Almond crusted chicken with lemon zucchini noodles is a delicious dinner dish with a gourmet feel you can prepare in 20 minutes or less!
Before I talk too much about how delicious this recipe is, I need you to mourn with me for a second.
I lost a camera lens in a tragic accident this weekend. 😢
Let me paint this awful picture for you. I had set my camera down on a TV stand. The camera had its strap attached to it. It was draped over a drawer with large drawer handles with horizontal pegs (that should be banned from all drawers on Earth). As I went to pick up my camera, I failed to notice the strap as it caught on the drawer handle, propelling it onto my carpet-covered concrete floor. After the clamor, I faintly heard Kyle shout at me into the sunroom, ‘What are you doing out there?!’ I just stared at the floor in utter disbelief of my clumsiness and examined the camera. It seemed fine at first inspection, and a sudden sense of relief washed over me. Until I realized the outer lens was jammed. And I couldn’t turn it to zoom in and out.
Anger ensued…
I’m so dramatic.
But seriously, it’s gonna cost a pretty penny to replace if it can’t be fixed. Luckily the camera itself seems to be in working condition. I don’t even know how soon I’ll be able to take my lens into a shop either since I won’t make it during business hours until Saturday. I guess it was a good thing a couple of weekends ago, and I shot a healthy backlog of recipes to make up for the time I’m out of commission.
So today, I bring you almond crusted chicken with lemon zucchini noodles that is probably good enough to bring me out of my broken-camera-depressed state. At least temporarily!
I was surprised at how quickly this dish was to prepare. You can make this entire dinner ensemble in 20 minutes! You seriously can’t beat that for a healthy meal during the week. Cooking chicken in a skillet might be the best way to go. I always used to bake it in the oven if we didn’t shred it in a crockpot, usually taking 35-40 minutes. Here I sliced the chicken breasts in half, tenderized them before coating in egg and almonds, then threw them (gently placed them) in a skillet for 5 minutes on each side. BAM! Gourmet chicken done in 10 minutes. Not mad about it.
Zoodles were just the obvious choice for a side dish. You can make them with this veggie spiralizer. Don’t try using one of those handheld ones—they don’t work as well. Use this spiralizer one instead! Since I was going for a chicken Parmesan feel minus the breadcrumbs…and the cheese…and the marinara…I replaced the noodles for something else. And added fresh lemon because it’s my jam.
I think that’s a great note to end on. Enjoy your dinner tonight, folks!
Love,
Butterfingers
Almond Crusted Chicken With Lemon Zucchini Noodles
- Total Time: 20 mins
- Yield: 2 plates 1x
Description
Almond crusted chicken with lemon zucchini noodles is a delicious dinner dish with a gourmet feel you can prepare in 20 minutes or less!
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup almonds
- 1 – 10 oz chicken breast
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 fresh lemon
- 2 zucchinis
- 2 carrots
- ¼ teaspoon garlic salt
- pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a food processor or blender, process almonds until you have a powder/crumbs. Using a food processor, pulse about 30 seconds until almonds are broken down. Then process on high for another 60 seconds. Using the blender, you can probably process about 2 minutes until almonds are completely broken down.
- Add almonds to a plate. Break the egg onto a second plate, and scramble.
- Place a skillet over medium heat.
- Cut the chicken breast in half by slicing it down the length of it. Using a tenderizer, pound out both sides of each half.
- Take one chicken breast and coat completely in egg. Then, coat each side of the chicken in almonds. Repeat with the other chicken breast.
- Add olive oil to the skillet and coat the bottom. Then add both chicken breasts. Cook for 5 minutes on one side, then flip.
- While chicken is cooking, chop or spiralize zucchini and carrots. Slice the lemon in half. Cut one half into small slices.
- Once chicken is done, set aside on a plate. Add vegetables to the skillet.
- Squeeze half of the lemon onto the vegetables, and add the garlic salt and pepper. Stir until only slightly cooked down, about 2 minutes. Move noodles to one side of the skillet, and lightly brown the lemon slices on both sides, about 1 minute each side.
- Dress plates with zucchini noodles, then almond crusted chicken. Garnish with lemon slices.
- Remove zucchini noodles from heat onto a plate.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Category: Dinner
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 plate
- Calories: 493
- Sugar: 12 g
- Sodium: 349 mg
- Fat: 20 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 15 g
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 22 g
- Fiber: 7 g
- Protein: 48 g
- Cholesterol: 93 g
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