Oven Baked Chicken Tenders
Oven baked chicken tenders are fantastic as appetizers, a delicious addition to a big lunch salad or make a super fun dinner for kids. We are going to keep it simple with just a few ingredients and some skewers. You’ll love how easy this recipe is, with a five minute prep time and a world of possibilities.
How To Serve Baked Chicken Tenders
My kids love these and I make them very often, so they are definitely kid-friendly. I like to thread these onto bamboo skewers making it fun for kids.
They like to enjoy these with a simple rice dish or homemade mashed potatoes such a delicious combo. Lets not forget about a salad on a side, like our favorites Cabbage Carrot Pepper Salad or Cucumber Radish Salad! These chicken tenderloins will turn this simple recipe into a fancy meal.
Ingredients For Baked Chicken Tenders
The secret to flavorful chicken no matter how you make it is making sure to season every layer.
Seasoning every layer of your food is the key to success that is, season as you cook, not just at the end.
I season all 3 of the coatings for extra flavorful chicken tenders.
- Chicken Tenders you can remove the tendon if you prefer
- Flour + Spices: I add salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika and Italian seasoning to my flour.
- Panko + Spices: Add parmesan, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning and smoked paprika to the panko
- Egg + Hot Sauce: I add a dash of hot sauce to my egg wash
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How Long Does It Take To Cook A 6lb Chicken At 350
It all depends on what you are looking for. For extremely tender, fall off the bone meat and soft skin, roast between 300 and 350 degrees for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, depending on the weight. For firmer meat and crisp skin, roast the chicken around 425 degrees F for 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours, depending on the weight.
What Temp Should Chicken Strips Be Cooked To
Chicken tenders are a fairly small and thin cut of meat, which means that they generally cook more quickly than other cuts of chicken. The bottom line is chicken is considered cooked and safe to eat at 165F. The longer it cooks over the point where it reaches that temperature, the more tough the meat will become.
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What To Serve With Rotisserie Chicken Breast Tenders
I like to serve these Rotisserie Chicken Breast Tenders with roasted potatoes and my Ramen Noodle Salad. However, any vegetable that you can bake on a sheet pan with the chicken will work. Some other suggestions are Brussels sprouts, carrots, or this Cucumber Tomato Salad.
If you need an easy-peasy weeknight dinner with all the flavor of a Sunday Supper, then you need to try these Rotisserie Chicken Breast Tenders recipe!
Give it a try and let me know in the comments how you like it! I cant wait to hear from you!
If you are looking for more chicken tender recipes, be sure to check out these Baked Chicken Tenders with Honey Sriracha!
Looking for a recipe for a whole chicken? Check out this Oven Roasted Chicken!
For another easy chicken breast recipe try my Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry!
Best Side Dishes With Chicken Tenders
With chicken, a portion of veggies always goes well. Mashed potatoes pair up with any meat dish.
With potatoes, you can be more creative, roast them in the oven, cut them in fours, and drizzle herbs species and olive oil. Bake in the oven and serve with your chicken tenders.
Roasted veggies go well with mashed potato as well. Roasted asparagus and bean salad add lots of nutrition and color to your table as well if you are looking for something sweet, then nothing better than having glazed carrots by the side of your chicken tenders.
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Easy Oven Baked Chicken Tenders
Easy Oven Baked Chicken Tenders are the perfect easy dinner recipe. These are baked in the oven so theyre healthier than fried, but theyre crunchy and full of flavor.
I pinky swear: these are PICKY EATER APPROVED. When I can get my daughter to enjoy chicken, you know its a good recipe.
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How Do You Get Crispy Chicken Skin On A Pellet Grill
Baking Powdered Method Pat dry chicken with paper towel to remove all excess moisture. Refrigerate for 4-5 hours. Mix together in a large bowl. Remove chicken from fridge and toss in powder mixture until coated. Set the pellet grill at 225 degrees using 100% Hickory Cookinpellets. Place chicken on the grill.
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How To Keep The Chicken Tender
Believe it or not, there is a science to keeping your chicken tenders tender! There are several ways to tenderize chicken, but since we are making this recipe EXTRA easy, only a couple work especially well.
- Cook your chicken close to room temperature. Never cook directly from frozen. If you have frozen chicken, allow it to thaw before using. When you take chicken from the fridge, it will usually be the perfect temperature by the time you do the breading and prep it to go into the oven. Those few minutes the chicken is at room temp allows it to cook more evenly in the oven. Note: Do not leave chicken out at room temperature too long. Make sure to use food safety guidelines for thawing your chicken.
- Dont overcook your chicken. This is a biggie! Chicken tenderloins are smaller and more thin than most cuts of chicken, so they will cook quickly. See my section below on how long to bake chicken tenders for more details on cooking.
The Best Crunchy Baked Chicken Tenders
This easy chicken tender recipe is made in the oven but they come out crunchy because of the breading. Every layer of the coating is seasoned so theyre super flavorful and theyre the perfect oven-baked alternative to fried chicken tenders or chicken strips.
Easy Oven Baked Chicken Tenders are the perfect weeknight meal, done in under an hour. All the kids will love these too, even the picky eaters!
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Oven Baked Ranch Chicken Tenders Tips & Tricks:
- I like to use large ziplock bags for this recipe, because it makes the clean-up portion of this meal a breeze . However, you could use a shallow baking dish instead to coat the chicken in the breading mixture.
- The crispy skin on the chicken comes from the high oven temperature and the olive oil, so it is really important you let the oven preheat to 475 degrees before you put the chicken in the oven.
- When it comes time to flip the chicken over, you do want to do this as carefully and gently as possible. The coating on the chicken can slip off easily .
I could eat these every single day.
Why This Recipe Works
- This is the best baked chicken tenders recipe I’ve found. Tender and juicy strips of chicken surrounded by a crisp, flavorful crust.
- We love the Italian spices in the coating and baking with the spices helps seal in the flavor and give the chicken tenders a crisp golden crust.
- They’re perfect for snacking, lunch, or dinner.
- The chicken is baked, not fried.
- The tenders cook in less than 30 minutes.
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Can I Cook Chicken At 425
At 425 F degrees chicken breasts will bake in about 20 to 25 minutes. Of course it depends on the thickness of your breasts, so thicker breast will take a bit longer and thinner breasts will take a bit less time. Thats why the best way to tell when your chicken is done is to use a meat thermometer.
How To Bake Chicken Tenders
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.
How to bread baked chicken tenders?
This recipe uses a traditional type of breading to coat the chicken.Set up a “dredge line” with several dishes with coating ingredientsflour, whipped egg, and top coating. Shake off any excess after dredging in each pan.Baked chicken tenders use Panko bread crumbs to help provide the crunch instead of a flour coating.
How to help the coating to stick to baked chicken tenders?
1) Dry well before starting. Use a paper towel.2) Shake off the excess after the base coats of flour and egg.3) After fully coated, let rest for about 5 minutes before proceeding to help the coating stick better.4) After coated, handle with a fork, not your fingers or tongs.
How to prevent the breading from being dry?
Baked breaded meats, like chicken or pork chops, can easily have a dry texture caused by the oven heat drying out the breading.To help decrease this problem, give the top of your tenders a quick spray of PAM cooking spray.
How to spice baked chicken tenders?Can I add some Parmesan cheese?
Yes. 2-4 tablespoons of grated or shredded Parmesanfresh grated is always preferred.
Do the bread crumbs need to be Panko?Do I have to use a wire rack for baking chicken tenders?How long to bake chicken tenders?
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Baked Chicken Tenders Cooking Time
Chicken tenders are soft and moist and tend to cook quickly. Their boneless state also contributes to this fast cooking time. As such, it takes about ten to twenty minutes for chicken tenders to cook correctly. If youre not sure, check for an internal temperature of 165°F, which indicates the proper doneness.
Now that you know how long it takes to cook chicken tenders in the oven, try out this quick-fix recipe
How Long Does It Take To Cook Chicken Pieces In A Frying Pan
Place the chicken in the hot skillet, skin side down. Cook uncovered* for about 20-25 minutes. Let the pieces cook until the fat has rendered and the skin is deep golden brown and crisp this could take as long as 30 minutes. Reduce the heat as needed if the skin starts to burn before it is evenly golden brown.
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Choosing And Baking The Chicken Tenderloins
For this recipe, you can use either whole chicken breast that you cut into tenders or the smaller chicken tenderloins . Chicken tenderloin is just as lean and nutritious as chicken breast, so its a great option if you can get it.
The exact baking time depends on the size of your chicken tenders so you should check a few times to see if they are fully cooked. You never want to eat undercooked chicken, but the tenders will get dry if you overcook them.
To tell if the tenderloins are done, cut into one at the halfway point . If the juice runs clear and the meat is white, not pink, then your tenderloins are ready.
Secret For Crispy Chicken Tenders
The secret to making oven baked chicken tenders juicy and crispy is the coating.
This recipe has a three-step process for coating your chicken breast tenders:
I love using Panko breadcrumbs in this recipe. Panko is a Japanese-style breadcrumb thats a bit lighter and fluffier than a traditional breadcrumb. Coating chicken tenders with panko ensures a crispy crunchy coating, but you can use regular breadcrumbs if you prefer.
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How To Keep The Tenders Crispy During Baking
Keeping chicken tenders crispy during baking is done by using a rack.
Thats right: the key to baking chicken tenders and keeping them crispy so they taste fried is using a rack on your baking sheet. I highly suggest getting a rack for your roasting pan . Baking chicken tenders straight on the cookie sheet will either keep them soggy on one side or ensure that the coating peels off when you flip them.
Baking on a rack allows the heat to circulate and create a crunchy coating on all sides.
My other browning secret for chicken tenders: spray the tenders with nonstick cooking spray when you put them in the oven and then again when you flip them.
How Long Do Frozen Chicken Tenders Take To Bake
How long do frozen chicken tenders take to bake? Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake frozen tenderloins 30 to 35 minutes or until internal temperature on instant read thermometer reaches 170°F.
How long do you bake frozen chicken at 400? Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place frozen chicken breasts in a large baking dish so that they arent overlapping. Cover with foil or a lid and bake for 20 minutes.
Can you cook chicken tenderloins from frozen? FACT: Chicken can be cooked from frozen. It will take about 50% longer than thawed chicken and you must use a fast cooking method. Cooking it in the oven or on the stove is OK according to the USDA so boil and simmer away!
How long does it take to bake chicken tenders at 350? Bake at 350 for about 20-30 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink in the center. If your tenders are thinner, theyll be done sooner, thicker ones will need more time.
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Can You Bake Half Frozen Chicken
You can bake your partially frozen chicken as planned, but you may need to increase the cooking time. Then, season the partially frozen chicken as you would if it were completely thawed. You could use oil, salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme and garlic cloves under the skin, and then place the chicken in your preheated oven.
How Long Does It Take To Bake Chicken Breast At 375
Directions Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place chicken breasts in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Season both sides generously with salt and pepper. Bake until a meat thermometer registers 160 degrees in the thickest part of the breast, about 20 minutes. Remove chicken from pan let rest 10 minutes before slicing.
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Are Frozen Chicken Tenders Pre Cooked
Most frozen breaded chicken products like chicken nuggets, strips, burgers, chicken fries and popcorn chicken contain raw chicken. They may look pre-cooked or browned but they are raw inside. To protect your family, cook the breaded chicken until it reaches an internal temperature of at least 74°C .
Make Sure The Breading Sticks
A common problem people encounter with baked chicken is that the breading doesnt really stick to the chicken and will fall off while transferring or eating the chicken tenders.
This recipe calls for a 3 step process in breading the chicken.
The process of first coating in flour then eggs, and finally bread crumbs, helps to create a breading that binds to the chicken better. Make sure not to skip the first step with the flour.
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How Long To Cook Chicken Tenders In The Oven
Chicken tenders are sure to whip up a snack, a dinner side dish, or a filling for sandwiches or salads. Theyre tasty, succulent, and can be made in various ways. Chicken tenders are a rich source of nutrients and offer an exciting experience with every cooking technique. But of all the different methods of preparing chicken tenders, baking is still one of the best.
Baked chicken tenders are as versatile as theyre convenient. Plus, with this technique, you can prepare the recipe in any style you want. You can switch between oil or butter for moisture and even opt between powdered and liquid spices. Plus, its a quick-cooking technique, and your menu would be ready for munching in less than 20 minutes.
But for precisely how long do you need to cook chicken tenders in an oven? Well, before we answer that query, lets touch on some essential tips thatll help you make the tastiest baked chicken tenders at every turn.
Add Layers Of Seasoning
Chicken is very neutral in flavor and can taste bland when breaded. To avoid this, I first season the meat with salt and pepper. The flour mixture is then a combination of paprika for color and earthy notes and salt. The breadcrumb coating is mixed with garlic and onion powder, leaving extra savory notes on the surface.
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Rotisserie Chicken Breast Tenders
These quick and easy Rotisserie Chicken Breast Tenders are baked on a sheet pan with a Rotisserie Chicken rub or seasoning that make these moist, juicy chicken tenders flavorful and delicious!
While I love the flavor and versatility of a moist and juicy whole roasted Rotisserie Chicken, sometimes I want all that flavor in a smaller size. There are times when a whole chicken just doesnt make sense.
Helpful Tips For The Best Chicken Tenders
- For the crispiest chicken tenders, stick with panko bread crumbs rather than standard fine bread crumbs.
- I recommend cutting off the tough white tendon thats attached at the top of the chicken tenders for a better chewing experience. I just use kitchen shears and cut off the upper portion, but you can remove the whole thing as done here.
- Dont skip the wire rack. It ensures the chicken doesnt end up with a soggy bottom side and allows heat to more evenly circulate.
- Use an instant read thermometer to test for doneness in center of chicken. It should be 165 degrees, dont cook over or theyll start to dry.
- If some are smaller you may want to check those first and remove early.
- For better flavor dont use the shelf stable powdered parmesan in this recipe, grate it fresh from a wedge.
- If you want a little more richness, spray with olive oil cooking spray near the end of baking.
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