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Truly Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Tenders

By:Nagi 606 Comments
Recipe v

These crunchy baked chicken tenders are life changing! The secret to truly golden, truly crunchy baked breaded chicken is to toast the breadcrumbs in the oven first. Bonus: No dirty fingers with my quick crumbing technique!

Crunchy Baked Chicken Tenders piled on a plate with a side of Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce, ready to be eaten

Really crunchy Baked Chicken Tenders

There is no feel-good story behind these crunchy Oven Baked Chicken Tenders. Quite simply, I am yet to meet anything deep fried that I didn’t love, but a) my waistline can’t afford the real thing every time I feel like it; and b) I reserve deep frying for “special occasions”. Because… well, you know.

Mess, oil wastage, gluey fingers.

Waistline. Bottom expansion.

Etc etc.

It also irritated me no end that the breadcrumbs always came out splotchy, no matter how much oil I used.

So this is how I make baked crumbed chicken.

How to make crunchy Baked Breaded Chicken

Baked breaded chicken – my way

  1. Toast the breadcrumbs in the oven for just a few minutes. This is the path to truly golden, truly crunchy baked breaded chicken even with a short bake time (max 20 minutes for chicken tenders). PS Much MUCH easier than pan frying!
  2. One dredge batter – the usual process for crumbing is flour then egg then breadcrumbs. For this quick ‘n easy recipe, I combine the egg with flour plus mustard and mayo for flavour + oil (attempt to replicate deep fried) to make a thick batter in which the chicken is dredged. This stuff is great glue for the breadcrumbs!
  3. Clean fingers! Use tongs to transfer the batter slathered chicken into the breadcrumbs. Sprinkle over breadcrumbs to cover, press down to adhere. Transfer to tray. Marvel at clean fingers!

How to make Crunchy Baked Chicken Tenders

Give it a light spray of oil, bake for 15 minutes and voila! This is what you get:

Crunchy Baked Chicken Tenders on a tray with a Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce on the side, fresh out of the oven

LOOK HOW GOLDEN THEY ARE!! Just imagine that crunch when you bite into the juicy chicken inside!

It’s pictured below with a Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce. Just like Maccers. Only homemade. 🙂 – Nagi x

PS Other Dipping Sauces: Try the Pink Steak Sauce from the Beef Kebabs, Sweet and Sour Sauce, Thousand Island, Tartare or even a classic Seafood Cocktail Sauce.

More crunchy crumbed chicken 

Crunchy Baked Chicken Tenders being dipped into Honey Mustard sauce

BAKED CHICKEN TENDERS
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT

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Crunchy Baked Chicken Tenders on a tray with a Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce on the side, fresh out of the oven

Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Tenders

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 15 mins
Total: 30 mins
4.95 from 180 votes
Servings3 - 4 people
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Recipe video above. Beautifully golden, truly crunchy baked chicken tenders! The trick is to toast the breadcrumbs before coating the chicken. See recipe notes for pictured Honey Mustard Dipping sauce.

Ingredients

Breadcrumb

  • 1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs (Note 1)
  • Oil spray

Batter

  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbsp mayonnaise
  • 1 1/2 tbsp dijon mustard (or other mustard)
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • Black pepper

Chicken

  • 500 g/1 lb chicken tenderloins (or breast cut into 2/3" / 1.5cm thick slices, lengthwise)
  • Oil spray

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 200C/390F.
  • Spread panko on a baking tray, spray with oil (spray vertically to avoid blowing the panko off the tray), then bake for 3 to 5 minutes until light golden. Transfer to bowl.
  • Place a rack on a baking tray (not critical but bakes more evenly).
  • Place the Batter ingredients in a bowl and whisk with a fork until combined.
  • Add the chicken into the Batter and toss to coat.

Crumbing (see video & photo in post)

  • Pick up chicken with tongs and place it into the panko bowl.
  • Sprinkle surface with breadcrumbs, then press down to adhere. Transfer onto baking tray. Marvel at clean fingers, repeat with remaining chicken.
  • Spray lightly with oil, sprinkle with a touch of salt (optional). Bake 15 minutes (medium) or up to 20 minutes if gigantic. Any longer = dried out chicken.
  • Remove from oven and serve immediately, with Sauce of choice (Honey Mustard pictured, see Note 2) and sprinkled with fresh parsley, if desired.

Recipe Notes:

1. Panko are Japanese breadcrumbs which are larger than standard breadcrumbs. Nowadays they are available in all major supermarkets, usually in the Asian section, and cost just a fraction more than ordinary breadcrumbs.
It is well worth using because the breadcrumb pieces are bigger so they create a far better "crunch" than standard breadcrumbs.
2. HONEY MUSTARD SAUCE (pictured): Mix together 1/3 cup mayonnaise, 2 tbsp dijon mustard, 2 tbsp honey, 1 - 2 tsp lemon juice, salt and pepper.
RANCH SAUCE:  Mix together 1/4 cup each mayonnaise (preferably whole egg) and sour cream, 2 tbsp milk, 1 tsp lemon juice or white vinegar, 1/4 tsp each dried parsley or dill, dried dill, dried fresh chives (Note a), garlic powder, 1/8 tsp salt & black pepper
a) All the herbs can be substituted with fresh herbs, finely chopped. Double the quantity - i.e. use 1/2 tsp.
Don't worry if you don't have all the herbs. If you have at least 1, it will still taste similar to what it should taste like, just use more of the herbs you have (3/4 tsp dried herbs in total).
3. MAKE AHEAD: Best way is to toast breadcrumbs, then put chicken in batter, leave up to 2 days. Then crumb the chicken just before baking. It is ok crumbed up to 24 hours beforehand, store in the fridge. Freezing raw doesn't work. 
Reheating: Best way is to blast in the oven for literally 3 - 5 minutes at 200C/390F until it is just warmed through inside.
4. Nutrition per serving, assuming this serves 3. Dip not included.
Nutrition Facts
Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Tenders
Amount Per Serving (248 g)
Calories 416 Calories from Fat 108
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 12g 18%
Saturated Fat 2g 10%
Cholesterol 163mg 54%
Sodium 973mg 41%
Potassium 705mg 20%
Total Carbohydrates 29g 10%
Dietary Fiber 1g 4%
Sugars 2g
Protein 42g 84%
Vitamin A 2.6%
Vitamin C 2.4%
Calcium 8.5%
Iron 16.2%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Originally published April 2015, updated with new photos, video, words in post. No change to recipe, though some minor writing tidying up has been done.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 248gCalories: 416kcalCarbohydrates: 29g (10%)Protein: 42g (84%)Fat: 12g (18%)Saturated Fat: 2g (10%)Cholesterol: 163mg (54%)Sodium: 973mg (41%)Potassium: 705mg (20%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 2gVitamin A: 2.6%Vitamin C: 2.4%Calcium: 8.5%Iron: 16.2%
Course:Baked, Chicken, Crumbed
Keyword:Baked Chicken Tenders
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats.
Crunchy Baked Breaded Chicken Tenders | Made this for the family the other night, INSANELY delicious!!!! And NO MESSY FINGERS!

LIFE OF DOZER

LIFE OF DOZER

That hopeful sparkle in his eyes…. (it was false hope) (Oh wait, I lied. I gave him a bite!)

Dozer the golden retriever dog lusting after crunchy baked chicken tenders

Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!

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606 Comments

  1. Tamara says

    Hi, any suggestions on a gluten free alternative to panic crumbs? I’ve heard quinoa flakes – you’re thoughts? Thank you!

    Reply

    • Nagi says

      Hi Tamara, I’m sure you can buy gluten free breadcrumbs made from gluten free bread. I haven’t tried with any alternative though sorry – N x

      Reply

  2. Allison says

    What did I do wrong? I combined the batter ingredients while waiting on the bread crumbs to toast. After adding the breadcrumbs, it made the batter clumpy and wouldn’t stick to the chicken. Was there supposed to be oil added to the batter? The intro notes indicate that there was however the recipe itself doesn’t have oil listed.

    Reply

    • Nagi says

      Hi Allison, the batter ingredients are kept separate from the breadcrumbs, the chicken is dipped in the batter then crumbed. The video above the recipe card should help you understand if you’re still confused – N x

      Reply

  4. Sheena says


    Thanks so much for this recipe, they were fantastic!
    I used natural greek yoghurt instead of mayo in the batter as we don’t have mayo in the house (my kid doesn’t like it and I like it too much so best to just not have it around!!) and it worked out great.
    These will be a regular on our weekly menu for sure 🙂

    Reply

  5. Fay says


    Super easy & very delicious!
    I loved combining the batter ingredients together. Also used the delicious honey mustard dipping sauce you gave the recipe for.
    Thanks for this!

    Reply

  7. Nancy Mason says


    Tasty recipe! They came out juicy and the breading stayed on! Will definitely make this my go to for baked chicken tenders!!

    Reply

  9. Kathy R says


    These are perfect. They were so good and so crunchy. My husband and I loved them and I will make them over and over again.

    Reply

  10. Arlene B says

    Wow Wow Wow Nagi. Tonight I made your crunchy baked chicken tenders and your honey mustard dipping sauce. So yummy!!!! They were a big hit. Thank you for the recipe.

    Reply

  12. Stephanie Browning says


    Absolutely love this recipe. I notice you cook 500 g of chicken but your serving size of 1/3 of the meal is 248 g? I guess partially because of the bread crumbs?

    Reply

  13. Isabel R says


    Absolutely delicious! My kids do not eat breaded foods but they LOVED these crispy and delicious home made version! I love the fact that there are no preservatives!

    Reply
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