Gluten Free Low Carb Chicken Nuggets
An easy weeknight chicken recipe you'll reach for over and over.
Dear Friends,
I’m writing to you today with a recipe that isn’t mine, but a friend Rose Stevens, a volunteer at The Great Gluten Escape summer camp at Camp Gilmont in Texas. I volunteered in the kitchen for the week of camp this year - my son’s first camp experience! It was quite an experience for both of us.
Working at the camp was a little nostalgic for me - it’s the kind of intense “every day is a week” experience that you get in seasonal places. It reminded me of working in restaurants at Yellowstone National Park when I was in college approximately one million years ago. (Have I ever told you about those days? That’s how I met my husband, a story for another day)
I worked in the camp kitchens with Rose a passionate volunteer who’s headed up the camp kitchen for years and Kamryn, the toughest, sweetest young lady ever as well as a troop of volunteers and Camp Gilmont’s kitchen staff. Let me tell you it took all of us to turn out food that made all these campers gluten free dreams come true. Everything was gluten free, cinnamon rolls (see the pic of Kamryn and me rolling them out below), fried oreos, brisket, donuts, sweet and sour pork & fried rice, pasta, corn dogs, s’mores, tacos, french toast, banana pudding, strawberry shortcakes, of course, these nuggets and so much more. It was a gluten free kids’ dream.
You guys, I’ve never seen such grateful kids, such grateful diners. So many kids ran over to thank us. So many kids had outbursts of joy when they saw their tray in the camp food line. Do you ever remember seeing that in a cafeteria? To say their faces made all the hard work worth it is an understatement. (I don’t want to kid you 3 meals and 1 snack a day for 140 is a LOT of work)
The other thing that struck me at camp was how FREE the kids were. A group of kids that usually brings their own bag of food to every party, and has likely NEVER been through a food line didn’t have to worry that there would be crumbs in the food that would make them sick, that the food wouldn’t be for them. For one week they only heard YES, and could just be kids. What a gift.
Back to these nuggets. We served these at camp with macaroni and cheese and salad and sauce from a national chicken chain (their sauce is gluten free but not the chicken). The kids LOVED it. Why low carb? People with one autoimmune disease like celiac, tend to have others including type 1 diabetes. So, some campers are counting their carbs, and having low-carb delicious kid-friendly food options is important!
This recipe shared here with Rose’s permission uses not traditional gluten free breadcrumbs but crushed pork rinds. This really adds a great crunchy exterior and seasons the chicken nicely. I made a double batch of this, we ate it for dinner one night and I froze the rest for future lunches, they’ve reheated well for those of you who like to meal prep. I like to have a stash of things in the freezer ready for sending to school lunch.
I really love the smoked paprika in this recipe, it adds great flavor. Instead of dipping each piece in the egg I threw them all in at once and fished them out to dip in the crumbs- mainly because I’m lazy and rebellious. I can report it worked great, just in case you’re another lazy rebel.
I’d love to hear how it goes if you make these, and if you’ve got pictures be sure to tag me I’m nextlevelglutenfree on instagram or facebook.
Happy cooking!!
Rachel
Next Level Gluten Free recipes are tested over and over and scientifically work! Then I walk you through all the details. I’m like your friend in the kitchen, who’s a gluten free expert. Upgrade to a paid membership so we can hang out more and you get to eat more delicious gluten free food.
Gluten Free Low Carb Chicken Nuggets
Serves 4-6
(Recipe by Rose Stevens)
3 Chicken breasts or large boneless thighs cut into 1 inch chunks
2 eggs
1 bag pork rinds (Rose recommends mixing original and bbq flavor)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp onion powder
Heat the oven to 375F. Crush your pork rinds in a food processor until they resemble crumbs. Place them in a bowl. In a separate bowl toss your chicken pieces with spices and salt to coat them.
Beat the two eggs and dip the chicken pieces into the egg, and then the crumbs, so that they have an even coating. Spread the chicken pieces on a parchment paper lined or greased sheet pan and bake for 30 (breast)-40 (thigh) minutes. (note from Rachel - mine were done at 25 but I have a fast oven!) Serve.
