These homemade frozen chicken fingers can be made up to 3 months in advance and are the perfect healthy freezer meal to pull out on a busy night and have ready in 30 minutes!
This recipe for paleo chicken tenders is one of the recipes that I make the most from the blog. I make it at least once a month, if not more. And now more than ever, I’m so happy to have something prepped in the freezer, stored away for when I run out of the “fresh food” in the house.
For my self-declared maternity leave, I tested freezing this recipe as part of my freezer meal prep, and it came out DELICIOUS. Today, I wanted to share a few quick tips on how to freeze this recipe so your freezer can also be stocked with healthy chicken fingers any time you want them!
Kids are not the only ones that crave chicken fingers, right? Adult version = comfort food. Although, I will say I’ve tested this recipe on adults and kids alike (my nephew), and everyone always loves them!
I usually make two versions, an uber spicy version for me and a regular version for everyone else. What can I say? I like the heat!
I use almond meal NOT almond flour for the breading in this recipe. Almond flour will be too thin and won’t end up breading the chicken the way you want it to. Almond meal is more coarse and will bread the chicken.
How to Make Frozen Chicken Fingers
The big tip here is that after you make them, you freeze them on a baking sheet. This allows them to freeze separately. Then you can move them to a freezer bag after they are frozen.
DO NOT DEFROST before you cook them. You risk the breading getting mushy and coming off. Instead, you’ll bake them FROM FROZEN on a baking sheet. Just like you would do with store-bought frozen chicken nuggets.
That’s it! Now you can enjoy healthy chicken fingers anytime you want, FROM FROZEN! It’s my go-to back up meal I keep in the freezer for us.
I haven’t tried them with the baby yet, mostly because he is happy to chow down on his frozen baby meatloaf muffins!
As always, let me know if you try this! You can leave a comment or tag me on Insta @hungryhobbyRD. I love seeing you guys cook my recipes. It makes me so happy!
More Freezer Meal Ideas:
- 12 Healthy Freezer Meals for New Moms
- 55+ Healthy Freezer Meals
- 12 Summer Freezer Meals
- Freezer Tuna Cakes
- Freezer Kielbasa Soup
- Freezer Healthy Chili
- Freezer Carnitas
- Freezer Pizza Stuffed Peppers
- DIY Starbucks Freezer Spinach Feta Wraps
- DIY Freezer Breakfast Sandwiches
Healthy Frozen Chicken Fingers
Ingredients
Spicy Version:
- 1 lbs chicken tenders I get mine from ButcherBox
- 1 cup almond MEAL not flour
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp ground white pepper
- ¼ tsp ground cumin
Non Spicy Version
- 1 lbs chicken tenders I get mine from Butcher Box
- 1 cup almond MEAL not flour
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
- ¼ tsp ground cumin
Instructions
To Prepare Healthy Frozen Chicken Fingers:
- Combine 1 cup almond meal and seasonings in a small bag or bowl. Dip each piece of chicken into breading mix, taking care to coat the whole thing thoroughly (I don't use any egg wash, I've never had a problem with the breading sticking to the pan.)
- Lightly shake off the excess coating and place on a wax paper-lined baking sheet.
- Freeze overnight for at least 6-8 hours. Remove the chicken tenders from the baking sheet and place them in a freezer bag with the date.
How to Cook Frozen Chicken Fingers:
- Preheat oven to 450F.
- Place the frozen chicken fingers on a greased parchment or foil-lined baking sheet. You may use an oven-safe cooling rack here on top of the baking sheet if you want crispier chicken tenders, but I usually place them right on top of the lined baking sheet.
- Bake at 450F for 35-45 minutes until crispy on the outside and the internal temperature of the chicken fingers reach 165F.
Nutrition
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