Recipe: $10.65 | Per Serving: $1.33 | Yield: 8
This recipe for almond baked chicken is the perfect protein to add to salad, and works great as an easy swap for pan-fried chicken or chicken nuggets! Packed with tons of flavor from the spice blend, this almond baked chicken is a crowd favorite!
Basically: chicken cutlets, coated with seasoned almond meal, baked, and served here with horseradish honey mustard vinaigrette. They're Almond Baked Chicken Cutlets! THEY'RE GREAT. And, since they're 100% homemade, they're actually a quite affordable option but with a gourmet feel!
Look at that beautiful breading!
This recipe is based on my Almond-Crusted Chicken Strips and Horseradish Honey Mustard. I wanted to bring them together in an easy salad form, and this worked perfectly. The dip is mixed with a little olive oil and vinegar to make a dressing (feel free to adjust it further to reach your desired consistency), and the chicken is cut into cutlets instead of tenders. These cutlets are a little faster and they're the perfect single-serving size.
Here are a few reasons why I like this method:
- Cutlets = the proper serving size of meat, about 3 ounces
- Sliced cutlets = no juice-spewing pounding going on in your kitchen
- Baked = faster, hands-off, lighter, better for you
- Homemade = cheaper, no weird additives
And the almond meal coating is super delicious. Feel free to alter the seasonings as desired. Maybe add a little garlic powder? Increase the cayenne? I think this particular combination is great, but the sky's the limit! You could even use the same seasonings and swap out the almond meal for bread crumbs if that's what you've got on hand.
Once these chicken cutlets cool, you can toss them in a storage container in the fridge or freezer and pull one out to go with your salad whenever you're ready. My salad toppings of choice with this particular meat & dressing combo are avocados, tomatoes, and red onions. If I had more storage containers, I would probably just prep out 4 salads ahead of time and then toss the remaining chicken cutlets in the freezer for another week. ALMOND BAKED CHICKEN ALL THE DAYS. Also, horseradish honey mustard dressing should last quite a while in your fridge
Despite my madwoman schedule, I've still been prepping most of our meals during studying breaks over the weekend, which is kind of surprising that I'm able to squeeze that in. We've been getting a Hungry Harvest (Full) delivery each week, and when they send out the email with what it contains, I usually just come up with a few dishes that can utilize most of the produce. Zac or I will run to the grocery store once over the weekend for non-produce essentials, and usually on Sunday, I prep.
I was recently thinking a lot about what we, as humans, give up when we start to get too busy. The first things that we tend to sacrifice are exercising and healthy eating, and some of the last things people seem to sacrifice are TV-watching and booze-drinking. Why is that? Are we lazy or do we crave relaxing activities? Social time with friends is super important, but TV is not really social, and boozing can disrupt your sleep and your next day's productivity. Food for thought?
Either way, it's a good idea to try and do some simple meal prepping to help yourself get through a busy week - it definitely helps me feel more normal when I'm overwhelmed with busyness. I honestly don't know how I would feed myself if I didn't carve out a little Sunday time to prep some food. Maybe you can try it too!
How to Make Chicken Cutlets - these step-by-step pictures are useful if you've never thinly sliced chicken before. Pounding is great for paillard or stuffed chicken, but is not necessary for this recipe.
Paleo: Yes - totally Paleo
Vegetarian: You can have the dressing! Try making chickpea patties or roasting chickpeas with the same seasonings.
Almond Baked Chicken With Horseradish Honey Mustard Vinaigrette
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 1 ½ pounds chicken breasts
- 1 egg whisked
- 1 cup almond meal
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon salt
For the Dressing:
- 2 teaspoons grated horseradish
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 2 Tablespoons dijon spicy brown, or whole grain mustard
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar can sub white or rice vinegar
Optional Salad Ingredients
- salad greens
- tomatoes
- avocado
- red onion
- hard-boiled eggs
Instructions
For the Chicken:
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat and if available, fit a wire rack into the baking sheet.
- Place a chicken breast on a sturdy cutting board. Using about a 20-degree angle, slice the chicken breast into 3-4 cutlets - you will be slicing close to horizontal for this. (Optional: You can slice the chicken breast in half, and slice each piece in half if that is easier for you.) You should have about 8-12 pieces that are 2-3 ounces each.
- With clean hands, whisk a large egg in a large bowl. In another bowl, stir together the almond meal, cayenne pepper, paprika, black pepper, and salt. One at a time, dip the chicken breast into the egg, shake off the excess, then dip into the almond meal mixture to coat. Place on the wire rack on the baking sheet.
- Continue until all pieces of chicken are coated. Bake for about 18 minutes on 375ºF.
For the Dressing:
- Combine all dressing ingredients in a large bowl or jar with a tight-fitting lid. Whisk (bowl) or shake (jar) vigorously until well combined. Store in fridge until ready to use.
Nutrition
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