Here I’ll show you the secrets to getting extra crispy chicken tenders in the oven. Easy to make and bursting with flavour, these breaded chicken tenders are the ultimate finger food!
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)
- Set up your bowls and bring chicken to room temp.
- Coat in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs.
- Place on a baking tray, preferably elevated on a wire rack if you have one.
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)
EXTRA Crispy Baked Chicken Tenders
Equipment
- Large Baking Tray + Wire Rack (optional)
- Cooling Rack
- 3 Large Bowls
- Small Bowl (for spice mix)
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
- Frying Pan & Wooden Spoon
Ingredients
- 1.3lb / 600g Chicken Tenders OR Chicken Breast, sliced into strips & at room temp (see notes)
- 1/3 cup / 50g Flour
- 1 1/4 cups / 75g Panko Breadcrumbs (see notes)
- 1 heaped tbsp Butter
- 1oz / 30g freshly grated Parmesan (see notes)
- 1 Egg, beaten
- 2 tbsp Milk
- 1 tsp each: Paprika, Salt
- 1/4 tsp each: Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Black Pepper
- 1/8 tsp Cayenne Pepper, or to taste
- Oil Spray
Instructions
- Melt 1 heaped tbsp butter into a frying pan over medium heat and stir in 1.25cups/75g Panko breadcrumbs. Continue frying for 5 or so mins until the breadcrumbs turn light golden. Remove from heat.
- Preheat oven to 200C/390F.
- In a small bowl combine 1 tsp paprika and salt, 1/4 tsp onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, and 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste).
- Line up 3 large bowls. In the first bowl combine 1/3cup/70g flour with 1 tsp of your spice mix. In the second combine 1 beaten egg with 2 tbsp milk. In the third combine breadcrumbs with 1oz/30g parmesan and the rest of your spice mix.
- One by one dip your tenders first into the flour, then into the egg and finally into the breadcrumbs, ensuring you fully coat at each stage (especially the last).
- Space out (important so they don't turn mushy) on a baking tray (preferably elevated on a wire rack if you have one), spray with oil then pop in the oven for 15-20mins or until golden, crispy and piping hot through the centre. If at all you notice them starting to char at all, turn down the heat.
- Place on a cooling rack for a few mins to allow all the steam to escape and crisp up. Serve with your favourite dip!
Video
Notes
Your Private Notes:
Nutrition
Looking for more?
You’ll find plenty more delicious comfort food like this in my Debut Cookbook ‘Comfy’
For more similar recipes check out these beauties:
I made t his recipe ahead for a large yankee swap family buffet. I followed all these steps except I froze the tenders after breading and they turned out awesome on the day.
So pleased to hear they went down well, Nicole! Thanks for the review 🙂 C.
I make this a couple times a month! And I use the panko coating on pork loin chops in the oven too.
So pleased you enjoy the recipe Jen 🙂 C.
I made these yesterday and they were so good!! I didn’t have any parmesan but next time I will make sure I have some. I can’t wait to make them again with the cheese. So much better than frying. I have a couple more if your recipes I want to make and will leave a comment for those too.
Thanks so much for the review, Nicole! 🙂 C.
This recipe was soo good! My daughter even put some aside for herself tomorrow before they’re all gone today LOL!
So pleased to hear, Sandra! Thanks so much for the review 🙂 C.
Delicious. I’ve made this recipe several times now. I’ve used Italian seasoned panko as well as that’s what I had in the pantry. I had leftovers from last nights meal so I popped them in the oven with some marinara and mozzarella and they turned out great. I chop up leftovers and use in salads as well. Thank you for sharing your recipe. Sincerely, busy mom on the go.
So pleased to hear, Carey!! Thanks so much for the review 🙂 C.
This is my FAVORITE recipe to make/eat. It tastes DELICIOUS with boom boom sauce. My family really enjoys the dish too. Thank you so much… 🙂
So great to hear, Kait! Thanks so much for the review 🙂 C.
These is hands-down the best crispy baked chicken tender recipe on the web – no competition! I’ve followed many recipes for baked chicken tenders using panko from various food blogs and none of them were ever this good and tasty. Most were bland and just lacking flavor. Chris’ technique of toasting the panko is a game changer. My family loves, loves this recipe. I only discovered Chris’ blog about two months ago and I have made the tenders at least once a week since then. I didn’t have the parm the first go around but we love them so much without the parm, so I stick to not adding it. I make homemade honey mustard & Raising Cane’s dipping sauce (copycat recipe) and my family can’t get enough!
Thank you so much for the lovely comment, Palyn! And thank you for the review 🙂 C.
Hey Chris! – I just wanted to let you know I was staring at a boring can of Salmon the other day and wondering how I could make something different other than the same old dill + bay seasoning cakes…and then it hit me! I toasted the panko in butter and used your spice blend from the Extra Crispy Tender recipe (added two eggs, ramped up the Cayenne pepper a little bit and added nothing else). The flavor was amazing and my family couldn’t stop raving about the “awesome” salmon cakes. I’ll never make salmon cakes any other way – thank you!
This is such an awesome idea! With have to give it a go myself 🙂 C.