March 22, 2022
Gluten-free Chicken & Waffles
Gluten-free | Sugar-free | Dairy-free option | Grain-free
Serves: 2
Cuisine: American
Course: Breakfast/Lunch
Prep time: 40 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
While flipping through my old Disneyland cookbook (Yes, I'm a Disney tragic, having grown up watching and loving the Wonderful World of Disney every Sunday night), I came across this whimsical dish. Although Chicken & Waffles isn't a Disney invention, there's a fantastical theme attached to this iconic American combination of crispy fried chicken and spongy waffles.
My Disney cookbook version was not all that good for the cardiovascular system, so I went about healthifying it so that more of us could enjoy this waffle-chicken delight.
In this recipe, I give you the ingredients and method for savoury waffles, a lightly spiced, well-balanced sauce that could go on anything and a very nice grain and gluten-free crumb mixture that you can use to crumb any manner of food if the chicken is not your cuppa tea. Think crumbed eggplant, crumbed tofu or crumbed fish, just to name a few!
This recipe is low carb and free from gluten, grain and sugar, with a dairy-free option.
Hints, Tips & Tricks
I use Zero As Sugar Pure Erythritol and Sweet As Fibre Syrup in this recipe. Both products are sugar and gluten-free and won't spike blood glucose levels, making them an excellent healthy alternative to refined sugar and syrups. Zero as Sugar has zero calories, and sweet as Fibre Syrup has only 16 calories per 10 grams, making it an excellent low carb option for baking and sweetening your food.
You'll need to prepare my Sugar-free Sweet Chilli Sauce recipe before commencing. However, feel free to use any store-bought sweet chilli free from gluten and sugar.
As this recipe is gluten-free, I have also used xanthan gum to provide elasticity and fluffiness that the gluten would otherwise provide.
You will need a waffle iron for this recipe.
RECIPE
Ingredients
For the spicy sauce
- 1 tbsp low sodium tamari
- 2 tsp grass-fed butter or dairy-free vegan butter
- 1 tbsp Bridget's Sugar-free Sweet Chilli Sauce
- 1 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1 tbsp Sweet as Fibre Syrup
For the chicken and its crumb
- 40 g (1.7 oz) almond meal or a nut or seed flour of your choosing
- 20 g (0.7 oz) flaxseed meal
- Mineral salt
- 250 g (8.8 oz) fresh chicken thigh skin off, sliced into strips
- 250 ml (8.8 fl oz) cold water
- 10 g (⅓ oz) mineral salt
- 1 tsp Zero as Sugar Erythritol
Waffle batter
- 2 heaped tbsp coconut yoghurt
- 2 eggs + 2 egg white
- 70 g (2.4 oz) almond flour or another nut or seed flour of your choosing
- 20 g (0.7 oz) coconut flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp xanthan gum
- Pinch of salt
- 2 tsp coconut oil, melted for brushing the waffle iron
- Extra fibre syrup to serve
Method
- Make a wet brine for the chicken by stirring together the water, salt and erythritol. Add the chicken and allow to soak for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours, stored covered in the fridge.
- Make the sauce by heating all the sauce ingredients in a small pot, stirring occasionally and bringing to a boil. Reduce the heat and allow it to bubble gently for a minute and then taste for flavour, adding more chilli sauce, orange juice or tamari if deemed necessary. Set the sauce aside.
- Crumb the chicken by mixing all the crumb ingredients and placing it onto a dinner plate. Remove the chicken strips from the brine and coat in the crumb mixture.
- Preheat your air fryer on 220C (430F) or the oven on 240C (460F) and lay the chicken in a single layer into an air fryer rack or basket or onto a non-stick baking paper-lined tasting tray.
- Roast or air fry the chicken for 7-8 minutes or until thoroughly cooked.
- While the chicken cooks, make the waffles by heating a waffle iron at medium temperature. Mix all the ingredients for the waffles in a bowl, stirring well to combine.
- Very lightly brush the waffle iron with coconut oil and add 2 + ½ tablespoons of the waffle batter to the centre of the iron and cook the waffle for 2 to 2 ½ minutes making sure not to overcook, or the waffles will be dry. Remove the waffle from the iron and cook the waffles until you use all the batter.
- Serve your chicken and waffles using two waffles, topped with half the chicken strips and half the spicy sauce. Squeeze over some extra fibre syrup for a sweeter taste.
Pro tip: Serve with a soft yolk fried or poached egg or a big handful of salad leaves and some of my pickled onions. Unbelievably good!