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 for the first time tonight….so good! I even made the sauce…loved it! Thank you!
Fantastic, easy keeper recipe— only changes were I subbed mayo for the mustard and baked on a cooling rack set inside a sheet pan. Thank you!!
OMG, this chicken was so good, my family loved it!
Thank you.
Has anyone made this with either haddock or cod?
This sounds amazing g BTW
Hi WC, yes it will work with either of those fish – enjoy! N x
This is a great method. I must tell you that I toasted crumbs in a pan on the stove to sprinkle on fish fillets, which also works well! No love for mushy crumbs here, either!
Fantastic recipe. Tried this 3 times, everyone loves it. Did not pre cook the Panko once, important not to skip this step. I reduced the flour to 1 table spoon and it worked just fine. I also tried to cut back to 1 cup Panko but needed the full amount. It’s in the rotation.
These were really really really good! I had to make a few subs with what I had on hand but they turned out amazing! Hubby made a point of asking that I keep this recipe – sign of a winner!
These are awesome! I adapted it slightly and cut the chicken into small bite sized pieces for my toddlers, (adjusted the cooking time too), they absolutely love them!!! They are now known as ‘Nagi’s nuggets’ 💓
Oh I love this!! Nagi’s nuggets 😂
Hi Nagi! My husband and I love your blog – it’s our “go to” cooking site. You have cult status in our household – thanks for all the brilliant recipes! 😃
…a question: tonight I’d like to make tenders, but I’ve run out of eggs…do you have a substitution suggestion?
I made this tonight and it was a fantastic! So crispy. I’ve been looking for a good crispy tenders recipe that’s moist on the inside and this really hit the spot. Thanks so much
That’s great to hear Sam! N x
I want to make these with waffles for chicken and waffles. The dredging batter has mustard in it, do you think that would still be a good combo or maybe have an idea of what I could substitute it for?
Wow. These were really good. I made more batter than stated in the recipe because I didnt want to run out, and i didnt. I did not increase the amount of toasted bread crumbs and I did run out. I used untoasted crumbs for the few extra tenders that needed coating. They all tasted good but the ones with the toasted crumbs were much better. 🙂 Not sure if they were just more visually appetizing or not. VERY GOOD. I will definitely make these again. Thanks so much for this recipe.
And I give it 5 stars!
Thanks so much Mollie! N x
Can’t wait to make these tonight. Do I bake on the middle rack?
Yes that will be fine Jennifer – enjoy! N x
Great recipe but the 3-5 minute time to toast the Panko crumbs was too long for my oven. After almost burning the first batch by using a 4 minute time, I found success with just a smidge more than 2 minutes.
Hi Susan, if you’re oven runs hot then you will need to reduce the cook time. I’m so glad you got the timing right though! N x
Hi! Do you spray the chicken tenders with olive oil before cooking them? And do you flip the tenders at all while cooking? Thanks!!
What temp do we bake the chicken for?
Hi Nosheen, 200C/390F as noted in step 1 of the instructions 🙂 N x
Outstanding and very easy. I especially loved the details in the recipe re how these can be made ahead and reheated To maintain crispy texture. I actually made too many so I cooked and froze them. Fantastic.
I just stumbled across your website during quarantine and this recipe was SO good! How do you recommend warming up leftovers to keep them crispy and juicy?
Hi Ann, I’m so glad you loved them – I have reheating instructions in the recipe notes. N x
Absolutely delicious. This was a winner with the family. Made it with bite size pieces of chicken breast and it was so moist and tasty. Thank you for another awesome recipe.
Hi Nagi,
I stumbled upon your website during lockdown (I live in gorgeous Cairns, Australia). I have tried quite a few of your recipes with amazing results. This Is my first comment.
Loved this chicken recipe! No need to change it at all….but couldn’t help myself, the second time I made it, I added some crushed macadamia nuts to the Panko crumb. Next level yum!!!
Love your work!
Made these last night for dinner with some homemade Potato Salad. And we loved them. Great recipe! Thank you.
A keeper for sure! My picky daughter loved them so much she asked for seconds. Super easy to make.