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!
This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!
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.
Baked breaded chicken – my way
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!
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!
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!!
Give it a light spray of oil, bake for 15 minutes and voila! This is what you get:
LOOK HOW GOLDEN THEY ARE!! Just imagine that crunch when you bite into the juicy chicken inside!
Dipping Sauces
It’s pictured above with a Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce. Just like Maccers. Only homemade. 🙂
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.
– Nagi x
Watch how to make it
This recipe features in my debut cookbook Dinner. The book is mostly new recipes, but this is a reader favourite included by popular demand!
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Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Tenders
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:
Nutrition Information:
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.
More crunchy crumbed chicken
A crunchy golden crumb takes any chicken from bland to delicious!
LIFE OF DOZER
That hopeful sparkle in his eyes…. (it was false hope) (Oh wait, I lied. I gave him a bite!)
Lena says
Hi Nagi,
I want to make this tonight but have no eggs. Do you think the batter will still work?
Lena says
Thank you, but I went and got some eggs. I didn’t want to take a chance. Strips came out great and the family loved them.
Nagi says
Hi Lena, I haven’t tried without eggs sorry – would love to know if it works though! – N x
Kristyna says
I just made way too many of these! Once they’re cooked, can they be frozen for later?
Nagi says
Hi Kristyna, you can freeze and then thaw and reheat in the oven – N x
Stacey says
These were great!! Honey mustard sauce was delicious too! Thanks for the recipes-they’re keepers!
Nagi says
You’re so welcome Stacey!
Elaine says
THANK YOU! I’ve tried many recipes for oven-baked chicken tenders that claimed they’d be crunchy — this is the first one that’s lived up to it! So thanks very much for the recipe. I’ll have fun experimenting with different seasonings for the batter. A+!
Nagi says
I’m so glad you loved them Elaine!
Faith says
These are the best non-fried chicken strips I have ever had! They were pretty easy to make and satisfied my entire family! I did not have any oil spray on hand, so I toasted the crumb and baked the strips without it, and they still turned out great. Thank you for this wonderful recipe! I am going to try it on some flounder fillets next time.
Nagi says
I’m so glad you loved it Faith, it’s great on fish too!
Cameron says
I’m a single Dad of 3 & I love cooking… My oldest is my PICKY 16 year old daughter… I made this tonight & she had seconds & saidshe loved it… Thank you so much 👌👍👊
Nagi says
Wahoo that’s terrific Cameron!
Dre says
Was looking for an oven (not fried) based way to make homemade tenders. Found this recipe on Yummly and immediately went to the kitchen and started! Oh they are to die for!!!!!! Definitely going to check out some more of your recipes!
Cheryl says
Hi Nagi, I’ve got the family for lunch on Sunday – 11 of us and I’m cooking all your recipes 🙂 Was thinking I’d cook these tenders as a good option for kids & adults. If I do the batter Saturday night, and leave the chicken in the batter in the fridge overnight, then toast the breadcrumbs before adding and cooking, would that work best? Any tips would be gratefully received! Thank you.
Nagi says
Hi Cheryl, yes that would be perfect! I hope you love them!
Tamara says
Hi, any suggestions on a gluten free alternative to panic crumbs? I’ve heard quinoa flakes – you’re thoughts? Thank you!
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
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.
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
Lizet Flores de Bowen says
The crust was nice and crispy, and the chicken so moist. Thanks for the tip on toasting the bread crumbs first!
Nagi says
I’m so glad you loved it Lizet!
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 🙂
Nagi says
Yogurt would have been a great sub, I’m so glad you loved it!
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!
Nagi says
You’re so welcome Fay, I’m so happy you loved it!
Marilyn MacDonald says
Amazing dish! Can’t wait to have the leftovers. Excited to try your other recipes
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!!
Jim says
This was excellent. Everyone enjoyed them
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.
Nagi says
Wahoo, nailed it Kathy!
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.
Nagi says
You’re so welcome Arlene!
Wendy B. says
Do you have a specific type of oil spray or will flavored Pam do okay?
Nagi says
Hi Wendy, I usually use olive oil spray – but any type of oil spray should be fine ☺️
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?