Homemade Chicken Tenders Pan Fried

Crispy on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside, these crispy Homemade Chicken Tenders will get the whole family to the dinner table.

Serve these crispy chicken strips as a family-friendly meal with a side of mac and cheese, as an appetizer with various dipping sauces or even atop salads.

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A close up of crispy fried chicken tenders on a white plate. Also seen on plate is mac and cheese just above the chicken and the tip of a fork to the right.

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🥘Ingredients
🔪Instructions
🥗Serving suggestions
🍴Leftovers
❓FAQ
Printable Recipe Card

First things first, sometimes I call these fried chicken tenders and other times I refer to them as chicken strips. Either is fine. Sometimes my kids even call them "those big homemade chicken nuggets". So, let's not get hung up on the actual name, deal?

If you would prefer to make chicken tenders in the air fryer, head on over to my recipe for Air Fryer Chicken Tenders.

The key to the crispiest chicken tenders is the coating. I find that the combination of both panko crumbs and traditional breadcrumbs result in the crispiest chicken!

🥘Ingredients

Flour - all purpose
Eggs
Panko crumbs
Italian breadcrumbs
Seasonings - garlic powder, salt and pepper
Parsley
Chicken - boneless skinless tenderloins or boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into strips
Oil - high smoke point oil such as avocado, vegetable or canola

🔪Instructions

Start off by creating a breading station. This is similar to the breading station I use in my eggplant parmigiana recipe, so you should be familiar.

As a reminder you can use shallow bowls, re-sealable bags or dredging station dishes for this step.

Dredging station set up in white bowls. One holding eggs, one holding breadcrumbs and the other holding flour. All are labeled with text.

One bowl for eggs, one for seasoned crumb mixture and one for seasoned flour.

If needed, pound chicken with a mallet to make even thickness.

Coat the chicken in the flour, then in the egg and finally in the crumbs.

Heat oil in a large pan and cook in batches for 3-4 minutes per side.

Once chicken reaches 165 degrees F. Place it on a plate lined with a paper towel or towel to blot out the excess oil.

Serve immediately.

Two chicken tenders on a long white plate with broccoli next to it.

FOOD SAFETY TIP: Use clean tongs or utensils to remove the cooked chicken. Take care not to use the same tongs / utensils you handled raw chicken with.

🥗Serving suggestions

I find it difficult to not just eat it straight out of the pan, but if you decide to eat like a civilized human, you can try pairing chicken tenders with these side dishes and dipping sauces.

🍴Leftovers

It is rare to have leftovers of these family favorite chicken tenders but if I do, I reheat and re-purpose.

Chop up and serve on top of any salad
Serve over a simple pasta dish
Cube and serve on top of mac and cheese
Incorporate into a casserole
Wrap in a tortilla with buffalo sauce, BBQ sauce or preferred sauce or dressing with veggies

Cut up crispy chicken on top of a salad on a white plate. The plate is sitting on top of a marble countertop.

❓FAQ

How do I re-heat chicken tenders?

Reheat chicken tenders in the air fryer at 400 F for 4 minutes or in the oven set to 375 F for 12 minutes.

How do you get breading to stick to chicken tenders?

Be sure to coat in flour and then egg, allowing the excess to run off before coating in breadcrumbs. If you are still having an issue, once breaded, place tenders in refrigerator for 20 minutes prior to cooking and that should help the breading stick.

Printable Recipe Card

Two crispy chicken tenders on a white plate with mac and cheese next to it.

Homemade Chicken Tenders

foodyschmoody

Pan fried, hand breaded crispy homemade chicken tenders make the perfect family meal. Kids and adults will both love them.

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Total Time 25

Course dinner

Cuisine American

Servings

Calories 614 kcal

Ingredients

½ cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs beaten
1 cup panko bread crumbs
½ cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 pound chicken tenderloins
½ cup high heat oil such as vegetable, avocado, canola

Instructions

Create a breading station by placing flour in one shallow bowl, eggs in a second shallow bowl and lightly beat and the panko & breadcrumbs in a third. Season the flour with salt and pepper. To the crumb mixture add parsley, salt, pepper and garlic powder.
If the tenders are not even in sizing, use a meat mallet or rolling pin to even out thickness by giving a few whacks.
Coat the chicken in the flour, then dip in the eggs and finally coat with the crumb mixture. Set aside.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium/high heat. Once oil is hot, add coated tenders to the pan in batches. Do not overcrowd the pan. Cook approximately 3-4 minutes per side until internal temperature reaches 165 °F
Using clean tongs, remove cooked chicken from pan and place on a paper towel lined plate to help with excess oil.
Serve while hot.

Notes

Please note, the nutritional information is auto-calculated using the amounts listed for the recipe. In most cases, there will be excess crumbs, eggs and flour that are not actually used but their values have been calculated in.

If you would like a more precise measurement, you can measure the excess amounts and subtract and plug those numbers into a nutritional counter.

Nutrition

Calories: 614kcalCarbohydrates: 40gProtein: 31gFat: 36gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 17gMonounsaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 176mgSodium: 489mgPotassium: 513mgFiber: 2gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 367IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 51mgIron: 2mg

Keyword chicken strips, chicken tenders, crispy chicken, fried chicken

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