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Delicious, restaurant style breaded chicken tenders. Breaded with a low carb baking blend and fried in coconut oil, these are a healthy re-make of one of my favorite foods!
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One of my favorite restaurant meals for YEARS was deep-fried chicken tenders. My husband would laugh at me - because I never changed my order. I would peruse the menu looking for a new item to try, but I always fell back on my favorite entree. My reasoning was this - "I know I like those! If I try something new, I may not like it!" My husband reasoned that maybe I would find a new favorite! Well, regardless of which one of us was right, I can now have them at home anytime I want!
The inspiration for this recipe came from an idea to make THM fried fish. When I pulled out the fish to thaw, I realized I only had 2 fish fillets, so I pulled out some chicken to thaw for my children. When we sat down to eat, I was amazed by how much the fried chicken tasted like my favorite restaurant entree! (The fish was good, too!)
We have had this several times in a two week span - its that good! It works best to cut the chicken tenders in strips that are no more than ½" thick, so they will cook evenly. We have tried a couple different seasoning blends, and I will list both of them below so you can choose which one you like best.
I serve this with my copycat THM-Friendly Chick-Fil-A Sauce for dipping. (That recipe is here!) Serve it with some buttered broccoli or green bean fries and a salad, and you have dinner! A dinner that even kids will love! If tenders are not your style, you can certainly make nuggets instead (and they will likely cook faster).
So, what do you need for this recipe?
2 Pounds Chicken Tenders, cut into ½" thick strips
1 Cup Trim Healthy Mama Baking Blend
1 ½ Teaspoons Onion Powder
1 ½ Teaspoons Garlic Salt
1 ½ Teaspoons Smoked Paprika
1 Tablespoon Chili Powder
(OR) 1 - 1 ½ Tablespoons Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning
3 Eggs
1 ½ - 2 Cups Refined Coconut oil (you want the refined oil so there is no coconut flavor)
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Ingredients
- 2 Pounds Chicken Tenders cut into ½" thick strips
For the Breading
- 1 Cup Trim Healthy Mama Baking Blend
- 1 ½ Teaspoons Onion Powder
- 1 ½ Teaspoons Garlic Salt
- 1 ½ Teaspoons Smoked Paprika
- 1 Tablespoon Chili Powder
- OR 1 - 1 ½ Tablespoons Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning
- 3 Eggs
For Frying
- 1 ½ - 2 Cups Refined Coconut oil
Instructions
- Cut your chicken tenders into strips no more than ½" thick.
- Heat refined coconut oil over medium heat in a large skillet (I like to use my iron skillet).
- In a shallow bowl or pie pan, whisk the 3 eggs.
- In another shallow bowl or pie pan, mix the Baking Blend with the spices. (You may use the onion powder, garlic salt, paprika, and chili powder, OR use the Tony's Creole Seasoning. You do not want to use both of them!)
- When oil is heated, dip chicken tenders in egg, then dip/dredge in the baking blend until thoroughly coated.
- Fry in the hot oil for approximately 3 minutes on each side, or until cooked through.
Notes
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[…] did open up about two hours north of me, but I have not been able to go yet. Anyway, when we made Restaurant Style Breaded Chicken Tenders a couple of weeks ago for supper, I whipped up this sauce for dipping. I was so pleased with the […]
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Rachel
Looks great, Sarah!
dsdjhardy
Thanks, Rachel!!
Brandi
YUM. This is my life-long favorite restaurant entree, too. Thank you!
Regarding the oil: You mention making it several times in a couple weeks. Do you store back the oil after frying for use again? I am not sure how coconut oil reacts to being heated-cooled-heated-cooled. If I make it, it will be a big oil investment so I would want to make it several times to get the most out of it! Thanks!
Sarah Hardy
I usually re-use my coconut oil at least twice, if not three times. You may need to strain it first, though. 🙂
Jenifer Bridges
My daughter is allergic to Coconut Oil. Can I fry these in something else?
Thanks.
Sarah Hardy
Yes, you could also fry in palm oil.
Jackie
We live near the ocean and were given a bunch of fish. I used this recipe except I substituted half of the baking blend for coarsely ground pork rinds. This was absolutely delicious! In fact, my husband said, and I quote: "That was delicious, baby. No, that was beyond delicious. That was some of the best fried fish I have ever had!" Needless to say, this recipe is going into my permanent collection. I see this also being used to make one of my husband's other favorite dishes, chicken fried steak.
dsdjhardy
Oh, that is awesome! Thank you for letting me know! I absolutely love it when my recipes get "husband reviews!" I'm so glad you both enjoyed it! 🙂
Sharon
Oh my goodness! So yummy! You can't eat just one, two, three, or four! They have the best flavor ever! And the sauce recipe was so yummy too!
I live walking distance to a Chick-fil-a. I don't eat there anymore because the breading on the chicken tenders makes my blood sugar go up! Not to mention the sugar in the sauce!
Thank you soooooooo very much!
Sharon
Daycee
Is there any other THM on-plan oil you could fry them in? Thx
Sarah Hardy
I suppose you could use red palm oil - but i have never cooked with that oil. I do use refined coconut oil, so it has no coconut flavor. 🙂
Gina
Made these for dinner tonight along with the sauce - delish! Definitely a keeper. Hubs loved them! Thanks for passing this on!!
Katie
Is the Tony’s instead of the chili powder or instead of all of the spices?
Sarah Hardy
In place of all the spices.
Susan Entingh
We just made these, but while they seem cooked through (we were generous with time), they're not temping as high as I generally like chicken to temp to. Is that just the nature of the tenders, or do we need to cook longer?
Sarah Hardy
Personally, as long as they appear cooked all the way through (and if you were generous with the amount of time), I would think they are fine.
Amy
Made these for dinner and they were a hit-especially with the sauce. Thank you!
Sarah Hardy
You're welcome! So glad you enjoyed them!
Kari Bohning
One of my top favorite THM meals!!!
Sarah Hardy
I'm so glad you enjoy it!
Leann
Hi Sarah.....have you tried your breading in an air fryer?
Sarah Hardy
No, unfortunately I do not have an air fryer, so I haven't tried it that way yet.
Emily
Hi.. Sound fab. Looking forward to make them. Can these be backed instead of fried?
Sarah Hardy
Yes, I believe they could be baked!
Julie
We just made these tonight and my whole family loved them. The sauce was a hit too!! I look forward to making more
of your recipes.
Laura
You mentioned soaking the chicken in pickle juice for a couple of hours before breading & cooking. Is that dill pickle juice or sweet? I'm assuming dill but want to be sure. Thanks!
Sarah Hardy
Yes, in dill pickle juice. 🙂
Sandra
These are amazing! Big hit! Truly, just like Chick-fil-a! Thanks!!!!
Dana
This recipe was a hit with the hubs! This recipe is one of the best chicken tender recipes I've tried!
Sarah Hardy
Awe, yay! I'm so glad!
Melanie S
I have been making this recipe (and the sauce) for a few years now. We absolutely LOVE it! I recently put in a new stove that has a built in Air Fry option. I’m thinking of cooking them that way. Has anyone tried air frying these? If so, can you offer any tips or feedback?
Melanie S.
This is one of our favorite recipes! I've made it several times and it's always a hit! I'm wondering if anyone has tried these in an air fryer? We just got a new stove and it has an air fry feature I was thinking of trying.
MaryAnn
I'm so glad to find this!! I can't wait to try it. This is my all time favorite fast food too! So glad you have made it, so we can now eat it healthy! Thank you!!
Joyce K
SOOO good. Had a jar with only a few pickles in it and saw this recipe so decided to try it. What a great way to add a punch to the flavor of the chicken strips! This was so flavorful and easy to put together. My only disappointment is I didn't have enough left overs to have for lunch the next day. Gonna have to make these often!