Beginner Air Fryer Chili Coconut Chicken Strips

About

If you’re new to Carb Manager, the Keto diet, or just appreciate simplicity, this is the recipe for you! This beginner Keto dish includes homemade chicken strips rolled in a crunchy mix of almonds, coconut, and spices. Chili powder adds a touch of heat. Don’t worry, if you don’t enjoy spicy foods, you can simply add less chili powder or omit it completely. You don’t even have to turn your oven on for this one – the chicken strips cook in under 15 minutes in your air fryer. If you don’t own an air fryer but would still like to make the recipe, you can quickly convert it to cooking in your oven. If you use an oven, cook the chicken strips at 375 degrees for 15 or more minutes until done.

How Easy Is This Keto Air Fryer Recipe?

This is a great Keto recipe to keep if you’re just learning how to build your Keto diet. Utilize the recipe for meal prepping or when you’re making a hot dinner. Choose one of Carb Manager’s easy Keto side dish recipes to pair with the chicken when you’re first starting out. Add the chili coconut chicken strips to Keto salads, wraps, or pasta as your repertoire expands.

Calculating Macros On Carb Manager

Check out the macro chart at the top of any Carb Manager recipe. This is where you can adjust your serving sizes and calculate how many macros will be added to your food log. In this recipe, each serving is just one chicken strip, so it’s easier for you to add or subtract your servings. Click the + and – buttons to adjust your servings and watch how the carb, protein, and fat macros rise and fall.

Ingredients

¼ oz almonds, sliced
¼ oz coconut, dried, shredded or flaked, unsweetened
2 tablespoon almond flour
¼ teaspoon chili powder
⅛ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon sesame seeds
8 oz chicken breast boneless skinless raw
½ teaspoon olive or extra virgin olive oil
⅛ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

Make the crunchy coating first by crushing sliced almonds and flaked coconut. You can either use your hands to crush the ingredients or roll the ingredients inside a Ziploc bag with a rolling pin. Make sure you have a mix of larger and smaller pieces, but the largest must still be small enough to stick to the chicken later. Once crushed, mix almond flour, chili powder, onion powder, and sesame seeds into the coating. Set this aside while you prepare the chicken.
Turn on your air fryer to preheat to 360 degrees. Pat whole chicken breast dry with a paper towel, if needed, and rub the olive oil into the flesh. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Only after seasoning, slice the breast into strips that are 1 – 1 ½ ounce each. One by one, pick up a chicken strip and roll it in your chili-coconut coating. Aim for 80%-90% coverage with a mix of almond and coconut pieces on the chicken.
Arrange all the coated chicken strips on your air fryer cooking tray. Cook the chicken strips for about 12 minutes or until done. Look for a golden-brown outside with darkened edges where the almonds and coconut are. You can also use a meat thermometer to confirm your chicken has cooked to at least 165 degrees internally. Let the chicken strips cool for 1-2 minutes before enjoying.