Kid-friendly Taco Chicken Fingers

Ok my friends, I promise ALL my recipes here to be approved by myself and my husband- at least twice– and if I promote it as ‘kid-friendly’ or ‘kid-approved’, both my five year old and one year old devoured it (more than once). THIS recipe– this might just be the best kid recipe of 2019– alright, it’s only January 27 when I’m writing this– but they were ALL over this one. My five year old ate them every single day for a week and asked when I was going to make them again ????. I’ll call these a hit! 

My goal with these was to create a more allergy-friendly version of my Grain-free Chicken Tenders. These are still naturally gluten-free, but also nut-free, dairy-free and easily made egg-free with one simple substitution. 

For this recipe, I used cassava flour- a powdered root vegetable that is becoming more and more readily available at grocery stories (I get it at Thrive Market). The consistency is heavier than almond flour but not as fibrous as coconut flour, so it is ideal as a substitute for wheat flour in recipes– if you’re gluten-free or as a way to just mix it up! 

Because of the nature of cassava flour, you could easily swap it out for wheat flour, instead. Almond flour will change the flavor slightly, but it will work just the same. 

Don’t be turned off by the blend of seasoning- if you already have a batch of my homemade taco seasoning, you’re already off to a good start. If not- it’s still simple, I promise. Just mix, add and go! 

Taco Cassava Chicken Fingers 

Ingredients: 

2 lb chicken tenders, halved (or thin sliced chicken breast, sliced into ‘fingers’)
1/2 cup cassava flour 

Seasoning blend: 
1 tbsp homemade taco seasoning (or, you could use an additional 1/2-1 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp oregano,  1/2 tsp smoked paprika + 1/4 tsp each garlic and onion powder)

1 tsp cumin 

1 tsp smoked paprika 

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp onion powder 
3/4 tsp sea salt 

2 eggs or 2 gelatin eggs (you can also use olive oil as an alternative if you don’t have gelatin eggs. It won’t stick *quite* as well- but it works!) whisked with 1 tbsp water 

To serve: 
Chili Lime Mayo 
1/4 cup homemade or avocado oil mayonnaise 

2 tbsp lime juice 
pinch chili powder 
pinch sea salt 

Whisk and serve alongside tenders. 

To Make: 

1. Preheat oven to 375. 

2. Lay out your stations:

– Whisk together cassava flour, seasonings (including salt) and set aside. 

– Whisk eggs with water. 

– Line a baking sheet with a wire rack OR parchment paper

3. Working in batches using the one-hand method (one hand is ‘dirty’, one hand is ‘clean’– only using utenstils) dip chicken tender in egg mixture first, followed by flour mixture and onto baking sheet. Repeat until all tenders are on the baking sheet. 
Make sure to leave some space between tenders- overcrowding will produce a less-crispy finger! 
4. Bake in oven 20-25 minutes, flipping halfway. Let cool.