Gluten-Free Chicken & Waffles

July 30 is National Chicken and Waffles Day, so let’s celebrate with these AIP-friendly Gluten-free Chicken and Waffles! The combination of crispy flavorful fried chicken on top of perfectly cooked gluten-free waffles with a crispy crust on the outside is so good, especially when topped with a drizzle of honey. It’s the perfect meal for any time of day—brunch, lunch, or dinner!

I’ll share with you the game plan for how to prepare this dish so that you have hot waffles and chicken all ready at the same time!

Gluten-free waffles

You’ll love this easy gluten-free waffles recipe and you’ll be going back to it even when you’re not making chicken and waffles.

These waffles are made with a combination of gluten-free flours: cassava flour, tigernut flour, and tapioca flour. Cassava flour and tapioca flour come from the same yuca plant. Cassava flour is a great alternative to wheat flour because it is high in resistant starch, which is a type of starch that has the same health benefits as fiber—it keeps us full and helps reduce inflammation in the gut by helping to feed the “good” bacteria. Tigernut flour also contains resistant starch, as well as fiber and vitamin E. The type of fiber found in tigernut flour is insoluble fiber, which helps food move through the digestive system easily. 

I recommend sifting the three flours into a bowl to make sure that any lumps that formed in the flour during storage are broken up.

The liquid ingredients for these waffles are dairy-free coconut milk, maple syrup (a natural sweetener without refined white sugar), and melted coconut oil. The combination of coconut oil and maple syrup helps give these waffles a nice crunch as they are cooked in the waffle iron.

Gluten-free chicken

I top these waffles with lightly breaded gluten-free fried chicken tenders. I used chicken tenders because they are a lean, high-protein cut of chicken, and this balances well with frying the chicken in lots of coconut oil.

Chicken tenders are the tenderloin cut from under the chicken breast, and are a delicious, juicy white meat. It is high in protein, which helps repair and build muscle tissue, but is also a great source of niacin, selenium, phosphorus, and vitamins B6, B12, and riboflavin. These vitamins are important for brain function, energy production, and healthy skin. 

Look for organic, free-range, hormone- and antibiotic-free chicken tenders to get the most health benefits.

I coat the chicken tenders in a gluten-free flour combination of cassava and tapioca flours, as well as several seasonings: dried basil, dried oregano, onion powder, garlic powder, sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper. 

Once the chicken is coated, it cooks quickly in about 8 minutes over medium heat. The hot oil helps make the coating on the chicken nice and crispy, perfect for serving over waffles!

Game plan to make chicken and waffles

I recommend following this plan to make sure that your chicken and waffles are ready at about the same time, just in time to serve them:

1. Coat the chicken in seasoned flour and set aside.
2. Combine in separate bowls the dry ingredients and wet ingredients for the waffles.
3. Whisk the waffle batter together.
4. Start cooking the chicken on the first side.
5. Start cooking the waffles—you should be able to cook one waffle while the chicken is cooking on one side.
6. Flip the chicken and cook until done. Set aside on a paper towel.
7. Finish cooking the waffles.
8. Serve hot.

How to serve chicken and waffles

I like to serve these chicken and waffles with a drizzle of honey on top. Honey is a healthy AIP-compliant sweetener without any refined sugar, and it has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties.

You can also use maple syrup instead of honey. 

However you choose to serve these gluten-free chicken and waffles, I guarantee you will enjoy your National Chicken and Waffles Day!