The bane of my paleo existence is often textures of food. I always yearn for the BREADINESS of bread, the CRUNCH of crackers, and yes, the CRISPINESS of all things “fried”! It can be done, you can get there, but I believe there is an art to it, you have to WANT IT! And here is where I step in.
My daughter who eats mostly paleo is not a huge fan of almond flour, due to the texture. In bread items especially.
So she was sitting at the counter doing homework and rapping along with Kendrick Lamar (exhale, she is a teenager!) watching me halfheartedly throw dinner together. Nothing too startling, broccoli, check, sweet pototoes roasting in the oven, check, chicken on the counter, check….but I could see her eyes on me as I pulled the almond flour out of the pantry. RELAX, I said, you have had this before and loved it!
Here is what she saw:

Heat a large skillett (or 2) until very hot and then add in a few TBSP of coconut oil and 1 Tbsp Kerrygold butter.
Thin strips of chicken (cutlets, tenders, even small chunks are fine…) go into a large ziploc bag with one beaten egg. “squoosh” the chicken around in the egg to make sure they are coated. (Squoosh is a technical term in my brain).
In a small bowl mix together 1 1/2 cups almond meal, 2 Tbsp. tapioca flour, 1-2 tsp salt, fresh ground pepper, 1/4 tsp cayenne (for kick!), 1/4 tsp onion powder, 1/2 tsp garlic powder.
Dump the mixture into the ziploc bag with the eggy chicken and squoosh some more, coating completely.
Place the chicken into the skillett and let it go for a few minutes, until brown, maybe 3-4 minutes. Turn each piece over and brown another 2-3 minutes until done.
Take out of the pan and place on paper towels to drain any excess oil. Do batch two the same way if you have more chicken.
Tada! golden brown, cripy goodness.
And my daughter….sitting on the sofa eating the chicken with her hands….says OH MY GOSH MOMMA THESE ARE SO GOOD MAKE THEM AGAIN FOR ME AND MY FRIENDS!

Approved!

Trying it out?
Let me know what you think!