These crispy, homemade chicken tenders seasoned with cajun seasoning, coated with breading made from crushed rice cereal, and shallow fried to a beautiful golden brown. Served with a homemade honey dijon dipping sauce, these are sure to become a go-to easy dinner!
I may be thirty… something… years old, but one of my guilty pleasures is getting a big ol’ plate of crispy chicken tenders every now and then when we go out. It’s one of my favorite cheat meals and is some of the best comfort food. And I’m mildly obsessed with crispy, crunchy food. These homemade chicken tenders REALLY hit the spot.
What do I need for homemade chicken tenders?
This particular recipe is super simple. It doesn’t require much! You’ll need:
- 2 lbs of boneless skinless chicken tenders. You can cut your own from chicken breasts if you like. Either way works just as well. (sometimes the already cut tenders are more expensive though).
- 3 cups crispy rice cereal. Blend up pretty well in a food processor. I love my Ninja Food Processor (affiliate link). I use it for EVERYTHING.
- 2 eggs. For sticking the bread crumbs to the chicken
- Tony Chachere’s Bold Seasoning or whatever spices you prefer. But for me, Tony’s is unbeatable!
- Oil, for frying. Canola or vegetable are great options.
Wait, no flour?
NOPE! I’ve always used flour or other similar things for frying, but one day my husband said to me, “hey have you every tried rice krispies for frying?”
And here we are.
Using crispy rice cereal is going to give you insanely crispy chicken tenders that you just can’t get from flour. I seriously think I’m going to start using this instead of flour for everything I fry. It’s so good!
Easy Steps to Follow:
Putting together your homemade chicken tenders is extremely easy! Just follow a few easy steps and you’ll be digging in to your homemade chicken tenders in no time.
- Season generously. I lay out this chicken tenders and sprinkle both sides with PLENTY of seasoning.
- Dip in whisked egg. Just whisk your eggs in a large bowl and toss in the tenders.
- Dredge in crushed rice krispies. Make sure they are completely coated.
- Shallow fry your tenders in hot oil (375F). You don’t need more than about ½ inch of hot oil. Cast iron pans work great for this. All you need is about 2-3 minutes per side.
- Give them a little sprinkle of salt right when they come out of the grease for that extra touch of seasoning. Blot off the extra oil with a paper towel.
Tip: Make sure you don’t overcrowd the pan. You’ll have to do these in a few batches. Keep them warm by putting them on a plate and covering them with aluminum foil.
How do you make the honey dijon for dipping?
You can certainly dip your homemade chicken tenders in whatever you like: BBQ sauce, ranch, ketchup, honey mustard… but this honey dijon sauce makes a PERFECT companion AND it takes about 15 seconds to make.
It’s simple. Mix dijon mustard (Grey Poupon is perfect for this) and honey with a 2:1 mustard to honey ratio. Taste and adjust as you like. I like mine to have a little more bite, but it’s the easiest thing ever to adjust.
And that’s pretty much it! No big secrets, nothing fancy. Just super yummy, crunchy, homemade chicken tenders that everyone in your family is going to LOVE!
Enjoy!
Be sure to check out these other crispy crunchy favorites!
- Crispy Pork Egg Rolls
- Panko Crusted Fried Zucchini
- Crispy Cajun Fried Onion Strings
- Crispy Chicken Parmesan
Crispy Homemade Chicken Tenders
Ingredients
For the Chicken Tenders
- 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken tenders or chicken breasts cut into tenders
- 3 cups rice cereal crushed in food processor
- 2 eggs, whisked
- 1 tbsp Tony Chachere's creole seasoning
- Oil, for shallow frying
For the Honey Dijon
- 2 tbsp Dijon Mustard I used Grey Poupon
- 1 tbsp Honey
Instructions
For the Chicken
- Heat oil in large cast iron to 375°F
- While the oil is heating, blend Rice cereal in a food processor. A combination of course and fine is great.
- Using a meat tenderizer, gently tenderize the chicken by lightly hammering with the spiky side.
- Sprinkle Tony's on chicken tenders (both sides). Dip in whisked egg and coat in rice cereal. Repeat for all tenders.
- Place about 5 tenders in the hot oil. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Flip and fry for another 2-3 minutes.
- Remove from oil and place on paper towels to soak up excess oil.
- Dip in your favorite dipping sauce and enjoy!
For the Honey Dijon
- Start with 2 parts dijon and one part honey. Mix well. Taste and adjust to your liking.
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