Baked Chicken Tenders
There’s literally nothing more delicious than a darn good crispy goujon, slathered in your favourite dip. UGH 🤤. It actually wasn’t too long ago I uploaded my Fried Chicken Tenders. Understandably deep frying isn’t for everyone, so I thought I’d see if it was possible to get the same delicious flavour, the same crispy exterior AND the same juicy chicken, whilst baking in the oven. Spoiler alert – the answer yes. Before we get our hands dirty, just so we’re all on the same page:
CRISPY Breaded Chicken Tenders
In contrast to fried chicken tenders, where you simply coat in flour, for oven baked chicken tenders you’ll want to coat them in breadcrumbs. You can simply spray your breadcrumbs with oil and bake them, but I prefer to fry in butter. Simply melt butter into a pan over medium heat, stir in your breadcrumbs and fry until light golden. A ratio of 1 tbsp butter : 1 cup breadcrumbs works great. Although it’s tempting, any more butter and the crumbs become too oily/wet.
Parmesan Chicken Tenders
The next secret to getting not only super flavoursome chicken tenders, but extra crispy chicken tenders, is using parmesan. If you’re a regular reader of mine you’ll know I use parmesan in practically everything 😂. Well, these are no exception. By mixing in parmesan with the breadcrumbs you not only inject a nice salty flavour, but the parmesan helps bind the breadcrumbs together. To coat the tenders you’ll need 3 bowls: Bowl #1 – Flour + Half of Spice Mix Bowl #2 – Egg + Milk Bowl #3 – Toasted Breadcrumbs + Parmesan + Half of Spice Mix
How to bread chicken tenders (quick summary)
From there it’s simply a case of baking until golden and crispy! I then like to rest the tenders on a cooling rack for a few mins just to let the final bit of steam escape. This will allow them to finish crisping up.
Do I have to use parmesan?
I’ve actually tested these with and without parmesan. The parmesan does add a nice salty flavour and also helps with the crispiness, however it’s not a deal breaker if you don’t have it.
What spices to use?
For me, this is the winning combo: paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, black pepper and salt.
Can I use chicken breast instead of tenders?
You absolutely can! You’ll probably get around 5-6 ‘tenders’ from one breast.
And there we have it! Extra crispy chicken tenders are yours for the taking. Just to summarise:
Tips for Crispy Baked Chicken Tenders
Use Panko breadcrumbs. Toast the breadcrumbs before baking. Use parmesan in the breadcrumbs. Don’t cook the chicken straight out the fridge (cold chicken seizes up and releases excess moisture). Use a wire rack for baking and for cooling.
If you love the sound of these crispy baked chicken tenders, I know you’ll LOVE my crispy baked jalapeno poppers, crispy baked fries and crispy baked avocado fries. And what’s a tender without a dip?!
Dipping Sauces for Chicken Tenders
Sweet Chilli Mayo Sriracho Mayo Cheese and Chive Dip Roasted Garlic Aioli Garlic and Herb Dip Marinara Dipping Sauce
Lastly, be sure to check out the nugget version of these beauties! Crispy Baked Chicken Nuggets. Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe shall we?!
How to make Crispy Baked Chicken Tenders (Full Recipe & Video)
For more similar recipes check out these beauties:
Chicken Tender Recipes
Spicy Chicken Tenders Nashville Chicken Tenders Dorito Chicken Tenders Cornflake Chicken Tenders Bacon Wrapped Chicken Tenders
