell me – isn’t it soooo much easier to make baked chicken tenders this way?? I now don’t dread having to make these, and I hope this helps you, too! Since you have more time with this method, perhaps you want to try out these grain-free chocolate chip cookie bars for dessert – sooo good and not overly sweet. Bonus: they are paleo-friendly, too.
