These Easy Baked Chicken Tenders are packed with all of the familiar flavors you love, but made lighter! They have a perfectly crisp breading that coats tender white meat chicken for a classic comfort food you can feel good about.
Classic Chicken Tenders made in the Oven!
To say I love chicken tenders might be an understatement! And it doesn’t have to be breaded like these chicken tenders that aren’t breaded. As a self proclaimed chicken tender connoisseur, there are a few things that make some chicken tenders better than the rest:
- Perfectly TENDER chicken inside – Tough = gross.
- Perfectly crispy outside– The right amount of breading so nothing is soggy.
- Flavorful breading– NO bland breaded chicken tenders
These baked chicken tenders check all the boxes and are far more healthy than the traditional kind since they are made in the oven instead of fried.
Recipe Step by Step
Gather the ingredients to coat the chicken tenderloins and place them into 3 shallow bowls. One with the flour, one with eggs, and the last with the seasoned bread crumbs.
Coat the chicken tender in flour then dip them fully in the egg mixture.
Roll the egg moistened chicken tender in the seasoned bread crumbs to fully coat each chicken tenderloin. Repeat until all chicken tenders are coated in the breading.
Place the chicken tenders in a single layer on the baking sheet. Make sure there is enough room between them for air to circulate which will allow them to get crispy.
Tips and Insider Secrets for PERFECT Baked Chicken Tenders
Baked chicken tenders are really simple to make. I am going to walk you through a few of my best tips and tricks for getting them absolutely perfect and avoiding some common pitfalls.
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.
- Don’t 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.
Make Sure the Breading Sticks!
A common problem people encounter with baked chicken is that the breading doesn’t 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.
- Dredge in flour
- Wet with eggs
- Cover with bread crumbs
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.
It’s all about the FLAVOR!
The most important part of this recipe is that it tastes AMAZING! These chicken tenders are created to have a more classic flavor. The combination of spices in the bread crumb mixture takes the breading from bland to flavorful.
You can play with the spices and change them up to make other flavor combinations if you like. Try these variations:
- Lemon Pepper Chicken Tenders
- Buffalo Chicken Tenders
- Ranch Baked Chicken Tenders
- Italian – add Italian seasoning mix to the bread crumbs
- Mexican – add chicken taco seasoning to the bread crumbs
- Indian- add curry powder to the bread crumbs
How Long to Bake Chicken Tenders in the Oven
Chicken tenders are a fairly small and thin cut of meat, which means that they generally cook more quickly than other cuts of chicken.
Chicken is considered cooked and safe to eat at 165˚F. The longer it cooks over the point where it reaches that temperature, the more tough the meat will become.
My recipe gives you the guideline of 10-12 minutes of cooking time, but that can vary based on altitude, and climate, as well as, the size, power source, and cooking elements of your oven.
We cook it on the bottom rack to help keep the chicken tenders crispy and eliminate any moisture that may cook out of the chicken tenderloins before it can make them soggy.
The best thing to do is to use a cooking thermometer, but if you don’t have one, make sure and check the chicken often so that the result isn’t over-cooked.
What to Serve with Chicken Tenders
Since chicken tenders are a classic American staple, they go well with all of your comfort food favorites! Choose one, or bulk up the meal with a few of these options.
Classic Side dishes
- Homemade Mashed Potatoes
- Rotini Pasta Salad
- Mac & Cheese – Grandma’s recipe
- Corn on the cob – Made in 3 minutes!
Healthy Side Dishes
Dipping Sauces
- Honey Mustard
- Homemade Ranch
- Barbecue Sauce
- Buffalo Sauce
- Ketchup
- Honey
Baked Chicken Tender Leftovers
If you have leftover chicken tenders, you can save them in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. The chicken tenders can accumulate moisture as they sit which can make them soggy.
I recommend reheating them in a skillet to help the breading get crispy again. Heat a skillet over medium heat and let them cook for 2-4 minutes per side.
More Easy Dinners to Try
If you enjoy these Easy Baked Chicken Tenders, you may want to bookmark these for another day!
- Baked Spinach & Artichoke Chicken
- Big Mac Skillet
- Loaded Cheeseburger Bowls
- BEST Honey Garlic Chicken
- Baked Chicken Fajitas
Healthy Baked Chicken Tenders
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken tenderloins
- 1/4 cup flour, all purpose
- 1/3 cup plain bread crumbs
- 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 2 large eggs, (scrambled, raw)
Instructions
- Mix the bread crumbs, parmesan, garlic powder, salt, paprika, and pepper together in a shallow dish and set aside. Place the flour and eggs each in their own shallow dish.
- Dredge each chicken tenderloin in flour to coat, then place it in the egg mixture to wet the flour, and finally, coat it in the bread crumb mixture on all sides.
- Grease a large cookie sheet. Place each chicken tender on the baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Once all tenders are coated, discard any extra flour, eggs, or breadcrumbs.
- Bake at 400 on the lower oven rack for 10-12 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through (165˚F internal temp.)
- Remove from the oven and serve immediately or place chicken tenders on a wire cooling rack until you are ready to serve.
Recipe Notes
- This recipe will make about 12 chicken tenders.
- If you don’t have chicken tenderloins you can cut chicken breast into thin strips to get a similar result.
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