Crispy chicken tenders made with boneless chicken breast and a light crispy breading are a delicious lunch or dinner for kids and adults.
Make in under 30 minutes and serve with your favorite sauce or add to a salad.
Why make this recipe
There's no need to go out to your favorite restaurant to get great chicken strips when you can easily make these at home. They are so full of flavor and dipping them into your favorite sauce makes each bite delicious.
These chicken strips are crispy on the outside and nice and moist on the inside.
Key ingredients
- Chicken breast - boneless and skinless
- Panko bread crumbs - adds to that extra crispy exterior
- Seasonings - salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder
Step-by-step directions
- Pat chicken dry with a paper towel
- Pound chicken breast flat so it is a consistent thickness
- Cut into strips
- Dredge chicken into flour
- Dip into egg mixture
- Dredge in flour and panko mixture
- Fry chicken in preheated 350° oil in a frying pan
Tips for making chicken tenders
- Try to keep tenders about the same thickness. This helps with equal cooking times
- Preheat oil to 350 degrees
- Cook strips in small batches. Do not overcrowd pan
- Make certain the temperature comes back to 350 degrees between each batch
- To keep warm, place chicken strips on a baking rack on top of a baking sheet in a 250° oven until ready to serve
Dipping sauces
What to serve with chicken strips?
- Tomato Soup
- Caesar Salad
- Homemade Macaroni and Cheese
- Couscous Salad
- Pasta Salad
- Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
- Fresh-cut veggies with hummus
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below and snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @beyondthechickencoop
Check out all my Chicken Recipes.
Chicken Tenders
Equipment
- Fry Thermometer
Ingredients
Chicken
- 2 chicken breast
Flour Coating
- ½ cup flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
Egg Coating
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup milk
Breading
- ½ cup flour
- ½ cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon pepper
Cooking
- 2 cups oil (canola or vegetable oil)
Instructions
Chicken
- Pound chicken breast flat so it is a consistent thickness2 chicken breast
- Cut into strips. Pat chicken dry with a paper towel
Breading
- Combine flour and salt together in a bowl½ cup flour, ½ teaspoon salt
- Combine eggs and milk in another bowl2 eggs, ½ cup milk
- Combine additional flour, salt, panko crumbs, and seasonings in a third bowl½ cup flour, ½ cup panko bread crumbs, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon paprika, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon pepper
Assemble Chicken
- Dredge chicken into flour. Shake off excess flour
- Dip into egg mixture
- Dredge in flour and panko mixture
Cook
- Preheat oil to 350 degrees2 cups oil
- Add 3-4 chicken strips to hot oil. Cook for 3-4 minutes per side until golden brown and fully cooked through.
- Remove and place on a paper towel
- Bring oil back to 350 degrees and continue cooking
Notes
Tips for making chicken tenders
- Try to keep tenders about the same thickness. This helps with equal cooking times
- Preheat oil to 350 degrees
- Cook strips in small batches. Do not overcrowd pan
- Make certain the temperature comes back to 350 degrees between each batch
- Keep warm by placing chicken strips on a baking rack on top of a baking sheet in a 250 degree oven until ready to serve
Nutritional Disclaimer:
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. To obtain the most precise nutritional information in a provided recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the exact ingredients you are using when preparing the recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Valentina says
If ever there was a perfect chicken strip, this is it! The crispy factor is spot on and the color is beautiful 🙂 ~Valentina
Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen says
Can never go wrong with a plate full of tenders Kathy! Pinned and excited to serve up at our house.
Dawn - Girl Heart Food says
Chicken tenders are always a favourite and homemade is totally the best! These look delicious, Kathy! I could easily have them for dinner or Friday night with just some dip. So golden brown and crispy too - YUM!
David @ Spiced says
Your daughter sounds like my younger sister growing up. No matter where we went out to eat, she would always order chicken strips. It's amazing she didn't turn into one! Chicken strips are one of the few things that Robbie will eat, too. We took him out a couple of weeks ago, and he got chicken strips. I might've stolen one, and it was awesome. Now I want to make your homemade version! These look delicious, Kathy!
Kathy says
She will order other things too, but it does seem to be her go-to favorite.