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!)
Diana Bisinger says
Had to have chicken tenders tonight for dinner but was tired of the same old thing I always made. How great that I came upon your recipe! Easy to make, hardly any cleanup (always a plus), and delicious. Never toasted my breadcrumbs before or baked them on a rack on a baking sheet when doing my tenders. Where have I been all my life!? And the dipping sauce? Yummy! My husband loved them and said he could eat these for every meal. Made enough for leftovers tomorrow, I thought, but there’s only one left. Thanks again for a great, easy recipe.
Nagi says
I’m so pleased to hear that Diana, thank you for letting me know! N xx
Robin Witherspoon says
I stumbled upon this recipe today and soooo glad and thankful. I had a taste for chicken tenders today, and knew I did NOT want a fast food or frozen food section option! I tried your recipe because, for one, it was simple enough to follow, just a few ingredients, and promised less mess! They turned out so delicious! And moist! One of the key tips IS to toast the panko breadcrumbs first. That made a huge difference. And using the one bowl for the egg, flour, mayo, etc…genius! Thank you again! I am new to your site but plan from now on to be a frequent visitor!
Nagi says
I’m so pleased to hear that Robin! Thank you for taking the time to come back and let me know you enjoyed it! N xx
Kathy says
This is my first time ever to comment on a recipe. I was really impressed with the results of this pre-toasting method. I’m not a big fan of spray oils such as Pam but it worked. Bravo! I’m going to print this keeper. Thank you
Nagi says
I’m so pleased to hear that Kathy! I’m glad you enjoyed it, thank you for letting me know! N xx
Marissa says
Had to come back to say THANK YOU for this genius tip. I can’t stand to deep fry in my own kitchen and this double toasting method has totally solved that. I’ve made buffalo tenders this way and now coconut shrimp and my mind is spinning up what’s next. You’re always an inspiration!
Nagi says
Right back at you Marissa! COCONUT SHRIMP?? OK….that is going on my menu for this week!!
Kat says
I made these tonight and, man, are they good!! So crisp and easy to make – start to end of clean-up in less than 30 minutes. My sister just had a baby so I sent this to her as something to file away for a picky toddler. One question – I didn’t use mayo (I know I know, I just hate the stuff so I don’t keep it in the house) – I used a bit of milk to thin out the batter, but is there anything else you’d recommend?
Thanks!
Nagi says
AWESOME! I’m so pleased to hear you enjoyed this one Kat! Milk is just fine – I actually can’t think of better sub for the mayo. Hope you have a great weekend – N x
Ria says
Love your thorough explanations, and the pre-toasting the panko is genius! Thank you for a quick, easy AND delicious recipe – a winning combination thats hard to find. This one is a keeper that will be used time & time again.
Nagi says
I’m so happy to hear that Ria, thanks for letting me know! N xx
Charmane says
Your methodology is brilliant, especially toasting the breadcrumbs before coating the chicken! We thoroughly enjoyed.
Nagi says
I’m so pleased to hear that Charmane, thanks for letting me know! N x
Emily says
Not clear about the oil spray. Is this a required step? Spray oil over the breadcrumbs on the baking tray? How much oil?
Nagi says
Hi Emily! Yes it’s a required step so the breadcrumbs brown nicely. Just spray a light mist over all the breadcrumbs 🙂
Kelly says
Trying these tomorrow night to feed a couple of hungry skaters after their lesson. Looks delicious! Just wanted to thank you for including all the notes you did. I will be making ahead and glad to see the tips for how to do so successfully. Thank you!!
Nagi says
No worries Kelly! I do hope the hungry skaters enjoy it! N xx
Katt says
Do you actually cook the tenders at 200 also?for only 15 minutes? Sounds kinda low temp for not enough time
Nagi says
That’s 200C/390F which is quite hot 🙂 And yes 15 min is definitely long enough, much longer and tenders will dry out terribly!
Kathy says
I accidentally cooked these at 200F and ruined the batch. Maybe clarify in the recipe something like “200 Celsius or 390 degrees Fahrenheit” so it’s a little more obvious in the recipe? I was cooking quickly while watching my kids and read too quickly. 🙁
Nagi says
I’m sorry to hear you misread it Kathy 🙁 Did you just keep cooking it though? It should still work!
Donna says
I have a couple of questions:
If I wanted to cook twelve chicken legs, how would the recipe of ingredients change to accommodate the bigger pieces of chicken and number of chicken pieces?
Do you recommend the same recipe procedures for these larger pieces of chicken?
Have you ever used anything other than chicken breast tenders?
Thanks!
Nagi says
Hi Donna – my concern is that larger pieces of chicken ill take longer to cook which will result in extremely brown crumbing 🙂 So unfortunately I don’t recommend this method for larger pieces, sorry to disappoint!
Cassie Pierson says
Thanks for the recipe! I just made these today and my husband and I LOVED them! They are super easy too! It was a great idea to bake the crumbs by themselves first. And then I also liked how you specified which hands to use to dip the chicken in the batter and in the crumbs. I always make a mess breading chicken, but not this time!
Nagi says
Woo hoo! So glad you like this Cassie, thanks for coming back to let me know! N xx PS You should have seen ME when I used to bread chicken before I figured out the left/right hand system….
Danielle says
My husband says these are the perfect chicken tenders. Finally found a recipe I would go back to!
Nagi says
Awesome! So glad to hear you enjoyed it Danielle, thanks for letting me know! N x
Suz says
Hey do you think these would be ok to bake ahead of time and then reheat? How would you recommend reheating them?
Nagi says
Hi Suz! Added a new note 4 on making ahead tips – I’d recommend not because tenderloins are very lean 🙂
HappyMeanie says
Simple perfection!
Your recipe is spot-on!! Clean hands, crispy perfectly cooked chicken, great flavour…what more could you ask for?
Very straightforward and easy to make. I will never buy frozen again. TY!!!
Nagi says
So glad to hear that! Thanks so much for letting me know! N x
Alexandria S. says
Okay, I just made these for lunch for myself and my very picky 3 year old and they were awesome! Super delicious and very easy to make! I absolutely loved it! Thanks for the amazing recipe. 🙂
Nagi says
That’s fantastic Alexandria! So glad to hear you and your child enjoyed this! N x
Rhonda says
Oh my goodness! I can’t even handle how good these are! I loved the mustard, the mayo, the panko….THE CLEAN HANDS!!!!!
I did add garlic powder, chili powder and onion poster to batter…. oh my, so good! Thank you for this recipe!
Nagi says
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this Rhonda! Thanks so much for letting me know! N x
Brooke Frederick says
Ohhh my goodness. Just made these with boneless skinless thighs and they are to diiiiiieeeee for. *drool*
I added a dash of smoked paprika to the batter and omitted the mustard and mayonnaise, and added dried parsley to the breading crumb and it turned out phenomenal! Thanks for the tip to toast the crumb. I am forever changed! 🙂 ha ha
Nagi says
HIGH FIVE! So glad you enjoyed it Brooke, thanks for letting me know! N xx
Traci says
Wow! I stopped deep trying years ago and three years ago cut out all dried foods period. This was such an awesome treat as they were so super crispy. We ate with some baked oven fries and were in love! Absolutely a keeper….and using chicken tenders instead of breasts made this so easy!. Thank you!
Nagi says
Fantastic to hear Traci! Thanks so much for letting me know you enjoyed it! N x
Jessica says
The best breaded chicken I’ve ever had or made! And it was a huge hit with my 18 month old! I gave him a bite as a pre dinner snack and now he is following me around saying ‘moe kiki, moe kiki’ I have since given him three more good sized pieces, but the nagging persists!
Nagi says
Woo hoo! So glad you enjoyed this Jessica, thanks for letting me know! N xx