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These crispy, golden brown, oven baked Potato Chip Chicken Strips are a quick and easy weeknight dinner! Everyone at the table will love the flavor of the sour cream and onion potato chip crust on tender, juicy chicken breast tenders. Serve them with ranch, honey mustard, or ketchup for dipping, plus a salad or other green veggies on the side.
Table of Contents
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 potato chip chicken strips are definitely much easier! I’ll show you how to make the quick lunch or dinner at home with just a handful of very basic ingredients.
Potato Chip Crusted Chicken
Yes, that’s right — you can use chips instead of breadcrumbs to coat your oven fried chicken! In this case, we’re using finely crushed sour cream and onion flavored potato chips for an added boost of flavor. Of course, any flavor chip will work — from BBQ potato chips to plain salted potato chips. The potato chip crusted chicken tenders are super-crispy (not soggy!) on the outside, and juicy on the inside. Best of all, they only need about 20 minutes in the oven. Perfect for family-friendly weeknight dinners!
Ingredients
This is an overview of the simple ingredients that you’ll need for a pan of potato chip baked chicken. As always, specific measurements and complete cooking instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.
- All-purpose flour: for dredging the chicken; helps the egg adhere to the meat.
- Garlic powder and onion powder: to season the flour.
- Kosher salt and black pepper: enhance the other flavors in the dish.
- Eggs: coat the chicken and help the potato chips adhere to the meat.
- Worcestershire sauce: adds a savory, salty, umami flavor to the egg mixture.
- Potato chips: I use a bag of Lay’s sour cream and onion potato chips, but you can pick your favorite brand and flavor.
- Parsley flakes: for added flavor in the potato chip crust, which pairs nicely with the sour cream and onion chips.
- Chicken breast: cut into strips, or purchase chicken breast tenderloins at the store for a shortcut.
How to Make Potato Chip Chicken
My kids love these potato chip chicken strips even more than regular fried chicken because they don’t have to navigate any bones. Plus, they can eat the chicken with their hands!
- Crush the potato chips (I do this right in the bag!).
- Prepare the dredging station with the seasoned flour, egg mixture, and potato chip crust in three separate dishes.
- Season the chicken strips with salt and pepper.
- Dredge chicken in flour, dip in eggs, and coat with potato chips.
- Arrange the coated chicken strips on a baking sheet and bake in a 400°F for about 20 minutes, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. Flip the strips halfway through the baking time so that they brown evenly on both sides.
- Serve with dip, if desired. Ranch, honey mustard, or ketchup are all popular choices!
What to Serve with Potato Chip Chicken Tenders
These oven baked potato chip chicken strips pair perfectly with just about any of your favorite classic Southern sides. Here are a few easy recipes to round out the meal:
- Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits, Aunt Bee’s 3-Ingredient Buttermilk Biscuits or Drop Biscuits
- 3-Ingredient Sour Cream Muffins
- Pumpkin Bread or Pumpkin Muffins
- Charleston Red Rice
- Baked Beans
- Green Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette
- House Salad with Candied Pecans
- Creamy Baked Mac and Cheese, Crock Pot Mac and Cheese or Creamy Stovetop Mac and Cheese
- Skillet Cornbread, Honey Cornbread, Old-Fashioned Corn Sticks, or Corn Muffins
- Southern Macaroni Salad, Classic Pasta Salad or Shrimp Pasta Salad
- Coleslaw or Vinegar Coleslaw
- Southern Collard Greens
- Baked Potato Wedges, Mashed Potatoes with Sour Cream and Chives, Skin On Mashed Red Potatoes, or Easy Potato Salad
- Arkansas Green Beans with Bacon, Southern-Style Green Beans or Roasted Green Beans
- Broccoli Cauliflower Salad
- Fried Apples
- Southern Succotash
- Creamed Peas
- Refrigerator Dill Pickles
Preparation and Storage
You can prepare the potato chip mixture in advance, but I do not recommend coating the chicken until just before baking.
Leftover potato chip chicken 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 potato chip chicken, 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
- Try different potato chip flavors. Plain potato chips or BBQ potato chips are both delicious, too.
- Instead of cutting boneless, skinless chicken breast into strips, you can purchase chicken breast tenderloins. The chicken tender (pectoralis minor) is the tender muscle located underneath each of the chicken breasts. Tenderloins can be used interchangeably with the strips in this recipe.
- Cut the chicken into bite-size nuggets before coating. The potato chip chicken nuggets will require about the same amount of time in the oven.
- Cooking for a smaller family? Cut all of the ingredients in half and bake just 1 lb. of chicken strips. The rest of the cooking instructions remain the same.
Tips for the Best Potato Chip Chicken Recipe
- Shake off any extra flour and egg mixture before coating the chicken with potato chip crumbs. This will prevent the coating from becoming gummy, pasty or soggy.
- The cooking time will vary depending on the size and thickness of your chicken strips. They’re often done in just 15 minutes, while other strips may require 20-22 minutes. The meat is cooked through when it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
- Flip the chicken strips halfway through baking so that they crisp up and brown evenly on both sides.
- Serve the potato chip chicken strips with ranch, ketchup, honey mustard, or Chik-Fil-A sauce for dipping!
More Oven Fried Chicken Recipes to Try
Potato Chip Chicken Strips
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 bag (about 8 ounces) sour cream and onion potato chips, finely crushed
- 1 tablespoon parsley flakes
- 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into strips
- For serving: Ranch dip, ketchup, or honey mustard
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
- In a shallow dish, combine flour, garlic powder, onion powder, 2 teaspoons kosher salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper.
- Place eggs and Worcestershire sauce in a separate shallow dish; whisk to combine.
- Place the crushed potato chips and the parsley flakes in a third shallow dish.
- Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Working with one chicken strip at a time, dredge chicken in flour and turn to coat. Shake off any excess flour. Then dip the chicken in the eggs, shaking off any excess egg before finally coating the chicken in the crushed potato chips. Use your fingers to press the chips into the chicken, if necessary, to make sure that each piece is completely coated.
- Arrange the chicken strips in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake, flipping halfway through, until the chicken is golden brown and reaches an internal temperature of 165°F, about 20 minutes.
Notes
- Shake off any extra flour and egg mixture before coating the chicken with potato chip crumbs. This will prevent the coating from becoming gummy, pasty or soggy.
- The cooking time will vary depending on the size and thickness of your chicken strips. They’re often done in just 15 minutes, while other strips may require 20-22 minutes. The meat is cooked through when it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
- Flip the chicken strips halfway through baking so that they crisp up and brown evenly on both sides.
- Serve the potato chip chicken strips with ranch, ketchup, honey mustard, or Chik-Fil-A sauce for dipping!
Love these! Will definitely be making them again.
Yay! I’m so glad that you enjoyed them, Jill. Thanks for leaving a note! 🙂
Could you use a packet of sour cream and onion chip dip mix for that taste of sour cream and onion flavor? Also do you have any thing for using Cheez It Crackers coating chicken recipe? Because Cheez It crackers use in a meatloaf recipe makes a cheesy flavor meatloaf.
Hi, George! Yes, you could probably use that seasoning packet for great flavor! I don’t have a recipe with Cheez Its, but my kids LOVE these Goldfish-crusted chicken nuggets. You could substitute Cheez Its for the cheddar Goldfish: https://www.theseasonedmom.com/goldfish-cracker-crusted-chicken-nuggets-honey-mustard-dipping-sauce/