Copycat recipes are what I do best and today we have the Panda Express crispy almond chicken breast recipe! Better than takeout!
If you know me, you know my top two food categories are takeout dishes and copycat dishes. I started my blog with takeout dishes and copycat recipes! You may know me from my air fryer sweet and sour chicken, orange chicken, or general tso chicken. If you are a Chick-fil-A lover, you probably know me from my copycat nuggets and sauce. These are some of my most popular recipes and my favorites!
Therefore, I put the two together and made some Panda Express crispy almond chicken breast! This comes after my Panda Express honey sesame chicken, Panda Express teriyaki chicken, and my Panda Express sweet fire chicken recipes.
The recipe can be easily doubled, tripled, quadrupled, etc. It also makes great lunch leftovers! And don’t worry, I always build in extra sauce in my recipes to pour over your rice!
Why Do I Love Crispy Almond Chicken
If you have tried this dish at Panda Express, the nugget pieces are a bit larger than their normal nuggets. This makes them very moist and delicious. You can more chicken in each bite but it still has all the delicious flavoring.
FAQs
Almond flour does not get as crispy as regular flour, without actually frying it. However, I still love this recipe so much and my husband said it was his favorite takeout dish of mine.
If you want some extra crisp, try doing half regular and half almond flour, or, add in some bread crumbs.
You can deep fry the nuggets if you wish; however, I am trying to keep this a little healthier.
Essential Ingredients
You will obviously need an air fryer. I love my Ninja double basket. The one side is the perfect size to cook half the recipe. You can also use a rack or toaster oven style air fryer; however, I do prefer the basket kind for this one.
- Almond flour
- Chicken tenderloins
- Egg
- Soy sauce
- Minced garlic
- Seasonings
Almond Flour
You need almond flour. Hence the name, crispy almond chicken.
Almond flour does not get as crispy as regular flour, without actually frying it. However, I still love this recipe so much and my husband said it was his favorite takeout dish of mine.
If you want some extra crisp, try doing half regular and half almond flour, or, add in some bread crumbs. You can deep fry the nuggets if you wish; however, I am trying to keep this a little healthier.
Chicken Tenderloins
I typically use chicken tenderloins when I need nugget sized chicken, but you can use other cuts of chicken. Chicken tenderloins are already thin, so minimal cutting is required, which is why I like them.
However, chicken breasts or chicken thighs can work well too. But, you can use beef, pork or even tofu if you are vegetarian. Any kind of protein will work great in this recipe. Remember to cut the chicken, or your preferable substitution, in the same size, so they are all cooked simultaneously.
Egg
I do prefer egg whites as they are not as goopy as real eggs. They are also easier to work with as you just have to pour them into the container. However, you can substitute real eggs if you whisk them first. Which I happened to do during this recipe.
Soy Sauce
The soy sauce will be used to make the sauce for the Panda Express crispy almond chicken breast recipe.
As the almond flour is gluten free, I went with gluten free soy sauce. This is a great recipe if you have an intolerance or celiac disease as everything can be easily made gluten free. You can use regular soy sauce if you wish.
This soy sauce is also low sodium as things can get a little salty with regular soy sauce. However, if you want to use regular soy sauce, be mindful of the added salt.
Minced Garlic
You can buy pre-minced garlic; however, I love mincing my own with this mini food processor.
Seasonings
The seasonings keep it simple with items you may already have in your pantry.
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Garlic salt
- Ground ginger
- Paprika
How to Make Panda Express Chicken
Slice chicken tenderloins into small pieces, a little over one inch by one inch. Sprinkle with a little of the seasonings mix, about a quarter of the seasonings.
Grab two small shallow bowls; however, I do like to use shallow Tupperware containers.
In one, add the almond flour and seasonings, stirring to combine. Pour the eggs into the second bowl, whisking to make them smooth.
First step will be making the actual chicken breast for the Panda Express crispy almond chicken recipe.
Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees and grease the rack with cooking spray.
One by one, dredge chicken piece in the egg white, being sure to shake off any excess. Finally, cover the chicken in the flour mixture.
Place each battered chicken piece on the greased air fryer, trying not to let them touch.
Air fry for 3 minutes. Spray the chicken with cooking spray and then air fry for another 3 minutes.
Flip the chicken over and spray any raw flour with cooking spray. Air fry for another 4 minutes, or until fully cooked and crispy.
Sauce
While the chicken is cooking, we will make the sauce for the Panda Express crispy almond chicken breast recipe! Heat a small saucepan over medium heat. Drizzle with a little oil or spray with cooking spray.
Add the minced garlic and let it cook until it has a nice darker golden color. It should take a few minutes.
Then, pour in the soy sauce and bring that to a simmer. Reduce the heat a little and let the sauce simmer until thickened. Be sure to stir and scrape the bottom every minute or so.
When the sauce is thickened, add in a sliced green onion and let that cook down for a minute or two.
When the chicken is fully cooked, carefully toss the pieces in the sauce.
You can cook this in the oven; however, it definitely will not be as crispy. Cook it in the oven, using the same steps as the air fryer. But, set the temperature to 425 degrees and add an extra 2-4 minutes on the cooking time.
I suggest lining a baking tray with aluminum foil. Then, putting an oven safe cooling rack on top and cooking the chicken on that. This will mimic more of what the air fryer does.
What to serve with Panda Express crispy almond chicken breast
This recipe is just for the chicken, but, I have to serve it with some rice! I cannot have takeout without a little rice. You can use my Instant Pot or stovetop rice recipe. But, you can also buy a rice cooker.
For the vegetables, we served it with some green beans and bell pepper slices but I also have some other recipes for you to try.
Crispy Almond Chicken Breast Panda Express
Copycat recipes are what I do best and today we have the Panda Express crispy almond chicken breast recipe! Better than takeout!
Crispy Almond Chicken Breast Panda Express
Equipment
Ingredients
Chicken
- 16 ounces chicken tenderloins
- 1 cup almond flour
- 2 eggs
- 4 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon garlic salt
Sauce
- 4 cloves minced garlic
- ⅓ cup soy sauce low sodium
- 1 green onion
Instructions
- Slice chicken tenderloins into small pieces, a little over one inch by one inch. Sprinkle with a little of the seasonings mix, about a quarter of the seasonings.
- Grab two small shallow bowls; however, I do like to use shallow Tupperware containers. In one, add the almond flour and seasonings, stirring to combine. Pour the eggs into the second bowl, whisking to make them smooth.
- Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees and grease the rack with cooking spray.
- One by one, dredge chicken piece in the egg white, being sure to shake off any excess. Finally, cover the chicken in the flour mixture. Place each battered chicken piece on the greased air fryer, trying not to let them touch.
- Air fry for 3 minutes. Spray the chicken with cooking spray and then air fry for another 3 minutes.
- Flip the chicken over and spray any raw flour with cooking spray. Air fry for another 4 minutes, or until fully cooked and crispy.
- While the chicken is cooking, heat a small saucepan over medium heat. Drizzle with a little oil or spray with cooking spray.
- Add the minced garlic and let it cook until it has a nice darker golden color. It should take a few minutes.
- Then, pour in the soy sauce and bring that to a simmer. Reduce the heat a little and let the sauce simmer until thickened. Be sure to stir and scrape the bottom every minute or so.
- When the sauce is thickened, add in a sliced green onion and let that cook down for a minute or two.
- When the chicken is fully cooked, carefully toss the pieces in the sauce.
Nutrition
Tap here to automatically calculate your Weight Watchers points. Not all of the almond flour is used so I did not enter it all into the calculator.
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