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Baked or Air Fryer Almond Crusted Chicken

Crispy almond crusted chicken breast like air fryer fried chicken but with ground nuts for breading. A low carb high protein meal your family will love that can be baked in your oven too.

Just Bare Lightly Breaded Chicken Breast Chunks copycat

If you’re looking for the best air fryer chicken breast, this crispy almond chicken breast is it. Keto friendly using crushed almonds instead of just breadcrumbs, give it a try! Tender meat with crunchy bites on the outside you’ll love. (affiliate links present)

Air Fryer Almond Crusted Chicken

Looking for new keto foods you can make, and taste amazing? You just need to think outside of the box when it comes to breading really. Don’t give up all the things you love, there are alternatives like this one that will give you that crunch you are craving.

Now along with the different seasonings you could use comes how to get them to stick. In order to get the breading and crushed nuts to adhere we did whisk an egg. It is the easiest way to get it to coat the outsides well, but we have shared how to bread chicken without eggs here as well.

chicken-breast-chunks-in-air-fryer

Copycat Just Bare Lightly Breaded Chicken Breast Chunks

If you just bought a bag and don’t want to make them homemade on your own they typically do have air fry directions on the back. In case yours doesn’t you would follow the steps for air fryer frozen chicken tenders for those.

In this case we are making a copycat version of that style of breaded breasts, but homemade which is always way better. To get that really crispy, lower carb breading we’ll use a mixture of breadcrumbs and ground almonds. You could just use one of them if you’d like.

  • 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into large chunks – chicken thighs could be used
  • Olive oil
  • Smoked paprika
  • Granulated garlic or garlic powder
  • Italian seasoning
  • 2 tbsp breadcrumbs or use all ground almonds
  • 3 tbsp ground almonds can be bought already crushed into an almond meal texture, or can put into food processor yourself until very fine crumbs
  • 1 egg
  • 1/3 tsp salt

If you wanted to make these spicy you could. Just use a sprinkle of either red pepper flakes, Sriracha powder or chili powder is a bit milder. I keep them mild so everyone can enjoy them at our house. Same goes for using fish to make Almond Crusted Salmon!

Lightly Breaded Chicken Breast Chunks

How Long to Cook Cubed Chicken Breast in Air Fryer

This is going to take about 16 minutes to cook, but a bit more time to prep and coat. Now there is a range depending on how thick your pieces are so keep that in mind after you flip them over. You may need only another few minutes beyond that. If you have thinner already sliced chicken tenderloins those would take closer to 8.

  • Rinse the chicken fillet and pat dry with paper towels well, trim off any excess fat. Then cut into pieces of medium size. Put in a deep bowl.
  • Pour olive oil into a bowl, add salt and pepper with any other spices you’d like. Toss to coat.
  • You can cover the bowl with a lid or film, and leave for half an hour in a cool place to marinate a bit if you like.
  • In a bowl, beat the egg, pour the bread crumbs and crushed almonds into another shallow plate.
  • Dip the chicken pieces in whisked egg, and then roll in almond mixture to stick on outside well.
  • Put the chicken fillet pieces in the air fryer basket.
  • Preheat air fryer to 400 F for 5 minutes. Spray inside of basket and lay pieces inside without overlapping. Cook for 8 minutes.

Use tongs to flip to the other side and cook for another 5-8 minutes cooking time. (check internal temp. of thickest piece after 5 minutes so they don’t overcook and get too dry.

Use a meat thermometer to check in thickest portion, should be 165 F to be safe to eat and still juicy. Will take 12 minutes to 15 depending on thickness. Serve with your favorite dipping sauces if you like or enjoy as is.

Almond Crusted Chicken

Air Fryer Chicken Breast Chunks

Now you could use large chunks of boneless skinless thighs too. Those are typically thinner and smaller so I would cut down the timing a few minutes on each side and check with dark meat.

Is almond-crusted chicken gluten-free?

Yes ground almonds are naturally gluten free. If you did want to use half and half breadcrumbs then use gluten free style Italian or Panko to mix in for a wonderfully crispy breading for chicken breasts.

Can I use other nuts instead of almonds for almond crusted chicken?

You could! As long as you crush them to almost a powder that is very fine so it sticks well to be used as a low carb breading for chicken other types such as walnuts or macadamia nuts would work as well.

How do I ensure the almond crust sticks to the chicken?

You will want to make sure your meat is dry. Then dredge into a whisked egg or we have egg free options too in our recipe below.
Mayonnaise or yogurt are other options you could use. Then press firmly and cook.

Almond Crusted Baked Chicken

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F first. Follow the same preparations as explained below. Use a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

  1. Lightly spray the tops with cooking spray or drizzle with a little olive oil.
    • This will help the coating turn crispy and golden.
  2. Bake in the preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes, or until tenders are cooked through and the almond crust is nicely browned.
  3. The internal temperature of the chicken should reach 165 degrees F or 74 degrees C

Whether you bake in the oven or make this chicken recipe is an easy air fryer recipe that has a great texture and flavor for sure!!

air fryer Almond Crusted Chicken

Ninja Foodi Almond Crusted Chicken

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Just Bare Lightly Breaded Chicken Breast Chunks copycat
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Almond Crusted Chicken

Crispy almond crusted chicken breast like fried chicken in air fryer with crushed nuts and breading. Low carb high protein meal your family will love.
Course Entree, Main Course
Cuisine American
Keyword almond, bites, chicken breast, chunks, crispy, crusted
Cook Time 16 minutes
Servings 4
Calories 232kcal
Author The Typical Mom

Equipment

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Rinse the chicken fillet and pat dry with paper towels well, trim off any excess fat. Then cut into pieces of medium size. Put in a deep bowl.
  • Pour olive oil into a bowl, add salt and spices, toss to coat. You can cover the bowl with a lid or film, and leave for half an hour in a cool place to marinate a bit if you like.
  • In a bowl, beat the egg, pour the bread crumbs and crushed almonds into another shallow plate. Dip each piece of marinated fillet in an egg, and then roll in breadcrumb mixture to stick on outside well.
  • Air fryer – Put the chicken fillet pieces in the air fryer basket. Preheat air fryer to 400 F for 5 minutes. Spray inside of basket and lay pieces inside without overlapping. Cook for 8 minutes.
  • Use tongs to flip to the other side and cook for another 5-8 minutes. (check internal temp. of thickest piece after 5 minutes so they don't overcook and get too dry, should be 165 F to be safe to eat and still juicy.
  • Baked – Place the coated chicken breasts on the prepared baking sheet. Lightly spray the tops of the chicken with cooking spray or drizzle with a little olive oil. This will help the coating turn crispy and golden.
    Bake in the preheated oven at 400 degrees for about 20-25 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the almond crust is nicely browned. The internal temperature of the chicken should reach 165°F (74°C).
  • Serve immediately while the breading remains crispy and the chicken is as juicy as possible.

Video

Nutrition Facts
Almond Crusted Chicken
Amount Per Serving (2 oz)
Calories 232 Calories from Fat 99
% Daily Value*
Fat 11g17%
Saturated Fat 2g13%
Trans Fat 0.02g
Polyunsaturated Fat 2g
Monounsaturated Fat 6g
Cholesterol 113mg38%
Sodium 379mg16%
Potassium 471mg13%
Carbohydrates 5g2%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 0.4g0%
Protein 26g52%
Vitamin A 348IU7%
Vitamin C 1mg1%
Calcium 31mg3%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Recipe Rating




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