A healthy and gluten-free spin on buffalo chicken tenders! Breaded in coconut flour, egg wash, and then a mixture of ground cashews, shredded coconut, and spices and baked in the oven until crispy. Made with just 10 ingredients and take only 30 minutes to make – perfect for an easy weeknight dinner, meal prep, or football watching. Paleo, Whole30 approved, gluten-free, and low carb.
Last updated on October 6, 2019.
Check out the video to see how easy they come together!
It’s football season and that means bring on all the football food! While I do enjoy watching football, the food is by far my favorite part! And what sounds better then some buffalo chicken tenders?!
Buffalo chicken is one of my favorite foods. I grew up eating chicken wings with my dad and its bring back such good memories. And love just about anything spicy and covered in buffalo sauce. We even make our own buffalo sauce since I use it so much and easy to whip up and so much better than store bought. I also ate a lot of chicken tenders growing up. So this recipe is like marrying some of my childhood favorites together.
These baked buffalo chicken tenders are based off these pistachio coconut chicken tenders that are one of my favorite older recipes. I changed up the recipe a little – added some spices to kick up the heat, mixed the egg wash with some hot sauce, and changed out the nuts to have a more neutral flavor.
They are baked and not fried making them a healthy option opposed to the typical ones you find at restaurants. And they are paleo and Whole30 approved! I’ve been eating them straight up dipped in ranch, chopped up in a salad, or in a collard wrap. They would be perfect to make ahead too! Whip up a batch over the weekend for meal prep or even a tailgate or for Sunday football action!
Baked Buffalo Chicken Tenders (Paleo/Whole30)
Whole30 buffalo chicken tenders just require 10 ingredients and 30 minutes to make. They are double breaded with simple ingredients you probably already have on hand and then baked in the oven, making them a healthy alternative to your typical fried version. There are a few steps to make the breading and get everything set up, but once you have your assembly line set up, it is easy sailing and they come together quickly.
Here is what you need:
- chicken tenders
- coconut flour
- eggs
- hots sauce
- cashews
- shredded coconut
- chili powder
- paprika
- cayenne pepper
- salt and pepper
First start out by making your breading. In a high powdered blender, add your cashews and pulse until coarsely ground. You don’t want a fine flour, but still want some texture to the mixture – most will be ground, but you want some texture with small pieces of nuts in there. This will add crunch to your breading.
Mix together the ground cashews, shredded coconut, spices, and salt and pepper on a plate. Next make your egg wash. Whisk together your eggs and hot sauce until combined. Then step up all your assembly line – have your egg wash in one bowl, your coconut flour in another, and your breading on a plate.
Bread the chicken by rolling it in the coconut flour to fully cover. Then dip it in the egg wash mixture, fully coating. Finally roll in the cashew and coconut breading, making sure to fully coat. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and repeat with the remaining chicken.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until chicken is cooked through. And then serve with your favorite dip! We love to serve them with blue cheese (if not on a Whole30) or ranch, carrot sticks, celery sticks, and some homemade buffalo sauce to get that extra kick!
Substitutions for Buffalo Chicken Tenders
This recipe is pretty straight forward and can be changed up to your liking. Here are a few suggestions I have:
- chicken – if you can’t find chicken tenders, you can also use chicken breast that you just cut into strips (I’ve done this plenty of times in the past).
- nuts – I likes using cashews since they are pretty neutral in flavor, but you can substitute any nuts you have on hand. Macadamia nuts would be delicious as they have a buttery flavor.
- flour – coconut flour is absorb and I like using it as the first breading, but you can substitute almond or cashew flour as well. You just might need a little more than the suggested amount.
- spices – you can omit the cayenne if you don’t want them too spicy
More Healthy Buffalo Chicken Recipes
Instant Buffalo Buffalo Chicken
Buffalo Chicken Burgers with Healthy Blue Cheese Dressing
Air Fryer Boneless Buffalo Wings – a staple in our house!
Paleo Buffalo Ranch Chicken Salad
More Easy Whole30 Recipes
Burger Salad with Special Sauce Dressing – just leave off the cheese
Healthy Chicken Pad Thai (made with sweet potato noodles!)
Whole30 Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo
Make sure to check out the video to see how easy this recipe comes together!
Buffalo Chicken Tenders (Paleo/Whole30)
ingredients
- 1.75 pounds chicken tenders
- 3-4 tablespoons coconut flour
- 2 large eggs, whisked
- 1-2 tablespoons hot sauce*
- 2/3 cups raw cashews
- 1/3 cup shredded coconut
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2-1 teaspoon cayenne pepper*
- salt and pepper, to taste
- optional for serving: carrots, celery, ranch, hot sauce...
instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add the cashews to a Vitamix, high powered blender, or food processor. Pulse until nuts are coarsely ground, but still a little texture remains, about 30 seconds.
- Set up an assembly line. Mix together the ground cashews, coconut shreds, chili powder, paprika, cayenne, and salt and pepper and place on a plate. Have the coconut flour in a separate shallow bowl or plate. Mix together the whisked eggs and hot sauce in a shallow bowl.
- Bread the chicken by putting it in the coconut flour. Roll around until fully covered. Then dip it in the egg mixture, fully coating. Last, roll in the cashew mixture, fully coating. Place on the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining chicken.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and cooked through. Serve with ranch or sauce of choice and enjoy!
video
notes
nutrition
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Liz Marino says
These are so good! Love the crispy coating, and the extra kick of buffalo from the batter. Served with French fries and a salad- highly recommend!
Kelly says
So glad you enjoyed them Liz! Can’t go wrong with fries with chicken tenders too. Thank you for trying them!
Jessica says
Best super bowl appetizer ever! We’ve tried a ton of buffalo recipes and this is by far our favorite!! Perfect amount of kick!
Kelly says
Yay!! Glad you guys love them!!
Shelby says
These have been sitting on my Pinterest board for quite some time and we haven’t made them for a year or so but man am I sad that I waited so long to make these again! So delicious, the kids like them and I love how clean the ingredients are. Yum!
Kelly says
Yay, that makes me happy to hear that everyone enjoyed them! Thanks so much Shelby!
Andrea says
These buffalo chicken tenders had perfect flavor and crunch. I even make extra and ate them all throughout the week and they were just as good reheated! Highly recommend this recipe and many other on this page!
Kelly says
So glad they worked so well for easy meals for the week! Thank you so much Andrea!