G is a kid at heart. OK, he acts like a kid most of the time. :) hehe love you sweetie! Since he rode the back of the grocery cart down to the car last night, its no surprise that he loves chicken fingers. I was originally inspired by this chicken nugget recipe from Bree, although my chicken fingers ended up to be pretty different. I then found this recipe and this recipe for baked chicken fingers- a lot more what I was looking for based on what was in my pantry. Based on some reviews from these, I came up with my own recipe. It's so easy! You can add whatever spices you like to change the flavor. What I love about these is how wholesome they are- 100% natural, organic chicken breast! Nothing sketchy a la the movie Food Inc. I used Panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) for an extra crispiness, but you could use regular breadcrumbs too. What makes these so perfectly crispy is baking them on a rack on top of a baking tray. By not letting the crumbs squish against the pan, you're maximizing the crispiness!
I served with some fab homemade mac & cheese (recipe here!). PERFECT comfort food. :) Oops...forgot the veggies...
Crispy Baked Chicken Fingers
Makes enough for 3-4 hungry adults
- 1 1/4 cups Panko (I got mine at Central Market, in the Asian foods aisle)
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- dash of ground oregano
- 1 egg, slightly beaten
- 2 chicken breasts, cut into strips
Preheat oven to 400. Line a baking pan with foil. Place a wire rack on top and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Season chicken with salt and pepper and set up your chicken assembly line.
Coat strips in egg and then Panko mixture, pressing crumbs to make sure they stick. Place on top of wire rack. (At this point, you can freeze uncooked strips to cook later- just add 5-10 minutes to cooking time)
Bake for 12-13 minutes on each side, until golden-brown. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce (mine is old-fashioned ketchup, but the bf only eats BBQ sauce).
What suggestions do you have to make these even more delicious? What spices would you add?-Marissa
Mmm I actually made this again for dinner tonight! :) Added some Italian seasoning and paprika to the panko mixture and it was EXTRA tasty!
ReplyDelete-Marissa
I have tried to bake chicken fingers before and have never been all that successful... they come out mushy. I can't wait to try these! --Sarah
ReplyDeleteThe secret is baking them on a wire rack (I use cookie cooling rack) over a baking pan- no squishy chicken! Also, the panko makes it extra crunchy! Let me know how it goes!
ReplyDelete-Marissa
Marissa, I finally made chicken fingers in the oven using the racks instead of putting them directly in the pan and I just wanted to thank you BIG TIME for that tip! It made a world of difference and turned a soggy failure into a delicious healthy dinner.
ReplyDeleteYay! So glad it worked out! :)
ReplyDeleteNice low fat way to cook them
ReplyDelete