Almond-Crusted Chicken (Breast or Nuggets)

by | Feb 24, 2021 | Entrées, Gluten-Free

This Almond-Crusted Chicken recipe is great for breading chicken breasts or even making nuggets. Pair with your favourite side dish or salad and you’ve got a quick and easy dinner.

I’ve been meaning to share this Almond-Crusted Chicken recipe for weeks now and it’s finally here on the blog!

I created this recipe as a fun way to make breaded chicken without the use of flour or breadcrumbs. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I wanted to see if I could do it with nuts. And voila. It turned out so well. This almond-crusted chicken recipe is ridiculously easy and tastes SO good.

You can use this almond crust for whole chicken breasts, or slice your breasts into strips and make nuggets out of it. Either way is totally delicious!

How to Make Almond-Crusted Chicken

To make this recipe, you’ll need:

  • Almonds
  • Garlic powder
  • Paprika (for a sassy version, use smoked paprika)
  • Salt & pepper
  • Egg

This recipe requires just a couple simple steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 375F.
  2. Start by grinding up your almonds and seasonings in a food processor. You don’t want to turn it into a powder, but rather, finely/roughly chopped. Basically, you don’t want the almond bits to become too fine, but you don’t want them too large either otherwise they won’t stick to the chicken as well. Transfer contents to medium-sized bowl.
  3. Next, add an egg to a bowl and whisk
  4. Rinse your chicken breasts with water and pat dry with paper towel. If making nuggets, slice into strips. Otherwise, simply place the breast in the egg bowl and coat well. Then transfer to almond bowl and coat well, turning it over a few times.
  5. Place coated chicken on parchment-lined baking sheet and bake in oven for about 30 minutes, flipping once. Whole chicken breasts may need a few extra minutes. Nuggets will cook through faster.
5 from 3 votes
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Almond-Crusted Chicken

A delicious crusted chicken made with almonds, garlic and paprika.

Course Main Course
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings 4
Author Meghan

Ingredients

  • 2 chicken breasts
  • 1 cup unsalted almonds
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp paprika (for a sassy version, use smoked paprika)
  • 1 egg (for dipping chicken)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375F.

  2. Grind your almonds and seasonings in a food processor. You don't want to turn it into a powder, but rather, finely/roughly chopped. You don't want the almond bits to become too fine, but you don't want them too large either otherwise they won't stick to the chicken as well.

  3. Transfer almond mixture to medium-sized bowl.

  4. Next, add an egg to a bowl and whisk

  5. Rinse your chicken breasts with water and pat dry with paper towel. If making nuggets, slice into strips. Otherwise, simply place the breast in the egg bowl and coat well.

  6. Then transfer egg-coated chicken to almond bowl and coat well in almond mixture, turning it over a few times.

  7. Place coated chicken on parchment-lined baking sheet and bake in oven for about 30 minutes, flipping once. Whole chicken breasts may need a few extra minutes. Nuggets will cook through faster.

  8. Serve with your favourite side dish and salad.

If you try this recipe, leave me a comment and rating below or tag me in your photos on Instagram @meghanlivingstone

by Meghan Livingstone

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7 Comments

  1. Lucy

    5 stars
    Somehow, when watching the YT video of this recipe, it escaped me that the chicken was cooked in the oven, not in a pan. So I was even more pleasantly surprised how easy this was to make, along with the mushroom-broccoli-risotto 😋 All of my family (husband plus two teenagers) loved it. Thank you for sharing this with us!

    Reply
    • Meghan

      Haha I definitely forgot to show me putting it in the oven in the video. SO glad you and your family enjoyed it!

      Reply
  2. Molly

    5 stars
    I made this tonight for dinner and absolutely loved it! When I saw it on your youtube video I thought I just had to try it because it looked so delicious. I’m glad I did! Both the chicken and risotto side dish were excellent! That was my first time making risotto, much easier than I thought it would be. So thank you so much!

    Reply
    • Meghan

      I’m so glad to hear this Molly! Happy you enjoyed it 🙂 Such an easy recipe!

      Reply
  3. Camilla

    5 stars
    I made this for me and my partner last night and we loved it! He isn’t really into healthy eating but he really enjoyed this recipe which surprised me. The almond crust is such a good idea and it tasted divine! Thanks for another great recipe Meghan! p.s also love the fact that the recipes are simple to follow and don’t have crazy amounts of ingredients in! x

    Reply
  4. Natalie Smith

    Do you think this would work well using tofu instead of chicken? I have a chicken allergy but this looks so yummy

    Reply
    • Meghan

      You could totally try this with tofu! If you do, let me know how it turns out 🙂

      Reply

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Meghan Livingstone, CNP

Hi, I’m Meghan. I’m a Certified Holistic Nutritionist, blogger, and YouTuber with a passion for healthy, simple living. I’m here to inspire you to listen to your body, eat wholesomely, and create a fulfilling life.