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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!! 

Crispy Baked Buffalo Chicken Tenders served
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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.

failed attempt at recipe

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.

chicken tenders baking
Dipping Crispy Baked Chicken Tenders into blue cheese dip

These make perfect party or football watching fare, with blue cheese dip of course!

More Delicious Party Food

Crispy Baked Buffalo Chicken Tenders

5 from 13 votes
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 25 minutes
Total: 45 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Calories: 287
Servings: 6 chicken tenders
Truly crispy baked buffalo chicken tenders with simple blue cheese dip – perfect party fare! I love to serve cold and crunchy carrot and celery sticks with this too.

Ingredients  

  • 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1/4 cup hot sauce such as Frank’s Red Hot or Cholula
  • 1 small clove garlic minced
  • 1 egg
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 pound chicken breast tenders

Simple Blue Cheese Dip

  • 1/4 cup blue cheese crumbled
  • 1 small clove garlic minced
  • 1/2 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.

Nutrition

Calories: 287kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 110mg | Sodium: 790mg | Potassium: 372mg | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 475IU | Vitamin C: 8.6mg | Calcium: 79mg | Iron: 1.3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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50 Comments

  1. Tammy says:

    5 stars
    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

    1. Marissa says:

      Fantastic, Tammy! Thank you for coming back to let me know.

  2. Amanda says:

    5 stars
    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.

    1. Marissa says:

      Totally made my day, Amanda. Thank you!

  3. SAMANTHA says:

    5 stars
    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 🙂

    1. Marissa says:

      That’s awesome, Samantha!! So sweet of you to come back and let me know. 🙂

  4. Ms. Andrea Walls says:

    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!!!

    1. Marissa says:

      I’m so glad your daughter loved them, Andrea!! Great idea to toast oatmeal before cooking it.

  5. Dianne Koval says:

    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!

    1. Marissa says:

      That’s fantastic, Dianne! Sweet of you to come back and let me know.

  6. Alexandra says:

    This came out great. Very crispy and flavorful. I ended up having to double the amount of Panko but other then that…perfection! !

    1. Marissa says:

      I’m so glad they turned out, Alexandra! I bet more Panko made them extra crispy!

  7. Beeta @ Mon Petit Four says:

    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!!!

    1. Marissa says:

      haha! I’m so glad, Beeta! Thanks for your always sweet words. 🙂

  8. Sabrina says:

    Awesome tips for crispy baked chicken! These sound tasty!

    1. Marissa says:

      Thanks, Sabrina!

  9. helen @ Scrummy Lane says:

    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!

    1. Marissa says:

      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!

  10. Kathleen | Hapa Nom Nom says:

    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 🙂

    1. Marissa says:

      I’d love to be there when you make these, because I know you’ll do some fabulous fusion flavor twist!

  11. Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary says:

    5 stars
    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! 🙂

    1. Marissa says:

      It’s so true – the wire rack makes all the difference in crisping things up! Definitely football food! 🙂

  12. Kevin | Keviniscooking says:

    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! 🙂

    1. Marissa says:

      Thank you!! Stay the course, Kevin! That peach crisp sounds amazing! 😉

  13. Mary says:

    Yum! Can’t wait to add this to my P&S favorites!

    1. Marissa says:

      aww, thanks Mary! xo

  14. Dorothy Dunton says:

    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!

    1. Marissa says:

      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. 🙂

  15. ann says:

    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.

    1. Marissa says:

      Thanks, Ann! And I agree – she’s amazing, super creative and her recipes are spot on.