[Updated September 12, 2013]

These chicken parm bites are something that Heather came up with back in June of 2012, very early into our real food journey. Lucky for us, we had started this blog, so the recipe was kept documented. Unlucky for us, we were very new with our presentation, so neither our directions or pictures were especially helpful.

Another win in our favor is that we have since made great friends in the community who led us to take better pictures and inspired us to do better work. As this is one of our favorite recipes, we updated it recently to share with you. This is absolutely fabulous, and I think you will really like it. These little “parm poppers” are delicious on their own, but definitely are well suited to the zoodles and red sauce. I would gather you could likely use this wash and coating on larger cuts of chicken as well, but we haven’t tried it just yet. Either way, we hope you’ll love this creation. Let us know what you think!

Ingredients

Chicken Parm Poppers

4 chicken thighs (bone-in, skin-on is cheapest so that’s what I buy; but you can save yourself some time by getting boneless, skinless thighs)

2 eggs, scrambled in a bowl

1 C of ground cashews

1/2 C almond flour

1 and 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 and 1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 and 1/2 tsp dried basil

salt and pepper to taste (I used about 1/2 tsp each)

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Angry Zoodles

3 medium to large zucchinis

A pinch of salt

1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Approx. 1/3 jar of Rao’s Homemade Arrabbiata Sauce

Method

Start off by preparing your zoodles.

Make your mix of dry ingredients to coat the chicken thighs. Use a grinder or food processor to grind your cashews, and mix with almond flour, garlic powder, oregano, basil, and salt and pepper.

Skin and debone your chicken thighs (if you bought those), and cut into nugget sized pieces.

Prepare your station with egg wash, dry ingredients, and a plate for setting the coated chicken thighs.

Dip chicken pieces in egg wash and roll in coating.

Set aside on a plate for frying.

Heat in your stainless steel skillet 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium-low heat. Cook chicken in batches, approximately 2-3 minutes per side.

Lightly sauté your zoodles for 1-2 minutes to reduce crunchiness and stiffness. Plate with sauce and chicken bites. These are absolutely delicious, and you’re going to enjoy!