Whole 30 Cashew Crusted Chicken
One of my favorite dinners is typically some version of coated chicken (think Shake-and-Bake or Oven Fry). There is just something so special about baked or fried chicken, am I right?
Over the years after learning more about health and wellness I dropped the boxed stuff and started making my own using bread crumbs. Since I jumped on the Whole 30 bandwagon, I wanted to indulge in breaded chicken, but can’t since its against the “Whole 30 diet rules” so I decided to make my own version of whole 30 compliant “breaded” chicken! Cue this delicious family friendly favorite, whole 30 approved cashew crusted chicken.
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Whole 30 Breaded Chicken
The prepackaged, boxes of baked chicken coating like Oven Fry & Shake-and-Bake contain soy and wheat amongst a ton of other additives that may be harmful to your health including caramel color (gross). To learn more about carmel color check out this article from Live Strong and why it’s harmful.
One of the main “rules” of a whole 30 is to remove gluten from your diet. Not only is that boxed version loaded with wheat (gluten) but it also contains additives and even added sugar which are “against the rules” when doing a whole 30. The best part of the whole 30 cashew crusted chicken recipe is that well after you’ve completed your first whole 30, this is a recipe everyone will continue to love.
Whole 30 “Fried” Chicken
I wanted to get the same texture and flavor of a baked or fried coated chicken without using wheat or soy. Hard to get a crunch if you don’t have “bread” right? WRONG- cue cashews! PERFECT for a delicious chicken coating.
Who doesn’t love cashews? They naturally have the perfect amount of sweet and savory, making them an excellent choice to replace breadcrumbs.
When purchasing cashews, make sure to look for the unsalted variety as lots of commercial bags will throw in heaps of added salt and no one wants that, including your chicken. I love these cashews, plus you don’t have to twist my arm to take a trip to Target.
Many recipes call for dredging the chicken in egg first-If you have been following me you know that my daughter is highly allergic to eggs so that doesn’t work for our family.
Although the egg does help keep the coating on, and eggs are Whole 30 approved, it’s ABSOLUTELY not needed in order to achieve a crunchy coated crust. Instead of egg, I use unsweetened almond milk in order in place of egg.
This whole 30 chicken recipe gas the perfect amount of spices: paprika, garlic powder, cumin and chili powder are added to the cashews in a food processor and mixed up to give it impeccable flavor.
The chicken is seasoned with salt and pepper, dunked it in a giant bowl of unsweetened almond milk, then firmly pressed into the cashew mixture. Pop it all onto a parchment lined baking sheet and prepare to taste something truly unique.
Whole 30 Cashew Crusted Chicken
This quick Whole 30 chicken recipe is the perfect addition to your weeknight dinner menu. Prepare the coating ahead of time, and pop it in the over for an easy family friendly meal. This easy Whole 30 chicken recipe is sure to win over the whole family.
Whole 30 Cashew Crusted Chicken
Delicious and Easy Whole 30 chicken recipe that comes together in no time. All the crunch of breaded chicken while stayong Whole 30 compliant.
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breast tenderloins
- 2 cups unsweetened almond milk
- 8 oz bag of unsweetened cashews
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- Salt and Pepper
Instructions
- Set oven to 400 degrees
- In a food processor pulse/chop cashews. Add paprika, cumin, garlic powder, chili powder, and salt. You want a combination of chunky and finely ground pieces of cashews. Spread mixture onto a large plate and set aside
- Add the unsweetened milk into a large bowl
- Lightly season chicken breasts with desired amount of salt and pepper
- Dunk the chicken breasts first into the bowl of almond milk and then transfer to plate with cashew mixture and firmly press down to ensure the mixture completely covers and sticks to chicken. Then transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat until all chicken breasts have been coated.
- Bake for a total of 25 minutes, flipping the chicken half way during baking.
This looks soo good I need to try it
Thank you, It’s a really good one to add to your weekly menu rotation.
This makes my mouth water!!! Off to the store to get ingredients. Can’t wait to try this out
Thanks so much, its really delicious!
Thank you for a fantastic recipe! It looks like a serious crowd pleasure so I’ll definitely try it next time I invite friends over.
Thanks so much, I hope you enjoy it!
Tried this last night and the whole family loves it.
Now, I totally need to try these! They look so good! And hooray for using almond milk rather than eggs to coat the chicken!
Can i use egg instead of almond milk or something else healthy? Any ideas?
You could absolutely use egg as that is usually a traditional binder for most crusted chicken, however, I just have not tested it with egg!