Oven Fried Chicken Tenders
Oven Fried Chicken Tenders coated with Cheerios and parmesan and served up with some honey mustard dipping sauce make for a kid friendly 30 minute dinner.
Servings: 6 servings
Equipment
Ingredients
honey mustard sauce
- 1/8 cup spicy brown mustard
- 1/8 cup honey
chicken tenders:
- 2 pounds chicken tenders
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 2 cups Cheerios
- 1 cup parmesan cheese grated
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- To make honey mustard sauce, mix together 1/8 cup spicy brown mustard and 1/8 cup honey. Do this ahead of time to allow flavors to develop.
- Rinse 2 pounds chicken tenders and add to shallow dish. Cover with 1/2 cup buttermilk and allow to soak for at least 15 minutes while you make the coating. A longer buttermilk soak is preferred (at least 24 hours refrigerated is recommended), but you can get away with 15 minutes if needed.
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- In food processor, blend together 2 cups Cheerios, 1 cup parmesan cheese, and 1 tablespoon fresh thyme for 30 seconds to create a crumb topping. Add to gallon size plastic bag. Add 1 teaspoon smoked paprika and 1 teaspoon garlic powder to the mixture; shake to blend well.
- One at a time, pick up each piece of chicken and allow excess buttermilk to drip off. Add buttermilk coated chicken pieces to bag with crumbs. Seal bag and give it a good shake until all of the coated has covered the chicken pieces.
- Spread 1 tablespoon olive oil over bottom of baking sheet. Lay chicken pieces in a single layer on top and cover with any additional crumb coating from bag.
- Cook in preheated oven for 10-15 minutes until chicken is a golden brown. Serve with honey mustard dipping sauce.
Notes
Cooking tips:
- For the most tender and moist chicken, soak the chicken tenders in the buttermilk for a full 24 hours in the refrigerator. A quick soak works, but a longer brine will tenderize the chicken more.
- Freshly grated parmesan always tastes best, but you can easily use pre-shredded parmesan in this recipe.
- Fresh herbs are recommended but if fresh thyme isn't available, replace the tablespoon of fresh thyme with one teaspoon of dried thyme.
Nutrition
Calories: 325kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 40g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 110mg | Sodium: 564mg | Potassium: 674mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 659IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 264mg | Iron: 3mg
