Keto Everything Chicken Strips w Dipping Sauce & Cauli Tots

This complete Keto meal can be eaten for lunch or dinner. In fact, the whole family might like this recipe. White chicken breast strips are “breading” in a mixture of everything bagel seasoning and sesame seeds instead of traditional fried breading. Instead of being fried in unhealthy oils, the chicken strips are baked and served with a warm, spicy honey mustard dipping sauce. For the side dish, cauliflower “tots” are also breaded in Keto-friendly ingredients. Crushed pork rinds coat the cauliflower tots, which tenderizes them and gives the tots a salty flavor. If you like spicy foods, you can coat the tots in spicy pork rinds instead of plain pork rinds. If you don’t like spicy foods, make sure to swap out the spicy brown mustard used in the dipping sauce for plain brown mustard.

Different Ways To Crush Pork Rinds

If you’ve never used pork rinds in your recipes before, you’re about to learn a great Keto diet secret. Pork rinds bake crispy in the oven just like breadcrumbs, but they don’t have any carbs! To grind up pork rinds like bread crumbs, you’ll have the easiest time if you use a food processor. Just make sure you don’t over-process the pork rinds or all the excess oils released will turn the crumbs soggy. A powerful blender will also do the trick. If you don’t own these appliances, you’ll have to do things the old-fashioned way and crush the pork rinds with a rolling pin in a Ziploc bag.

Try These Yummy Cauliflower Substitutions!

If you don’t like cauliflower or you want to swap it out to keep things interesting, there are other Keto-friendly vegetables you can use in this recipe. The easiest swap would be broccoli florets instead of cauliflower. Broccoli will cook to the same outcome. You may also try this recipe using cremini mushroom caps. Remove the stems, and prepare the mushroom caps as directed in this recipe. You may need to reduce the baking time by up to 10 minutes so the mushrooms don’t shrink too much.

Jessica L.

Net Carbs

4.8 g
Fiber

3.9 g
Total Carbs

8.8 g
Protein

31.3 g
Fats

23.6 g

408 cals

Quantity

Serving Size

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Cauliflower, raw

7 oz
Butter, unsalted

1 tablespoon
Salt

0.13 teaspoon
Black pepper

0.13 teaspoon
Fried pork skins

0.5 ounce
Chicken Breast Boneless Skinless Raw

8 oz
Olive Or Extra Virgin Olive Oil

0.5 tsp
Salt

0.13 teaspoon
Black pepper

0.13 teaspoon
Everything But The Bagel Seasoning

1.5 tbsp
Sesame seeds

2.5 tablespoon, whole pieces
Spicy brown mustard

1 tablespoon
Honey

0.25 teaspoon
Butter, unsalted

1 tablespoon

Step 1

Make the cauliflower tots first. Turn the oven on to preheat to 350 degrees. Cut the core away from a medium-sized head of cauliflower, and break it apart into medium and small-sized florets. You want the florets to be eaten in one or two bites. The cauliflower weight listed in the ingredients is the final yield after separating the florets. Add the cauliflower to a mixing bowl.
Step 2

In a microwave-safe dish, melt the first amount of butter and pour it over the cauliflower florets. Gently fold the cauliflower over in the mixing bowl until all the pieces are evenly coated. Sprinkle the first amounts of salt and pepper over the cauliflower and fold the pieces again the distribute the seasonings. Next, add the buttered cauliflower florets to a large Ziploc bag. Add crushed pork rinds (about 2 ½ tablespoons for 2 servings) to the bag.
Step 3

Seal the Ziploc bag with air inside. Shake the bag around until the cauliflower florets are completely coated in the pork rinds evenly. Line a sheet tray with parchment paper. Pour the coated cauliflower tots out onto the sheet tray. Spread out the pieces, putting the smaller ones in the center and the larger ones around the edges. Bake the tray of cauliflower tots for 30 minutes in the oven, rotating them about halfway through baking.
Step 4

While the cauliflower tots are baking, prepare the chicken strips. Line a sheet tray with parchment paper and set it aside. On a clean cutting board, pat chicken breasts dry with a paper towel. You may use thin-sliced chicken breasts or pound your breasts flat with a mallet to a ½” thickness. Slice the breasts into long, 2-ounce strips. Rub the olive oil into the tops of the strips and season them with the second amounts of salt and pepper.
Step 5

In a shallow dish or on a plate, combine the everything bagel seasoning and sesame seeds into an even mixture. One by one, pick up a chicken strip, roll it in the everything sesame seasoning for 100% coverage, and lay it down on the prepared sheet tray. When all the chicken strips are prepared, bake the tray for 25 minutes, flipping the strips over about halfway through. You may add the tray to the oven while the cauliflower tots are still baking to overlap the cooking times.
Step 6

While the chicken strips and cauliflower tots are cooling, you can make the spicy honey mustard sauce. In a small dish, whisk together spicy brown mustard and honey. In a separate dish, microwave the final amount of butter until it’s melted. Whisk the melted butter into the honey mustard. If the dipping sauce is too thick, you can microwave the completed sauce for 10-15 seconds so it’s warm and looser. Serve 2 chicken strips with about 2 teaspoons of dipping sauce and about 3 ounces of cauliflower tots per person.