Coconut Cracker Crusted Chicken…It’s a keeper.
MY SON ATE CHICKEN!!!!!!
I know that I have talked about how hard it is to get my baby boy to try new foods. Especially MEAT. He does not touch it. I mean he will flick it off his plate without even trying it. I don’t know what it is or why?
But look at this beautiful sight. Chicken in hand. Taking a big bite 😉
I saw this delicious recipe on Pinterest for coconut chicken tenders. But of course I do not have the ingredients that I need so I have to improvise…
This coconut cracker crusted chicken is an awesome recipe because I only used 6 simple ingredients that I had on hand at home.
Tip: I ALWAYS bake instead of frying whenever I can. This recipe is perfect for baking!
I did not have any panko or breadcrumbs. But what I did have was whole wheat saltine crackers. This also doubled as a fun activity for my daughter because I put a bunch of crackers in a plastic bag and let her smash them with a cup. I am telling you, this chick is going to be on “Chopped” Juniors one day.
I didn’t take as many step by step pictures because I was winging it as usual and wasn’t sure how it was going to come out!
Coconut Cracker Crusted Chicken
What you need:
- Chicken cutlets
- Whole wheat saltine crackers
- Egg
- Shredded coconut
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- Milk (optional)
What to do:
- Cut the chicken into whatever size you would like. I made a bunch of small chicken tenders but you can absolutely leave them as a whole cutlet. (As you know, my obsession with dipping; hence the homemade nuggets.) Sprinkled salt, pepper, and let them marinate in milk until it was time for dinner. This step is totally optional.
- Make your crust. Smash saltine crackers and add equal parts of shredded coconut. Set aside in a bowl.
- Beat an egg in a separate bowl.
- Bread each piece of chicken. Dip the chicken in the egg and coat as best you can. Then drop chicken into the crust mixture, cover, and press firmly.
- Lightly oil a baking sheet and place all breaded chicken spread out.
Bake instead of fry! Actually broiling is the best way to get a delicious, crispy crust! But you must watch carefully because it is easy to burn things on broil!
- Set the oven to broil and keep a careful eye on these!
- Depending on the chicken size, broil for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Add a little more oil to the baking sheet and flip the chicken.
- Continue to watch on broil and wait until you have a golden brown crust.
Coconut Cracker Crusted Chicken
Omg is this perfection or what? I had to make some homemade dipping sauces. Don’t worry. Super simple.
Honey Mustard. Just do equal parts honey and mustard.
Sriracha Mayo. Again, depending how spicy you want it. I did about a tablespoon of sriracha, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, and 1/2 cup of miracle whip. (I wanted to make it a little lighter so I used this instead of mayonnaise.)
There was not one leftover piece. But the biggest win of all was that my son had not one but actually TWO pieces of this CHICKEN. So I will definitely be making this again very soon.
The kicker is that I served it with a side of quinoa and he ate that too! I think I will have to serve quinoa outside from now on but I was a very, very happy mama to see my son devouring both of these!!!
Read about my picky eater tips…
Or if you like this recipe, try one of these…
