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Panko Crusted Chicken Tenders

Easy and delicious Panko Crusted Chicken Tenders are great for any day of the week. Tender chicken wrapped up in a seasoned panko crumb with parmesan cheese. Served with a chili lime dipping sauce for a pack of punch!

Close up of panko crusted chicken tenders.
Panko Crusted Chicken Tenders

You can’t go wrong with Easy Chicken Tenders Recipes. They are easy to make, budget friendly, most people love them and they are so versatile. This recipe brings together tender chicken tenders with crisp panko bread crumbs, a little parmesan cheese and a special blend of seasonings. We served these in wraps with crisp lettuce and cheese for a fantastic lunch!

Close up of crispy fried chicken tenders.
Crispy Fried Chicken Tenders

What are These Panko and Parmesan Chicken Tenders Like

  • Difficultyย โ€“ These are really easy to make and cook quickly in the oven. You can prep them up to 24 hours and keep them in the fridge before cooking.
  • Tasteย โ€“ These are tender, juicy with a light bread crumbed parmesan crust.
  • Servingย โ€“ This recipe will serve about 4 people. In the recipe card at the end of the post you can easily adjust the serving size.
Close up of crispy fried chicken tenders.
Panko Crusted Chicken Tenders

Ingredients

  • Chickenย โ€“ This recipe uses chicken tenders. They are great for quick cooking and easy to eat as an appetizer or finger food.
  • Panko breadcrumbsย โ€“ Panko breadcrumbs provide texture to the chicken strips. You can substitute regular breadcrumbs for panko.
  • Parmesan cheese – Finely grated parmesan cheese is added to the bread crumb mixture for flavour and texture. It’s gives great results!
  • Seasonings ย โ€“ I used a combination of garlic powder, paprika, oregano, salt and black pepper to season the bread crumb mixture.
  • Eggsย โ€“ Helps bind the coating to the chicken.
  • Sauce ingredients – For this recipe I made a sauce from mayonnaise, hot sauce and lime juice. Really easy to make and you and adjust ingredients to suit your taste.
Ingredients to make panko crusted chicken tenders.
Ingredients to Make Panko Crusted Chicken Tenders

Instructions

  • Make dipping sauce – In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, hot sauce and lime juice. Whisk to combine and set aside.
  • Prepare bread crumb mixture – In a large shallow bowl, combine the panko bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, garlic powder, sweet paprika, oregano, black pepper and salt. Whisk to combine and set aside.
  • Whisk eggs – Whisk the two eggs in a shallow bowl and set aside.
  • Coat chicken – Add the chicken tenders to the whisked eggs and coat completely. Next, coat the chicken tenders in the panko bread crumb mixture. Repeat for all chicken tenders and lay on a clean plate.
  • Cook chicken – Heat the vegetable oil in a large deep sided skillet about 2 inches up the side. Bring it up to temperature and add one chicken tender to see if it’s ready for frying. It will sizzle if it’s ready. Add about 1/2 of the chicken tenders to the hot oil. Cook for about 2 minutes and then flip over the chicken tenders and cook for about 2 more minutes. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels. Repeat cooking for remaining chicken tenders and drain them on paper towels as well.
  • Serve – Serve chicken tenders hot with the dipping sauce on the side.

Recipe Tips for Frying Chicken

  • Type of oilย โ€“ Itโ€™s best to use vegetable oil or canola oil for frying chicken. Avoid olive oil or avocado oil. Slowly heat the oil to 350 degrees to 375 degrees f. You can use an oil thermometer if you like to get an accurate reading.
  • Check while cookingย โ€“ If you notice your chicken is browning too quickly, you may need to decrease the temperature a little. Alternatively, if it isnโ€™t sizzling, make sure to up the temperature. As the chicken keeps cooking, the oil gets hotter. When new chicken is added, it gets cooler. Maintain a temperature that feels right for that nice golden brown color.
  • If your oil gets dirty โ€“ ย Add some additional oil to the pan to clarify it a little bit. Note that this will temporarily cool the temperature of the oil.
Fried chicken on a plate with a dipping sauce.
Panko Crusted Chicken Tenders

Substitutions and Other Cooking Methods

  • Panko bread crumbs – You could use regular store bought fine bread crumbs or even homemade bread crumbs of your choice.
  • Chicken tenders – This recipe will also work with chicken cutlets or chicken breast cut into strips.
  • Cooking method – These can be baked in the oven at 375 degrees F/190 degrees C on a large baking tray for about 25 minutes.
Close up of panko crusted chicken tenders.
Panko and Parmesan Crusted Chicken Tenders

Serving

Serve these tenders up with the Crispy Oven Fries, Parmesan and Garlic Potato Wedges or the Creamy Cucumber Salad with Sour Cream and Mayo.

Here’s a few other sauces you might like to try out!

Fried chicken tenders on a plate.
Panko and Parmesan Crusted Chicken Tenders

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Chicken Tenders and Chicken Strips the same thing?

No, chicken tenders and chicken strips are not the same. Chicken tenders are the entire chicken tenderloin. Chicken strips are pieces of chicken cut from the chicken breast.

What are Chicken Tenders?

Chicken tendersย are a little different fromย chicken breast. They are, in fact, tenderloins that are located underneath the chicken breast along the breastbone. And like chicken breast, each chicken contains two tenderloins. Chicken tenderloins are much smaller and thinner than the chicken breast. Therefore, they do cook much quicker.

Panko crusted chicken tenders on a plate.
Panko Crusted Chicken Tenders


Everything Bagel Baked Chicken Tenders

Theseย Everything Bagel Baked Chicken Tendersย are what you need to put on your dinner table pronto! They are easy to make, done in no time at all and the whole family will love them. Serve them with your favourite sides for a great weeknight dinner at the end of a busy day!
Check out this recipe
close up of the chicken tenders with a sauce

Crispy Chicken Tenders

Lightly seasoned and fried to perfection, you'll want to make these Crispy Chicken Tenders. The chicken is marinaded in buttermilk and then dredged in seasoned flour and fried for just minutes. A recipe the whole family can enjoy.
Check out this recipe

Spicy Barbecue Chicken Strips

Put theseย Spicy Barbecue Chicken Stripsย on the dinner table this week! Chicken Tenders marinaded in aย Homemade Barbecue Sauceย and grilled to perfection. Adults and kids alike will love them and be coming back for seconds. They go great with a light salad or even someย Crispy Oven Fries!
Check out this recipe
spicy barbecue chicken tenders on a baking tray

Close up of crispy fried chicken tenders.
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Panko Crusted Chicken Tenders

Easy and delicious Panko Crusted Chicken Tenders are great for any day of the week. Tender chicken wrapped up in a seasoned panko crumb with parmesan cheese. Served with a chili lime dipping sauce for a pack of punch!
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time5 minutes
Total Time35 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: North American
Keyword: chicken recipes, chicken tenders, easy recipes, kid friendly recipes
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 466kcal
Author: Julia Pinney

Ingredients

For the dipping sauce

  • 1/3 cup mayonnaise
  • 3 tablespoons hot sauce
  • Juice of one lime

For the chicken tenders

  • 1 lb chicken tenders
  • 2 cup panko bread crumbs
  • 1/2 cup parmesan cheese finely grated
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs beaten
  • vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

  • In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, hot sauce and lime juice. Whisk to combine and set aside.
  • In a large shallow bowl, combine the panko bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, garlic powder, sweet paprika, oregano, black pepper and salt. Whisk to combine and set aside.
  • Whisk the two eggs in a shallow bowl and set aside.
  • Add the chicken tenders to the whisked eggs and coat completely. Next, coat the chicken tenders in the panko bread crumb mixture. Repeat for all chicken tenders and lay on a clean plate.
  • Heat the vegetable oil in a large deep sided skillet about 2 inches up the side. Bring it up to temperature and add one chicken tender to see if it's ready for frying. It will sizzle if it's ready. Add about 1/2 of the chicken tenders to the hot oil. Cook for about 2 minutes and then flip over the chicken tenders and cook for about 2 more minutes. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels. Repeat cooking for remaining chicken tenders and drain them on paper towels as well.
  • Serve chicken tenders hot with the dipping sauce on the side.

*A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are estimates only.

Nutrition Facts
Panko Crusted Chicken Tenders
Amount Per Serving (1 serving)
Calories 466 Calories from Fat 216
% Daily Value*
Fat 24g37%
Saturated Fat 6g38%
Trans Fat 0.1g
Polyunsaturated Fat 10g
Monounsaturated Fat 6g
Cholesterol 182mg61%
Sodium 1255mg55%
Potassium 572mg16%
Carbohydrates 24g8%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 2g2%
Protein 36g72%
Vitamin A 551IU11%
Vitamin C 9mg11%
Calcium 236mg24%
Iron 3mg17%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Thanks For Stopping By & Hope To See You Soon!

By on July 29th, 2024
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