Nashville Hot Chicken – How to Make Nashville Style Hot Chicken Healthy

A Sweet Pea Chef

Nashville Hot Chicken – How to Make Nashville Style Hot Chicken Healthy

Follow  these  easy  steps  and  you’ll be on  your  way  to  the  best  healthy  Nashville  Hot  Chicken  ever.  Just  in  time  for  summer!  This  post  is  sponsored  by  Albertsons  and  Randalls. 

As  a  kid,  I  loved  all  things  country  music.  I  would  rock  Garth  Brooks,  Trisha  Yearwood,  Brooks  and  Dunn,  Reba,  and  all  the  rest  on my  Walkman.  Yep  –  I  even  had  my  own  cowgirl  hat,  silver  and  gold  buckle,  and  I  rocked  the  Boot  Scootin’  Boogie.

Back  then,  when  I  heard  about  Nashville  on  the  radio  and  TV,  I  thought  it  sounded  sooo  cool.  I  pictured  all  the  country  music  stars  walking  around  downtown  with  their  guitars.

It  wasn’t  until  this  year,  some  30  years  later,  that  I  would  have  a  chance  to  visit  Nashville.  FINALLY!

While,  nowadays,  I  no  longer  sport  my  silver  and  gold  buckle,  I  still  fan  girl  about  Nashville.  But  life  is  more  about  music  —it’s  also  about  FOOD.

Naturally,  as we  approached  our  arrival  to  Nashville,  I  did  my  food  research.  I  knew  I  had  to make  it  count  to  check  out  this  iconic  city  I’d  dreamt  about  since  I  was  a  kid.

I  knew  I  had  to  find  some  good  Nashville  Hot  Chicken.  ‘Cuz  duh.

Of  course,  Nashville  was  amazing  and  Ive  been  dreaming  about  Nashville  Hot  Chicken  ever  since.  Tender,  juicy  chicken.  Crunchy  coating.  Burning  hot  sauce.  The  pickles!  All  of  it.  Definitely  a  highlight.

How  to  Make  Nashville  Style  Hot  Chicken  Healthy  (and  Clean!)

As  good  as it  was,  Nashville  Hot  Chicken  is  still…fried  chicken.  Why  is  fried  chicken  bad  for  you?  Basically,  it’s  heavily  coated  in  salt,  refined  flour,  and  oil.  While  it’s  a  must  while  you’re in Nashville,  there  are  definitely  some  easy  changes  we  can  do to  make  homemade  Nashville  Hot  Chicken  and  have  it be  healthier.  Because  this  is  definitely  a  recipe  we  need  to  #makeithealthy.

Here  are  some  tips  for  how  to  make  healthy  homemade  Nashville  Hot  Chicken:

Bake  the  chicken  instead  of  frying Replace  the  refined  flour  with  chickpea  flour  and  almond  meal Reduce  the  amount  of  salt  (skip  the  pickle  juice  brine) Use  high  quality  Signature  Farms™  Boneless  Skinless  Chicken  Breasts  for  lean  protein  Replace  canola  oil  with  Signature  SELECT™  Extra  Virgin  Olive  Oil  for  healthier  fat Skip  the  sliced  white  bread

Signature  Farms  and  Signature  SELECT  products  are  perfect  for  this  Nashville  Hot  Chicken  recipe  –  they  help  to  make  the  hot  chicken  flavorful  and  fresh.

How  to  Make  Fried  Chicken  in  the  Oven

Believe  it or  not,  you  can  make  fried  chicken  in  the  oven.  Baking  fried  chicken  makes  the  food  healthier  because  there’s  much  less  oil  and  heavy  breading  needed.

To  make  our  Nashville  Hot  Chicken  healthier  and  clean,  we aren’t  using  a  lot  of  refined  flour.  Instead,  we  use  a  three-layer  coating,  which  consists of  the  following:

Bowl  1: chickpea  flour  mixed  with  sea  salt

Bowl  2: beaten  eggs  and  hot  sauce

Bowl  3: almond  meal  seasoned  with  cayenne,  paprika,  garlic  powder,  and  sea  salt

To  make  sure  the  almond  meal  coating  sticks  to  the  chicken  and  stays  on it  while  it’s  baking,  you  start  with  dredging  the  Signature  Farms™  Boneless  Skinless  Chicken  Breasts  in  the  chickpea  flour  mixture,  then  coat  with  the  egg  mixture,  and  then  press  the  spicy  seasoned  almond  meal  mixture  to  finish  it.

Then,  just  place  it in  the  oven  and  let  the  magic  happen  for  about  35-45  minutes,  until  the  chicken  breast  is  cooked  through  and  the  crust  is  golden  brown.

Looking  for  where  you  can  find  Signature  SELECT  and  Signature  Farms  products  to  make  your  own  juicy  and  spicy  Nashville  Hot  Chicken?  You  can find  them  at  all  Albertsons  Companies  family  of  stores,  including  Albertsons,  ACME  Markets,  Safeway,  Jewel-Osco,  Vons,  Pavilions,  Randalls,  Tom  Thumb,  Shaw’s,  Star  Market,  and  Carrs/Safeway.  Signature  SELECT™  and  Signature  Farms™  products  are  great  quality,  and  reasonably  priced.  Visit  Albertsons to  find  a  store  near  you  and  discover  more  meal  prep  tips  and  recipe  ideas.

Nashville Hot Chicken

Nashville Hot Chicken

Follow these easy steps and you’ll be on your way to the best healthy Nashville Hot Chicken ever. Just in time for summer!

For the Nashville Hot Chicken: Bowl 1: 2/3 cup chickpea flour 1/4 tsp sea salt Bowl 2: 2 eggs 2 tbsp hot sauce Bowl 3: 1 1/3 cups almond meal 1 tsp paprika 1/2 tsp cayenne 1/4 tsp garlic powder 1/3 tsp sea salt 2 tbsp Signature SELECT Extra Virgin Olive Oil 1 lb Signature Farms boneless skinless chicken breasts 3-6 sliced dill pickle chips, (optional) For the Spicy Oil: 1 tbsp cayenne 2 tsp paprika 1/2 tsp ground cumin 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1/2 tsp sea salt 1/2 tsp coconut sugar 1 cup olive oil

For the Nashville Hot Chicken: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Lay a wire rack over the parchment paper and brush lightly with olive oil. Gather 3 medium sized mixing bowls. In Bowl 1, combine chickpea flour and sea salt; set aside. In Bowl 2, combine eggs and hot sauce; set aside. In Bowl 3, combine almond meal, paprika, cayenne, garlic powder, and sea salt; set aside. Add the olive oil and stir together until the mixture becomes slightly clumpy. Set aside. Dredge the chicken breast into the garbanzo bean flour, then transfer to egg mixture to coat. Transfer to almond meal mixture and press onto the chicken. Place the breaded chicken breast onto the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining chicken. Transfer the baking sheet into the oven and bake for 35-45 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the crust is golden brown. Using a toothpick, hold the dill pickle chips on top of the chicken breast and drizzle with the spicy oil (see instructions below). For the Spicy Oil: In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the cayenne, paprika, cumin, garlic powder, sea salt and coconut sugar. Stir the spices and toast until fragrant, about 2-4 minutes. Add the olive oil and heat through. Use the sauce to drizzle over the chicken when ready to serve.

This post is sponsored by Randalls and Albertsons.

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