Spicy Peanut Encrusted Chicken Tenders

After a whirlwind weekend with my best friend in town from New Jersey, B and I were looking forward to making a simple, no-fuss dinner on Sunday night.  After some discussion, we decided to make a healthier version of breaded chicken tenders.  Typically, when we make breaded chicken tenders, we do a basic dredging and breading technique using flour, eggs, and panko bread crumbs.  But this time we decided to use some different ingredients to see if we could make this a bit healthier without sacrificing on flavor or texture.

To start, B got to work trimming the fat off some already lean chicken breasts.  He trimmed them down to smaller tender pieces, which would be easier for the breading process.  This would also help the chicken cook evenly and more quickly.  After trimming the chicken, B started in on the bread crumbs.  We decided to try using crushed peanuts in lieu of bread.  He put in a generous cup and a half of unsalted, shelled peanuts in the food processor along with a few shakes of salt, fresh cracked mixed peppercorns, garlic powder and red pepper flakes.  The food processor very easily and quickly pulsed the peanuts to a nice bread crumb texture.

Meanwhile, I got to work on the marinade that would bind the crushed peanuts to the chicken.  Again, thinking healthy, I decided to skip the eggs and work with mustard instead.  I have found that mustard is a great ingredient to work with because it has no sugar and very few calories (depending on the type of mustard you are using).  I decided to use what was left in a jar of Trader Joe's Aioli Garlic mustard that we had in the fridge but realized that there wasn't enough to just use it alone so I added some leftover Grey Poupon deli mustard to the mix.  To thin out the mustard, I added both rice wine vinegar and vegetable oil to taste and whisked the mustard until I was satisfied with its consistency.

I realize that the picture above is a bit messy.  I didn't bother up cleaning the bowl for the photo since I'd be using the same bowl to coat the chicken.  After the chicken had a nice coating of the mustard marinade, it went into a baking dish to get a nice layer of peanut crumbs.

Then the chicken went into the oven at 400 degrees for about twenty minutes.  I never fry chicken tenders because baking is way more healthier and gives you an even better crispy result.  Plus, I will just put some aluminum foil on a baking sheet with some cooking spray and this also makes cleaning up super easy.  After we put the chicken in the oven, we turned the tenders about halfway through baking to get an even crispy coating on both sides.

The end result was incredibly tasty.  I didn't keep an eye on B when he added the red pepper flakes but he must have been generous because there was a nice kick to the crumb coating.  While the coating didn't stick to the chicken as well as a traditional breading, I think it held up well overall.  The tenders had deeper layers of flavor with the hint of mustard taste along with the subtle peanut flavor.  We didn't think this would be a spicy dish so we paired it with a Sriracha-mayo dipping sauce, which added a lot of heat.  Thankfully the arugula salad helped cut the intensity of heat.  The arugula salad had sliced hard-boiled eggs, mozzarella cheese and for me, cooked shrimp.  It was kind of a random mix of what we had as leftovers in our fridge and freezer but tasty all the same.

This dish was definitely creative in its ingredients and a great alternative to our typical breaded chicken dish. I think it was a hit and we'll add it to the roster when we're looking to cook a bit healthier.

So tell me, what healthy substitutions you make to your favorite dishes?