Crispy Baked Chicken Strips {with Creamy Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce}

July 24, 2016

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Chicken Strips are one of those kid friendly recipes that even adults love. This healthier version is baked in the oven and it’s so perfectly delicious! You end with tender chicken and a perfectly crispy coating that will leave people craving more!

Three chicken strips laying in red plastic basket with a red checkered parchment paper liner. Honey mustard sauce is resting in a cup on the side.

The Best Chicken Strips!

We’ve all had the deep fried chicken strips and while they’re good I like this baked version even better! And the kids love these too!

The Recipe Testing

I tested four batches of baked chicken strips figure out all the tips and tricks to getting perfectly crispy in the oven. Here’s what I tested:

  • The first few times I tried a buttermilk soaking then proceeded to dip in eggs and cornflakes. While the flavor was good the crisp factor was lacking and the coating kept falling off the chicken while we were eating it. There wasn’t a way around not getting the excess buttermilk to soak into the cornflakes and the binding just wasn’t strong enough.
  • So I nixed the buttermilk and went with a typical dredging of flour, eggs and cornflakes. It worked far better and was a lot more convenient nixing it too which left out the 30 – 60 minute soak time.

Two servings of baked chicken strips shown here along with a side of coleslaw and corn on the cob.

More Testing…

  • Another thing I tested was to spray and not spray with olive oil spray. The olive oil spray is a must.
  • Then I tried cooking directly on the pan or on a wire cooling rack on a pan. The cooling rack worked best as it allows the hot air to circulate around the chicken (so you don’t end with a soggy bottom side).
  • I also tested with different coatings – cornflakes or Panko bread crumbs. I thought there’d be haters of the cornflake coating thinking it was so 80’s so I tested Panko. But believe it or not I liked the cornflake version better. It has more flavor, but both are good if Panko is what you have on hand.
  • I tested differences between the honey mustard sauce adding more and less mustard, honey, Greek yogurt and light mayo until I got the flavor right where I wanted.
  • I also tested with different brands of Greek yogurt because of course they definitely aren’t all created equal. Fage works best with it’s thick consistency.

Ingredients for Chicken Strips

  • Chicken breasts
  • Flour
  • Garlic powder, S&P
  • Eggs
  • Cornflakes
  • Dried parsley (optional)
  • Olive oil cooking spray
  • Plus ingredients for sauce if making

How to Make Chicken Strips in the Oven

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray cooling rack with olive oil spray, set on baking sheet.
  • In a shallow dish whisk together flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
  • In a separate shallow dish whisk together eggs.
  • To third dish add crushed cornflakes or panko, stir in parsley.
  • Working with one chicken strip at a time, dredge both sides in flour.
  • Transfer to eggs, coat both sides.
  • Transfer to cornflake press and coat on both sides.
  • Transfer to prepared cooling rack. Spray each piece lightly with olive oil cooking spray.
  • Bake in preheated until center registers 165 on thickest piece, about 15 – 20 minutes

Close up image of a chicken strip dipped in honey mustard sauce.

That Honey Mustard Sauce

Even if you aren’t a fan of honey mustard you may still love this sauce. Those that aren’t typically a fan were loving it.

But if you hate honey mustard so much that you don’t even want to try it I’d definitely recommend serving it with a sauce of some kind because most of the flavor here comes from the sauce. The chicken itself isn’t super flavorful. So you favorite bbq sauce or a light ranch would do well here.

What Should I Serve with These?

 

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5 from 1 vote

Crispy Baked Chicken Strips {with Creamy Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce}

Chicken Strips are one of those kid friendly recipes that even adults love. This healthier version is baked in the oven and it's so perfectly delicious! You end with tender chicken and a perfectly crispy coating that will leave people craving more!
Servings: 5
Prep15 minutes
Cook15 minutes
Ready in: 30 minutes

Ingredients

Chicken

Honey Mustard Sauce

Instructions

  • For the chicken: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a large oven safe cooling rack with olive oil spray and set on a large rimmed baking sheet, set aside.
  • In a shallow dish whisk together flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper. 
  • In a separate shallow dish whisk together eggs until well blended.
  • To a third separate dish add crushed cornflakes or panko, stir in parsley. 
  • Working with one chicken strip at a time, dredge both sides well in flour. Transfer to eggs coat both sides. 
  • Transfer to cornflake mixture and press into cornflakes, flip and coat opposite side while pressing well to get them to stick well. 
  • Transfer to wire cooling rack on baking sheet, repeat process with remaining chicken (leave space between each piece so it cooks even).
  • Spray each piece lightly with olive oil cooking spray. Bake in preheated until center registers 165 on thickest piece, about 15 - 20 minutes. 
  • Cool several minutes (coating will crisp it up even more as it rests a few minutes), season with more salt if needed, serve warm with Creamy Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce.
  • For the dipping sauce: Stir together all ingredients in a small mixing bowl while seasoning lightly with salt to taste. Cover and store refrigerator until ready to serve.

Notes

  1. I know this seems like a lot of garlic powder but in the end you really only use about half of the flour/garlic mixture so only about 1/2 of this is what will be in the end result, same with the salt. It just works better to be working with a little excess of the flour mixture so it's coating everything evenly and well.
  2. I liked both versions but preferred the cornflake one more. If using cornflakes crush into tiny pieces in a gallon size resealable bag using a rolling pin or your hands.
  3. I tested with other brands and the dressing wasn't as creamy or as thick. Fage brand works best here.
  4. Nutrition info is for chicken strips only.
  5. Recipe source: Cooking Classy
Nutrition Facts
Crispy Baked Chicken Strips {with Creamy Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce}
Amount Per Serving
Calories 348 Calories from Fat 54
% Daily Value*
Fat 6g9%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Cholesterol 152mg51%
Sodium 1339mg58%
Potassium 612mg17%
Carbohydrates 36g12%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 3g3%
Protein 34g68%
Vitamin A 685IU14%
Vitamin C 8.5mg10%
Calcium 22mg2%
Iron 10.4mg58%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition values are estimates only. See full disclaimer here.

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27 Comments

  • AshIsFab

    Doesn’t this look just fabulous ? I love that the sauce recipe is included! If this is anything like the honey mustard served in some restaurants, YUM! Also like that these are baked, so easy. Frying chicken is delicious but so time consuming and messy. Pinned & cant wait to try!

  • Jocelyn

    These are the crispiest baked chicken tenders I have ever made. My kids loved them! The technique is perfect. Of note, I used Corn Chex because I didn’t have Corn Flakes on hand. Thanks for a terrific recipe.

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      Glad to hear they worked well with the chex for you too! Thanks for your comment!

  • Steph

    Fage is a brand of what? Didn’t you make the make your own sauce? Recipe sounds and look delish. Thanks

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      Fage is the brand of Greek yogurt I like to use for this recipe. I hope you try it and love it!

  • K

    Jaclyn, should I spray both sides of the chicken with the olive oil before placing on the wire rack? Or just the top portion? Thanks! Looking forward to trying this!

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      I just sprayed the tops but if you can spray the bottom as well without the coating falling off that would probably be even better :). I hope you love these!

  • Patrick

    Looks great! Thanks for the notes on all the versions you tried. Will try the cornflakes next time. Cheers :)

  • Anon Emus

    How stupid are you… “most of the flavor here comes from the sauce”… wtf is the point of making and eating BLAND chicken strips?!. Shame on you and your shitty recipe.

    • Kelly

      Chicken tenders are traditionally served with sauce for a reason – they need it! And did you actually try the recipe? If not, maybe keep your insults and baseless opinions to yourself.

  • Beverley Press

    fantastic and so delicious everyone will look forward to this meal tonight, thank you xoxo

  • Susie Preston

    I have a gluten intolerance so I adapted your recipe a little. Instead of corn flakes, I used Corn Chex(crushed), which are gluten free, and instead of flour, I used corn starch. I works great, and was very tasty!

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      I’m so glad you were able to adapt it to make them gluten free! Thanks for your tips Susie!