These Baked Crispy Cornflake Chicken Tenders are the perfect weeknight (or weekday) meal. They just need a handful of minutes to be prepared and are all cooked in one go.The chicken is coated in seasoned crushed cornflakes and baked to crispy perfection. Cooking them in the oven makes them lighter and healthier than their deep fried counter part, but they are just as delicious. It’s so easy! Plus, it’s a great way to use up leftover cornflakes if you make my Crunchy No-Bake Cornflakes and Nut Butter Bars.
Why Make These Baked Crispy Cornflake Chicken Tenders
I’d say chicken is the protein we have the most at home due to its versatility, but as I have mentioned in the past, we try to cook it in different ways because just grilled on a pan every time can be so boring and one ends up detesting chicken.
- This Baked Crispy Cornflake Chicken Tenders recipe is perfect for a change.
A little over a year ago, I also shared these on Instagram as part of the “back to school and work” series, because:
- It’s perfect to make ahead for a packed lunch. It won’t be as crunchy on the next day but the flavour will be as good!
- If you want to enjoy it straight away, it’s also very quick to put together (and on top of that, while the chicken is in the oven, we can use that time to do other things).
I have to say that I love deep fried food (as long as it’s well fried and not oily), but eating deep-fried stuff every day is not the best choice, thus:
- This oven-fried cornflake chicken is lighter and healthier, so we can enjoy it more often than if it was fried.
- Ah! And it is also gluten-free since corn doesn’t contain gluten (check that the cornflakes package ingredients and look for a gluten free mark since, for example, Kellogg’s cornflakes contain barley malt that doesn’t make them suitable for celiacs or gluten intolerants).
Baked Crispy Cornflake Chicken Tenders Ingredients
This is another one of those recipes with very affordable ingredients that you probably have at home already. Moreover, it’s adaptable to your taste and what you have on hand. You can change the spices and herbs or if you don’t have lemon for instance, you can omit it and it will also be delicious. Some notes:
- Chicken: I usually use the chicken tenders but chicken breast cut into strips would also work. The tenders as can be deducted from the name already XD give a more tender result and they are ready as they are, no need of cutting them into smaller pieces – when I buy chicken breasts at the poulterer’s I ask them to separate the tenders from the breast and that’s it, tender pieces ready :).
- Yoghurt: at home we usually only have Greek yoghurt, that’s why I also call for milk in the recipe, to make the marinade a little runnier. If you have classic plain yoghurt, then you don’t need the milk.
- Lemon juice: it provides tang and freshness, plus helps make the chicken even more tender with its acidity.
- Herbs and spices: you can use the ones you like the most or what you have readily available at home. If you want an Indian touch, use curry, for a more Middle Eastern touch use cumin, sumac, za’atar… For today’s recipe I have opted for very Mediterranean-Spanish-Italian flavours with a spicy touch.
- Sal: a must, as always.
- Olive oil: to drizzle over the chicken before baking it, needed for crispiness.
Tips and Tricks for a Crispy Chicken
We could say that these oven-fried cornflake chicken tenders are a healthy chicken recipe (although for me deep-fried from time to time is fine, cause it’s to die for and if having a balanced diet we shouldn’t be demonising some food or cooking techniques as I see it). Anyways, as this recipe calls for “oven-fried”, we need to take into account a couple of things so that the chicken is indeed crispy at the end:
- To ensure the coating crisps up properly, do not overlap the chicken pieces on the pan. If necessary, bake in batches or use multiple trays. If you using multiple trays, the chicken on the tray in a lower rack may be less crispy or vice versa (depending on the oven). If this is the case, leave the one you see less toasted in the oven for a few more minutes.
- It’s important to drizzle a bit of oil over the chicken before putting it in the oven, but be careful not to go overboard because an excess of oil would have the opposite effect. If you have spray oil, this works great for covering the chicken just enough. Alternatively you can brush the fillets with oil or carefully drizzle it (which is what I usually do to avoid using more things that I then have to wash :P).
More Quick and Delicious Chicken Recipes
If you make this Baked Crispy Cornflake Chicken Tenders recipe, be sure to leave a comment and rate it. Hearing from you is everything! Oh, and don’t forget to tag me on Instagram, I absolutely love seeing your creations. Happy cooking!
Baked Crispy Cornflake Chicken Tenders
Ingredients
- 16 chicken tenders - or 4-5 chicken breasts cut into strips
- 150 g thick greek yoghurt
- 2 Tbsp milk
- Juice of half a lemon
- 150 g cornflakes - finely crushed
- 1 Tbsp dried parsley
- 1 Tbsp dried basil
- 1 Tbsp dried oregano
- 1.5 tsp garlic powder
- 1.5 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper - optional
- Salt
- Black Pepper
- Olive Oil
- Tomato sauce or marinara sauce - flaky sea salt and chopped chives to serve
Instructions
- Place the chicken in a bowl and season it with salt and pepper. Mix in the yoghurt, milk and lemon juice. Cover the bowl and let marinate ideally for at least 30min or overnight (if you are in a hurry you can omit this step).
- Preheat the oven to 220ºC.
- In a shallow plate or tray, mix the cornflake crumbs, herbs and spices with a pinch of salt.
- Remove each piece of chicken from the marinade, and dredge it in the cornflake mixture. Press gently so it adheres well and transfer to a baking tray (see notes).
- Drizzle with olive oil (see notes) and bake for 15 min. The coating should be golden and the chicken cooked through.
- Serve with tomato sauce or marinara sauce and enjoy!
Notes
- Do not overlap the chicken pieces on the baking pan. If necessary, bake in batches or use multiple trays. If you using multiple trays, the chicken on the tray in a lower rack may be less crispy or vice versa (depending on the oven). If this is the case, leave the one you see less toasted in the oven for a few more minutes.
- Be careful not to go overboard because an excess of oil would make for a soft coating (the opposite effect). If you have spray oil, this works great for covering the chicken just enough. Alternatively you can brush the fillets with oil or carefully drizzle it (which is what I usually do to avoid using more things that I then have to wash).