Coconut Chicken Strips

Coated with batter and then deep fried, chicken strips aren’t very healthy, but are definitely delicious! For those of us on the low FODMAP diet, however, it can be next to impossible to find safe chicken strips to eat when you have a craving. Even if you can find a gluten-free version, not all gluten-free flours are low FODMAP (including soy and bean flours) and it may contain other added FODMAPs. Garlic or onion powder are often added to store bought gluten-free breaded meats to boost flavour. These low FODMAP Coconut Chicken Strips are full of flavour and will satisfy your cravings!

Feeling unsure if you will like this recipe? Try it out, you may be surprised! Classic chicken strips are great, but these are also awesome. They have a nice mild toasted coconut flavour that goes surprisingly well with chicken.

The chicken strips need to first be lightly coated in the flour mixture, then dunked in egg, and finally rolled in the coconut mixture.

These chicken strips are much more nutritious than what you might get at a restaurant. They are baked in the oven rather than fried. Restaurants often use trans fats for fried foods.¹ Trans fats are not heart healthy and increases our risk of heart disease by lowering our good (HDL) cholesterol and raising our bad (LDL) cholesterol.¹ Even though these are baked they still get nice and crispy and browned.

Regular chicken strips also tend to have a lot of breading made with refined flours. Most of the bread crumbs in this recipe are replaced with shredded coconut. You can make the bread crumbs healthier by making them yourself using a whole grain low FODMAP bread. If you don’t have any low FODMAP breadcrumbs or bread you could sub out the breadcrumbs with more shredded coconut. Just be cautious of the upper serving size limit per meal/snack of 1/4 cup, according to Monash.² Larger serving sizes of shredded coconut (1/2 cup or more) can become high in sorbitol.²

It’s easy to make a balanced and family friendly meal using this recipe. My recipe for Potato Wedges cooks at the same temperature (400 F) and can roast in the oven at the same time as the chicken. Pineapple Sweet and Sour Sauce is a quick and easy dipping sauce for the chicken that compliments the coconut nicely. Add some veggies and you have a complete meal! A side salad is one easy option and nice for summer. You could also add some carrot sticks to the pan of potatoes to roast or make a batch of a healthy soup. I have a delicious recipe for Carrot Ginger Soup that I highly recommend!

When making this recipe with potato wedges, put the pan of potatoes in the oven approximately 10 minutes before the chicken. That way they will finish cooking at approximately the same time.

If you somehow have leftover coconut chicken strips (they disappear quickly at my house!) you can keep them in the fridge and save them for another meal. Reheat the chicken strips in a toaster oven to keep them crispy. Make sure to eat them within 3-4 days to avoid the risk of food poisoning.³ 

Coconut Chicken Strips

Crispy baked low FODMAP Coconut Chicken Strips! Goes great with pineapple sweet and sour dipping sauce.

3.67 from 18 votes

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Course Main Dish

Servings 4 adult servings

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 lb skinless boneless chicken breasts
• 1/3 cup low FODMAP one-to-one flour blend
• 1 tsp basil
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup shredded coconut
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 400 F. Lightly grease a baking pan. Option: cover the baking pan with foil before greasing for easier clean up.
• Mix the flour, basil, salt and pepper in one bowl. Crack and beat an egg in a second bowl. Mix together the coconut and bread crumbs in a third bowl.
• Slice the chicken breasts into strips with approximately even thickness. Lightly coat each strip with the flour mixture, then dunk into the egg, and then coat with the coconut breadcrumbs mixture. Place each coated strip onto the baking sheet.
• Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully flip chicken strips. Bake for another 8 minutes until coconut is browned and chicken fully cooked. Cut open a chicken strip at the thickest point. If the middle of the chicken is still pink, put the strips back into the oven for another 3 minutes or until no longer pink.
• Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Notes

• When I have large chicken breasts I cut them into 5 strips. Just do your best to make them approximately the same thickness, it’s okay if they are varying in lengths. Even thickness is key for even cooking.
• Bob's Red Mill is one example of a brand that makes a gluten free and low FODMAP one-to-one flour blend. If you don't have a flour blend you can make your own with 3 tbsp brown rice flour, 1.5 tbsp sweet white rice flour and 1.5 tbsp tapioca starch.
• Shredded coconut is low FODMAP at 1/4 cup per meal/snack (Monash University).

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References

1. Eat Right Ontario, 2016. http://www.eatrightontario.ca/en/Articles/Fat/Tackling-Trans-Fat.aspx
2. Monash University Low FODMAP App, 2017.
3. Government of Canada, 2014. https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/general-food-safety-tips/safe-food-storage.html