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 200°C/390°F (180° fan-forced).
- Toast panko – 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).
- Dredge batter – 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.
- Crumb – Sprinkle surface with breadcrumbs, then press down to adhere. Transfer onto baking tray. Marvel at clean fingers, repeat with remaining chicken.
- Spray & bake – 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.
- Serve – 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!)
I made this last night and it was terrific! Panko was crispy and the chicken was juicy and tender. Thanks so much for the recipe!!!
Perfection! I love mixing the flour, egg and condiments together! Brilliant. Another winner … crispy, juicy and flavorful. 😘
Only way I’ll make these now.
Dipping sauce was also terrific.
Oops, forgot to include my 5 stars.
Just came to say that these are great in the air fryer; I love the batter/breading technique and can add any variety of seasonings we like to the batter mix. We always do boneless skinless thighs and tonight I air fried them at 370 F for about 12 min, flipping them half way. They some times take more or less time depending on the size of the pieces I’ve cut.
Wow, so delicious, the flavour the the dipping batter comes through, and the crunch. Just superb
Made these after my kids picked it from Dinner. So many clever tips and tricks in this recipe that made it easier to make and tastier than most other similar recipes. The kids loved it, so thank you for yet another recipe of yours that will be added to the rotation.
This was a super quick dinner that I made after work and it was on the table in 30 minutes (no prepping the day before was needed). The best part was that all my kids loved it. They actually agreed on something! This recipe will be added to our weekly rotation.
Bravo. I cant get these out of my head since first making them. Batch number 9 going in the oven now
i found it difficult to mix the batter through at first as i found a lot of lumps in it. i didn’t understand the part where it says use a metal rack in the oven. my chicken took forever to cook through (i was using a meat thermometer) and it sadly turned out dry and rubbery. for some reason the panko stayed white even after baking, so the colour was not what i wanted (like the picture in this recipe). maybe my meat thermometer was broken?
Delicious, easy to make and the best we’ve ever tasted. Eliza (12 years old) our Grandaughter made these for dinner. Finger licking good 👍. She has her own copy of Dinner, (she kept pinching mine) so I’ve already pre ordered two of your next book. Recipes are fantastic, easy to follow, cupboard ingredients, offering delicious, exciting meals within family budget. Thank you again Nagi for sharing and caring. 🇬🇧
Made these and loved them!
Question: do you think they could be air fried? It’s summer and hot and I don’t want to use my oven!
I was wondering the same thing. My recently ordered air fryer is arriving soon.
These chicken tenders were quick and easy to prepare as was the delicious honey mustard dipping sauce. The chicken was moist and the panko crunch just perfect.
These are great. I make a big batch for dinner then let the rest cool and freeze them. Chicken tenders on demand for weeks. Thanks!
Wow – these were great! I followed the recipe exactly and the chicken was perfect – and juicy! Mine usually ends up on the dry side.
Simply the best batter as well as chicken strip recipe I have eaten. This is my go-to. So yummy.
This is the best crispy chicken strips that I have ever made. So easy to make. Our grandkids love them and we all agree that this is our go to recipe for chicken strips. Thanks Nagi for this recipe and all the others that you have created and shared.
WOW! Just wow! These were absolutely amazing. Followed recipe to a tee and couldn’t believe how fantastic they turned out. Juicy, crispy and flavorful!
Can I make this with cornmeal? Love your cook book!!
Nagi, this was so easy and incredible tasting. I Google recipes for dinner and often I choose yours. They are always been on point with ingredients and delicious. I finally pulled the trigger by leaving this review and signing up for your newsletter. All the best!