Baked Chicken Parmesan Bites with homemade marinara sauce make the perfect school lunch or quick dinner recipe!
These fun Gluten Free Baked Chicken Parmesan Bites served with a homemade marinara sauce make the perfect kids school lunch, game day appetizer or quick dinner recipe! Easy, light and full of flavor – these chicken bites are a must make!
Guys. Seriously. How is the summer basically done?
Cason officially starts school a week from today! It’s nuts!
I just had his school supplies delivered to the house and bought a new lunch box. (he left his other one at school on THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL… ugh)
So now it’s time to start getting in “prep mode.” At least this year I have a year under my belt. That basically makes me a pro, right?
Fortunately and unfortunately my kiddo likes a lot of the same stuff. He had almost the same thing for lunch every day last year. He likes to have ham lunch meat rolled up, cheese, crackers (sometimes chips) and fruit. There were times that I changed it up and snuck a pepperoni pizza lunchable (don’t judge me.) But for the most part he wanted the same thing.
This year though. This year. I’m changing things up.
I plan on making some tortilla rollups. Quesadillas. Maybe a panini or two and these baked chicken parmesan bites.
For these baked chicken bites I started with good quality chicken tenders. Just BARE Chicken is my go to, when it comes to “chicken brands.” If you’ve spent any time on my blog you should know who they are by now! I’ve been working with them for over a year and wouldn’t use anyone else!
I love that they strive to bring great food to more people by providing Natural and Organic varieties of chicken. They don’t use any antibiotics (EVER), no added hormones, the chickens are given vegetables and grain feed and no artificial additives are used. They are also USDA – certified organic. You know exactly what you’re getting and can be confident that it is good for your family.
But here’s my favorite part. I don’t have to trim the chicken down when I open the package! Can I get an amen! They hand trim each chicken product so as soon as you open the package you are ready to cook!
Want to know where to buy it? Go here —> Buy it now! (you can also get it on amazonfresh.com)
So. Now that we’ve got the chicken. Let’s get to the cooking. Whenever I’m making something that has to be “dunked” I like to line up the ingredients on my counter in the order I’m going to use them. In this case it would be chicken, egg white mixture and then panko cheese mixture. I make sure that one hand dunks the chicken in the wet ingredients and the other hand in the dry ingredients. That way I don’t end up with huge clumps of wet and dry ingredients on my hands. Once everything is coated you just put them on a baking sheet and bake until they are golden and cooked through.
While the chicken bites were baking I also whipped up a quick marinara sauce using crushed tomatoes and a few other ingredients. It’s so simple but the perfect accompaniment to these baked chicken parmesan bites. Plus, my son is a sauce man … so sauce is a must!
Now.
If they are going to be for a little kids lunches they need to be “little kid” approved right!?
Well, don’t worry. My little man couldn’t wait to get his hands on these baked chicken parmesan bites after they came out of the oven. (and in front of the camera…because he’s a big ham)
I’m proud to say these bad boys are tested and approved. I got the go ahead to put them in his lunches this year. So, momma for the win! And I’m confident they’ll be a win for you too.
I made these specifically for lunches but you could totally use them for dinner as well. We had a little bit leftover and I actually put them on top of some gluten free pasta and used the rest of my marinara sauce. It was perfect!
Can’t wait to hear what y’all think. Bon Appetiti friends and happy cooking!
*** This recipe was sponsored by Just BARE Chicken. However, like always all opinions are 100% mine! Thank you for supporting the brands that support Joyful Healthy Eats. ***
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Baked Chicken Parmesan Bites
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 25
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 40-50 bites 1x
- Category: gluten free, kid friendly, 30 minute meal, appetizer, baked chicken recipes,
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: american
Description
Gluten Free Baked Chicken Parmesan Bites served with a homemade marinara sauce make the perfect kids school lunch, game day appetizer or quick dinner recipe!
Ingredients
Chicken Parmesan Bites:
- 2 lbs. Just BARE Chicken Tenders, cut into 1/2” cubes
- 1 cup gluten free panko breakcrumbs
- 3/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dry basil
- 1 teaspoon dry parsley
- 1 teaspoon dry oregano
- 1/2 cup egg whites
Marinara:
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 cup diced yellow onion
- 1 tablespoons grape seed oil
- 28 oz. of crushed tomatoes with basil
- 1/4 cup basil, chiffoned
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- To a small bowl add egg whites. Set aside.
- To a medium bowl add panko breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, garlic powder, basil, parsley and oregano. Using a spoon gently stir everything together. Set aside.
- Set up your “line up.” Chicken Tenders. Egg Whites. Panko Mixture. Baking Sheet. Now go through the line. Add chicken tenders to the egg white mixture. Coat them completely with egg white mixture and place coated chicken in panko cheese bowl. Press the chicken tenders into the panko mixture so they are completely coated. Next place prepared chicken bites on baking sheet. Continue this process until all the chicken tenders are done.
- Place baking sheet in oven and bake 10 minutes. Flip the chicken bites and bake an additional 10-15 minutes until the center of the chicken is 165 degrees F. Remove from oven and let rest.
- Heat a small saucepan to medium high heat. Add grape seed oil to pan and then add onions and garlic. Saute until the onions are translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Add in crushed tomatoes and bring to a slow simmer. Then add in fresh basil, stir and cook for 2 more minutes.
- Serve chicken parmesan bites with marinara sauce.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6-8 chickens
- Calories: 223
- Sugar: 4 g
- Sodium: 365 mg
- Fat: 6 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 12 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 31 g
- Cholesterol: 73 mg
Filed Under:
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