I can’t make this recipe without getting that Nationwide jingle with Peyton Manning stuck in my head, so now you have it stuck in your head too. I’m just that kind of person. But all earworms aside, this is one of the most kid-friendly meals I make. Both of my kids love it, which is saying something because they have vastly different tastes. It’s also really versatile. You can serve it over zoodles, Miracle Noodles, hearts of palm noodles, or regular noodles if your family isn’t keto. Last night, I made myself a couple of chaffles and the family ate theirs on sub rolls.
It’s not a tough recipe to make, either. Last night I had to hit the gym, pick up the girl child from school, take a shower, and have it on the table before my husband and the boy child got home from soccer practice. And I got it done early, so I had to put their sandwiches in a warm oven to wait for them.
First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. You’ll get started with 4 chicken thighs or breasts. I’ve done it with both and it turns out well no matter what. Just do what’s better for your macros. You’ll want it to be about a pound of meat total, although if you go over a little that’s no big deal. Too much and you’ll run out of breadcrumbs, so be careful. Pound them to about 1/4 inch thickness and set them aside.
With the chicken prepped, start heating 1/4 cup of oil in an enameled cast iron skillet over medium high heat, so it’s ready by the time you’re finished with the breadcrumbs. Avocado oil is best for frying because of its high smoke point, but I like a little olive oil flavor in this one, so I usually go 3 tablespoons of avocado oil to one tablespoon of olive oil. Once you get that going, start the breadcrumbs. If you’ve read my other recipes, you know how this starts. Mix together 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese and 1/2 cup of pork rind crumbs, then mix in a teaspoon of salt, a teaspoon of Italian seasoning, a half teaspoon each of garlic powder and onion powder, and however much black pepper you want. Put that on a large plate, then beat an egg in a small bowl. Set the whole thing up next to your stove.
Take the largest piece of chicken, dip it in the beaten egg to coat, dredge it in the crumbs until it’s well-coated, then gently place it into the hot oil. Repeat with the next largest one, down to the smallest. Fry them for about 4 minutes per side, turning them gently with tongs to avoid knocking off the breading, then remove them from the heat but keep them in the pan. Top each with 1/4 cup of marinara sauce, making sure that the sauce you use does not have sugar listed in the ingredients. I prefer the Rao’s brand. Normally I’d link to it on Amazon but their prices are obscene. Go to Costco or shop the sales at your grocery store and stock up when it’s on sale. After you put on the sauce, top each piece of chicken with a slice of provolone cheese. I usually tear the slices in half so I can get them to cover more of the chicken. Once you put the cheese on, put the whole skillet in the preheated oven until the cheese melts, about 10 minutes. Remove them from the oven and serve immediately.
Ready to go into the oven. Yeah, I know there are only 3. It’s what I had. Don’t @ me.
Since I made sandwiches this time, I decided to whip out the trusty Dash and make the recipe for Wonder Bread chaffles I’ve seen going around. It’s just an egg beaten with a tablespoon of almond flour, a tablespoon of mayonnaise, 1/8 teaspoon of baking powder, and a teaspoon of water. Because there’s no cream cheese, you don’t need a blender for it. It turned out okay, IMO. It reminded me of cloud bread. My main issue with it is that it was a bit softer in texture and had some trouble holding up to this type of sandwich, and that it’s a bit higher in calories than most chaffles because of the mayonnaise. I want to try it again replacing the mayonnaise with a tablespoon of cream cheese, and maybe adding 1/8 teaspoon or so of a liquid sweetener like Sukrin Gold Fiber Syrup in order to replicate that hint of sweetness that’s in Wonder Bread. It would be great with some peanut butter and sugar free jelly, though. But I digress.
To serve these, either slap them on your bread substitute of choice, or put them on your pasta substitute of choice. If you use pasta, you may want to add some extra sauce. Just make sure you add that to your macros!
Pound the chicken to an even thickness of about 1/4 inch using a meat mallet. Set it aside.
Heat your oil of choice in a large enameled cast-iron skillet over medium high heat.
Mix together the parmesan, pork rind crumbs, Italian seasoning, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and pepper on a large plate. Beat the egg in a bowl and place it next to the plate near your cooking surface.
Dip your largest piece of chicken into the egg, then dredge in the breadcrumbs until well-coated. Place it gently in the oil. Repeat with the next largest piece of chicken down to the smallest. Cook for about 4 minutes per side, until golden brown.
When the chicken is cooked, remove the skillet from the heat but leave the chicken in it. Top each chicken breast with 1/4 cup of marinara and one slice of provolone. Place in the oven and bake until the cheese is melted, about ten minutes. Serve over your favorite pasta substitute or between two slices of your favorite bread substitute.
Macros per serving for the chicken, using thighs: 456 calories, 2 grams net carbs, 34 grams protein, 35 grams fat. As always, calculating macros for fried foods is difficult, but this is my best estimate.
For the Chaffles
Preheat your Dash. Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl or ramekin.
Pour half of the batter onto the Dash. It'll be thick, so you may need to spread it around a bit so it covers the entire iron. Close and cook for 3-5 minutes. Repeat with the remaining batter.
Macros per serving (2 chaffles): 215 calories, 1 gram net carbs, 8 grams protein, 21 grams fat.
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One of the hardest things for me to do is to figure out what kind of stuff my kids are going to want to eat on any given day. They’re 10 and 11 and have very different dietary needs–one is a very physically active beanpole and needs a ton of calories just to maintain, the other is the exact opposite. My stepson only wants to eat carbs and hates anything chewier than a hot dog, and my daughter would only eat meat, cheese, bread, and candy if I would let her. They both adored this recipe. I can usually not get my stepson to eat any condiment that isn’t barbecue sauce, and this recipe is how he figured out that he loves honey mustard. He ate an entire chicken breast, which I don’t think I’ve ever seen him do. It almost brought a tear to my eye. The struggle is real.
There are several keys to this recipe. The first is the breading. I use a combination of parmesan cheese and pork rind crumbs. For the cheese, you don’t want the fancy kind that you get in the refrigerated section. It’s actually best to use the shelf-stable kind. That doesn’t mean that you should use the green can stuff, because I don’t trust that it isn’t half sawdust. If you have a Costco membership, they sell a great brand called Cello (the same brand that brings you Whisps, if you’ve ever had those snacks) that advertises no fillers and is a nice neutral salty taste for breading. The pork rind crumbs I use are the Pork King Good brand, which I found on Amazon and bought without really looking at the name and then cracked up laughing one day when I finally noticed the joke.
The second key to the recipe is simply using enough oil for cooking, and making sure that the breading is fully cooked before you flip them. Nobody likes it when the breading sticks to the bottom of the pan. That’s just sad. So make sure that when they’re ready to go in, the oil is nice and hot and it covers the entire bottom of the pan.
Start off with a pound of chicken breasts. If necessary, butterfly two large breasts to create four smaller ones. Using the flat side of a meat tenderizer mallet, pound them into even thickness. Beat an egg in a small bowl, then put 1/2 cup each of pork crumbs and parmesan cheese on a plate. Add a teaspoon of dried parsley, and a half teaspoon each of ground mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, and kosher salt, then grind pepper over it to taste. Toss it together with a fork until it’s thoroughly blended.
Heat up 1/4 cup of avocado oil in a large enameled cast iron skillet over medium high heat. While I have a Le Creuset that I got as a wedding present, you don’t need a $200 skillet. This $40 one works fine. They’re good to have, though, because they can get nice even heat and aren’t as likely to have things stick to them as a stainless steel one might. I like the avocado oil for frying because it has a high smoke point. When you heat olive oil up to 375, it starts to degrade and burn, and it affects the flavor. Avocado is a nice neutral oil that can withstand the heat needed to get that nice crispy coating that you want.
When the oil is hot, take the largest chicken breast and dip it in the egg, then coat it evenly on both sides with the crumb mixture. Plop it in the oil and repeat with each breast, making sure the thickest parts are toward the center of the pan. You’ll likely have extra, but it’s better than not enough. After about 5-6 minutes, you should see a nice golden brown around the bottom edges of the breasts. At that point, they’re ready to flip. Using kitchen tongs, carefully flip them over and cook for another 5-6 minutes. Remove them from the pan when the breading is browned and place them on a foil lined cookie sheet.
This is what they look like after they’re turned.
Top each chicken breast with a slice of deli ham and a slice of Swiss cheese. You may want to tear the cheese in half and put it down end to end to make sure that it covers the entire piece of chicken. I used mozzarella for the ones I was making for the kids. Put it in a preheated 350-degree oven until the cheese melts, about 8 minutes.
While the chicken is in the oven, make your honey mustard. Start with 1/4 cup of mayonnaise, and add two tablespoons of Dijon mustard. Then drizzle in four teaspoons of Sukrin Gold Fiber Syrup or a similar honey substitute and whisk with a fork until it’s a nice even drizzly consistency. If you want, taste it and add more syrup. I like mine only lightly sweetened. When the chicken is out of the oven, drizzle each one with some of the honey mustard, or serve it on the side for dipping.
Keto Chicken Cordon Bleu
Breaded, fried chicken breast topped with ham and cheese with a honey mustard dipping sauce.
Preheat the oven to 350 and line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil.
If needed, butterfly your chicken breasts so you have four thin cutlets. Using the flat side of a meat tenderizer, pound the chicken breasts into even thickness.
In a small bowl, beat the egg. On a large plate, mix together the parmesan, pork rind crumbs, parsley, mustard, garlic and onion powders, salt and pepper.
Heat an enameled cast iron skillet to medium high and put the oil in it. Once it's up to temperature, dip the largest chicken breast into the egg and then into the crumb mixture, making sure to coat each side well. Place it into the skillet. Repeat with the next largest chicken breast until you've finished with the smallest.
Fry the chicken in the oil for about 5-6 minutes, until you see a nice golden brown around the edges. Flip carefully using kitchen tongs on the side of each breast. Cook the other side of the chicken for another 5-6 minutes, then remove from the skillet and place onto the lined cookie sheet.
Put a slice of ham on top of each chicken breast and a slice of Swiss cheese on top of the ham. Place into the oven until the cheese melts, about 8 minutes.
While the chicken is cooking, mix together the mayonnaise, mustard, and Sukrin Gold to make the honey mustard sauce. To serve, either drizzle the sauce over the chicken or put it in individual ramekins as a dipping sauce.
Counting the macros for this recipe is somewhat difficult as you don't use all of the ingredients. I estimated the amount of egg, oil, and crumbs that went into the actual dish, and using those calculations, the macros are 480 calories, 1 gram net carbs, 41 grams protein, and 34 grams fat.
Keyword cheese, chicken, ham, keto, low carb, weeknight
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