Oven Fried Chicken Tenders – crunchy, crispy and golden brown these oven fried chicken tenders are the best oven fried chicken because they taste just like fried chicken without all the extra fat!!
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Coming from a Southern family, learning how to fry chicken around the same time I learned how to ride a bike is not only considered normal but proper. There is simply nothing better than the perfectly seasoned golden exterior hiding the juicy tender inside and hearing the crunch in every single bite. Now I like to keep things lighter, and this oven fried chicken tenders recipe is incredible!
The Heart and Soul of the Best Oven Fried Chicken Tenders
Cuisine Inspiration: Southern Comfort
Primary Cooking Method: Oven-Frying
Dietary Info: Poultry-Based, Lower in Fat
Key Flavor: Savory & Spiced
Skill Level Required: Easy
Sweet Highlights:
- Crunchy Goodness: Oven-frying brings on the crispiness!
- Flavor Packed: A spice blend that ensures every bite is a flavor adventure.
- Versatile Vibes: From main dish to salad topper, these tenders can do it all.
Ingredients
Chicken Tenders: These little strips of joy are lean, mean, and ready for some oven-frying action. Packed with protein and ready to soak up all the flavor goodness we’re about to throw at them!
Eggs: They’re here to bring the stickiness, helping our fabulous flour mixture cling to each tender.
Hot Sauce & Worcestershire: A dynamic duo, bringing a tangy kick and a rich, savory depth to the party.
All-Purpose Flour: The foundation of our crispy coating, ready to transform our tenders into a crunchy heaven.
Seasoned Salt: It’s like regular salt, but it’s been to flavor boot camp. It’s here to season like a pro!
Cornstarch: This is our crispy secret weapon, making sure each tender is perfectly crunchy.
Paprika, Cayenne Pepper, Black Pepper, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder: Welcome to flavor town! These spices are ready to kick things up a notch and bring the heat and the sweet.
Non-Stick Cooking Spray: Here to ensure our tenders lift off the tray with ease, we’re avoiding the stick without the deep fryer.
How to Make Oven Fried Chicken
- Preheat and Prep: Crank up your oven to 425 degrees and get your egg, hot sauce, and Worcestershire mix ready.
- Flour Mix Fun: In a paper bag, shake together flour, seasoned salt, spices, and a milk drizzle to create a crumbly coating.
- Dip and Set: Coat each chicken tender in the flour mix, dip in egg wash, coat again, and let set for 10-15 minutes.
- Bake to Perfection: Place on a parchment-lined, sprayed baking tray, bake for 20-25 minutes, and serve with a squeeze of lemon. Enjoy your crispy delight!
Tip
I also create some cool crumb action by doing something I learned from the Pioneer Woman. I add a drizzle of milk to my seasoned flour and then use a fork to create crumbs in the mixture. It is such a fantastic trick, and I LOVE the results.
How to Store
Store the chicken tenders in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. For reheating, pop them in the oven at 375 degrees until they’re crispy and heated through, about 10 minutes.
How to Serve
Like fried chicken, I love serving with some of the following:
- Keep it hearty with a delicious mashed potatoes recipe and chicken gravy.
- Get into that soul food with collard greens or mustard greens as a veggie side.
- Serve it up with hot water cornbread or Jiffy corn muffins and get ready for a delicious Southern feast.
More Fried Chicken Recipes
- Buttermilk Fried Chicken
- Sweet Tea Fried Chicken
- Fried Chicken Gizzards
- Air Fryer Fried Chicken
- Hot Honey Chicken
Find more Fried Chicken recipes HERE
Oven Fried Chicken Tenders (Oven Fried Chicken)
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Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken tenders
- 3 large eggs beaten
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2- 3 tablespoons seasoned salt
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 2 tablespoons milk
- Non-stick cooking spray
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- Optional: Lemon wedges for garnish and serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together eggs, hot sauce and worcestershire and set aside.
- Next add flour, seasoned salt, cornstarch, paprika, cayenne pepper, black pepper, garlic powder and onion powder to a paper bag and shake to mix well.
- Drizzle milk into the flour and use a fork to mix it into the flour and create crumbs.
- Dip each chicken tender into flour mixture and then egg wash coating both sides then dip back into seasoned flour thoroughly coating each piece. Then add piece to baking sheet to rest.
- Finish coating all chicken and let sit for 10-15 minutes until coating has set.
- While coating sets, add parchment paper sheets to cast iron skillet or baking sheet and liberally spray with non stick cooking spray.
- Add floured chicken to parchment paper and liberally spray the tops of chicken tenders with non stick spray and drizzle the tops of chicken with tablespoons of vegetable oil.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is cooked throughout. Serve with lemon wedges and sprinkle lemon on chicken if you wish.
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Hands down, this is the BEST no-frying fried chicken recipe I’ve tried, and I’ve tried many. Tastes very close to my grandmother’s from Arkansas too. Get the best results when I bake them on top of a baking rack topped with parchment so the hot air circulates around the bottom. Thank you, Jocelyn, for this amazing recipe and love your cooking and cookbook!! ❤️
You’re so welcome! Thank you for making my recipes!
Very good!!
My chicken was not very crispy. At twenty minutes, the breading was barely cooked. I gave it another ten but if I left it any longer the chicken would be inedibly dry.
All the comments rave about this. What am I doing wrong?
TASTY! Used Carbquick flour, which has palm oil flakes in it, to reduce the carbs and that helped create more of a fried breading with less oil. Also cooked the tenders on parchment on top of a baking rack to get air on the bottom, and it’s damn close to the real thing my grandma from Arkansas made. Thank you for this delicious recipe!
Fantastic recipe and great presentation.
Can this recipe be used for bone in chicken?
Absolutely!
I already posted a comment about this awesome recipe, but wanted to add that this recipe made a whole lot more egg mixture and flour mixture than I needed for my 1 pound of chicken tenders. Next time, I plan on scaling it back, or maybe just using more chicken.
This recipe was so easy and delicious. I made this recipe as directed, with the exception that I used Zatarain’s creole seasoning in place of the seasoned salt, because that’s what I had on hand. And because I used creole seasoning, I omitted the cayenne, because I didn’t want TOO much heat. Even with this change, the breading had plenty of flavor. The tenders didn’t turn out as crispy as I had hoped, but I suspect that this had something to do with my poor oil drizzling skills, LOL. Most of the oil ended up on the baking sheet instead of the chicken. But, all in all, the tenders turned out great. I will definitely make these again.
Thank you!
Tasty tenders and my picky 3year old loved them too!
Thank you very much
This recipe sounds delicious. I am going to try it this week. What is ironic about this is that I was planning to look for an oven fried chicken recipe tonight and this showed up in my email tonight. thanks for posting.