This past thanksgiving, I made chicken tenders. I didn’t go anywhere near turkey! I decided that I should make something the boys would eat, and boy did they enjoy it. I found a recipe that called for chicken breast and it’s baked in the oven. Super healthy! I’ll share some pictures of the process, the recipe with my notes and of course the original recipe source! Here goes!

Finished product, looks pretty good ah?

Such a easy recipe. First step? Marinate the sliced chicken in buttermilk for 2 hours or overnight (I went for overnight).

When you’re ready to go, you just have to combine the rice crispies, salt, white pepper and paprika together. My first batch was a bit poor, I thought I was supposed to keep the rice crispies more whole. I learned that I had to crush them much more to get a proper breading of the chicken.

I bought wire racks for this recipe, what a great investment. I’ll be able to use this a lot more in the future I’m sure!

Can you tell my first batch to my second? lol, I put way too much paprika in the first batch. The paprika is really more for color, not at all spicy.

Make sure you spray the wire rack with cooking spray to keep the chicken from sticking. You have to cook the chicken for 11 minutes on each side. When you turn it, just spray the chicken with a bit more cooking spray. The cooking spray will help it crisp up.

Another picture of the finished product! So good and so easy to make…I would definitely recommend this!

The honey sriracha honey mustard sauce – not my thing. I’m not a fan of the strong dijon mustard taste, if you like dijon mustard – you will love it.

Ingredients

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken tenders/tenderloins
• 1 cup fat-free buttermilk (I used low fat)
• 3 cups crispy brown rice cereal (I couldn’t find crispy brown rice cereal so I just used regular Rice Krispies)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt (I used the Costco salt grinder – cranked it about 8-10 times)
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon white pepper (I put in about 2-3 dashes)
• Cooking spray

• 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 3 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1½ teaspoons Sriracha (I used a whole tablespoon because I love spicy food!)

Instructions

1. Place the chicken tenders in a shallow baking dish. Pour the buttermilk over the chicken tenders and make sure that they are well coated in the liquid. Cover the dish tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. (Feel free to let them marinate overnight if you’re a planner!)
2. Once your tenders have marinated, remove them from the fridge and pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray a wire rack with cooking spray, place it on top of a baking sheet and set aside. (Note: Depending on the size of your rack, you may need to use two, or bake the chicken tenders in batches.)
3. Pour the crispy rice cereal into a shallow bowl or baking dish. Use your hands to lightly crush the cereal. You don’t want to pulverize the rice, but you do want to break it up into smaller pieces so that it will stick to the chicken more easily. Add the paprika, salt and white pepper to the cereal and mix to combine.
4. Now it’s time to coat your chicken fingers. I like to form an assembly line by placing the chicken tenders/buttermilk dish next to the crispy rice mixture, followed by the prepared wire rack.
5. Remove the tenderloins from the buttermilk one at a time, shaking lightly to remove any excess liquid. Place each tender in the crispy rice mixture and use your hands to press the cereal onto the chicken. You want each tender to be thoroughly coated, people.
6. Place the coated tenders on a wire rack and mist with cooking spray. (I like to use an olive oil spray, but any old spray will work.)
7. Transfer the chicken tenders to the oven and bake for 11 minutes. Carefully remove the tray from the oven, flip the chicken fingers over and mist again with cooking spray. Return them to the oven and bake for another 11 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the tenders are golden brown.
8. While your chicken fingers are cooking, prepare your fancy dipping sauce. Place all the ingredient for the Sriracha Honey Mustard in a medium bowl. Whisk until smooth.
9. Serve your crispy chicken tenders hot alongside Sriracha Honey Mustard.