Chicken Tenders

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These easy Chicken Tenders are oven baked with a crisp panko coating and tender chicken inside, perfect for busy lunches, dinners, or meal prep.

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Total Time45

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Total Cost: $7.03 recipe / $1.76 serving

Servings: servings (2 tenders each)

Calories: 307kcal

Author: Jess Rice

Equipment

Mixing bowl
Baking Sheet
Parchment Paper

Ingredients

1 lb. chicken tenders $5.66*
⅓ cup plain Greek yogurt $0.33**
¼ tsp salt $0.01
3 Tbsp water $0.00
1¾ cups panko breadcrumbs $0.82***
½ tsp onion powder $0.03
½ tsp garlic powder $0.03
¼ tsp salt $0.01
⅛ tsp black pepper freshly cracked, $0.02
2 Tbsp neutral oil $0.12****

Instructions

Gather ingredients. Preheat oven to 400℉.
Add the chicken, Greek yogurt, salt, and water to a bowl.
Mix to combine. Cover the marinating chicken and refrigerate.
In a medium-size mixing bowl, mix together panko, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and neutral oil.
Spread the panko out on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Toast them for 2-5 minutes in the oven until golden brown. It’s ok if the panko varies in color, toasting them before breading helps make these chicken tenders extra crispy, but they will continue to brown on the chicken during the baking process. Set a timer for 2 minutes to start with and check them! The panko can burn fast!
Transfer the toasted panko back to the mixing bowl you used to add the seasonings. One at a time, using your hands or tongs, toss the marinated chicken tenders in the toasted panko mixture, pressing it into the panko to make sure they are thoroughly covered on both sides.
Transfer each breaded chicken tender to a parchment-lined baking sheet. (You can use the same parchment and baking sheet you toasted the panko crumbs on.)
Bake the chicken tenders in the oven for 30 minutes, flipping them halfway through. Make sure they reach the minimum internal temperature of 165℉.

See how we calculate recipe costs here.

Notes

*The package of chicken tenders I bought at Walmart was $4.92/lb. My package was just over 1 lb, with 9 big tenders. This recipe will typically yield 8-9 tenders, depending on how many are in your package.

**If you don’t have plain Greek yogurt, feel free to use regular plain yogurt! I’d use less water and add only enough to thin it so it easily coats the chicken. See my step-by-step photos below for the consistency you’re looking for.

***I prefer panko because the crumbs are larger and lighter than regular breadcrumbs, so they bake up crispier. Regular breadcrumbs will work, but the coating will be finer and less crunchy.

****Neutral oil just means an oil with a mild flavor so it won’t compete with the seasoning in the panko. Canola, vegetable, grapeseed, or refined avocado oil are all good options here. I’d use whichever one you already have or whichever fits your grocery budget best.

Try the air fryer: Using our air fryer chicken tenders as a guide, cook them at 400°F for about 13 minutes, flipping halfway through, until the thickest piece reaches 165°F. Cook in batches so they don’t overlap.

These chicken tenders contain gluten from the panko and dairy from the Greek yogurt. For a gluten-free version, use gluten-free panko or breadcrumbs. To make them dairy-free, use a plain dairy-free yogurt instead. Since dairy-free yogurts can vary quite a bit in thickness, add the water gradually and stop once the yogurt is loose enough to coat the chicken.

Nutrition