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These Oven Fried Chicken Tenders are nice and crispy on the outside and tender and moist on the inside. Perfect for dipping in your favorite sauce and ready in about 30 minutes.
I’m the type of person that goes in spurts with foods.
For example, I never order chicken tenders at a restaurant…until I do. And then that’s all I order for months at a time until suddenly, nope. I never order chicken tenders at a restaurant.
Anyone else do that?
The same goes for home cooked food and I’m currently on a chicken tender trend.
These Oven Fried Chicken Tenders are seriously so good – they taste like they were fried with that crispy exterior that has just the perfect hint of greasy goodness to it. No, I’m not saying these are greasy at all. I’m just saying they have that perfect crispy coating that tastes like it was deep fried!
Our chicken tenders recipe is a definite kid favorite. Partially because what kid doesn’t love chicken and partially because you can serve these with allllll the sauces for dipping. My current favorite is this honey mustard dressing recipe or copycat Chick Fil A sauce!
Our Favorite Dips for Chicken Strips:
There are an endless number of dip recipes out there and probably most of them would go well with chicken strips! You can check out all of my dip recipes, or try a few of my favorites from below.
Oven Baked Chicken Strips
Ingredients
- 1.75 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenderloins
- 1 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt divided
- 1 teaspoon pepper divided
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups panko bread crumbs
- 8 tablespoons butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Melt the butter and pour it on to a large rimmed baking sheet, such as a sheet pan.
- If using chicken breasts, slice into strips, each about 1 inch wide.
- Add the flour, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and half of the salt and pepper to a shallow dish. Add the eggs to a second shallow dish and beat well. Add the panko and remaining salt and pepper to a third shallow dish.
- Dip the chicken strips in the flour, then egg, then Panko. Press the strips into the Panko to ensure the chicken is evenly coated.
- Add the chicken strips to the pan with the melted butter.
- Bake for 10 minutes and then flip each piece of chicken over. Continue baking for 10-15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Ingredients Notes:
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Chicken – You can either use a couple of chicken breasts that you’ve cut into strips or you can purchase chicken tenderloins. Both work great!
Panko Bread Crumbs – Panko is a Japanese bread crumb that is light, airy, and crispy. This produces a much more crispy final product than traditional breadcrumbs.
Butter – Baking these in a bit of melted butter is the secret for making your oven fried chicken tenders taste like they were deep fried. Don’t skip this vital step!
Seasoning – We keep it simple here with garlic, onion, paprika, salt and pepper, but you can get as creative as you like with these baked chicken strips. Tony’s is a great seasoning blend that we often use on chicken.
What is Panko?
Panko is a Japanese bread crumb that is light, airy, and crispy. It can be found in most any grocery store. We highly recommend using Panko over traditional bread crumbs in any breading recipe where you want a crispy finished product.
How To Bake Chicken Tenders in Oven:
Breading: You’ll need three shallow dishes for the breading. One to stir together the flour + seasonings, one to whisk the eggs, and one to stir together the panko with salt and pepper.
Coat: Dredge each piece of chicken first in the flour, then egg, and finally the panko. Make sure you coat the chicken fully for the best breading.
Butter: Melt some butter and pour it over your baking sheet. This is the key to making these chicken tenders taste like they were fried!
Bake: Pop the chicken on the pan in the butter and bake for 10 minutes. Flip carefully and bake for another 10 minutes until they appear crispy fried and golden!
Tip: I know this is a baked fried chicken recipe, but you could easily turn this into an actual fried chicken recipe! Or even better, an air fried recipe! Just follow all the steps to coat the chicken in the Panko mix and then cook in a deep fryer or air fryer with your choice of oil.
These air fryer chicken tenders are looking pretty good too!
What To Serve With Baked Chicken Tenders:
Obviously, you’ll want one (or two…or thirty) of the dipping sauces I mentioned up above, but beyond that there are so many options!
My kiddos love when I make chicken strips and this crockpot hashbrown casserole. It’s hard to go wrong with cheesy potatoes and I love how easy they are in the crockpot.
Loaded mashed potatoes, ranch roasted potatoes, and baked potato salad are more tater favorites around here.
The family also loves our crock pot macaroni and cheese and broccoli cheese casserole.
How Long To Bake Chicken Tenders:
We bake these crispy oven fried chicken tenders at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, flipping them halfway through cooking.
The higher heat allows the breading to crisp up nicely while the chicken stays moist and tender.
Helpful Tip!
Air Fryer Instructions:
- Bread the chicken as directed.
- Preheat air fryer to 400 degrees.
- Arrange chicken tenders in a single layer in the basket and spray liberally with cooking spray.
- Air fry for 10 minutes, flipping halfway through cooking.
FAQ:
They key to breading chicken is to use a 3 part method. First, you’ll dredge the chicken in flour. Next, you’ll dunk the floured chicken in beaten egg. Finally, place the chicken in your breadcrumbs and press lightly to make sure the chicken is fully coated.
Frying food is a method of cooking food in hot fat. We pour melted butter onto our sheet pan and place the chicken directly into that melted fat and then bake. This cooks the chicken in hot fat, just like it would if you were to deep fry, but you’re able to use much less fat this way and clean up is much easier.
This post was originally published in November of 2013. It was updated with new photos in February of 2020.
JJ says
Didn’t get crispy, one side stayed soggy in butter. Had to put under a broiler to crisp up. Butter changed the flavor quite a bit and made the chicken tenders feel greasy. Family didn’t enjoy this recipe very much. Different flavor.
Karly Campbell says
I’m sorry to hear these weren’t to your tastes.
Dean Dietz says
This recipe plus the honey mustard rates an A+!
Karly Campbell says
Thanks, Dean!
Blondie says
This is my go to now. Making it now adding some poultry seasoning.
Karly Campbell says
Sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing!
Brittany says
Another great chicken recipe from Karly! Buttery and crispy, and paired with her honey mustard dressing as a dip for these– perfect! Thanks for this recipe!
Carol Thompson says
Very good
Beth says
Hi,
Thank you so much, I couldn’t find my recipe, found yours absolutely my only go to recipe,didn’t change a thing !
Beth
ps made your honey mustard dipping, fabulous also!
Karly says
Hi Beth! So glad you enjoyed both recipes! 🙂