While fried chicken tenders are certainly a drive-thru family favorite, we love our homemade oven chicken tenders recipe even better. It has been a go-to recipe for households for over 15 years. These baked chicken tenders are simply breaded with our not-so-secret ingredient, panko bread crumbs, which make them extra-crispy and bake to that golden brown perfection. Hearty enough to enjoy as the main course for a meal, these delicious tenders also make for a delicious snack.
Served alongside your favorite sauce or dressing, these quick and easy oven chicken tenders are sure to be your new go-to solution to any mealtime dilemma. In fact, they are so good the recipe is in the 2021 Betty Crocker Best 100 Recipes cookbook. Now that is saying something!
Quick and tasty, our oven baked chicken tenders just take a few ingredients to make.
Chicken Tenders: Chicken tenders are made from a specific cut of white meat near the breast (the tenderloin). They are naturally ultra-tender and need no prepping or trimming.
Panko Bread Crumbs: More like flakes than crumbs, panko is a Japanese bread crumb that is airier than regular bread crumbs, so they create a crispier texture—the perfect choice for this oven-fried recipe.
Parmesan Cheese: Mixing a little grated Parmesan cheese into the bread crumbs provides a savory, salty taste. Shredded Parmesan will work as well, but will not mix as seamlessly into the breadcrumbs.
Flour: All-purpose flour is the first step in the breading process. Coating the chicken tenders in flour first helps to anchor the breading to the chicken.
Egg: A large egg, mixed with a little water, is the second step in the breading process. The egg combines with the flour to form a “glue” for the panko bread crumbs to stick to.
A simple recipe requires just a few key pieces of equipment.
Sheet Pan: We prefer using a large, rimmed sheet pan to prevent any chicken or crumbs from sliding off the pan when moving in and out of the oven, but a cookie sheet will work nicely as well. Lining the pan with aluminum foil, sprayed with cooking spray, makes for easy clean up.
Bowls for Breading: The process for breading our baked chicken tenders takes 3 steps, which is why you’ll need 3 bowls. We like to use wide shallow bowls for this, but pie plates work well too.
Other Cookware You’ll Need: Cooking spray and aluminum foil for easy release of the chicken tenders from the sheet pan.
Our easy baked chicken tenders are simple to make in just 4 easy steps.
Line the sheet pan with aluminum foil and spray it lightly with cooking spray.
Fill 3 wide, shallow bowls—one with flour, one with egg wash and one with panko bread crumbs.
Each chicken tender will need to be dredged in flour, then dipped in the egg wash before getting coated with bread crumbs. We always use one hand for the flour and bread crumbs and the other for the dipping in the egg wash, that keeps your hands from getting caked in the dry ingredients throughout the breading process.
You’ll want to turn your oven baked chicken tenders once during the cooking process, to ensure even browning. When they are golden brown, check that they are no longer pink inside, by cutting into one with a sharp knife.
This crispy oven chicken tenders recipe is made for dipping, and the options are endless. MissLyzerd told us, "I was looking for something different and found this recipe. They were delicious. My dipping sauce of choice was a Carolina BBQ or a creamy verde salsa." Here are some additional ideas to get your party started.
Barbecue Sauce: Homemade or store-bought.
Ranch Dressing: Try mixing in some crumbled cooked bacon and freshly ground black pepper for a smokey twist.
Creamy Pesto Sauce: Mix a spoonful of basil pesto into good quality mayonnaise.
Yogurt Dill Sauce: Stir chopped fresh dill and grated lemon zest into plain Greek yogurt.
Want to make chicken tenders with a different flavor twist? Get started with our recipes for Honey Sriracha Chicken Tenders and Tennessee Hot Fried Chicken Tenders.
Our homemade chicken tenders are so easy to get along with that you could serve them with almost anything. But, if we had to choose, here are a couple of side dishes we think work particularly well.
To make it a meal, choose a starchy option, such as potatoes, and pair it with a salad. We think you should give our crispy garlic smashed potatoes a try. And for a salad that doesn’t taste like a salad, bite into our broccoli bacon salad.
Our homemade chicken tenders are best served fresh from the oven. They’re so delicious, we’re pretty sure leftovers won’t be a problem, but if you do have some here are some tips.
Refrigerate the baked chicken tenders in a sealed container for up to 3 days.
We do not recommend freezing leftover oven-fried chicken tenders as the texture of the breading can be compromised.
Use the oven, toaster oven (325°F) or air fryer (300°F) to reheat the leftover chicken tenders. Be sure to heat tenders until centers reach at least 165°F. Microwave reheating is not recommended for crispy foods as they will turn out soggy.
With hundreds of reviews in, we never get tired of hearing how much our users love this crispy oven chicken tenders recipe. Whether it’s how easy they are to make or how versatile the recipe is, with users adding their own twists with different seasonings and dipping sauces, what’s not to love?
Our reviewers especially seem to enjoy how family friendly these crowd-pleasing crispy oven chicken tenders are. GramRae says, “These are great! and definitely a great recipe for kids to make!” Shellynh shared, “The entire family loved it! Win in my book”.
Of course, what we hear most is that these easy baked chicken tenders are juicy and flavorful, and combined with how quick, easy, and versatile they are to make, have become a go-to meal for so many families. RockAx adds Old Bay® seasoning to the flour mixture while others stir in garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and/or cayenne. Go ahead, make it your way!
Heat oven to 425°F. Line sheet pan with foil; spray with cooking spray.
Arrange 3 wide, shallow bowls on the work surface. In one bowl, place the flour. In another bowl, beat egg and water together. In the third bowl, combine the bread crumbs and cheese.
Coat both sides of chicken with flour. Dip into egg mixture, then coat with bread crumb mixture. Place on cookie sheet.
Dip flour-coated chicken into egg mixture.
Finally, coat both sides of chicken with bread crumb mixture. Place on cookie sheet.
Bake 15 to 20 minutes, turning once after 10 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink in center and coating is golden brown.
Immediately transfer the chicken tenders to a serving platter and serve with your favorite dipping sauce.
Get air circulating for crunch—arrange the coated tenders on a wire cooling rack that has been sprayed with cooking spray in the sheet pan. Bake in the hot oven until golden brown.
Try substituting Progresso™ Italian Style Panko Crispy Bread Crumbs for the Progresso™ Plain Panko Crispy Bread Crumbs in this oven chicken tenders recipe.
| Food Component / Nutrient | Amount | % , Daily Value* |
|---|---|---|
| Total Fat | 18g | 28% |
| Saturated Fat | 7g | 33% |
| Trans Fat | 0g | % Value Not Available |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 3&½g | % Value Not Available |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 1g | % Value Not Available |
| Omega-3 | 0g | % Value Not Available |
| Cholesterol | 105mg | 35% |
| Sodium | 670mg | 28% |
| Total Carbohydrate | 23g | 8% |
| Dietary Fiber | 0g | 0% |
| Soluble Fiber | 0g | % Value Not Available |
| Insoluble Fiber | 0g | % Value Not Available |
| Sugars | 0g | % Value Not Available |
| Protein | 18g | % Value Not Available |
| Vitamin D | Value Not Available | 4% |
| Calcium | Value Not Available | 15% |
| Iron | Value Not Available | 8% |
| Potassium | 115mg | 3% |
| Vitamin A | Value Not Available | 6% |
| Vitamin C | Value Not Available | 0% |
| Vitamin E | Value Not Available | 2% |
| Thiamin | Value Not Available | 6% |
| Riboflavin | Value Not Available | 10% |
| Niacin | Value Not Available | 20% |
| Vitamin B6 | Value Not Available | 10% |
| Folic Acid | Value Not Available | 4% |
| Vitamin B12 | Value Not Available | 8% |
| Pantothenic Acid | Value Not Available | 6% |
| Phosphorus | Value Not Available | 20% |
| Magnesium | Value Not Available | 4% |
| Zinc | Value Not Available | 8% |
| Manganese | Value Not Available | 4% |
| Selenium | Value Not Available | 25% |
| Copper | Value Not Available | 2% |
| Beta-Carotene | Value Not Available | % Value Not Available |
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice. | ||
