Panko Baked Chicken Tenders Tenders

Name: Panko Baked Chicken Tenders
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 2 lbs chicken tenderloins; 1/2 cup flour; 2 large eggs; 1/2 tsp smoked paprika; 1 tsp garlic powder; 1 tsp salt; 1/2 tsp black pepper; 1 1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs; cooking oil spray

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Crispy and yummy Panko Baked Chicken Tenders is an easy way to prepare chicken tenders. These strips of chicken tenders are juicy, breaded with crunchy Panko are, baked in the oven, full of great flavors…and yet still healthy.

Panko chicken tenders is an quick recipe you can put together in under 35 minutes, and is always a hit with adults and kids alike!

Panko Baked Chicken Tenders in a round bowl with sauce on the side

Looking for more easy chicken tenders recipes? Also chicken out my Spicy Baked Chicken Tenders, Cajun Chicken, Lemon Balsamic Grilled Chicken, Hawaiian Chicken and BBQ Chicken Tacos recipes…all made with chicken tenders!

Table of Contents

Panko Chicken Tenders

I used to have a bad habit of running to my favorite fast food drive-thru whenever I crave chicken tenders – which happens way more often than I care to admit…

After discovering how easy and quick these panko baked chicken tenders come together, and not to mention, these panko chicken tenders are much healthier, I started breading my own chicken strips and bake it in the oven.

Guilt-free, non-fried chicken tenders is totally the way to go!

This panko baked chicken tenders recipe features juicy pieces of chicken strips that are crunchy on the outside, breaded with a breading that is actually flavorful.

Not only that, it takes a quick 35 minutes to make, so in other words, totally doable after a long day.

Panko baked chicken tenders are great substitute to fast food chicken tenders that are way more greasy and less healthy.

Serve these panko chicken tenders with your favorite sauce such as ketchup, mayo, barbecue sauce etc, or plain by itself.

So, what are you? A dipper, or a non-dipper?

Closeup of chicken tenders breaded in panko breadcrumbs

Ingredients

Here’s what goes into the breading for this Oven Baked Panko Chicken Tenders:

Panko bread crumbs – I find that panko breadcrumbs are crispier and has more of a crunch than regular bread crumbs – bringing great textures to our panko baked chicken tenders
Smoked paprika – smoky flavor with a hint of sweetness – love how much flavor this spice brings to the breading of this panko chicken tenders!
Garlic powder – another flavor powerhouse for the breading, bringing flavors to chicken tenders!
Salt and black pepper – spices used to season chicken tenders
all-purpose flour
Eggs – use to glue panko breading to the chicken tenders

Every ingredient serves an important purposes whether it is bring yummy flavors or textures to the panko baked chicken tenders. So avoid skipping any of them!

How to Make Panko Baked Chicken Tenders

Step 1: Prepare breading

These baked panko chicken tenders are crispy and flavorful, all thanks to this simple yet delicious breading that chicken tenders are breaded with.

To prepare the breading, you will need to prepare three separate mixtures:

Mixture 1: Flour mixture, along with seasonings (smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper)
Mixture 2: Egg mixture
Mixture 3: Panko breadcrumb mixture

*(From top to bottom): Panko breadcrumbs, flour mixture and egg mixture*

Step 2: Coat chicken tenders with panko

Before breading the chicken tenders, make sure they are completely defrosted and pat dry. We want to remove all access moisture on chicken tenders so that panko mixture sticks well.

Coat chicken tenders with flour mixture, egg mixture, and then the panko breadcrumb mixture.

*1) Coat chicken tenders in flour mixture*

*2) Coat chicken tenders in egg mixture*

*3) Coat chicken tenders in panko mixture*

Make sure both sides of chicken tenders are coated in each layer completely and evenly.

Then place chicken tenders on a baking sheet or baking dish lined with aluminum foil and greased with vegetable oil. Use a vegetable oil spray for this.

Place all the Panko Chicken Tenders are on the baking dish, and set them at least an inch apart from each other. Then spray more cooking oil to the tops of the chicken tenders.

Step 3: Bake

Next, send panko chicken tenders into the oven to bake!

400℉ for 15 minutes on one side, then flip and bake for another 10 minutes on the other side.

You can bake for longer if panko baked chicken tenders are not crispy to your liking. But do keep in mind that if it is baked for too long, chicken will be dry and no longer juicy.

At the end, panko baked chicken tenders should be crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.

Breading should be flavorful as well as it is tossed in yummy spices.

It’s a great chicken recipe, well loved by adults and kids!

Tips and Tricks

A few things to note when you are making these Panko Baked Chicken Tenders:

Make sure chicken tenders are completely defrosted and pat dry before breading them so that it will bake well in the oven. If not, you will find the panko baked chicken tenders soggy and you will not get a crispy breading. I typically bring frozen chicken tenders to the fridge the night before so that it is defrosted overnight and ready to be used when I am making dinner the next day.
Line aluminum foil on the baking sheet when baking for easy cleanup.
Make sure to grease the aluminum foil well so that the panko baked chicken tenders crisp up nicely after baking.
Greasing the top of the chicken tenders will help crispy up the breading even more.
Internal temperature for cooked chicken should be at least 165℉. Check the temperature with a meat thermometer to make sure chicken is not undercooked. If it is still not cooked, bring it back to the oven to bake for longer until temperature reaches 165℉.

Storing and Reheating

One of my favorite things about these panko baked chicken tenders is that it is a good meal prep option. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

When reheating, I like to heat it in the oven or toaster oven so that the breading will crisp up. You can use a microwave too, but it will just not be as crispy after being heated in the microwave.

Ways to Serve It

I highly recommend serving panko chicken tenders a dipping sauce of some sort – ketchup, mustard, bbq sauce, honey, buffalo sauce. Any sort of dipping sauce makes these Baked Panko Chicken even better!

To dip or not to dip. That is the question…

Dipping Baked Panko Chicken into dipping sauce

And my answer is always: DIP DIP DIP!

Besides serving panko baked chicken tenders as a main dish, I love how versatile they are as you can serve them in so many ways! Save leftovers and use it for some or all of the options below:

Add it to salads
Over pasta and sauce
Make a sandwich out of it, add lettuce, tomatoes, your favorite dressing
Turn it into a taco! Seriously, anything in tortillas with some sauce and crunchy veggies is pretty awesome and makes a quick tasty meal

Frequently Asked Questions

My Panko Baked Chicken Tenders are kinda soggy after baking, what should I do differently?

Try greasing baking sheet/ aluminium foil on baking sheet more generously. Another option is to bump up the oven temperature by 25℉. Sometimes oven temperature can be inaccurate, and bringing temperature up will help crisp up the chicken.

If I don’t have Panko breadcrumbs, can I use regular breadcrumbs?

Yes that would be just fine!

How do I air fry panko chicken tenders?

Air fry panko chicken tenders at 400℉ for 5-7 minutes.

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Other Chicken Recipes

If you like this recipe, check out these other easy, tasty chicken recipes you need to try!

Spinach Artichoke Stuffed Chicken
Chicken Fried Rice
Lemon Balsamic Chicken
BBQ Baked Chicken Wings
Cajun Chicken
Thai Grilled Chicken
Slow Cooker Chicken Burrito Bowl
Rosemary Lemon Chicken Thighs (by Pooks Pantry)