Make truly crispy baked chicken tenders with this simple technique. The secret to these crispy chicken tenders is to coat them first with homemade buffalo sauce then dredge them in toasted panko breadcrumbs. Crispy baked tenders are all about double toasting the breading!!
I've been on the hunt for awhile now for a way to make truly crispy buffalo chicken tenders in the oven. After the success of these crispy Baked Buffalo Wings, I thought, "How hard can it be to make crispy tenders?" It was harder than I thought.
How to Make Crispy Buffalo Chicken Tenders
A little perseverance and a genius tip from a fellow blogger led to these truly crispy, juicy Baked Buffalo Chicken Tenders with that addictive spicy buffalo kick. But before I tell you how to make these beauties, I want to tell you (and show you) what NOT to do.
As you can see I thought I had a winner in hand - to the point of photographing it. But then I took a bite. Hello soggy breading. Problem #1: the breading wasn't crunchy enough to start with. That's where the genius tip from my friend Nagi of Recipe Tin Eats came in. Genius Tip: toast the panko crumbs BEFORE you use them to bread the tenders.
Problem #2: I'd coated the tenders in buffalo sauce after baking, a mistake. This time I made the butter and hot sauce mixture part of the egg dip and voilà! - all of the flavor without making the breading soggy. And baking the tenders in the upper third of the oven on an oven safe cooling rack ensures that all sides get crispy.
These make perfect party or football watching fare, with blue cheese dip of course!
More Delicious Party Food
- Crispy Baked Buffalo Wings (There is a secret to truly crispy baked chicken wings. Hint: it's NOT baking powder.)
- Salt Potatoes (Just 2 ingredients to make crispy on the outside, buttery on the inside potatoes that will have people begging for the recipe.)
- Bacon Wrapped Dates (6 mouthwatering versions of this party favorite!)
Crispy Baked Buffalo Chicken Tenders
Ingredients
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup butter
- ¼ cup hot sauce such as Frank's Red Hot or Cholula
- 1 small clove garlic minced
- 1 egg
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 pound chicken breast tenders
Simple Blue Cheese Dip
- ¼ cup blue cheese crumbled
- 1 small clove garlic minced
- ½ cup sour cream
- milk for thinning
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Spread panko breadcrumbs in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake 3 to 5 minutes, until lightly browned. Transfer to shallow plate immediately to keep them from continuing to cook. Stir in kosher salt.
- Place an oven-proof cooling rack inside the rimmed baking sheet and spray or brush with oil to keep tenders from sticking. (If you don't have an oven-proof cooling rack, just line the baking sheet with parchment paper)
- Increase oven temperature to 425°F.
- Meanwhile melt butter in a small saucepan and transfer to a bowl. Whisk hot sauce into butter to cool it down.
- Whisk egg and garlic together in a shallow bowl. Add butter and hot sauce mixture and whisk to combine.
- Spread flour on a shallow plate for dredging.
- Pat tenders dry with paper towels. Dredge one tender in flour and shake to remove excess. Dip in egg mixture and lift to let excess drip away. Then dredge the tender in toasted panko crumbs, patting crumbs down to be sure they adhere. Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining tenders.
- Bake tenders at 425°F for 15 to 18 minutes until breading is crisp and chicken is cooked through but still juicy.
- Serve with Simple Blue Cheese Dip (recipe below)
Simple Blue Cheese Dip
- Add blue cheese, garlic and sour cream to a medium bowl. Using the back of a fork, smash blue cheese crumbles into sour cream until flavors have melded. Stir. Add milk, a teaspoon at a time to thin to desired consistency. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Notes
- If you can't find packaged chicken tenderloins, buy boneless skinless chicken breasts and cut them lengthwise into thin chicken strips.
These were delicious! The hot sauce came through just enough. Loved how crispy they were. Will definitely make again.
This is wonderful to hear, Nicole! I'm so glad you enjoyed these and thank you for coming back to let me know!
This recipe was fantastic! I followed the recipe to a T except adding a bit of Tabasco for an extra kick. All of your tips were super helpful as well. Thank you so much, it was a big hit in our house! Will definitely be making again.
That's so great to hear, Jessica! Thank you for coming back to let me know. 🙂
Oh my goodness! Made these last night and cannot get over how good they were! I've NEVER had tenders come out so crispy. I couldn't believe it! Instead of Frank's plus butter and garlic, I just used Sweet Baby Ray's Buffalo sauce on it's own because it's what I had on hand, but I followed the rest to the letter. (Well, almost to the letter. I had to quadruple the recipe because I have 4 sons, 3 of whom are teenagers - but that's my own fault, not the fault of the recipe LOL ;-).)
I've never used sauce UNDER the bread crumbs before, and I've never pre-toasted the coating. Both techniques worked out beautifully. Highly recommend! We served ours on Hoagie rolls with some melted pepper jack cheese and ranch dressing. HUGE success!
You made my day, Naomi!! So glad they were a hit!
These came out great!
Crispy and crunchy!
I used the cooling rack on the baking sheet and prebaked the panko breadcrumbs. I baked the breadcrumbs a little longer 5 minutes at 400 degrees so they were really toasty
Thank you for this great recipe!
So glad you enjoyed these, Katharine!! Thank you for coming back to let me know!
Hi! I’ve tried these twice now, and I’m still struggling, just wondering if you have some advice. Despite toasting the panko, the breading is always a bit soggy and the hot sauce flavor doesn’t come through. It just tastes like slightly spicy breaded chicken. I’ve used franks red hot and franks buffalo sauce but still have to add sauce after cooking as I can barely taste it. I feel like I must be doing something wrong!
Hi Chelsea! Interesting about the breading - are you baking them on an oven safe cooling rack? That's my best advice for making sure the breading stays crisp. And to kick up the heat, how about using a hotter hot sauce, maybe a habanero based sauce?
Excellent flavour. I had to make them gluten free by substituting Rice Chex crumbs for the Panko and cornstarch for the flour, but the seasonings and flavours are spot on! Definitely a keeper
Fantastic, Tammy! Thank you for coming back to let me know.
My picky kids (who don't even like chicken tenders the "regular way") LOVED THESE. My 10 year old is on his 4th one. My husband and I ate them in a salad and it was so delicious. I've never had any success with "baked" chicken tenders before.
Totally made my day, Amanda. Thank you!
I've used this recipe now a couple times. The second time I substituted BBQ sauce for the buffalo. They turned out great both ways 🙂
That's awesome, Samantha!! So sweet of you to come back and let me know. 🙂
I am a terrible cook but I just made these for my daughter and she loved them. Toasting is key. I also toast my oats before making oatmeal. I bet some toasted oats would be great in combo with the panko. Thank you!!!
I'm so glad your daughter loved them, Andrea!! Great idea to toast oatmeal before cooking it.
I made this as a healthy alternative to fried buffalo wings. The family LOVED it! Thanks so much for posting this recipe. The recipe is a keeper!
That's fantastic, Dianne! Sweet of you to come back and let me know.
This came out great. Very crispy and flavorful. I ended up having to double the amount of Panko but other then that...perfection! !
I'm so glad they turned out, Alexandra! I bet more Panko made them extra crispy!
You know the emoticon with the heart eyes? That's basically me as I read this entire post! I'm not ashamed to say that chicken tenders remain one of my favorite foods, and I have always tried to recreate a baked, crispy version, but without success. Not anymore though!! I cannot wait to make this recipe!! This has seriously rocked my world, but then again all of your recipes do. THANK YOU!!!
haha! I'm so glad, Beeta! Thanks for your always sweet words. 🙂
Awesome tips for crispy baked chicken! These sound tasty!
Thanks, Sabrina!
Awww, I HATE it when things don't go according to plan at first, although I know that's just par for the course with blogging 🙂
I've had this 'soggy breading' problem before too so thanks for the tips. I've never tried toasting the crumbs first before but will try it next time I bread something.
You're making me want to scoff a pile of these for brekky!
True..I've had more recipe fails than I'd care to admit. 🙂
Let me know how it goes when you try out the breading technique.
I just used your pasta water technique for extending creamy pasta sauce - genius!
Fantastic post, Marissa! I love seeing and hearing about the process someone goes through to get a truly great dish. I love baked chicken tenders as a quick dinner during the week, but I haven't made them quite like this - talk about some serious crunch and flavor! Definitely making these on our next faux-fried chicken night 🙂
I'd love to be there when you make these, because I know you'll do some fabulous fusion flavor twist!
Great post, Marissa! I LOVE all your tips! Toasted breadcrumbs definitely rock the house and I don't know where I'd be without a wire rack for my sheet pan! I can almost taste how crunchy and buffalo-tastic these tenders taste! Football food perfection, girlfriend! I could seriously eat a platter of these in record time! Pinned! Cheers! 🙂
It's so true - the wire rack makes all the difference in crisping things up! Definitely football food! 🙂
Crunchtastic Marissa... I could eat a dozen. I love the trials and tribulations, too of the behind the scenes stuff. Test, test and re-test, right? I have made 3 peach crisps now with ginger snaps and it's still not right! 🙂
Thank you!! Stay the course, Kevin! That peach crisp sounds amazing! 😉
Yum! Can't wait to add this to my P&S favorites!
aww, thanks Mary! xo
Hi Marissa! These are what I call "oven fried" and I love the use of panko! I always have it on hand. I started oven frying chicken many years ago when my kids were small because I did not believe they needed deep fried foods. I also baked crispy potato wedges (skin on) for the same reason. I am so used to real food that I cannot eat fast food unless I want an upset stomach...no thanks! PS I always have Frank's sauce too! This will be dinner soon!
Hi Dorothy! Oh yes, love crispy baked potato wedges and haven't had them in ages - thanks for the reminder. I'm the same way about fast food - yuck! If you end up making these, let me know how it goes. 🙂
I just knew you were going to say Nagi when you mentioned another blogger. She is pure genius and now I need to try your 'crispy' baked chicken not to forget the blue cheese dip...yum. Thank you.
Thanks, Ann! And I agree - she's amazing, super creative and her recipes are spot on.