How to Make Chicken Strips That are Healthy and Delicious

Chicken strips are one of the most popular ways to serve chicken, and they’re super simple to make at home! The ingredients are affordable and widely available; however, you can often find them pre-made in the freezer section at your local grocery store. If you’re looking to make your own chicken strips, here’s how to do it right and make sure that they stay healthy, too!

Ingredients You Will Need

1 1/2 lbs. of skinless, boneless chicken breast tenders 

3 eggs, beaten 

1 cup of all-purpose flour 

1 teaspoon of paprika 

1/2 teaspoon of salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper (all optional) 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a bowl combine the eggs with the flour. Season with paprika, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper (optional). Dip the chicken into this mixture until it is completely coated. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or use nonstick cooking spray so that you can easily remove the cooked strips later on.

Step-By-Step Instructions

This is a healthy recipe because it uses mostly all-natural ingredients. The first thing you need to do is preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Take one sheet of baking paper and fold it in half so that there is one half on each side. Spray the baking paper with cooking spray, then lay four chicken breasts on top of the two halves of the sheet, making sure that they are not overlapping or touching each other. Brush them with olive oil. Then, sprinkle both sides with onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, paprika (if desired), lemon juice, and thyme leaves (if desired). Bake for about 20 minutes or until fully cooked through.

Tips and Tricks

These healthy, flavorful chicken strips are made with all-natural ingredients that can be whipped up in just a few minutes. One benefit of these strips is that they have fewer calories than typical fast food chicken fingers!

To make this recipe, start by combining the following: 

1 1⁄2 cups bread crumbs (panko)

1⁄2 teaspoon garlic powder

1⁄4 teaspoon onion powder

1⁄4 teaspoon oregano 1 cup almond flour (finely ground almonds) 2 eggs, beaten 2 tablespoons coconut oil or olive oil, for frying

Health Benefits

If you love the taste of chicken strips but want something that is healthier, here are a few options. If you cut them into 1-inch pieces, they come out to be 4 grams of fat per strip. If you want an alternative to frying them, bake them in the oven with olive oil instead. Although they come out a little crispier, it’s a healthy recipe idea and only contains one gram of fat per strip. Another great choice is a coating with yogurt or mayonnaise instead of eggs for flavor. Yogurt or mayonnaise provides protein that most traditional egg-based recipes lack. You can also use soy sauce for seasoning as well as some nonstick cooking spray for easy removal from the pan when finished cooking.