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baked

Baked Life Chicken

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This baked chicken coated with Life cereal is a sweet and salty favorite that can be made in less than 30 minutes!

This baked chicken coated with Life cereal is a sweet and salty favorite that can be made in less than 30 minutes!

I have no idea what gave me the idea to do this, but somewhere in my ventures of fried food alternatives I stumbled upon crispy gold.  I smashed up Life cereal to use as the crust for crispy baked chicken! I’ve made it consistently for the past several years and it’s seemed to be pretty well liked.  Quick and easy, it’s a good change up……….and guess what leftovers mean!? Chicken and biscuits!!…..”or waffles” – Wifey.

This baked chicken coated with Life cereal is a sweet and salty favorite that can be made in less than 30 minutes!

This is a great fall recipe because it pairs well with so many comfort sides like seasoned greens, zesty macaroni, or maple bourbon glazed carrots.  Giving off the sweet and salty vibe, it’s easy to counter and/or compliment. 

Baked Life Chicken

This baked chicken coated with Life cereal is a sweet and salty favorite that can be made in less than 30 minutes!
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 3 chicken breasts
  • 2 cups of Life cereal
  • 1 cup of flour
  • 1 egg
  • salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 425.
  2. Wash chicken and pat dry. Slice the breasts in half, long ways as if you were butterflying them.
  3. On one plate, pour flour and salt to taste. I use about 2 tsp per cup. The importance of the salt is to help establish the salty part of "sweet and salty". Seasoning salt is an option as well but, if you opt out of using salt completely, you run a high risk of some pretty bland chicken.
  4. Beat the egg in a bowl and salt and pepper to taste.
  5. In a food processor, blend down the cereal to the consistency of course bread crumbs. Pour the cereal onto a plate.
  6. Dredge, dip, roll. Dredge the chicken in the flour, dip in the egg, and roll in the cereal.
  7. Place the coated breasts on a roasting rack and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until internal temp is 165. You can use a sheet pan or any other preferred pan, but utilizing a roasting rack in a convectional oven helps prevent that soggy bottom and removes the need to rotate (in attempt to prevent the soggy side from staying/sticking). Pssssst! This is very similar to the air-frying method that circulates air more rapidly.
  8. Optional: add some sea salt immediately after removing from oven.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 164Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 82mgSodium: 127mgCarbohydrates: 11gFiber: 1gSugar: 3gProtein: 21g
© Cody
Category: Chicken

Crispy Baked Chicken Tenders

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These easy, three ingredient, baked chicken tenders may have you ditching the fryer.

These easy, three ingredient, baked chicken tenders may have you ditching the fryer.

So, one of my best friends is like, the dude of dudes.  You know, 85% of my diet is meat and the rest is stuff that I love (like chips or snacks) or am tricked into eating (like fruits and veggies) type guy.  Avid hunter, backcountry adventurer, photographer, Mr. DIY, and household handy man; he’s deeply rooted in his own personal beliefs without being a tool about it.  He used to regularly scarf down bags of Snyder’s Pretzels or Fritos Honey BBQ twists and down whatever beer we had at the time, but he apparently never threw them on the roof of his dad’s business; which is it’s own story 😎. That was all before he was diagnosed with celiac disease (an immune reaction to eating gluten).  For a whole bunch of tasty gluten free recipes, check out Maebell’s.

Now, obviously I’m not kicking my boy to the curb for his inability to consume beer and bread like the good ol’ days.  Not a chance!! I’m trying to keep the good times rolling!  So, I have made several GF ventures in the kitchen and if/when the opportunity presents itself, we can still grill and chill. This one, I think, was a success.

Ingredients for Crispy Baked Chicken Tenders

You only need three simple ingredients to make these tasty Baked Chicken Tenders.  Make sure to check to chip bag to ensure it is labeled “gluten free”.  For this delicious recipe, you will need:

  • Chicken Tenders
  • Beaten eggs
  • Your choice of Kettle Cooked Potato Chips
These easy, three ingredient, baked chicken tenders may have you ditching the fryer.

Use any flavor chips you’d like! Pictured are Voodoo, Farmland Ranch, and Dijon Mustard.

How Long to Bake Chicken Tenders?

You want to bake the tenders for approximately 20 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Flip the tenders after about 15 minutes or so to prevent sticking and/or soggy bottoms.

Tips for the Best Oven Baked Chicken Tenders

There are plenty of baked chicken tender recipes out there and many of them, to me, taste……well…..baked!! In the search for crispy, flavorful oven baked chicken tenders, I’ve found a few key tips that seem really improve the end result.

Use Kettle Cooked Chips – There is a reason a specify “kettle cooked” chips in the ingredients list.  That is because of their notorious crunch.  They are distinguishably more firm than regular potato chips and are key to reaching the desired crispiness. 

Cook the Tenders Until Crispy – When you grind the chips down, they will become rather “greasy”.  As they cook, some of the oil will seep out and become visible before drying into their tasty crispiness.  It is a noticeable change so maintain a watchful eye. 

Rotate the Tenders – Once you notice that the top side of the tenders become crispy, flip them and allow the same thing to happen to the bottom side.  This will happen in less than half of the time as the top side.

These easy, three ingredient, baked chicken tenders may have you ditching the fryer.

Serve solo or complimentary to another meat, like steak or pork loin.

Other Chicken Recipes

Buffalo Chicken Mac

Mediterranean Chicken Sandwich

Easy Bacon Wrapped Chicken Breast

Crispy Baked Chicken Tenders

These easy, three ingredient, baked chicken tenders may have you ditching the fryer.

Ingredients

  • 1 package chicken tenders (approx. 1.5 lbs)
  • 1 bag of Kettle Cooked Potato chips
  • 2-3 beaten eggs

Instructions

  1. Wash your chicken tenders and pat them dry.
  2. In a bowl, beat 2-3 eggs depending on size.  We typically have extra large or jumbo in the fridge. 
  3. In a blender/food processor, grind down the chips to a consistency that’s comparable to Panko bread-crumbs.  If you don't have a blender/food processor, put the chips in a sealed bag, place that bag inside another sealed bag ensuring that all air is pressed out. Then, go to town with a mallet or hardcover book! Both work, just trust me. It’s okay if you have some random larger pieces, but not big enough where you’ll catch a sideways crunchy kettle chip to the roof of your mouth when you bite into it…..ouch!!!
  4. Place this new ground breading on a plate (paper plate works fine).
  5. Now, your prep station should look like this; from left to right: chicken, egg, ground chips, cookie sheet. If you’re a lefty or prefer the opposite direction, just flip the set up but you should get the idea.
  6. Dip the chicken tenders into the eggs, roll in the ground chips until evenly coated, and place on the cookie sheet.
  7. Place in the oven at 400 for approximately twenty minutes or until done (165), rotating it at about 3/4 of
    the way through (15 min)

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 2 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 312Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 288mgSodium: 402mgCarbohydrates: 19gFiber: 1gSugar: 0gProtein: 15g
© Cody