Crispy Baked Chicken Fingers
These crispy, golden, baked chicken tenders are tender on the inside and crunchy on the outside, and they so much healthier than fried chicken fingers! The key is the foolproof oven-baked panko breading. They are kid-approved and a big hit with all ages! They are an all-time favorite 40-minute dinner.
I originally shared this recipe in February of 2011. I have updated the text today.
Table of contents
- Why These Oven Baked Chicken Tenders Are The Best
- WATCH: How to make Healthy Oven Baked Chicken Tenders
- Healthy Baked Chicken Strips Ingredients
- How to Make Healthy Chicken Tenders
- What to Serve With Healthy Chicken Strips
- How to Store Baked Chicken Fingers
- Baked Chicken Tenders Recipe FAQS
- More Healthy Family-Friendly Meals To Try
- More Healthy Chicken Recipes:
Why These Oven Baked Chicken Tenders Are The Best
Thank heaven for these baked chicken tenders! Over the years, I have heard from readers that this recipe is a regular part of their family’s menu rotation. And on a busy night, I personally am also always relieved when I have the ingredients on hand to make them. They are quick and healthy and my kids absolutely love them. I have to admit they are a favorite of mine too.
If you think that baked chicken fingers aren’t going to be as good as fried, think again! These seriously are juicy and tender on the inside and the golden panko coating is crunchy as can be.
They are perfect for dunking in your favorite sauce: Ranch, Ketchup or BBQ sauce. Pair them with a family-friendly side like lemon broccoli or these easy green beans or choose one of these sides that go great with chicken. Or make a Caesar salad made with my favorite Caesar dressing and homemade croutons and just like that, you have a clean-plate-club kind of dinner!
WATCH: How to make Healthy Oven Baked Chicken Tenders
Love this recipe? Check out our Crispy Oven Baked Fish Sticks too.
Healthy Baked Chicken Strips Ingredients
For The Breading
For the breading we set up a three part breading station. For this you will need
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (This goes in both the flour and the breadcrumbs to season the chicken)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/3 cup Panko breadcrumbs (If you can find the whole wheat breadcrumbs are more nutritious).
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika (This adds golden color to the breading)
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
- 5 teaspoons avocado oil or organic canola oil
Chicken Tenders
You will need 1 pound per batch of chicken fingers. These can sometimes be labeled chicken tenderloin which is the same thing. They come from the inner part of the chicken breast (right against the rib bones) and they are very tender. Hence the name!
You can also use boneless skinless chicken breast and cut them into chicken nuggets. Note that this is just enough breading for one pound of tenderloins though, so if you cut the chicken too small you may run out of breading because it may have more surface area.
How to Make Healthy Chicken Tenders
Step 1: Prep Oven and Pan
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray or brush lightly with oil.
Step 2: Mix Flour Mixture
Before doing anything else, you need to set up stations to dip the chicken into each coating. So first you’ll want to mix the all-purpose flour with 1/4 teaspoon salt in a shallow dish.
Step 3: Mix Eggs
Then, beat the eggs in a second shallow dish and set that next to the flour. The egg acts as a glue to hold the breadcrumbs to the flour layer.
Step 4: Make Panko Breading Mixture
Lastly, stir together the breadcrumbs, paprika, garlic powder and salt in a third shallow dish. Drizzle oil over the breadcrumb mixture and then mix thoroughly with a fork until all of the oil and spice coats the breadcrumbs. Keep mixing until the breadcrumbs are evenly colored and moistened by the oil and paprkia. This really makes a big difference so take a moment to do so.
Set to the side of the egg mixture. This will be your third step in the breading process and what makes these chicken fingers super crunchy!
Step 5: Bread The Chicken Tenders
My top tip for this step is to use one hand for the dry ingredients and one for the wet ingredients while dredging the tenders.
- Dip a chicken tender into the flour mixture, turning to coat completely. (Left Photo)
- Then dip it into the eggs, coating completely. (Center Photo)
- Then press the chicken tender into the breadcrumb mixture, turning to coat completely. (Right Photo)
- Continue with the remaining tenders one at a time and then discard any leftover dredging mixtures.
Step 6: Bake
Transfer the breaded tenders to the oven and bake until the chicken is cooked through. There is no need to flip the baked chicken tenders over because the panko will keep them from becoming soggy on the bottom. They will be nice and crisp as if they were deep fried, but without all the added oil!
What to Serve With Healthy Chicken Strips
- These oven baked chicken tenders are delicious dipped in ketchup, bbq sauce, or honey mustard. Try our Peach Barbecue Sauce for a dipping sauce!
- For a side dish, keep things simple and prep something while they are baking. Sauteed swiss chard fits the bill nicely, as do these balsamic green beans, steamed cauliflower with herbs, and garlic mashed broccoli.
- If you don’t mind juggling a few things in the oven at once, you could also pair these healthy chicken tenders with some skinny oven fries or Cajun fries.
How to Store Baked Chicken Fingers
Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days.
How to Freeze Baked Chicken Fingers
You can freeze baked breaded chicken fingers too. I like to lay them on a baking sheet and freeze them solid, then transfer them to a resealable freezer bag. Freeze up to 2 months.
How to Reheat Baked Chicken Strips
Defrost in the fridge and reheat in the oven or airfryer to crisp the panko coating.
Baked Chicken Tenders Recipe FAQS
I find that these panko-crusted tenderloins don’t need to be elevated on a rack and they still get very crispy on the bottom. The key is mixing the breadcrumbs with the oil so that they crisp up and using a hot oven will keep them from getting soggy on the bottom.
There is no need to flip the chicken tenders while baking, and in fact this can cause them to become soggy. If you open the oven to flip them, that’ll temporarily lower the temp and they will be more likely to let off their juices- which makes them soggy.
Keeping the oven temp higher (400 degrees) will cook them quickly- so they will not let off their juices as they bake. Panko crusted chicken fingers will generally not steam and get weepy like those breaded with regular breadcrumbs, because the panko holds them up off the surface of the baking sheet.
Keep breaded chicken uncovered so that it crisps and browns.
If you do not overcook the chicken tenders they should stay nice and moist. The key to this is to use high heat (400 degrees) to brown and crisp the breading but do not overcook them or they will be dry.
You can sub in gluten-free all-purpose flour or rice flour for the all-pourpose flour and use gluten-free panko.
More Healthy Family-Friendly Meals To Try
- My Minestrone Soup recipe has been super (souper) popular lately!
- Don’t miss my Turkey Meatloaf recipe, it’s another family favorite!
- And did you catch my 400-calorie meals in EatingWell Magazine this month?
- My kids love this 20-minute Cheese Tortellini and Veggies recipe.
- Our Air Fryer Chicken Cutlets are seasoned with Everything Bagel Seasoning.
- I’ve been dying to try making no-noodle Cauliflower Mac and Cheese. Have you tried it?
More Healthy Chicken Recipes:
- If you have 20 minutes, then you have enough time to whip together this Creamy Chicken and Peas recipe from the archives. It is nothing fancy but my family always loves the creamy sauce and tender chicken.
- When you don’t have a ton of time to prep dinner, toss this 5-Ingredient Honey Mustard Chicken Thighs recipe into the oven and let the oven do all the work.
- For a twist on the classic, this healthier version Chicken and Biscuits Casserole is a great Sunday dinner that totally hits all those comfort food buttons!
- We are always trying to make over classics like this Healthy Chicken Paprikash or this Chicken A La King.
- Our Mexican Chicken Casserole is inspired by Chicken Chilaquiles but all served up in a cozy casserole!
- When all else fails, a batch of Healthy Garlic Herb Chicken Marinade will do wonders for even plain chicken breast.
At Healthy Seasonal Recipes, we specialize in cooking with fresh veggies and creating weeknight meals. Sign up HERE to get more produce-forward dinner ideas for FREE! If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought! Happy Cooking! ~Katie
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Healthy Chicken Strips
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
These crispy and healthy baked chicken tenders are baked in the oven instead of fried. They’re breaded in panko mixed with seasoning and oil, then baked to make a super crispy coating. Plus, they’re kid approved!
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/3 cup Panko breadcrumbs, preferably whole-wheat
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
- 5 teaspoons avocado oil or organic canola oil
- 1 pound chicken tenders
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray or brush lightly with oil.
- Mix all-purpose flour with 1/4 teaspoon salt in a shallow dish.
- Beat eggs in a second shallow dish. Set next to the flour.
- Stir breadcrumbs, paprika, garlic powder and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt in a third shallow dish. Drizzle oil over the breadcrumb mixture and then mix thoroughly with a fork until all of the oil and spice coats the breadcrumbs. Set to the side of the egg mixture.
- Use one hand for dry ingredients and one for wet ingredients while dredging the tenders. Dip a chicken tender in the flour mixture, turning to coat completely. Dip into the eggs, coating completely. Press into the breadcrumb mixture, turning to coat completely. Set on the prepared baking sheet. Continue with the remaining tenders one at a time. Discard any left-over dredging mixtures.
- Transfer the baking sheet of breaded tenders into the oven and bake until the chicken is cooked through, 22 to 25 minutes.
Notes
These can be made with regular breadcrumbs, but they will not be as crispy.
Discard leftover breading, as it came in contact with raw chicken and raw egg.
Sweet Paprika is also known simply as paprika. In this recipe it serves to color the breadcrumb mixture to give it a golden hue as if it had been fried. It doesn’t contribute a lot of flavor to the final dish. However, hot paprika or smoked paprika would dramatically alter the flavor of the final dish.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 22 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 to 3 chicken tenders each
- Calories: 240
- Sugar: 1.2 g
- Sodium: 584 mg
- Fat: 9.4 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 17 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 21.2
These turned out REALLY well. Very crispy! The only thing I’ll do differently next time is add more seasoning to the panko. They were a little bland but still juicy and crispy. Will make again!
Best chicken tender recipe, works well even with chicken thighs/breasts cut into strips. I do add salt directly to the chicken. If this helps anyone with an egg allergy – instead of egg, dip in a bowl of olive oil and skip adding oil in the breadcrumbs.
Thank you for the tips! Happy cooking April!
The recipe is one I’m printing and keeping, it was so good! I ended up adding in Danos seasoning in place of paprika because we had ran out and I was nervous but it did add in good flavor. Definitely had no leftovers with this lol my husband was a big fan and our son who is sometimes picky loved it. Can these be frozen and reheated in the air fryer? Sometimes our son has chicken nuggets for lunch but I’d much prefer this with it being much healthier
I have had great luck with reheating them in the air-fryer. I just did this the last time I made them and it was great. I am not sure it would be great to do it from frozen though because they may get too dark before they heat through, if that makes sense. You can freeze them and thaw them in the fridge overnight. Then reheat in the airfryer. If you were in a pinch you could probably microwave to thaw for 30 seconds or so just to defrost them/then heat and crisp in the airfryer.
Made this recipe last night and they were delicious! Very tender. Already shared the recipe with a friend!
Thank you Missy! I love that you came back to let me know!
Could you substitute sweet paprika with smoked paprika?
Marinate the chicken in buttermilk, onion powder and a little cayenne pepper for 24 hours.
Toast the panko breadcrumbs in a thick bottomed pan in the oil until they are golden brown. Then follow the recipe. Thank you, this is the best chicken tender recipe ever.
Thank you so much for letting us know how it came out!
These were really good. I upped the garlic powder to 1/2 top and added half tsp onion powder and 1/8 top pepper and used smoked paprika. Turned out so good
Delicious and loved by all 3 kids and my husband!We added homemade waffles for a fun dinner. Yum!
Hi, has anybody done these in an air fryer? If yes, how long did you cook them for?
These chicken tenders were amazing. The trick to mix the oil with the breadcrumbs made the chicken tenders extremely crunchy. I will definitely make these again.