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!)
Ha! Marshmallow fingers!! you are so right. What a genius way to crump putting the eggs and flour together. So making these.
I wasn’t sure how else to describe the caked fingers!! 😉
You and I are simpatico on the whole deep-fry thing – love to eat it, hate to do it myself. These chicken tenders look utterly crispy and delicious like you said, without the mess. You’re my hero!!
Ha ha ha!! I’m so glad that it’s not just me – feel validated hearing you feel the same! 🙂
I made this for dinner the day you posted it. I had chicken tenders in the fridge all ready for another recipe but your photos convinced to make this recipe instead. So glad I did. The chicken tenders were delicious! The dijon in the batter adds nice flavor. The tenders were golden brown and crunchy as promised. Thanks.
Hi Nguyet! I’m SO GLAD you liked it!! Don’t you love it when you see a recipe and you have everything you need to make it?! It’s like it’s meant to be!! Thank you so much for coming back to share your thoughts on this 🙂 Happy weekend Nguyet!
I think this is definitely the best recipe I’ve seen all week. I’m exactly the same as you and are not a fan of marshmallow fingers or deep frying! These will be perfect for us. Love the tip about frying the panko crumbs – I’m totally doing that next time!
I hope you do!! Honestly makes such a difference. REALLY makes it look and taste like they’ve been deep fried!! Have a great weekend Lucy 🙂
I make chicken tenders very similar to these for my daughter all the time. Its the only ones she’ll eat. Lovely photos.
Great mines think alike Kathy! 😉 Hope you have a great weekend!
Dear Nagi,
You are a genius!
I know the sinking feeling when there is uneven baking and some crumbs are still white. Your tip to firstly shallow fry the crumbs with a tablespoon of oil is gold. I can use this technique for making crisp shallots used for garnish in Asian dishes. I used to deep fry them which is great but decided to try spraying with oil and baking those little shallot rings but it gets uneven.
I have fried chicken cravings too and how clever is using both hands for minimal mess!
Ha! I’m FAR from a genius, I’m just a deep-frying-hater who loves fried chicken!!
PS Can’t believe you make your own shallots….uber impressed!
Genius once again, Nagi! (but I don’t expect anything less from you … lol!)
I must admit it bothers me (a lot) that ‘baked’ versions of things never turn out as good as their deep fried counterparts. Aaand YES those sticky, gummy hands also bother me a lot …. so I’m very happy you’ve figured out a way to avoid this!
I know, right??!! This is as close as I’ve gotten. On an endless hunt for a better way!! 🙂
Just had a thought while reading this…. Why not use the baking sheet to brown the panko in the oven rather than in a skillet? You could use the same sheet to bake the chicken and save some clean up time.
Hi Ernie – that’s really clever!! I will try it 🙂 I just wonder whether you get the same even browning because in a skillet, you are moving the panko around to make it evenly browned. I’ll let you know how it goes!! 🙂
I always have marshmallow fingers but I do finish up with panko on everything. I wouldn’t want to continue living without panko crumbs. 🙂
Your chicken is amazing! I will try this.
Hope you do Maureen! 🙂
Oh wow everyone hates to deep fry. I have no such fear or issue but it is great to learn a new method of baking, I haven’t crumbed with a batter before and it is the perfect flavour vehicle, Thanks Nagi
That’s because you’re such a talented CO-ORDINATED cook Tania 🙂 Could you make some deep fried goodness for me please?
This recipe is gold! I love the idea of creating a perfect batter that can keep the panko on and create a wonderful flavor.
And it’s really helpful to know that I don’t need to flip the chicken during the baking. I made the mistake last time and the coating of the chicken fell off a lot! Pinning!
THANKS so much Maggie!! I know, I’ve made that mistake before re: flipping. Hence the rack! 🙂
Oh my gosh, I was so curious what was the secret! Fried Panko!! Genius! Dying to try this technique now. I, too, don’t fond of deep frying, even got rid of my deep fryer a while back. And I love baking the chicken strips, almost the same way you do, but not with fried panko. Instead, I just broil for the last couple minutes to give them a nice color. Thanks for sharing your secret, Nagi!
oh my gawd, making these!!! and that Ranch Dipping Sauce is happening too!! My kids love ranch!! I always use panko when making chicken strips for my kids. . you only have to bake for 10 minutes?! that’s it?
Brilliant Nagi – I use panko a lot for golden crunchiness 🙂 I don’t really deep-fry either – it is such a hassle and as you say waste of oil!
My little ones and I love breaded chicken goujons, but just like you, I hate the mess, the deep-frying, the smell etc. They tend to have them at my mum’s only. Your alternative is genius! Love it, and well done for keeping clean hands. Pinning right now!
Thanks so much Mel!! And you know….come to think of it, I only have fried things at my mother’s house too….!! 😉
I share your fears of deep frying. Coordination is not my friend. Love the use of panko crumbs.
You make me laugh!! On the rare occasion I deep fry, I use the back burner and VERY long tongs 🙂
OMG….they look so good. I must have known when I replenished my panko stock yesterday!
This should go well with the wine I WILL be winning in a couple of days.
Thank you.
He he!! Keeping my toes crossed for you!! I buy up big when I get panko because I get it from the Asian grocery. SO much cheaper. I get large bags for $2!!
You make everything look so easy and so delicious. You have a gift! I want these NOW! Loving the baked panko and the clean hands. That drives me crazy too!
“Marshmallow” hands….that’s what I call them. I hate it! I wash my hands after every 2nd or 3rd piece I crumb!!
Nagi! i LOVE posts starring babyhands!!!This is how one of my chefs many MANY years ago taught me how to cook with breadcrumbs. Thank you for reminding me about this…because usually I spray mine down with pan spray!!! But I too LOOOVE crispiness! Adding to my mile long thing of things to make and blog 🙂
OMG, I literally burst out into laughter when I read this!! (Re: baby hands!)
And…WOW! You got taught this by a chef? How cool is that? I just kinda fumbled along and decided I liked this way of crumbing….imagine that, CHEFS use this method too!! (PS One of “your” chefs….whatever do you mean by this?)
Im glad I could make you giggle!!! by one of my chefs I mean one of the chefs I had in culinary school 🙂 I don’t own chefs 😉
Nagi, this is AWESOME!!! These tips and this post is a KEEPER, definitely pinning… love the pics, (but duh- you’re a camera genius.)- I’m still working on it 😉 Thanks for this great recipe 🙂
Thanks so much Stephanie, you are far too sweet!! 🙂 But I am far from a camera genius….but thank you!! 🙂