Crispy and yummy Panko Baked Chicken is the comfort food chicken dinner you need after a long busy weekday!
These strips of chicken tenders are baked in the oven, full of great flavors…yet still healthy.
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 come together, and not to mention, these chicken tenders are much healthier, I started breading my own chicken strips and bake it in the oven.
Guilt-free, non-fried chicken strip is totally the way to go!
Still not convinced?
This isn’t some plain, bland, non-tasty kind of chicken Panko Baked Chicken Tenders. No no no no no. What you are about to witness is a piece of juicy chicken that is crunchy on the outside, with a breading that is actually flavorful.
Here’s what goes into the breading:
- Panko bread crumbs – I find that they are crispier and has more of a crunch than regular bread crumbs
- Smoked paprika
- Garlic powder
- Salt and black pepper
- Flour
- Eggs
Every ingredient serves an important purposes whether it is bring yummy flavors or textures to the chicken.
How to Make It
There are three separate mixtures you will need to prepare the breading:
- Flour mixture, along with seasonings (smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper)
- Egg mixture
- Panko breadcrumb mixture
Make sure chicken tenders are completely defrosted and pat dry, bread with flour mixture, egg mixture, and then the panko breadcrumb mixture.
Make sure chicken is 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 Breaded 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.
Next, send them into the oven to bake!
400℉ for 15 minutes on one side, then flip and bake for another 10 minutes on the other side.
Tips and Tricks
- 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 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
- 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 Breaded Chicken 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 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…
And my answer is always: DIP DIP DIP!
Besides serving it as a main dish, I love how versatile these Panko Breaded Chicken are! 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.
Other Chicken Recipes
If you like this recipe, check out these other easy, tasty chicken recipes you need to try!
- Spicy Baked Chicken Tenders
- Lemon Balsamic Chicken
- BBQ Baked Chicken Wings
- Cajun Chicken
- Thai Grilled Chicken
- Rosemary Lemon Chicken Thighs (by Pooks Pantry)
If you make this recipe, comment below and let me know what you think! Also, don’t forget to take a picture and tag me on Instagram, because I WANNA SEE!!
Panko Baked Chicken
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
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 400℉
- Prepare three separate mixture in three separate shallow bowl: 1) bring flour, smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt and black pepper to a bowl, stir to combine, 2) whisk eggs in another bowl, 3) bring panko breadcrumbs to the last bowl
- Make sure chicken tenderloins are defrosted and pat dry. Coat chicken tenderloins, one piece at a time, with flour mixture, followed by egg mixture, and lastly panko breadcrumbs. Make sure each layer is coated evenly all over the chicken.
- Place chicken pieces 1-inch apart from each other on baking sheet lined with greased aluminum foil. Spray the top of the chicken pieces with more cooking oil.
- Bake for 15 minutes on one side, flip, and bake the other side for another 10 minutes.
- Remove from oven. Cooked chicken should have an internal temperature of at least 165℉
- Serve (highly recommend with sauce of some sort) and enjoy!
