Chicken fingers are always a hit for kids but grown-ups will love this version with the added nutrition that quinoa provides. I tested these out on my “big kid” (my husband) as well as my friend Chad’s seven year old son, Luke.
Serves 4 kids or 2 hungry adults
Ingredients
2 pound chicken tenders or skinless boneless breasts, sliced into 3-inch long tenders
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
2 cups cooked red or white quinoa
1/2 cup whole wheat or seasoned breadcrumbs
2 egg whites
2 tablespoons olive oil
Directions
Spread out the quinoa on a piece of wax paper or aluminum foil. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the quinoa. With your fingers tips, squeeze the quinoa and breadcrumbs together until the moisture of the quinoa is absorbed Place the egg whites in a shallow bowl. Sprinkle the chicken with salt, garlic powder, pepper, and paprika.
Place the egg whites in a shallow bowl. Dip the chicken in the egg and then into the quinoa mixture. Place onto a plate. Warm the oil in a large skillet over high heat. When the oil is hot, add the chicken and reduce the heat to medium. Cook each side 4-5 minutes, turning once, until the crust begins to brown, and the chicken is not longer translucent. Transfer fingers to a plate and serve immediately.
Make It A Meal
Serve with Sweet Potato Fries or Shallots and Green Beans.
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At what point do we use the egg whites? I am guessing, before dipping in the quinona?
What dipping sauce do you have pictured? Perhaps it is just ketchup? Something exotic would be nice.
Oh, it’s barbeque sauce! Sure you serve it with any kind of dipping sauce you like. How about a low fat peanut satay? I’ll have to work on that this weekend
I made this tonight but found it very hard to get the quinoa mixture to stick on even with the egg. Any suggestions?
Mmm, when I make it I press the quinoa into the bread crumbs before I bread the chicken. Or you can chill it cover in the fridge for 30 minutes. That’s a great tip for any breading to adhere better.
quinoa – Where can I get this in the store. Looked in 3 of my local supermarkets and cannot find it. Is there an alternative
thanks
Albert
PS the Skinny Chef Rocks!!!!!
Thanks Albert!!
They carry quinoa in any health food store and Amazon carries it too. I know that Kings and Shoprite also carry it in New Jersey and Whole Foods in Manhattan.
I recently moved from NY to North
Carolina. They have quinoa in Whole Foods in Winston-Salem. So far, have not found it anywhere else here in the south. Can’t wait to try the chic tenders recipe. Quinoa is great in stuffed
peppers too instead of rice, and you can put other veggies in the peppers. Surprisingly, my Italian
husband liked it too and he loves
rice.
I’ve seen quinoa “flour” at the Dekalb County Farmer’s Market in GA. I haven’t used it yet but when I go back I will buy some to make this recipe.
I live in South Carolina and have found quinoa at Kroger, they even have several varieties.
Great to hear it!
Made this tonight! Very delicious.
Love how you had the quinoa thing going on before it was all the rage! Delicious nuggets! And having a child that can’t eat egg or dairy, it was easy to modify and still tasted fabulous! Thanks Jennifer!
I tried this with a very open mind. It was a lot of work because I made the batch 1-1/2 times the original recipe because I have a teenage boy who eats me out of the house. It wasn’t my favorite flavor but I didn’t mind it and felt like I was doing my body good by eating healthy. However, my husband wouldn’t touch it. My 2 boys at their 2 pieces but no seconds. I asked them what they thought and they said, “mom, please not again”!! Sorry, but this is always the struggle in my house with picky eaters. I didn’t think I could go wrong with chicken fingers but I guess I was wrong. Argh.
Hi Candice,
Thanks for writing in, I value readers comments. Sorry the recipe didn’t work out for you! When I serve this people love it, in fact it’s a pretty popular recipe. Just out of curiosity- you did use cooked quinoa right? Using uncooked would make the coated extremely hard.
Take care!
Cooked quinoa?? I’m laughing at myself now. I have no idea if it was cooked or not but I am guessing now. How do you know if it’s cooked??? I thought I did good by finding the stuff in my store.
Oh no worries, I was just trying to trouble shoot
In the recipe you have to cook the quinoa (like you would pasta) first then use it for the chicken fingers. It’s also a good way to use up the leftover cooked quinoa if you make it the night before and just serve it like you would a rice dish with a little butter or plain.
Well, that could definitely make a difference…and no, I didn’t cook it. No wonder! Thanks for clarifying!
Sure thing! I think I might alter the recipe as well, so that I give the cooking instructions for the quinoa to make it clearer, many thanks.
I was wondering if you have ever baked the chicken fingers? If so how did you do it? I bake my chicken cutlets and my family loves them. But I didn’t know if the quinoa would be good baked! Thanks
Hi Kristen!
I love baked chicken, but I think the quinoa would dry out if you baked it for more than 10 minutes. You could start it on the stove top in a skillet and use cooking spray and then slide it into the oven to bake through at 400F for around 4 minutes if you’re using a cutlet.