Chicken Tenderloins Recipe

This Chicken Tenderloins Recipe takes the most lean and tender part of the chicken breast and coats it in crunchy golden crumbs for an absolutely delicious snack or meal.

This is the only thing that gets my fussy kids asking for seconds!

Sure, you can buy crumbed chicken breast tenders or strips in the frozen section at the supermarket.

But buying fresh chicken tenderloins and taking the 10-15 minutes required to crumb them yourself takes a 5/10 dish (I'm being generous) to a 10/10.

You really can't compare the two.

And if you serve your homemade Chicken Tenders with my Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce you might even score an 11/10.

What you need to make Chicken Tenderloins

First, you'll need about half a kilo of fresh chicken tenderloins.

Tenderloins are also known as chicken tenders or chicken fillets, are separated from the chicken breast during the butchering process and typically come in small, boneless portions.

They are elongated, thin strips of meat that are lean, tender, and highly versatile, with their convenient size and tenderness making them a prized cut of chicken.

Crumbing the tenderloins

Crumbing the tenderloins is a three step process, so you'll also need three bowls:

• Bowl 1: ⅔ cup plain/all purpose flour
• Bowl 2: 1 egg and ⅓ cup milk
• Bowl 3: ⅔ cup packaged breadcrumbs, ¼ teaspoon paprika, ⅛ teaspoon onion powder, ⅛ teaspoon salt.

Frying the tenderloins

You'll also need enough vegetable oil for shallow or deep frying the chicken tenders.

Making Chicken Tenderloins

Cut the chicken tenderloins in half lengthways and gently flatten each piece a little with a meat tenderiser.

Coat each piece of chicken in the flour, dip in the egg/milk mix and then coat in the breadcrumb mixture.

Shallow or deep fry in oil until golden and cooked through.

Tips for cooking and enjoying Chicken Tenders

To get perfectly cooked and golden chicken:

• heat the oil to around 175°C (350°F) before adding the chicken and adjust heat controls to maintain a consistent temperature throughout the frying process (you should see gentle and consistent bubbling around the chicken pieces at this temperature)
• don't overcrowd the pan as this can cause the temperature to drop – fry in batches instead
• place the cooked chicken tenderloins on a wire rack or a plate lined with paper towels to drain excess oil and prevent the chicken from becoming soggy
• if shallow frying, allow the chicken to cook on one side until it develops a golden brown crust before flipping over.

Serve immediately with lemon wedges and honey mustard dipping sauce.

Want more chicken recipes?

You might also like to try these tasty chicken recipes: Roast Butterfly Chicken, Chicken and Leek Pie, Apricot Chicken, Hawaiian Chicken, Marry Me Chicken, and Chicken Curry.