A classic BLT remade into a Whole30 approved all-in-one meal! Check your labels to be sure all ingredients are Whole30 compliant!
Whole30 makes you do crazy things.
Like, give up wine and chocolate for a month.
And peanut butter.
You may even find yourself making a sandwich with meat as the bread. (#America?)
This month, my husband and I are tackling our first Whole30! We’re excited (ok, I’m excited) to kick my sugar dragon to the curb and rewire my brain to listen to my hunger and fullness cues. You can read all about my “why” here. Each week I’ll be sharing a re-cap of how things are going for the two of us! You can find our week 1 recap HERE.
Whole30 Approved Chicken BLT
On day ONE of our Whole30, I threw my husband into the metaphorical deep end real fast.
Meat as the bun for a BLT sandwich.
We had some leftover Pederson Farms bacon from breakfast (um, DELICIOUS by the way), and I had successfully tackled the challenge of making my own mayo from the Whole30 book. I was a Whole30 newbie overachiever, y’all.
P.S., I know it sounds sketch, but the mayo is so good. I love that you dump everything in a cup and blend ‘er up with an immersion blender. Done in 2 minutes.
(We also used the mayo later in the week for a chipotle mayo dipping sauce for sweet potatoes. Yessssss.)
Okay. I digress. This sandwich.
First, the chicken. Searing it on both sides on a cast iron skillet and then finishing it off in the oven will give you the BEST flavor. I mean, look at that sear. I found the technique in this book and I’m never going back. You could also bake your chicken breast in the oven, but I wouldn’t recommend using slow cooked chicken for this as it will fall apart. For tips on properly seasoning and cleaning your cast iron skillet, check out this post.
How to Sear Your Chicken Perfectly
Preheat the oven to 350 and heat an oven safe skillet to medium. Pound out your chicken breast with the flat side of a meat tenderizer so that it’s about 1/2″ to 3/4″ thick. Season simply, using salt, pepper and your favorite blend. I’m huge fan of the 21 Seasoning Salute from Trader Joe’s. To quote the old lady in the Frank’s Hot Sauce commercial, “I put that ____ on everything.”
Drop a spoonful of coconut oil or olive oil in your skillet and swirl it around to coat the pan evenly. (Coconut oil will not give it a coconut flavor, and actually does better at high temperatures v.s. olive oil). Sear the chicken for 3-4 minutes on one side and then flip over. Immediately put the skillet in the oven to finish cooking for 15-20 minutes, depending on the size of your chicken breast. I promise, the newly flipped side of the chicken will not burn even though it will be sitting on that side way longer than the first side did.
P.S., if you don’t have an oven safe skillet, you can transfer to a baking dish. You just won’t get that seared finish on one side.
While the chicken finishes cooking, prepare your BLT ingredients. Obviously you can see that this is more of a BST (bacon, spinach, tomato), but Chicken BST just isn’t as catchy. You can use any greens you have!
Once the chicken is done, remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes. If you’d like, blot off the excess oil from both sides of the chicken (simply because it makes it less messy to eat!). Slice your chicken horizontally like a pita (without cutting all the way through!), and stuff with mayo, tomato, bacon, and your greens!
Here’s to getting creative and trying new foods for 30 days, y’all! We got this!
PIN IT:
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 20 minutes |
| Servings |
people
|
- 2 chicken breasts
- 2-4 tbsp whole30 approved mayo
- 1 roma tomato
- 2 slices cooked whole30 approved bacon
- 1 handful lettuce, spinach, or other greens
Ingredients
|
|
- Preheat oven to 350 and heat an oven safe skillet over medium heat. Trim your chicken breasts of any excess fat and use a meat tenderizer to pound them out to about 1/2" or 3/4" thickness. Season both sides with salt, pepper, and seasoning blend of choice.
- Drop a spoonful of coconut oil into the skillet and swirl it around to coat evenly. To check if your skillet is ready, throw a few drops of water into it. If it sizzles, it's ready. Place the chicken in the hot skillet and let sear for 3-4 minutes. Don't touch it! You can lift up the edge to check towards the end, but disturbing it frequently won't get you that nice sear you want.
- Flip your chicken breast over and immediately put your skillet in the oven for 15-17 minutes to finish cooking, depending on the thickness of your chicken breast.
- Meanwhile, prepare your sandwich innerds. When the chicken finishes, remove from skillet and allow to rest for five minutes.
- Slice your chicken breast open horizontally, like a pita. Be sure not to cut all the way through. Layer a 1-2 spoonfuls of mayo, then the bacon, tomatoes, and greens. Enjoy!
Happy Whole30-ing!
A Simplified Life is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. I only share products I use and love! Thanks for supporting ASL!
Leave a Reply