Easy Baked Chicken Tenders

Easy baked chicken tenders are a healthy 30-minute dinner the whole family, especially the kids, will love. With a golden brown seasoned Panko bread crumb coating, no frying is required for delicious chicken fingers.

Introduction

Chicken tenders are now a standard meal for many kids and adults. But fast food is fried, and the meat is of dubious origin — time to take control of your diet with this healthy substitute.

You can easily cook as many as you need for a party or a few for a meal in only 30 minutes. Homemade chicken tenders will become a standard at your home.

My Rating

Really good and a solid higher 4. Everybody loves these quick and easy chicken tenders.

🐓About Chicken Tenders

Chicken tenders refer to the tenderloin of the chicken located on the underside of the breast. It is that narrow part that will sometimes separate when eating breast meat.

It is the chicken equivalent of the beef tenderloin or the pork tenderloin. It is a muscle that does very little work, so it is always tender.

While they may refer to tenders, the terms chicken strips and chicken fingers could refer to any strip of chicken—usually cut from breast meat.

Substitute strips of chicken breasts

You can easily cut strips of chicken breast of about the same size and ½ inch thick. Cut them as much as possible across the strain of the meat, or they may be stringy and not very tender.

Strips cut from a chicken breast will be less tender than tenderloins and cheaper.

In this or any other recipe on this site that says chicken tenders, strips of chicken can be easily substituted. And when I say tenders, you can always use strips.

Preparing chicken tenders for cooking.

The first steps are drying and removing the tendon on the tenderloin. We no longer wash chicken—see Chicken... To Rinse or Not To Rinse?.

Should I brine? Generally, I would not brine chicken tenders, but I would consider it if using cut strips of chicken breast, especially if it was previously frozen.

The ratio for a chicken brine is 2 cups of water and one tablespoon of table salt. Some people will add some brown sugar equal to the salt. Remember that all salt is not equal, and 1 teaspoon table salt = 1 ¼ teaspoon Morton kosher salt = 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt.

As little as 15 minutes makes a big difference. But you can brine for up to 2 hours if you want. This brine is a "heavy brine" in salt, so please limit it to 2 hours maximum.

🐓Ingredients

• Chicken tenders - dry and trim. There are usually 4-5 tenders per pound.
• Bread Crumbs - Panko style is suggested but regular breadcrumbs will work. Just plain flavor is fine but flavored versions will also work.
• Parmesan Cheese - optional but suggested
• Spices - paprika and garlic powder with salt and pepper are enough. A touch of heat with cayenne pepper is fine if no kids are involved.
• Flour and egg

👨‍🍳How to Bake Chicken Tenders

1. Preheat oven and prepare a baking tray with a rack.
2. Remove the tendon and pat dry the chicken tenders.
3. Coat the dry tenders first with flour, then an egg wash, then the coating mixture of breadcrumbs and spices.
4. Give them a light spray of pam
5. Allow the coating to "set up" for at least 5 minutes before baking.
6. Cook to 165° internal temperature—about 15 to 18 minutes.

This baked chicken tender recipe uses just standard pantry ingredients. Trim your tenders, mix some Panko bread crumbs with a few simple spices and bake until golden brown. It is that easy.

❓FAQs

🍽️Serving and Leftovers

Serving

Dipping sauces are part of the fun of chicken tenders. Some popular ones are honey mustard, ketchup, BBQ sauce, Ranch dressing, flavored mayo, and sweet chili sauce.

Leftovers

The texture of the coating will never be as good as fresh-cooked, but leftover tenders should be stored in an airtight container refrigerated for 3 to 4 days. They can be frozen for 2 to 3 months.

📖Kid-Friendly Chicken Recipes

Oven Baked Chicken Legs - The Art of Drummies

Healthy Baked Chicken Nuggets

Grilled Chicken Tenders

Crispy Chicken Tenders

This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.

🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400° convection or 425° conventional.

Prep a baking tray by lining it with aluminum foil, fit it with a rack and spray it with PAM.

Trim 1 ½ to 2 pounds of chicken tenders. Or trim and slice 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts into ½ inch thick strips.

Pat dry the chicken tenders. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP.

Create a dredge line with three shallow dishes:
Tray #1: ¼ cup flour
Tray #2: one egg whisked with 1 tablespoon of water.
Tray #3: ¼ cup flour, ½ cup Panko breadcrumbs, 1 teaspoon paprika, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Optionally add ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (adjust for taste) and ¼ cup of Parmesan cheese.

Roll the chicken in tray one and shake dry.

Dip in the egg wash and shake off excess.

Roll in the final tray.

Place on the prepared tray. Give the coated tenders a light spray of PAM. If you have time, let them sit for 5 minutes before baking. The coating will stick better.

Cook until golden brown and an internal temperature of 165° in the thickest part—15 to 18 minutes usually.

📖Recipe

Originally published February 4, 2012. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.