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Truly Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Tenders

By:Nagi 638 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer 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
Baked, Chicken, Crumbed
4.95 from 186 votes
Servings3 - 4 people
Tap or hover to scale
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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%
Keywords: 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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638 Comments

  1. Barbara B says

    Fabulous!! Family loved this recipe!! Woohoo easy and mess free. The 15 minute timer is perfect. Thanx honey for teaching an old dog a new trick☺

    Reply

  3. Betty says


    Another great recipe from TinEats. My picky 3 year old granddaughter and 14 month grandson loved your chicken fingers. My husband and I enjoyed the honey dijon sauce; ketchup for the young ones. I also recommend from this site the chicken shawarma , wild rice salad and beef ragu. Thank You Nagi.

    Reply

  4. Carol says

    Hi Nagi,
    This recipe looks fabulous! I can’t wait to try it. But, I have a question? What is the temperature to bake the crumbs and what is the temperature to bake the chicken? Is it really 200 degrees for both?
    Thanks so much!!!

    Reply

  5. Kathryn says


    O.M.G. These were the BEST chicken tenders I have ever made. They are absolutely delicious! Thank you for this recipe! I will make these again and again!

    Reply

  6. Sherley S says


    Absolutely delicious! And a baked version too! I’m pleased as punch that I don’t have to deep fry these anymore. My local supermarket doesn’t sell oil spray so I just bought a plastic spray bottle and transferred some oil into it. Worked! Thanks so much for this recipe!

    Reply

  7. CaliG says


    LOVE that I don’t need to dredge in 3-4 items. Also, toasting the panko first is key (and you can use crushed croutons in a pinch) so this was good recommendation. I agree with Nagi’s cook time for perfection. That said, if you want to cook 5-10 minutes more for extra crispy or burnt, you totally can, just watch every few minutes. This is a good recipe for those that have trouble cooking due to disability and/or can’t stand for long time (put all main ingredients in a bowl and just stir, drop precut (from store) tenders in & stir. Put breadcrumbs in large flat container w/lid, drop chicken in and shake to coat quickly). I think this is the easiest and best crispy chicken tenders recipe so far due to that reason. Thanks very much so I can have affordable dish that seems like takeout!

    Reply

  8. Rose M. Fagerness says

    Thank you for these delicious recipes. I’m very happy with these recipes and have made the honey mustard chicken and sauce like four times now. They are good reheated also.

    Reply
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