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!)
This is the very first time I have ever left a comment about a recipe and I’ve searched zillions of recipes. and have searched zillions of recipes for crunchy oven baked fried chicken. Tried so many and none were worth talking about. This one definitely is. I did tweak it a bit. I added onion crunch and dried onion flakes (just because I had some and thought it might add to it and it did!) I hadn’t like Pankko crumbs before, but your way of toasting them before you use them is a marvelous idea. I did spray the pan before I put the crumbs in the pan and then sprayed again after as you said. They turned out magnificently. The oil spray in the bottom of the pan held them in place nicely.
I added more spices to the batter: I added garlic (because I love garlic), thyme (I add to thyme to everything just about!), paprika, and adobo. I also used 10 lbs of chicken (we have a large family) thighs and legs. I made this batch to freeze for a camping trip planned this weekend. I used 4 times the amounts to cover 10 lbs of chicken. I baked uncovered for 30 minutes, then covered for the last 30 minutes. I baked at 400 degrees. thanks for posting this recipe. I never would have thought to brown the panko crumbs first. There really is a difference!
I’m so flattered Carol! Thank you for letting me know you enjoyed it – and sharing your variations! N xx
Oh my deliciousness….made these tonight paired with your no knead rolls…amazing! Ended up wrapping the tenders in the rolls topped with a touch of BBQ sauce, I do not recommend because I just want more and I can typically control myself My husband said he liked it better than chic-fil-a…I think that is one of the highest complement to a chicken sandwich! The only change I made was to add some grated pecorino to the bread crumbs as that was what my go to recipe called but your breading method yielded wonderfully crispy tenders. Just happened upon your site a few weeks ago but loving every bit!
Glad to hear that CWK! Thanks for letting me know! N x ❤️
Two things catch my eye: minimum mess & baked!
It’s a perfect dinner! I don’t use mayo, so replaced it with slightly less than 1tbspn of olive oil. And had no time to find Panko but followed the instrutions of someone else to make it happend (inside part of a french bread, left overnight on the countertop)
Thank you for this minimum mess recipe! Tasty, easy, delicious!
I’m so pleased to hear that Malena! Thanks for letting me know! N xx ❤️
Hi Nagi,
Love your website.
I usually use buttermilk for the batter, do you think Mayo is a better substitute?
and can those chicken be frozen for baking 2 days later? what do you recommend?
Thank you
Hi Jihane! I use mayo for flavour in this, it’s a shortcut, and also a higher fat content so it makes the crumb more golden! And yep to freezing 🙂 N x
I only have bread crumbs not Planko :/. Will they still be good?
YEP!!
Huge hit with my six kids!! We didn’t use mustard and it still turned out great! Super delicious, moist chicken inside and crispy outside!! This will be added to the monthly menu!!
I’m so happy you enjoyed this Kathy! Thank you for letting me know – N x ❤️
Hi nagi
I love your site and always get excited to try something new, these tenders are
In the oven as we speak, I was looking over the notes which obviously I should have done
Before I made them! It says the garlic powder is a key ingredient to the flavour but it’s not
Listed in the recipe, I’m sure they’re going to be awesome, but for next time how much should I use. Ps my hands down favorite recipe of yours is the chicken satay, omg!
Hi Louise! That note is about the Ranch dipping sauce, don’t worry it’s not missing from the ingredients of the recipe! So glad you love the chicken satay, I am OBSESSED with that recipe! N xx
We have made these a couple times-yummy! I tend to make too much of everything, but these rebake fine (we dont have a microwave). We rebake at 350 on a rack (as Nagi recommends) for 15 minutes, and they are crispy and not dry. Not sure we could even tell the difference from the first night. These are so great if you have teenage girls around that you cant seem to get to eat anything. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
That’s terrific to hear May! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review – N x
Omg!! The chicken was delicious!! Great recipe!!
That’s fantastic to hear Elizabeth! Thanks for leaving a review! N x ❤️
Wow! Super easy and super delicious dinner! I love your website. Looks great and so many recipes I need to try.
That’s terrific to hear Laura, thanks for leaving a review! N x
Excellent! One package of chicken tenderloins, 10 minutes of prep and 20 minutes cooking, presto dinner!!
I’m so pleased you enjoyed this Lorraine! Thank you for sharing your feedback. 🙂 N x
The easiest and most delicious recipe for breaded chicken. ..they came out just perfect…just like you said. Thanks…
I’m so pleased to hear you enjoyed this Franco! Thanks for letting me know – N xx
This is a really great recipe. They turned out delicious and so much easier.
I’m so pleased you enjoyed it Frankie! Thank you for letting me know – N xx
Great easy recipe! If you used the same recipe on chicken pieces with bone in, how long would you cook?
Hi Andre! Do you mean thigh fillets with the bone in? If so, I would bake them for 45 minutes BUT then I would not toast the breadcrumbs beforehand otherwise they will get VERY brown! N x
Thank you! The whole family loved these!
Thanks for trying my recipe Joanna! So pleased everyone enjoyed it – N xx
Hi. What can I use as a substitute to Panko? Thanks.
Hi Kavita! Normal breadcrumbs will be terrific 🙂 Or finely crushed cornflakes!
Made these for lunch today….so good! Love the crunch and how juicy the chicken stays…. almost didn’t need dipping sauce. I’m sure that my boyfriend will really like them too
That’s so great to hear Whitney! Thanks so much for letting me know! N xx
My kids don’t love mustard… is there anything less “spicy” I can use instead?
Hi Orna! Mild mustards like Dijon are not spicy 🙂 Otherwise just leave it out. N x
Nagi – thanks so much for getting back to me. My kids consider everything spicy, including Dijon and even black pepper, so cooking has been a struggle.
Could I still mix the flour and mayo together without the mustard? If so, I can’t wait to try it.
Thanks again!
Orna
Hi Orna! Yep, just leave the mustard out completely 🙂
My kids are the same way when it comes to spicy foods. I followed this recipe and they love them.
Absolutely delicious Nagi. Amounts were spot on and instructions easy to follow.
I love that this tasted deep fried but wasn’t. Reminded me a bit of the lovely crunchy chicken in the film ‘The Help’. A just-as-crunchy-but-healthier version.
Thank you once again. Xx
High praise!!! So pleased you enjoyed this Nicola, thanks for letting me know! N xx
Can i use chicken thigh pieces & achieve the same result? Also, can i prepare them ahead & freeze then just thaw & cook them?
Gosh YES to chicken thigh! If you freeze then unfortunately it won’t bake quite as crispy, but still crispy!
3-5 mins at 390F wasn’t enough for us. Maybe our tenders were too big. It took about 12-15 minutes to fully cook.
Hi Andy! The 3 -5 minutes is for the breadcrumbs 🙂 It’s 10 – 15 minutes for the tenders themselves. N x