Crispy Baked Chicken Tenders have all that goodness without being fried! Who needs that? Look for alternatives to enjoy your favorites without the excess calories!
Add the Panko crumbs to a Ziploc bag along with 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Close the bag and shake to coat the crumbs with the oil. Spread them out onto a parchment paper-lined rimmed baking sheet and bake for 5-6 minutes until golden brown. Don’t they look like the color of fried chicken nuggets? Allow them to cool before mixing them with the rest of the ingredients.
I stripped about a tablespoon of Italian parsley leaves off their stems then chopped them finely. That gave me about a teaspoon. Once crumbs have cooled, add the parsley, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, finely grated Parmesan cheese and the smoked paprika. You could use regular sweet paprika in its place, but I think the smoked version adds a boost of flavor. Toss them, with a fork, to help evenly distribute the ingredients within the baked Panko crumbs.
For the chicken, you can use tenderloins or lean chicken breasts which equal about 1 pound or a little over. Cut them into chunks the size you see below, not too small, but large enough to pick up and dip in some amazing Honey Mustard Dressing Once everything is prepped, it’s time to roll! My Smoky Comeback Dipping Sauce is a great dipping sauce to try with these too!
All lined up next to the stove are 3 dishes containing the flour, the beaten eggs and the crumb coating, each containing their own fork for the process. Certainly, this helps keep your fingers from being coated along with the tenders. First, dredge each piece in flour. Then, coat them with egg mixture. Finally, toss the chicken tender around in the Panko crumb mixture. .
Place a cooking rack over the parchment paper(crumbs). Use a brush to coat the rack lightly with some olive oil. Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes or until internal temperature registers at least 165 degrees.
Still reflecting their golden “fried” color, they are ready for the feasting! Loosen a little from the rack as you allow them to cool for about 5 minutes. These are amazing dipped into my Honey Mustard Dressing. It almost replicates that food chain sauce. You can make this at home to have on hand for anything from salads to let’s say, these Crispy Baked Chicken Tenders.
Crispy Baked Chicken Tenders
Ingredients
- 1 T extra virgin olive oil
- 3/4 c Panko bread crumbs
- 1 T fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped
- 1/2 t sea salt
- 1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 t smoked paprika or sweet paprika
- 2 T finely grated, packed Parmesan cheese(about (1 oz)
- 1/2 c flour
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/4 lbs chicken breast or tenders cut into chunks
Instructions
- Place Panko crumbs in a Ziploc bag along with the olive oil. Seal the bag and shake to help oil evenly coat the crumbs.
- Spread out crumbs evenly on a parchment paper-lined rimmed baking sheet.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 5-6 minutes. WATCH CAREFULLY! They should be a golden brown resembling fried color. Cool completely before adding to rest of the ingredients.
- Chop the parsley leaves. then add them and the rest of the ingredients to the cooled bread crumbs. Using a fork, whisk them all together in a dish which will be used for rolling the tenders.
- Whisk the 2 eggs with the water.
- Line up the dishes with the flour, beaten eggs and coating mixture next to the parchment paper-lined baking sheet which has a baking rack in place.
- Dredge chicken chunks in the flour, coat next with the eggs and finally roll in the seasoned crumbs. Brush the rack lightly with a little more olive oil. Evenly space on rack.
- Bake for about 20 minutes until internal temperature is 165 degrees. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes, if you can resisit it. Gently lift and return each piece to its spot as it cools.
- Serve with your choice of sauce, but my favorite is either my Honey Mustard Dressing or Smoky Comeback Dipping Sauce. They are linked in recipe post above.
