Strawberry & Toasted Almond Crusted Chicken

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4.5 from 2 votes

Strawberry & Toasted Almond Crusted Chicken

Tender Chicken encased in a layer of gooey strawberry goodness and crunchy toasted almond coating.

Prep Time25 mins

Total Time1 hr 15 mins

Servings: servings (see notes below)

Calories: 253kcal

Ingredients

For Strawberry Reduction/Puree:

150 g strawberries (this is about 10 medium-sized berries) - washed, de-stemmed and diced
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1 cup + 3 Tbsp. water
2 Tbsp. cornstarch

For Toasted Almond Breading:

50 g toasted almond slices (either buy toasted if available, or make your own - recipe here). *Note: The almonds need to be toasted, otherwise the almond flavor won't come through much.
1/3 cup gluten free breadcrumbs (if buying packaged, be careful to read labels - for GERD, make sure they don't contain acids or lemon/lime juices, and for both IBS/GERD make sure they don't contain any onion or garlic. Alternatively, you could make your own breadcrumbs by drying out gluten free bread for several days, then placing in a blender and pulsing into crumbs. I used this kind that I found at a local grocery store)
1/2 tsp. dried rosemary
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
3/4 tsp. salt (I use pink himalayan salt which seems to be less intense than regular salt, so if you're using regular you might want to use a bit less)

For Chicken:

12 oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts (pounded out to be level, ~1/4" thick)

Instructions

For Strawberry Reduction/Puree:

Place the strawberries, sugar and 1 cup of the water in a small saucepan over medium heat.
Cook, stirring frequently, for ~10-15 minutes, until sauce has reduced to ~1/4" in the pan.
Remove from heat, transfer to a blender and blend until the strawberries are completely pureed/liquefied.
Return the pureed strawberry sauce to the saucepan over medium heat.
Mix the cornstarch in a small dish with the remaining 3 Tbsp. cold water until it dissolves, then add to the strawberry sauce and stir constantly until sauce is very thick (seriously, you want it incredibly thick. The goal is to be almost as thick as honey, almost like molasses).
Remove from heat, place in a large, shallow dish and allow to cool while you make the almond breading.

For Toasted Almond Breading:

At this point, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Place the toasted almonds, rosemary, thyme and salt in a blender and pulse until almonds are finely diced.
Place in a large, shallow dish, add the breadcrumbs and mix until thoroughly combined.

For Chicken:

Before working with the chicken, prepare your baking pan. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set next to the dish with the almond/breadcrumb mixture (you want a bit of an assembly line going. Dish with raspberry sauce, dish with almond/breadcrumb mixture, parchment-lined baking sheet).
Take a chicken breast and, using your fingers, smear the raspberry sauce all over. You want a semi-thick but not too thick layer on each side, and as much chicken covered as possible.
Place the chicken breast down flat in the dish with the almond/breadcrumbs mixture, rinse and dry off your hands, then gently turn the chicken breast over to other side so both sides of the chicken get covered, then place onto the parchment-lined baking sheet. *Note: I'm not going to lie, this step is a tiny bit annoying... just stop, rinse and dry your hands again if needed, and it will all work out fine, I promise! My chicken breasts didn't seem like they were totally covered with the strawberry stuff, then some had spots that didn't have almond/breadcrumb mixture (where my fingers had been) once they were on the baking sheet. I didn't worry about the first issue and just threw some of the extra almond/breadcrumb mixture on the spots where my fingers had been. They all came out looking and tasting great!
Repeat step 2-3 for the remaining chicken breast(s).
Bake in preheated oven for ~22-25 minutes, until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches at least 165 degrees F.

Notes

For Low FODMAP/IBS/GERD/Acid Refluxers:

You have to eyeball serving on this a bit. That's why it's important to pound the chicken out into a nice even layer, so you can gauge when it's done how to cut it into 4 even servings. You know it's 12oz of chicken and yields 4 servings, so try and visualize it. Or weigh out no more than 3+1/4oz of the chicken and that will definitely be a safe amount. It's important with this recipe to not overdo it, because of the fat from the almonds and all the sugar in the strawberry sauce, but eaten in the right portion you should have no symptoms from it (as long as you're not in an IBS flare-up and/or in the elimination diet phase for GERD).
This recipe may not be suitable for those with GERD/Acid Reflux that are in the "dropping acid" phase (har de har har, I know) due to the rosemary and thyme as well as the higher fat content. This is more for those who have gotten their acid levels under control and are in the maintenance phase.

[nutrition-label]*Information above is based on the specific brands/types of ingredients I used (as one example, pink himalayan sea salt is lower sodium than regular salt). Values vary if using any other brands/types of ingredients.*
*The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA.*
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