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Easy Baked Chicken Tenders have an extra crispy panko breading that includes superfoods, like nuts and chia seeds. Sure, they're healthy. But kids and adults love them because of the fantastic crunch.
And, you'll appreciate making them with our fast breading technique that quickly gets dinner on the table!

Chicken fingers were regularly offered at our make-ahead meal stores because it was a popular dinner that the whole family could enjoy. Parents would pair these with a salad for a low-carb meal, and children would dunk them into a zesty orange dipping sauce. Paprika Parmesan Chicken Tenders were also very popular.
You'll love this recipe because:
- It's super healthy! Not only are the fingers oven-fried, but the coating incorporates good-for-you ingredients.
- It's easily customized. We think this is the ultimate breading, but you can leave out any ingredient you don't like and replace it with additional panko breadcrumbs.
- It's easy to make. Bread all of the tenders at one time! Touching and dipping chicken is kept to a minimum, and so is the mess.
- Make these in the oven or an air fryer.
- It's low-carb and keto-friendly!
- You can assemble and freeze it before cooking it! You'll find this in our Healthy Make-Ahead Freezer Meals collection.
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Ingredients
Here's what you'll need to make this recipe:
- Chicken tenders or boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into thin strips.
- Egg - Egg wash coats the chicken, so the breading will stick. A flax egg is an alternative and another healthy addition to the recipe.
- To make a sticky flaxseed egg combine 1 Tablespoon flax seed with 2-3 Tablespoons of water. Let the mixture sit for about 5 minutes so it will gel.
- Panko breadcrumbs - This breadcrumb gives the chicken fingers a wonderful crunch. Use whole wheat if you can find it. Standard breadcrumbs may be used, but the texture will be much smoother.
- Pecans - Finely chop nuts with a knife or in a food processor. Other nuts can be substituted.
- Coconut shreds - We used unsweetened coconut flakes. However, sweetened flakes can be used if desired.
- Chia seeds - Add color and yet another nutritional boost! Leave them out if you don't have any.
NOTE: You can replace any of these ingredients with an equal amount of panko breadcrumbs to create the perfect breading your family will love! You'll find the exact ingredients and quantities in the recipe card below.
What are chicken tenders?
Chicken tenderloins (or tenders for short) are small strips of chicken found on the underside of the chicken breast. They are often packaged separately in the grocery store and have a white, stringy tendon. They taste just like boneless chicken breasts and are considered white meat.
The small size makes them perfect for fajitas, sauteeing, and cooking quickly in the oven or air fryer.
Chicken tenders also refer to a recipe that involves breading chicken and baking or frying it. This preparation is also known as chicken strips or chicken fingers. This type of recipe can be made with chicken tenders or chicken breasts cut into long, narrow pieces.
Can you eat the tendon?
Yes! There is no harm in eating the ligament. However, it can be chewy and unpleasant. Luckily, it's easy to remove. Grab the white tendon with one hand and use a knife to cut it out.
Easy Breading Process
Use our time-saving breading technique to make baked chicken tenders! It's the process we followed at our meal assembly stores. These days we use bowls with tight-fitting lids instead of plastic bags!
This method means less time in the kitchen and touching raw chicken!
Here's how to do it:
- Pat chicken tenders dry and remove tendons, if necessary. Add a slightly beaten egg to a bowl or large plastic bag. Add chicken tenders, tightly seal, and turn to coat the chicken with the egg.
- Add the breading ingredients (panko breadcrumbs, coconut shreds, chopped pecans, and chia seeds) to a second bowl or plastic bag and stir to combine.
- Lift the chicken tenders from the egg bag, allowing excess egg to drip off, and transfer them to the bag with the breading. Seal tightly. Gently shake to coat with breading. You can do all the chicken at once or in batches.
- Lift breaded chicken tenders onto a baking sheet.
This process does a pretty good job of covering most of the tenders with breading. However, there may be a few bare spots. Press the excess breading into those areas.
You know you want to say it: Shake and Bake!
Oven Instructions
Use a sheet pan coated with cooking spray to bake chicken tenders in the oven for about 20 minutes at 375 °F. Use tongs to carefully flip halfway through.
The exact time will vary depending upon the thickness of the chicken. Use a meat thermometer and cook to an internal temperature of 165 °F.
Tips for Crispy Chicken Strips
- If you have a cooling rack for cookies, place it on top of the sheet pan. Coat the cooling rack with non-stick spray and line the sheet pan with aluminum foil. Place the chicken tenders on top and cook according to the directions.
- Spritz chicken with a little olive oil or cooking spray before cooking.
- Use panko breadcrumbs. You can even toast them first. But, I don't find it necessary for this recipe.
This technique really does keep the bottoms from getting soggy.
Air Fryer Instructions
Make these healthy chicken tenders in an air fryer if you have one! We used a Ninja 4 Quart Air Fryer, which handles about 1 pound of chicken tenderloins. Always follow the manufacturer's instructions for your appliance if our advice differs.
- Mist the crisper plate or basket with olive oil. Do not use an aerosol spray which may harm the equipment in the long run.
- Place chicken fingers in a single layer with room for air to circulate on all sides. Work in batches if you have a small-sized air fryer.
- Mist chicken fingers with a little olive oil to keep the breading in place.
- Cook chicken tenders for about 15-20 minutes at 375 °F, flipping chicken tenders halfway through with silicone-tipped tongs.
- You do not need to preheat the air fryer because it will heat up quickly. But, if desired, you can preheat it for 3 minutes with the crisper basket in place.
- Cook time will vary based on the thickness of the chicken.
- Check chicken frequently to see how it is doing. Just pause and check.
- Chicken is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 °F. Lift the thickest tender out and check with a temperature probe or cut it in half to ensure it is no longer pink inside.
- When done, lift chicken tenders out and enjoy!
Storage and Reheating
- Refrigerator - Place leftovers in an airtight storage container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
- Reheat - Warm chicken fingers in the oven at 375 °F until heated through, about 15 minutes. Alternatively, reheat in an air fryer. We don't recommend the microwave because the breading will not be soggy.
- Freeze - Leftovers may be frozen in an airtight storage container, such as a freezer bag, for up to 3 months. For best results, defrost overnight in the refrigerator before warming.
Make-Ahead and Freeze
Prepare the recipe to the point where you would bake the chicken tenders in the oven. Don't cook anything. Instead, place chicken tenders in a single layer of a storage container. Cover and store for up to 2 months for best results.
Move the chicken fingers to the refrigerator the night before you are ready to enjoy them, and then cook them as you usually would. If any breading falls off during the process, simply press it back into the chicken.
You can cook them frozen...add about 10 minutes to the cooking time. Check out air fryer frozen chicken nuggets for more tips using this appliance.
Orange Dipping Sauce for Chicken Tenders
If you're looking for an extra special dipping sauce to pair with this recipe, try this one:
- Orange marmalade (can be low-sugar) - ½ cup
- Seasoned rice vinegar - 2 Tablespoons
- Dijon mustard - 1 teaspoon
- Red pepper flakes - pinch
Another option is this Chick-Fil-A copycat sauce by Chelsea's Messy Apron.
More Recipes with Chicken Tenders
Wondering what else to make with chicken tenderloins? Check these out:
Did you make this recipe?
Please leave a rating and tell us how you liked it!
📋 Recipe
Easy Baked Chicken Tenders - Crispy & Healthy
Equipment
- Air Fryer May be used instead of the oven
Ingredients
Chicken Tenders
- 2 pounds chicken tenders
- 1 egg lightly beaten or egg-replacer (1 Tablespoon flax seed mixed with 3 Tablespoons water; allow to sit for 5 minutes)
- ⅔ cup coconut flakes unsweetened
- ⅔ cups panko breadcrumbs whole wheat
- ½ cup pecans finely chopped
- 1 Tablespoon chia seeds
Instructions
Preparation for either cooking method
- Pat chicken tenders dry with a paper towel. Place chicken tenders and egg (or egg replacer) in a large plastic bag or, seal and turn to coat.
- Place coconut flakes, finely chopped pecans, panko breadcrumbs, and chia seeds into a second bag or bowl with a lid. Seal and shake to combine ingredients.
- Lift the chicken tenders into the container with the breading ingredients. Seal tightly and shake to coat the tenders with the breading mixture. You can do this in batches or all at once. If there are bare spots, press the excess breading into those areas.
Oven Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 °F if baking in the oven.
- Place breaded chicken tenders on a cookie cooling rack coated with non-stick cooking spray. Place the cooling rack on top of a baking sheet. The bottoms will not get soggy using this technique. However, they may be cooked on a regular baking sheet instead. Gently turn over halfway through the cooking time.
- Bake for about 20 minutes or until chicken tenders are no longer pink and reach an internal temperature of 165 °F.
Air Fryer Instructions
- Mist the crisper plate or basket with olive oil. Do not use an aerosol spray which may harm the equipment in the long-run.
- Place chicken fingers in a single layer with room for air to circulate on all sides. Work in batches if you have a small-sized air fryer. Mist the top of the chicken fingers with a little olive oil to keep the breading in place.
- Cook chicken tenders for about 15-20 minutes at 375 °F, flipping chicken tenders halfway through with silicone tipped tongs. Cook time will vary based upon the thickness of the chicken. Check chicken frequently to see how it is doing. Just pause and check. Chicken is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 °F.
Notes
- Refrigerator - Place leftovers in an airtight storage container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
- Reheat - Warm chicken fingers in the oven at 375 °F until heated through, about 15 minutes. Alternatively, reheat in an air fryer. We don't recommend the microwave because the breading will not be soggy.
- Freeze - Leftovers may be frozen in an airtight storage container, such as a freezer bag, for up to 3 months. For best results, defrost overnight in the refrigerator before warming.
- To make ahead and freeze: Prepare chicken tenders, but don't cook them. Freeze in a single layer in a baking tin. Cover and store for up to 2 months for best results. Move the chicken fingers to the refrigerator the night before you are ready to enjoy them, and then cook them as you usually would. These can be cooked from frozen; add about 10 minutes and check to be sure the chicken is no longer pink before enjoying.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published on 7/2/13 and has been republished to improve the reader experience.
Kalliste
ooh, these look delicious! I'm always keen to add Chia to more things, will give these a try.
Marjory
Thanks Kalliste!
Mary
So I was skeptical of this as was my first time using chia seeds. It turned out incredibly delicious! I did the whole dredging stations thing to avoid using more plastic bags than I already do and I customized the sauce to what I had in my kitchen (homemade strawberry jam, hot pepper marmalade) and I cut the cook time by 10 minutes. I also ground up both the nuts and then the coconut to make em easier to bread. Anyway. .. the nuts tasted so decadent and the coconut added just the perfect sweetness. I will totally be making this again. Thank you!
Marjory
Thanks so much for your comment and tips! Glad you liked them.
Ann
Nice recipe but I am very surprised to see all the suggested use of throw away plastic! This little recipe calls for two plastic bags that you throw out and plastic gloves. It's not a big deal to wash bowls - 1 minute really.
Marjory
Thanks for your comment. It's just an option...bowls are best. 🙂
Claudia
Thank you for the recipe, I'm going to try it this week. The printing option rocks!!
Liz
The crispy coating is amazing! These, yummy, healthier chicken tenders will be on our menu a lot!
Marjory
Thanks for you comment! I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
Nellie
Definitely want to add this to my meal plan - looks so yummy!
Marjory
I'm so glad you like it!
mr watson
This recipe turned out delicious in the air fryer. I love that I could use the powdered flax seed as coating and I didn't need to use an egg and have any eggy flavor. I added more water on it as it seemed too thick, and I also added salt, pepper and garlic powder to it. For breading I used a different combination: wheat germ, a mixture of milled chia and flax seeds (my daughter has braces and whole seeds are hard on her teeth), quinoa flakes and oats. The finished nuggets were light and crispy, so good that once they were cooked they virtually disappeared. Thanks so much for the wonderful detailed recipe!
mr watson
Sorry I forgot to rate the recipe on my earlier comment. I wanted to add that I also reduced the cooking time to about 12 -15 minutes.
Also, re the comment about using plastic... the trick is to reuse plastic bags that otherwise would be thrown away, like the cereal plastic bag and the bags in which bread comes in. I recycled two bags and the recipe was fantastic!
Marjory Pilley
Thank you so much for your tips. I'm so glad you enjoyed them. I love your idea about recycling bags and will definitely be doing this. I have a few bread bags I could use right now!
Kate
I have a fresh can of panko that I bought for frying/baking som fresh produce. I was raised a vegetarian so chicken anything tends to be a foreign object especially since my husband passed away. I do puruse all sorts of recipes to spark desire to cook again. Love the idea of chia or even flax seed being used in breading.👍💕
Marjory Pilley
Hi! I was just speaking with my daughter about how delicious this breading would be on tofu!