I don’t like to use the word “healthy” in the name of many of my recipes because I think that people often have their own definition of what healthy means to them.
But… given this recipe is packed with lean protein, quinoa, nutritional yeast, and ground flax, I am confident to say that this is probably a healthy choice for dinner for most people.
I have been prepping and making various versions of quinoa crusted chicken for the last year, but find them all a bit lacking. So, I was forced to create my own! I am pretty sure that adding nutritional yeast to the “crust” is what made this go top notch.
Not only is nutritional yeast a great source of B vitamins, it tastes really good when added to all of the things in life.
Vegans and vegetarians often use it as a Parmesan cheese substitute, and while I am not vegan, nor vegetarian, I can have an appreciation for anything healthy that gives a cheese flavor. I also added Dijon mustard to the egg wash mixture for some extra zing!
These are a multi step production, so I like to make a ton at once, flash freeze on a cookie sheet overnight, and then transfer to a freezer safe container.
Then, I have a weeknight dinner ready to go into the oven with only one baking pan required!
EXPERT TIP – If you are short on time, don’t cut up the chicken into “fingers”, simply coat it whole. You will spend far less time messing around dipping chicken
Healthy "Cheesy" Chicken Fingers
Ingredients
- 4 small chicken breasts sliced into "fingers"
- 2 cups COOKED quinoa
- 1 Tablespoon ground flax seed
- 2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
- 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 eggs
Instructions
- In a medium sized bowl, combined the quinoa, flax seed, nutritional yeast, granulated garlic, and Italian seasoning.
- In a separate bowl, combine the eggs and Dijon Mustard.
- Dip each piece of chicken into the egg wash mixture, and then over into the quinoa mixture.
- Lay each piece on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- For prep ahead - freeze the chicken raw overnight and then transfer into freezer safe container. Doing this allows prevents the chicken fingers from freezing in one big ball.
- To cook, bake at 375F for 20-30 minutes. Cook time is completely dependent on the size of your chicken. Cook to 165F.
- If you like yours extra crispy, you can spray the chicken with cooking spray and put under the broiler for a minute or two.
Nutrition
So, there you have it, a way to jam pack protein and so many good nutrients into little bites of crispy deliciousness!
Leave a Reply