Around two months ago, Dear Husband and I took a trip to Dubuque, Iowa.
As a #Chicagogirl, I was looking for a place to go that was so quiet it was COVID-19-friendly, and within a few hours’ drive. Basically, Dear Husband and I needed to get away from everything before I completely lost it.
I was very close to losing it.
Anyway, Dubuque, Iowa is in the middle of nowhere and is really quiet. Really, really quiet.
It was perfect.
One of my all time favorite things to do is to visit grocery stores in different cities to check out all the new and exciting Kosher products that I haven’t found in my local stores. I’ve even gotten Dear Husband to be excited about it (or at least he pretends to be for my sake).
The local groceries in Dubuque are Hy-Vee and Piggly Wiggly in nearby Galena, IL.
Yes, there really is a store called Piggly Wiggly and I had to go in! We went in the middle of a snowstorm and bought a brush to clean the snow off my car. But I digress…
We went to the Hy-Vee, masked and sanitized, to get our groceries for the week. We found a huge selection of Walden Farms products. I was dancing in the aisle! Really.
As you know from previous posts, I’m trying to figure out my health situation and am very limited in what I can eat. Sugar is out. Carbs (except super healthy ones) are out. Joy is out – just kidding…sort of.
Walden Farms makes a bunch of dressings that are Sharon Matten friendly. We bought a chocolate sauce (awesome!) and ranch dressing.
I decided to make some chicken breasts incorporating the dressing and my diet-friendly almonds.
AWESOME!
And that’s how Ranch Almond Chicken was born.
Ranch Almond Chicken…Check out how juicy that is inside!
Since we’re kind of limited in what we can eat for Passover, this recipe is perfect. While the dressing I’m using is no longer the Walden Farms variety (not Kosher for Passover), but a Kosher for Passover brand, the recipe still turns out great. I normally would add a teaspoon of ground mustard to the ground almond flour, but instead I modified the recipe to contain Kosher for Passover imitation mustard. The result just a good.
The triple coating of the chicken makes it crazy crispy and delicious, with the inside chicken moist and juicy. Totally worth the effort of all the dipping.
Its the triple dipping and ranch dressing that make it so good!
And aren’t we supposed to dip not once, but twice on Passover?
Here’s the recipe:
- 8 large chicken breasts (around 3 pounds)
- 1 cup almond flour
- ½ cup tapioca starch
- 1 cup slivered almonds
- 1/2 cup tapioca starch
- 2 tablespoon avocado or safflower oil
- ¾ cup egg (around 4 large eggs)
- ½ cup ranch dressing (Kosher for Passover)
- 1 tablespoon mustard (imitation – Kosher for Passover)
- Oil for frying – I prefer avocado oil
- Baking sheet covered in foil and sprayed with nonstick spray or coated in oil.
- ½ cup ranch dressing for drizzling (Kosher for Passover)
- In a large casserole dish, combine the almond flour, tapioca starch and slivered almonds. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the avocado oil, eggs, ranch dressing and mustard. Set aside.
- Place the tapioca starch on a large plate or in a casserole dish. Set aside.
- Take a chicken breast and coat it in the plain tapioca flour. Shake of any excess flour.
- Dip the floured chicken into the egg mixture until completely coated. Shake off any excess egg, however make sure there is no uncoated tapioca flour showing.
- Carefully place the egged chicken into the almond flour mixture. Press the almond mixture onto both sides of the chicken. Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium/high heat.
- Place coated chicken breasts in the oil and fry until browned on both sides. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining chicken.
- Place the baking sheet into the oven, uncovered, for 20 minutes until the chicken is completely cooked through.
- Remove the chicken from the oven and drizzle with the 1/2 cup ranch dressing just before serving.
- If making this recipe not on Passover, feel free to substitute 1 teaspoon of ground mustard instead of the Kosher for Passover imitation mustard.
- Use whatever variety of Kosher for Passover imitation mustard you can find. While I'm not sure a "honey mustard" would work an imitation Dijon or similar variety would be great.
Total crispy deliciousness.
Please let me know what your favorite Passover foods are. I’d love to hear from you!
I’m sure you’re looking for Passover recipes…
Here are a ton! Click on the image!
FYI: I’m here to help make it way easier for you and reduce your pressure with my book “Shabbos Under Pressure“. I’ve found that using my electric pressure cooker to prepare for Passover, makes the cooking way easier and more efficient. For example, instead of cooking a huge pot of chicken soup on the stove for three hours, taking up valuable space on my stovetop, I can make even better soup in just an hour/hour and a half in my Instant Pot. I’ve even put together a Shabbos Under Pressure Passover Recipe Guide to help you convert the recipes in the book to Passover friendly recipes. If you don’t already have “Shabbos Under Pressure” now would be a great time to order it to ensure that you receive it with enough time to plan and cook your Passover meals.
You can order it here:
Here’s the Passover Under Pressure – The Shabbos Under Pressure Passover Guide:
Make sure to follow Kosher Everyday on Facebook and Instagram so you don’t miss the latest and greatest Passover recipes and fun from Kosher Everyday!
To help you in your search, here are a few links to optional Pareve, Kosher for Passover imitation Ranch Dressings:
Blanchard and Blanchard Ranch Dressing found at Walmart.com
Haddar Ranch Dressing from Aviglatt.com
Tonelli Ranch Dressing from Kayco.com
Lieber Ranch Dressing from Joyspantry.com
Hi. Loved this post. Piggly Wiggly started it all when it comes to how we shop for food. It all began in Memphis, TN in the early 1900s and as they say, the rest is history. Here is a link to the story as told by Piggly Wiggly. I hope you enjoy.
https://www.pigglywiggly.com/about-us
Thanks Dale! Love this story!
Since ranch dressings are dairy, is there a pareve dressing to use with the chicken? Thank you.
Thanks for your question Lydia. I use an imitation ranch dressing that is certified Kosher Pareve. There are a plethora of dressings that are in the Kosher (for Passover) section of your local (Kosher) grocery store that will have many varieties. If are making this not Kosher for Passover, the Walden Farms variety is dairy-free/pareve so there is no issue using it. I’ll update the post with a few examples that would work. Thanks again for your question. Please let me know how your Ranch Almond Chicken turns out. Happy Passover!
I’m planning to make for Passover but would like to use thin cutlets. Do you think that is ok? (Or really needs thick cutlets?) and if so how should I adjust oven time? Or maybe not necessary.
Thanks for your question Allison. I often use thin cutlets as well, cutting each cutlet into two thin ones. If you do use thin cutlets, I wouldn’t necessarily bake them (for as long). Check if they are cooked completely through after frying, if they are then there is no need to bake. Please let me know how they turn out! Chag Kasher V’sameach!
I was able to find Lipton’s Pareve Ranch Dressing mix. On the box, they include a recipe for a dip that uses sour cream and dressing mixed with mayonnaise and/or milk and sour cream. I added the dry mix to the eggs and oil and threw in some mayonnaise. I wondered what I could have done to make the coating more successful. I guess it is my fault because the box is labeled Ranch Recipe Soup & Dip mix.
Thanks for your question Carol. I think I can help. There are some brands of liquid Ranch dressing that are pareve. I recommend looking for those in the regular dressing aisle now that Passover is over. During Passover it’s probably best to look in the Kosher aisle for Kosher for Passover “Kosher” brands of pareve Ranch dressing. I think the key is to use a “liquid” dressing rather than a thick mix version. I made this recipe again for Passover and when I drizzled the dressing over the finished chicken it was delicious! Hope this helps! Please let me know how your next batch turns out. All the best, Sharon