Healthier Homemade Chicken Fingers Recipe | Foodal (2024)

For all you busy moms, or kids at heart, this recipe is for you.

While possible, it isn’t always easy to find recipes that are both kid-friendly and healthy. But these chicken fingers fit the bill perfectly.

It’s no secret that fast food isn’t the most nutritious option. And when you’re studying nutrition in college, it’s really hard to eat those nuggets and not think about all the added ingredients it takes to make them taste a certain way.

However, life without chicken fingers isn’t right either.

So, what’s a foodie and dietitian to do? Make your own healthier homemade version instead!

In addition to using skinless, boneless breasts, there are two keys to making your own healthier strips: homemade breading, and baking.

While convenient, pre-made breadcrumbs are often high in sodium, low in fiber, and can contain a whole lot of unnecessary ingredients.

To give the traditional recipe a makeover, we’re making our own crumbs with some added nutritional powerhouses. And the best part? Making your own only takes 1 minute of pulsing in a food processor!

To start, we’re using gluten-free bread. If your kiddos aren’t gluten-free, feel free to use whole wheat bread instead. I found a whole wheat sourdough once and it made the best crumbs!

When you’re choosing your bread, make sure to take a look at the sugar, sodium, and fiber stats on the nutrition label.

Ideally, a healthy slice of bread should have no more than 2 grams of sugar, at least 2 grams of fiber, and 225 milligrams or less of sodium.

After the bread, we’re adding some nutritious seeds.

Traditionally found in Asian cuisine, sesame seeds are high in fiber and a good source of calcium, magnesium, manganese, and zinc – all of which play a role in bone health.

Sunflower seeds go in next. While these seeds may bring you back to those long afternoons that you spent playing little league baseball, they happen to be high in B vitamins, which are essential for nervous system health, and vitamin E, an antioxidant, as well as healthy iron, calcium, and potassium.

Finally, we’re adding a dose of essential omega-3 fatty acids with ground flaxseeds. Omega-3s are a pretty big deal in the nutrition world as we can’t make them ourselves, meaning we have to get them through our diet.

Specifically, flaxseeds are high in alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), which is a type of omega-3 that’s primarily found in plant-based foods. ALA has been associated with a decreased risk of stroke, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes.

In addition to healthy fats, flaxseeds are also a good source of protein, fiber, and magnesium.

Finally, to add some flavor to these strips, we’re also adding paprika, salt, and pepper. If you’re watching your salt intake, feel free to cut the suggested quantity of salt in half – after all, that’s the best part of making food at home: you have full control over what goes into it.

Besides making your own breadcrumbs, the process of assembling these is the same as it is for most breaded chicken recipes: dredge in egg, coat in breadcrumbs, and place on a baking sheet.

Which brings us to the final key to making healthier strips: baking instead of frying.

Yes, frying = super crispy chicken. However, it also means lots of extra (unhealthy) fat and calories.

Instead, we’re achieving a crispy texture by baking these strips on a wire rack that’s been placed on top of a baking sheet. This allows for full circulation of the heat when they cooking and prevents soggy bottoms – and nothing ruins this type of recipe more than one side having a sad, wet coating.

So, forget the drive through and whip out your food processor instead. After the first crisp bite, I bet these strips will earn a spot on your regular dinner rotation!

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Cooking By the Numbers…

Step 1 – Preheat Oven and Measure Ingredients

Preheat oven to 400°F. Place a metal cooling rack on top of a baking sheet and set it aside.

The cooling rack helps to keep the bottom of the strips from getting soggy during baking, as it allows the heat to fully circulate around the poultry.

If you don’t have a suitable wire rack, you can use a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and just flip them halfway through baking.

Measure all of your ingredients.

Step 2 – Whisk Eggs, Pulse Breadcrumbs, and Slice Poultry

Crack the eggs into a small bowl and whisk them with a fork (or your favorite whisk!) until they start to become frothy. Set aside.

To make the breadcrumbs, tear the bread into pieces and add it to a food processor along with the sunflower seeds, ground flaxseeds, sesame seeds, paprika, salt, and pepper. We prefer freshly cracked salt and pepper. Process for about 1 minute, or until small crumbs form. Place crumbs in a shallow baking dish or on a large plate and set aside.

Trim the poultry as needed, and slice it into strips that are 1 inch thick. Set aside.

Step 3 – Bread Strips

To bread, start by setting up an assembly line. Arrange the ingredients and your equipment in the following order from left to right: chicken, whisked eggs, breadcrumbs, and cooling rack-topped baking sheet.

Begin breading the chicken by dredging a strip in the egg, allowing excess to drip off as you slowly pick it up.

Next, put the egg-soaked strip on top of the breadcrumb mixture and lightly roll to coat it on all sides.

Place the breaded chicken strip on the cooling rack-topped baking sheet and repeat with the remaining strips.

Step 4 – Bake and Serve

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until it’s cooked through. Allow to cool slightly, then serve with your dipping sauce of choice. For a balanced meal, I recommend serving these with roasted vegetables or a salad.