Coconut-Crusted Chicken Strips

I never learned how to cook growing up. My mom cooked a little, but I grew up in a typical 80’s Texas home… casseroles, canned vegetables, Velveeta cheese dip, squirt butter. Ya know… the good stuff!

In my home, we didn’t eat a lot of fresh vegetables. We ate things that were convenient and could be on hand when we needed them. Frozen and canned foods were the norm back then.

As an adult, I totally relate to this necessity for convenience. Life’s busy, you want easy. The thing is, easy doesn’t have to be unhealthy. And healthy doesn’t have to be all that hard. I know cooking doesn’t come easily for everyone, but if this girl can go from Velveeta cheese dip to becoming a Certified Natural Chef, there’s hope for anyone!

This coconut-crusted chicken strips recipe is a super tasty, kid-friendly, slightly sweet and savory dish. You can see in the image above that it’s accompanied by a simple onion and summer squash sauté, as well as some sautéed kale – making for a balanced meal. It can be made in about 45 minutes, with prep and cooking time. Discover for yourself how simple and gratifying cooking can feel – especially when it feeds your belly, your health and your soul.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds Chicken Breast, trimmed to strips
• 1 cup Coconut Oil, divided
• 1 1/2 cups Shredded Coconut
• 1/2 cup Coconut Flour
• 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
• 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt or Herbamare seasoning blend

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325F degrees.
2. In a rimmed 9×13” dish, place chicken and half of the oil. Put into oven for 5-10 minutes, to let chicken warm with oil (if chicken is too cold, it will harden the coconut oil).
3. Melt other half of coconut oil in small sauté pan on low heat. Place in small bowl.
4. In a medium bowl, combine dry ingredients.
5. Remove chicken from oven. Set up assembly line to do the following:
6. Dip chicken into oil, dredge with dry mixture, coating generously. Place back into pan.
7. Once all strips have been covered, any remaining ‘breading’ can go on top of strips. Pour remaining coconut oil over the chicken and place back into oven.
8. Cook for 10-15 minutes, until chicken begins to look opaque, and the topping is lightly browned.
9. Remove pan from oven and flip each strip. Return to oven for another 10 minutes until coconut is lightly browned and meat is opaque.
10. Turn heat up to 400 and cook for 5+ minutes more, to crisp up the top of the strips.
11. Remove from heat and let cool before serving.
12. Store leftovers in airtight container, refrigerate for up to 5 days.