Parmesan Ranch Chicken Tenders Recipe

Crispy and flavorful, these 5-ingredient Parmesan ranch chicken tenders are an easy, family-friendly dinner! Just coat the strips in melted butter, seasoned Corn Flakes, and grated Parmesan cheese, and then pop them in the oven for about 15 minutes. Served with fries, pickles, a side salad, and your kids’ favorite dipping sauces, the baked chicken tenders make a quick and delicious weeknight meal!

Crispy Chicken Tenders Recipe

Odds are good that my kids will order chicken fingers whenever we go out to a restaurant. While I sometimes fry chicken tenders or chicken nuggets at home for a special treat, these oven baked chicken tenders are definitely much easier and healthier (and they’re actually kid-approved)! Trust me: everyone will love this dinner! Plus, with only 5 ingredients, it’s simple and fast to prepare. You can never have too many easy chicken recipes!

What is the difference between chicken breast and breast tenders? And chicken strips?

Chicken strips are slices of the whole chicken breast. The chicken tender (pectoralis minor) is the tender muscle located underneath each of the chicken breasts. For this baked chicken tenders recipe, I always purchase a package of boneless, skinless “chicken tenderloins” in the meat section at the grocery store. You can use chicken strips if that’s what you have available, but they just require the extra step of slicing the boneless skinless chicken breasts.

Ingredients for this Easy Chicken Tenders Recipe

This is just a quick overview of the ingredients that you’ll need for a batch of baked chicken tenders. As always, specific measurements and step-by-step cooking instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.

• Corn Flakes cereal crumbs: for extra flavor and a crispy exterior.
• Ranch seasoning mix or homemade ranch seasoning: the herbs and spices season the breading.
• Parmesan cheese: adds salty flavor to the meat, and helps the outside of the chicken get crispy and brown.
• Salted butter: adds flavor to the chicken, keeps it juicy, and helps the breading adhere to the meat.
• Boneless skinless chicken tenderloins: or substitute with boneless skinless chicken breasts that you cut into strips.

How to Make Chicken Tenders in Oven

Baked instead of fried, these homemade chicken tenders are crispy on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside, and so incredibly flavorful! They have all of the texture and taste that you crave from classic fried chicken tenders — but without an oily mess on the stovetop and without too much prep. There’s no need to whisk together eggs and buttermilk, no need to dredge in flour, and no need to whisk together a fancy or complicated breadcrumb mixture. The oven baked breaded chicken tenders are quick, easy, and incredibly family-friendly!

1. Combine Corn Flakes, Ranch seasoning, and Parmesan in a shallow dish. Place the melted butter in a separate dish.
2. Pat the chicken dry.
3. Dip each tenderloin in the melted butter, and then dredge into the crumb coating.
4. Arrange the breaded chicken tenders on a large rimmed baking sheet in a single layer. Spritz with olive oil spray or nonstick cooking spray (this helps them brown).
5. Bake the chicken tenders in a 375°F oven for 14-15 minutes, flipping halfway through. The chicken should be crispy and golden brown on the outside, the juices should run clear, and the meat should reach an internal temperature of 165°F.

What to Make with Chicken Tenders

Pair the crispy chicken tenders with any of these easy sides:

• Hush Puppies
• Coleslaw or Vinegar Coleslaw
• Refrigerator Dill Pickles or Creamy Cucumber Dill Salad
• Hoe Cakes
• Baked Potato Wedges, French fries, or Baked Potatoes
• Sweet Cornbread, Blueberry Corn Muffins, Skillet Cornbread, Bakery-Style Corn Muffins, Honey Cornbread, Old-Fashioned Corn Sticks, Sweet Cornbread Muffins, or Jiffy Cornbread with Creamed Corn
• Creamy Baked Mac and Cheese, Crock Pot Mac and Cheese, Stovetop Shells and Cheese, or No-Boil Easy Mac and Cheese
• Southern Buttermilk Biscuits, Flaky Biscuits, 3-Ingredient Buttermilk Biscuits, Sweet Potato Biscuits, Cheese Biscuits, Easy Drop Biscuits
• Pumpkin Bread or Pumpkin Muffins
• 3-Ingredient Sour Cream Muffins
• Honey Beer Bread
• Wedge Salad, Greens with Dijon Vinaigrette, Classic Caesar Salad, House Salad with Candied Pecans, or a Green Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette
• Easy Potato Salad
• Arkansas Green Beans with Bacon or Southern-Style Green Beans
• Broccoli Cauliflower Salad
• Fried Apples, Applesauce, or Baked Apple Slices
• Southern Succotash
• Southern Collard Greens
• Fried Okra
• Broccoli and Cheese
• Easy Pasta Salad
• Homemade Baked Beans with Bacon
• Charleston Red Rice
• Okra and Tomatoes
• Southern Squash Casserole, Sauteed Zucchini, or Garlic Parmesan Zucchini Casserole
• Cheese Grits
• Fried Cabbage with Apples and Onion, Braised Red Cabbage, or Roasted Cabbage

Storage

You can prepare the breading mixture in advance, but I do not recommend breading the chicken until just before baking.

Leftover oven baked chicken tenders will keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 3-4 days, or in the freezer for 2-3 months. This chicken is best when served immediately, however, since it does not stay as crispy once it’s chilled.

To reheat leftover chicken fingers, preheat the oven to 400°F. Meanwhile, place the chicken on a wire rack over a baking sheet and allow the chicken to come to room temperature for about 20 minutes (this ensures that it reheats evenly). Next, reheat the chicken until it feels hot and very crispy, about 5-10 minutes.

Recipe Variations

• Instead of a packet of ranch seasoning, try other herbs, spices, and seasonings of your choice. Garlic powder, onion powder, parsley, thyme, rosemary, chives, basil, paprika, cayenne pepper, oregano, kosher salt, and ground black pepper are all good options.
• Swap out the Corn Flakes crumbs and use panko breadcrumbs or crushed Ritz crackers. I find that Corn Flakes yield the crispiest exterior, though.
• Cooking just for two? Cut all of the ingredients in half and bake just 1 lb. of chicken tenderloins. The rest of the cooking instructions remain the same.

Tips for the Best Chicken Tenders Recipe

• The Corn Flakes make these tenders extra crispy and flavorful, so don’t try to substitute with plain bread crumbs.
• Spritz the breaded chicken tenders with oil or nonstick spray. This is optional, but it helps them get even browner and crispier in the oven.
• I like to use chicken tenderloins because it cuts down on prep work. That said, you can certainly use regular boneless, skinless chicken breast and cut it into strips at home.
• Serve the homemade chicken fingers with ketchup, honey mustard, or Chik-Fil-A sauce for dipping!

More Chicken Tenderloin Recipes to Try

• Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Tenders
• Potato Chip Chicken Strips
• Fried Chicken Tenders
• Chicken and Waffles
• Goldfish Chicken Nuggets
• Ritzy Baked Chicken Tenders

This recipe was originally published in September, 2014. The photos were updated in August, 2022.