I had a nice little summer salad that I was going to share with you today but walking around the state fair surrounded by fried things I couldn’t eat this past weekend gave me a fierce hankering for something golden brown and crispy. That said, I decided to do the dang thing and fry us up a batch of Gluten Free Chicken Fingers! Because aren’t we all still 12 year olds inside? (Hoarding Lisa Frank notebooks and Caboodles filled with Dr Pepper Bonne Bell Lip Smackers?) Age aside, I am flipping out for these chicken fingers!
Tips for Making Gluten Free Chicken Fingers
How to Make This Recipe
Start by cutting 2lbs chicken breasts into 1″ thick strips. You can use chicken tenders instead but they’re usually sold at a premium and cutting strips from chicken breasts takes like, 2 minutes.
Add the chicken strips to a baking dish then cover with about 2 cups low fat buttermilk. The buttermilk will keep the chicken nice and tender, plus it gives them a bit of tang. Love it!
Pop the chicken into the fridge to marinate for 15 minutes or so then make the breading. If you don’t need the dish to be gluten-free you can start with 2 cups plain bread crumbs. If you do need the dish to be gluten-free, add a heaping 4 cups Rice Chex to a food processor then process until you have very fine crumbs – about 2 cups worth. This is the gluten-free bread crumb swap I use for absolutely everything I want to have a little crunch!
Pour the bread crumbs into another shallow baking dish then add my homemade seasoning salt mix – I just looked at the ingredients on a jar of Lowry’s then added a few more of my favorite spices. That’s 2-1/2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon each pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and white sugar, 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika, and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more or less.) Mix everything to combine.
Remove the chicken from the fridge then, working in batches, remove from the buttermilk, shaking off excess, then roll in the seasoned crumbs until well coated.
Place onto a foil-lined baking sheet then repeat with the remaining ingredients. NOW, you could pop the chicken back into the fridge for 10 minutes to help set the coating or, if time is of the essence, proceed to frying. You might lose a little bit of breading in the oil but overall the chicken fingers will still taste just as good if you skip the setting step.
Add 1″ vegetable or grapeseed oil to a large cast iron or heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat (you can start this while the coated chicken is setting in the fridge, or while you’re breading the chicken if you’re going straight to the fryer.) Test the heat by dropping in a bit of the breading. If it stays on the surface and sizzles constantly but not ferociously, it’s ready. Add the chicken fingers, 4 or 5 at a time being careful not to overcrowd the pan, then fry until golden brown on one side before flipping and frying until golden brown on the other – 1-2 minutes per side. Remove the chicken to a paper towel-lined baking sheet then just keep going!
We hardly ever make fried food at home but when we indulge in the future, this is definitely the recipe I’m turning to. I hope you love these incredible Gluten Free Chicken Fingers – enjoy!
More Tasty Chicken Recipes
Thai Sticky Chicken Fingers Air Fryer Chicken Wings Easy Chicken Enchiladas with Red Sauce Chicken Meatballs
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