Gluten-Free Fried Chicken Tenders and Okra

These classic comfort foods, fried chicken tenders and okra, are made using gluten-free brown rice flour. And instead of dipping in a traditional buttermilk and egg wash, we substitute goat milk yogurt, water and eggs for absolute fried chicken perfection.

Gluten-Free Fried Chicken Tenders and Okra made with brown rice flour, seasoned salt, goat milk yogurt and eggs.

We Really Love Fried Foods!

Isn’t fried chicken and okra such a classic comfort food? Before I had to start eating gluten-free we loved picking up fried chicken and okra and mashies from Chicken Express. Yum.

But since I can’t do that anymore, we try to make similar food at home for the occasional treat.

And although we’ve used lots of different methods for the breading, this one is my absolute new favorite way to fry chicken. It’s also great for frying okra, mushrooms, and making onion rings. And of course, chicken fried steak. So good!

Gluten-Free Chicken Fried Steak with Mashies and Gravy

So we usually fry everything in a mixture of olive oil and coconut oil on the stove in a large frying pan. But here are some of the different ways you can bread and fry all of the things.

Brining with Seasoned Salt

Brining chicken tenders is a great choice if you have to keep the fried chicken dairy-free, too. It adds flavor and keeps the chicken nice and tender. It is awesome with healthy homemade ranch dressing, too.

Gluten-Free Fried Chicken Brined in Seasoned Salt on a Salad with Goat Milk Yogurt Ranch Dressing

I keep a jar of homemade seasoned salt on hand because we use it a lot and most of the spices we buy in bulk are organic.

Homemade Seasoned Salt

  • 8 tbsp kosher salt
  • 2 1/2 tbsp organic raw cane sugar
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp GF cornstarch

Mix together the spices and cornstarch to make the seasoned salt and store in an airtight container.

To make the brining solution you use a few tablespoons of seasoned salt and filtered water. The chicken tenders are placed in the brining solution and left in the fridge for a few hours.

Then take them out and dip into certified GF oat flour, bean blend all-purpose flour, or garbanzo bean flour (all flours from Bob’s Red Mill) to get a nice crispy breading. And then fry them up!

These are perfect for tossing in homemade Buffalo Sauce, too.

Gluten-Free Brined Chicken Tenders Tossed in Homemade Buffalo Sauce on a Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing

Breading with Rice Cereal

Using gluten-free ground up rice cereal is another favorite method to fry things and get a nice crispy crust (basically just a gluten-free replacement for panko).

And this is another dairy-free option for frying.

You grind down the bread cereal in a mini-prep and place it in a shallow bowl with a seasoning blend, like Italian seasoning. Next to that you place beaten eggs and another bowl of gluten-free flour (any type as long as it is light).

Then dip the thing you want to fry in the flour, then the eggs, then coat with the rice cereal. And just fry them up!

We’ve used this “panko” method to make lot of fried goodies like:

Eggplant Chicken Parmesan

Gluten-Free Eggplant Chicken Parmesan

Fried Mozzarella Goat Cheese Sticks

gluten-free fried cheese sticks made with goat cheese mozzarella

Fried Artichoke Hearts

Gluten-Free Fried Artichokes

and even fried goat cheese croutons!

Brown Rice & Buttermilk

Okay, so let’s talk about these gluten-free fried chicken tenders and okra.

Another popular method for frying is using buttermilk and eggs and gluten-free brown rice flour seasoned with cayenne pepper and seasoned salt.

You dip the chicken tender in the seasoned flour and then into the buttermilk then back into the flour. And it gives you the most delicious crispy flavorful fried chicken tenders.

Gluten-Free Fried Chicken Tenders and Okra made with brown rice flour, seasoned salt, goat milk yogurt and eggs.

Substituting Goat Milk Yogurt for the Buttermilk

Well I can’t digest cow milk dairy very well so we cut dairy out of our diet years ago. Which included buttermilk.

Then information suggested that goat, sheep and buffalo milk are easier to digest. Mainly because they have a different form of the protein casein. So I started using goat milk cheese and goat milk yogurt again. And it has been amazing.

BTW- we like to use humanely raised Smart Chicken organic air-chilled chicken tenders.

And I love Redwood Hill Farm plain goat milk yogurt, which is actually a little sour so it reminds me of buttermilk. We dilute it down with water and use it as the perfect substitute. The breaded coating on the chicken tenders is just amazing.

Frying Okra & Other Things

This method is awesome for frying up okra as well as mushrooms and onion rings. Yay!

Gluten-Free Fried Chicken and Okra

So if you have just one pack of chicken tenders, then there will be enough flour and yogurt/egg wash left in this recipe for frying a few other things. Why not, right?

We took a bag of frozen pre-cut organic okra and thawed it out. Then rinsed some of the slime off with filtered water. We picked out the ends and some of the weird pieces.

Then all you do is toss the okra pieces into the flour then into the yogurt, water, egg mixture. And then toss them in the brown rice flour again. Then fry them up. So easy. They come out incredibly delicious, too. Yay!

Happy gluten-free frying y’all!

Gluten-free Fried Chicken Tenders and Okra

Fried chicken tenders and okra are made using gluten-free brown rice flour. And instead of dipping in a traditional buttermilk and egg wash, we substitute goat milk yogurt, water and eggs for absolute fried chicken perfection.

Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Keyword fried chicken tenders, fried okra, gluten-free fried foods
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 4
Author Deana Larkin Evans

Ingredients

  • 1 package frozen sliced okra
  • 1 package organic chicken tenders
  • 2 cups brown rice flour
  • 2 tsp seasoned salt
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 cup plain goat milk yogurt
  • 1 cup filtered water
  • 2 large eggs beaten
  • Olive oil and coconut oil for frying (or a clean vegetable oil)

Instructions

  1. Remove the frozen sliced okra from the package and set out to thaw.

  2. Set up two wide rimmed bowls next to each other. Add the brown rice flour, seasoned salt, cayenne pepper to one bowl and mix until well combined. Add the yogurt, water and eggs to the other bowl and mix until well combined.

  3. To batter the chicken tenders, first coat it with the flour. Next add it to the yogurt/egg mixture. Then place it back into the flour. When well coated place on a plate until ready to fry.

  4. Meanwhile, heat enough oil for frying in a large skillet. Once it reaches a temperature of 350 degrees it is ready. Place the chicken tenders (3-4 at a time into the oil and fry for about 3-4 minutes on each side until brown and crispy.

  5. When done frying place the chicken fried steak onto a plate covered with paper towels to soak up any excess oil.
  6. Rinse the okra with filtered water. Pick out any weird pieces and discard. Place the handfuls of the okra pieces into the flour. Then into liquid yougurt mixture. When well coated, add them back into the flour and toss until well-covered. Place on a plate.

    Fry the okra in large batches until nice and crispy brown, about 4-5 minutes. Carefully remove from the oil and place on a plate covered with paper towels to soak up any excess oil.

Deana Larkin Evans

You get one life - do your best to ENJOY IT! So hi, I'm Deana. This food blog is all about cooking wholesome real food and developing gluten-free recipes for some of our favorite comfort foods. I had to start eating gluten-free in 2010, then cut dairy and casein (except for the occasional Parmesan) in 2014. We learned A2 casein (goat, sheep and buffalo milk) is easier to digest than the predominate A1 form in cow milk. So we brought back goat milk dairy into our recipes in 2016. Thank goodness, right! So I'm kind of a science nerd, too. In the '90s, I earned an undergrad degree in biochemistry from The University of Texas at Austin. Hook 'em! Then followed up with a PhD in biochemistry and a law degree from the University of Houston. I recently earned a certificate in genomics/sequence analysis from Johns Hopkins University, where I also took a very cool food microbiology course. Currently, I'm learning about the microbiome and gut health. And trying to come up with healthy recipes to feed those gut bugs! #feedthegutbugs

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