Baked Coconut Panko Chicken Tenders
These baked coconut panko chicken tenders are a great option for a weeknight dinners. Kids love dipping the baked chicken strips into the honey mustard sauce. You’ll love how the coconut and panko topping keeps this baked chicken recipe moist and tender.
How easy it is? That’s just icing on the proverbial cake.
Tips and tricks for this recipe
There is nothing complicated about this recipe. When I am breading these coconut panko chicken tenders, I set up a line of bowls containing flour, egg, and then my breading mixture (See pic below).
In this case, it’s a combination of panko and shredded, unsweetened coconut. The flavor reminds me of coconut shrimp.
The amount specified in the recipe for each of these will be more than you will need, but better to have too much than too little.
Dip the tenders in each bowl, one or two at a time, and lay them on a parchment lined baking sheet. The parchment prevents the coconut panko coating from sticking to the sheet.
PRO-TIP: rinse your fingers with water between dipping each set of the chicken tenders.
FAQs about these coconut panko chicken tenders
Panko are Japanese-style breadcrumbs that are coarser than standard breadcrumbs. If you don’t have panko, you can blitz bread in a food processor and toast your own breadcrumbs as an alternative.
“Tenders” is a specific term that refers to the thin bit of meat attached to the chicken breast. Chicken fingers and chicken strips are non-specific terms. If you can’t find or don’t want to buy chicken tenders, you can cut chicken breasts into thin strips to use in this recipe.
Yes, you can freeze these either before or after cooking, although they will keep better if frozen raw. The USDA says that raw chicken parts can be frozen for 9 months, though that seems long to me. Cooked chicken tenders can be frozen for 1 to 3 months.
Related recipes
Want more chicken recipes? Check out these chicken Parmesan muffins, these chicken and apple meatballs, or this cranberry chicken salad. Or make my pan-roasted cast iron chicken breast for the simplest ever weeknight dinner.
Baked Coconut Panko Chicken Tenders with Honey Mustard Sauce
Ingredients
Coconut panko chicken tenders
- 1 pound chicken tenders
- 1 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- ½ cup panko
- ½ cup unsweetened, shredded dried coconut
- olive oil to lightly spray the tenders, optional
Honey mustard dipping sauce
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 dash Tabasco or other hot sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Set out three bowls for dipping the chicken tenders. In the first bowl, stir together the flour, salt, and pepper. Add the eggs to the second bowl. Add the panko and coconut to the third and stir to mix.1 pound chicken tenders, 1 cup flour, 1 teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, ½ cup panko, ½ cup unsweetened, shredded dried coconut, 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- Dip or two of the chicken tenders into the flour bowl and shake off extra. Dip the same tenders into the eggs and let the excess drip off. Dip the tenders into the final bowl, turning it over a few times to ensure that it is fully coated. Place the tenders on the prepared baking sheet, leaving a small amount of room between each one.
- When all of tenders have been dipped, spray them lightly with oil if you prefer a crisper, darker coating.olive oil
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, turning the coconut panko chicken tenders over once about 10 minutes into baking. Chicken should be cooked until it reaches an internal temperature of at least 165°F.
Honey mustard dipping sauce
- Meanwhile, combine all of the ingredients for the dipping sauce into a small bowl.3 tablespoons honey, 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard, 1 dash Tabasco or other hot sauce
Notes
Nutrition
What’s next?
If you make these baked coconut panko chicken tenders, please leave a comment or rating here.
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