The classic brunch dish, but lightened up! Chicken and waffles is a staple on many brunch menus and my kids LOVE it! I actually usually make it for them with mini Eggos and Bare chicken nuggets, haha! But I wanted to try making a bit more elevated, healthy dish. My family loves breakfast for dinner, so this was perfect!

To make this easy, I used boxed waffle mix. My favorite is from Clean Simple Eats. You can use Kodiak, or even your favorite one too! I love the added protein in the protein pancake mixes. Chicken is cooked in the air fryer, instead of frying to reduce fat and calories. I usually stick to pure maple syrup as a lot of the options at the store are made with corn syrup or other strange ingredients. I also really like Lakanto Sugar Free brand as they avoid artificial sweeteners.

You can make the waffles ahead of time if you want. I use a mini Dash waffle maker, which I LOVE by the way! It is so easy, cute, and $10! They come in so many fun shapes too! We have a spider web for Halloween, a snowflake, and a heart! Also, if you don’t have an air fryer, you can do these in the oven. Just cook at 425 for 8-10 minutes until cooked through. But if you don’t have an air fryer, what are you waiting for?! It is actually one of our most used appliances. I love how quick it cooks and preheats!

Chicken & Waffles

Course: Breakfast, Dinner, BrunchCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

15

minutes

Calories

390

kcal

Protein

39.5

g

Fat

5.2

g

Carbohydrates

43.2

g

Ingredients

• 2 Cups Clean Simple Eats Waffle & Pancake Mix

• 1 lb raw chicken tenders

• 1 cup Italian bread crumbs

• 1 egg, scrambled or 1/4 cup egg whites

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/4 tsp paprika

• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

• 1/4 tsp garlic powder

• Chives, for garnish

• S=Maple syrup, for serving (I use Lakanto Sugar Free)

Directions

• Prepare waffles according to directions on bag. Place in oven to keep warm.
• Combine spices in small bowl. Add bread crumbs to another bowl and egg to a third.
• Dip chicken tenders in egg/egg white.
• Sprinkle with seasoning, then coat in bread crumbs. You can also just add seasoning to the bread crumbs, but I find it adheres better if I separate it.
• Set tenders on a cutting board and preheat air fryer to 350.
• Spray tenders with olive oil and cook for 5-7, until cooked through.
• Top 2 mini waffles with 3 chicken tenders and chopped chives. Drizzle with syrup and enjoy!

Notes

• I used a Dash mini waffle maker. Clean simple eats serving made about 2 waffles using this waffle maker. I also use Lakanto brand sugar free syrup. I prefer this to the other brands because it is made with monk fuit and no artificial sweeteners. Pure maple syrup would be my second choice.