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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.
Kelly says
I made these last night and were AMAZING! And I made some yummy honey mustard for dipping. It was crazy yummy! Thank you
Karly says
So glad to hear that!
Fern says
I whipped these up today for my grand-nephew to enjoy while we have ribs for dinner. I’m sure we will all have a sample of them. I didn’t have Panko in the house so had to substitute plain/seasoned bread crumbs. I’m sure they will be enjoyed by all.
Karly says
@Fern,
Hope you all enjoyed the chicken strips!
Jessica @ Sprinkle Some Sugar says
LOL this post made me crack up! Also, these chicken strips look so yummy and baking them is so much better than standing over hot oil and smelling like it the rest of the night! 🙂
Chey says
Absolutely love the sound of these! Has anyone tried freezing them?
Karly says
@Chey,
I have not, but I bet they’d freeze perfectly!
Angela says
Love the chicken strips, but to zip them up a notch, I added “Kick’n Chicken” seasoning and they were awesome!
Karly says
@Angela,
Awesome! 🙂
Erin says
I sleep the exact.same.way. My husband does not appreciate the spooning pillow but it’s necessary.
And I am going to make this chicken – no doubt about it!
Kristen says
I made these for dinner tonight – I never thought about using butter for baking them in the oven. Holy cow these were good 🙂 Thanks for the recipe, friend!
Karly says
@Kristen,
Yay! So glad you guys liked them! 🙂
Amy says
I want to comment on your snuggle pillow…I too have a snuggle pillow ON EACH SIDE! :). I use them to support my arms while I’m sleeping on my sides! It used to be a big stuffed bear, but then I found out that super soft pillows work great! I tend to toss and turn, but since I have a pillow on each side I don’t have to move them. I am so excited to hear that someone else uses a pillow like me and likes the open end pointed away from them! My husband claims it’s a barrier but that’s not true! I just sleep better with the support! I’m glad you shared that story! Oh and I will try the chicken strip recipe…I don’t have to cook much since my husband likes to cook, but every once in awhile I try something different! You can’t go wrong with homemade chicken strips!
Mollis says
Thanks! Made these tonight and they were great. No complaints from my picky 10 year old. Lucky for me, no school for my kiddos tomorrow so it’s a 10:00am wake up!
Magali says
Best oven chicken nuggets I’ve ever made! My boyfriend even came back for seconds…twice! They were amazing with homemade baked sweet potato fries 🙂
Julie @ Table for Two says
one of my favorite ways to have chicken!! the sauce looks killer, too! mmm you’ve got me craving chicken strips and sleep right now haha 😉
Allie | Baking a Moment says
Oh my gosh I do the exact same pillow-spoon thing. It drives my hubby crazy!
Stephanie @ Girl Versus Dough says
Ugh, I hate being on little sleep. It changes me completely — I’m either a zombie all day or a complete you-know-what. Yours truly needs a full 8 hours to function. And maybe some (a lot) of these chicken strips. 😉
Heather @ French Press says
I have died and gone to chicken finger heaven. My daughter complains about every single meal I prepare, but I don’t think she will say a word when I hand her these. My stomach is growling as Itype
Nicole @ Young, Broke and Hungry says
Ouch 6 am is too early for me and 3:30 is just torture. I would need something quick and easy like these chicken strips also.