Paleo chicken nuggets – succulent pieces of chicken breasts, dredged and rolling a seasoned shredded coconut batter with a mango pineapple dip.
I don’t know about you guys but I’m a huge fan of paleo chicken nuggets. They sort of remind me of McDonald’s, it’s really quite bizarre, but I do have a love for them. I recall in my youth, nibbling on these bitesize treats after choir practice. Yes I was in the school choir (shock, horror), myself and a school friend would practically rush to McDonald’s after singing our little hearts out.
Growing up my family didn’t embrace junk food but like most teenagers, I used my youth as an opportunity to explore fast food. Needless to say when I consumed fast food on a regular basis, it was more or less eaten once class was over.
Generally, teenagers don’t think about the ramifications of eating junk food. Moreover, teens are too busy enjoying life, almost invincible in a sense. They say health is wealth but this isn’t apparent to the average teen.
Fast forward to adulthood with a totally different perspective on life/health. I have some fond memories of chicken nuggets and being of Caribbean descent why not add an island spin to them.
This recipe is created from scratch not inspired by anything in particular aside from sourcing some paleo style chicken nuggets
Paleo chicken nuggets with coconut
I thought would it be nice to make some primal chicken nuggets with a grain/wheat free pseudo “breadcrumbs”. This is not your ordinary panko breadcrumbs at all. I combined some coconut and ground almonds together which resulted in a crispy exterior.
As this is more of a coconut themed recipe, I only added a small amount of ground almond to hold the coconut together. I also seasoned the meat along with the dusting (flour coating). This was to ensure that the flavour would penetrate deeply, in other words, no flavour is lost.
Dip and coat method – tip
Do follow the dip and coat method in the order as per the recipe instructions. This is very crucial, in order for the breadcrumbs to attach to the chicken.
Please do not rearrange the order, as this will affect your results.
I did a lovely mango pineapple sauce recipe which will compliment the crispy coconut chicken nuggets. It’s flavoursome and will guarantee to bring a taste of the Caribbean to your dinning table.
If you don’t want to use the mango dipping sauce you can try;
- BBQ sauce
- Honey mustard
- Tomato sauce
link to where you can purchase Mixed Herbs 250g
More paleo appetisers that you may like
- Brazilian cheese bread recipe
- Oven baked coconut shrimp
- Cajun sweet potato fries
- Charred asparagus with lemon
Paleo chicken nuggets
paleo, gluten free,
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 25 mins
- Category: Dinner
Ingredients
- 1 cup of desiccated coconut
- 1/3 cup of ground almonds
- 1 large free range egg
- —————————————————
- For the chicken seasoning
- 200g of chicken breast (washed and cut into chunks)
- —————————————————–
- For the flour
- 1/2 cup and 2 tbsp of tapioca starch
- 1 tsp of mixed herbs
- 1/2 tsp himalayan pink salt
- 1 tsp of black pepper
- 1/4 tsp of curry powder
- 1/8 tsp of cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Line a tray with parchment paper and generously brush the paper with melted coconut oil
- Preheat oven at 200 Celsius
- Combine the coconut and ground almonds in a bowl.
- In a separate bowl, crack the egg and put the tapioca starch with condiments in another bowl.
- Place the chicken pieces in a bowl and proceed to season with the herb and spices.
- Dip the chicken into the tapioca starch, be sure to evenly coat each piece of chicken. Then dip into the egg before rolling in the coconut/almond “breadcrumbs”..
- Put each chicken nugget on the tray lined with parchment paper and the repeat steps 5,6 and 7 until all the nuggets are on the try.
- Bake in the oven until both sides are crispy, this should take 12-15 minutes. Keep an eye on the nuggets so they don’t burn.
- When cooked, remove from oven and serve accordingly.
I hate to leave comments before I try a recipe, but I have a couple questions! Can I substitute tapioca flour for tapioca starch? (Are they the same thing?) & What do you mean by, herb, in this recipe? I can’t wait to make these and the sauce!!!!
Hi Usnea.
I’m happy tp assist with preparing this recipe. Tapioca flour and tapioca starch aren’t the same thing. The starch derived from the root, it’s used as a thickener. On the other hand, the flour is simply the whole cassava ground. You can use any of these that you have to hand. In regards to what is mixed herbs, mixed herbs are a medley of various herbs – parsley, coriander, savory, oregano. You can buy them as a herbaceous blend making it easier to use. I will post a link above to where you can buy some from.
Yaaas! The prefect touch of sweetness every chicken nugget needs. My family is going to love these!
Thanks Karly. I promise yourself and the family will love this recipe.
This is a wonderful recipe 😍 I did it almost exactly as directed! I made my own mixed herb blend, used 2 eggs, added a tiny bit of salt to the coconut, and used cashews instead of almonds. I love you! This is what I hoped it would be like and so much more! I’m going to make these again tomorrow!
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Hi Usnea. Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback. I always aim to please my readers when creating my recipes so this comment means so much to me.
I bet kids and adults alike would love these. I am going to have to try and make a vegan version of these.
Would love to see your vegan version of this recipe Dannii
BIG chicken nugget fan here 😉 and I really think McDonald’s needs to get the recipe for your sauce, I could eat that all by itself, just hand me a spoon!
Lovely comment! Thanks Sue;)
I never have had coconut chicken nuggets but what a delicious idea instead of traditional breadcrumbs. I can imagine the flavor. Like being on a tropical island. I will try this soon.
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Hi Ali, Yes this recipe will definitely take you to paradise.
I love the idea of coconut chicken and your sauce kicks butt and takes names! Thanks for idea & recipe.
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Thank you so much
Yess, I absolutely love chicken nuggets! When I saw this recipe, I got so excited as I don’t normally cook and in-fact I eat a lot of frozen chicken nuggets, but no longer.. This recipe has definitely gotten my attention and will be purchasing these ingredients next time I’m out grocery shopping. Thanks for sharing your talented expertise! 🙂
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Thank you! I’m excited for you Pete and please follow up with some feedback.