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Crispy and flavorful, these pretzel crusted chicken strips are an easy, family-friendly dinner that’s ready in about 30 minutes! Serve the baked chicken tenders with a side of honey mustard sauce for dipping, along with fries, cornbread, pickles, coleslaw, or a side salad.
Table of Contents
- Pretzel Crusted Chicken
- Ingredients for Pretzel Crusted Chicken with Honey Mustard Sauce
- How to Make Pretzel Crusted Chicken Tenders
- Serving Suggestions
- Preparation and Storage Tips
- Recipe Variations
- Tips for the Best Baked Pretzel Crusted Chicken Recipe
- More Chicken Tender Recipes
- Pretzel Crusted Chicken Tenders with Honey Mustard Sauce Recipe
Breaded, oven-fried chicken makes a regular appearance on our dinner table. It’s one of those great meals that’s relatively healthy, comes together easily, and makes all of the kids happy. From parmesan ranch chicken tenders to potato chip chicken strips, Goldfish baked chicken nuggets, oven-fried chicken breast, and the latest — pretzel crusted chicken with honey mustard sauce — we love them all!
Pretzel Crusted Chicken
Yes, that’s right — you can use pretzels to coat your oven fried chicken! In this case, we’re using finely crushed pretzels in addition to Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs for an added boost of flavor and texture. The pretzel crusted chicken tenders are super-crispy (not soggy!) on the outside, and juicy on the inside. Best of all, they only need about 15 minutes in the oven. Perfect for family-friendly weeknight dinners!
The Difference Between Chicken 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. So while these terms technically refer to two different cuts of chicken, they are often used interchangeably.
For this recipe, you can either slice whole chicken breasts into strips, or you can purchase a package of boneless, skinless “chicken tenderloins” in the meat section at the grocery store for a shortcut. Whether you call them pretzel crusted chicken tenders or pretzel crusted chicken strips, the process is the same — and the taste is always delicious!
Ingredients for Pretzel Crusted Chicken with Honey Mustard Sauce
This is just a quick overview of the ingredients that you’ll need for a pan of pretzel crusted 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.
- Boneless skinless chicken breast: cut into strips.
- Cornstarch: the key “secret” ingredient! This helps the breading adhere to the chicken, and also absorbs moisture to create an extra-crispy crust. No soggy chicken tenders allowed!
- Pretzels: I use pretzel snaps or mini pretzels for this recipe, but just about any variety of pretzel in your pantry should work fine.
- Italian style bread crumbs: the fine breadcrumbs coat the chicken nicely (although panko breadcrumbs will probably work fine, too). I like the “Italian” style breadcrumbs because they include seasoning like parsley, garlic, and onion powder for a little bit of a flavor boost in the pretzel crust.
- Sugar: just a hint of sweetness in the breading is a nice balance for the salty, savory ingredients.
- Paprika, onion powder, and salt: extra seasoning that adds even more flavor to the dish.
- Vegetable oil: use a neutral oil with a high smoke point (such as canola oil, vegetable oil, or avocado oil) to mix into the breading, so that the outside of the chicken becomes crispy and golden brown in the oven.
- Egg: helps the breading adhere to the meat.
- Mayonnaise, honey, yellow mustard, apple cider vinegar: come together to make the easy honey mustard sauce that pairs so nicely with the chicken tenders. This is obviously optional, but highly recommended!
How to Make Pretzel Crusted Chicken Tenders
My kids love these pretzel crusted chicken strips even more than regular fried chicken because they don’t have to navigate any bones. Plus, they can eat their dinner with their hands!
- Coat the chicken in cornstarch.
- Combine the pretzel crumbs, breadcrumbs, seasoning, and oil in one shallow bowl. Place the egg in another dish.
- Dip the chicken strips in the egg mixture, and then dredge in the pretzel coating.
- Bake the pretzel crusted chicken on a foil lined rimmed baking sheet for 15-20 minutes.
- Whisk together the honey mustard sauce.
- Serve the chicken strips with the honey mustard sauce for dipping.
Serving Suggestions
Pair the pretzel crusted chicken with honey mustard sauce and any of these easy sides:
- Coleslaw or Vinegar Coleslaw
- Baked Potato Wedges, Crispy Parmesan Potatoes, or Old Bay Roasted Potatoes
- Sour Cream Cornbread, Southern Cornbread, Skillet Cornbread, Bakery-Style Corn Muffins, Sweet Cornbread, Cornbread with Cake Mix, Pumpkin Cornbread, Old-Fashioned Corn Sticks, or Jiffy Cornbread with Creamed Corn
- Creamy Baked Mac and Cheese, Duke’s Mac and Cheese, Crock Pot Mac and Cheese, Stovetop Shells and Cheese, or No-Boil Easy Mac and Cheese
- Cathead Biscuits, 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, Southern Caesar Salad, Classic Caesar Salad, House Salad with Candied Pecans, Mixed Greens with Dijon Vinaigrette, 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 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
- Cheese Grits
- Fried Cabbage with Apples and Onion, Braised Red Cabbage, or Roasted Cabbage
Preparation and Storage Tips
- You can prepare the pretzel mixture in advance, but I do not recommend coating the chicken until just before baking.
- Leftover pretzel crusted 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 leftovers, preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the strips on a baking sheet and warm just until heated through. Be aware that reheating the cooked chicken may dry out the meat, so it’s best when served fresh.
Recipe Variations
- Instead of cutting boneless, skinless chicken breast into strips, you can purchase chicken breast tenderloins. Tenderloins can be used interchangeably with the strips in this recipe.
- If you don’t have Italian-style breadcrumbs, you can use regular breadcrumbs. The Italian-style breadcrumbs include seasonings like oregano, basil, and parsley, so you’ll want to add some extra seasoning to your plain breadcrumbs to replace that missing flavor. Other good options include seasoned salt, cayenne, paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder.
- Pretzel crusted chicken breast: instead of chicken strips, keep your chicken breasts whole. Just pound them flat into ½-inch thick cutlets so that they cook evenly and quickly. The rest of the baking instructions remain the same.
- Snyders honey mustard pretzel chicken: use these honey mustard flavored pretzels to coat your chicken. They will pack a very flavorful punch!
- Pretzel crusted chicken nuggets: cut the chicken breast or chicken tenderloins into 2-inch pieces. The rest of the instructions and the baking time remain the same.
- Double all of the ingredients to feed a larger family. I always prepare 2 lbs. of chicken strips for our family of 5, since my boys love this meal!
Tips for the Best Baked Pretzel Crusted Chicken Recipe
- The honey mustard dipping sauce pairs really nicely with the pretzel crusted chicken. That said, you can obviously swap out the sauce and use a different dip, such as ketchup, bbq sauce, ranch, Chik-Fil-A sauce, or Polynesian sauce.
- Turn it into hot honey mustard sauce by adding cayenne pepper.
- I use small pretzel snaps or mini pretzels for this recipe.
- The pretzels make these tenders extra crunchy and flavorful, so don’t try to substitute with additional breadcrumbs.
- The oil in the breading is a key to this extra crispy oven fried chicken, since the fat helps the breading turn brown and crunchy in the oven. Don’t skip the oil, or the end result won’t be nearly as good.
- You don’t need to flip the tenders on the sheet pan while they’re in the oven. Both sides get nice and crispy (not soggy), thanks to that cornstarch coating.
More Chicken Tender Recipes
Parmesan Ranch Chicken Tenders Recipe
30 minutes mins
Fried Chicken Tenders
35 minutes mins
Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Tenders
30 minutes mins
Pretzel Crusted Chicken Tenders with Honey Mustard Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips (or use chicken tenderloins)
- 4 teaspoons cornstarch
- ½ cup crushed pretzels (start with about 1 cup whole pretzels measured before crushing)
- ½ cup Italian style bread crumbs
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus extra for seasoning the meat
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 egg
Honey Mustard Sauce
- ½ cup mayonnaise (I like Duke's brand mayo)
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Pat the chicken dry; season with salt. Sprinkle the cornstarch over all sides of the chicken and pat to coat evenly.
- In a large, shallow dish, combine pretzels, breadcrumbs, sugar, paprika, onion powder, and salt. Drizzle with oil and mash with a fork until the oil is thoroughly incorporated. Lightly beat the eggs with a fork in another shallow dish.
- Dip the chicken into the egg, then press into the breading mixture until evenly coated on both sides. (Discard leftover mixture.) Place the chicken on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake until the chicken is golden brown and the meat reaches an internal temperature of 165°F, about 15-20 minutes.
Honey Mustard Sauce
- Combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl. Whisk until smooth. Taste and season with extra salt, if desired. Serve honey mustard with chicken strips. Store leftover sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Notes
- The honey mustard dipping sauce pairs really nicely with the pretzel crusted chicken. That said, you can obviously swap out the sauce and use a different dip, such as ketchup, bbq sauce, ranch, Chik-Fil-A sauce, or Polynesian sauce.
- Turn it into hot honey mustard sauce by adding cayenne pepper.
- I use small pretzel snaps or mini pretzels for this recipe.
- The pretzels make these tenders extra crunchy and flavorful, so don’t try to substitute with additional breadcrumbs.
- The oil in the breading is a key to this extra crispy oven fried chicken, since the fat helps the breading turn brown and crunchy in the oven. Don’t skip the oil, or the end result won’t be nearly as good.
- You don’t need to flip the tenders on the sheet pan while they’re in the oven. Both sides get nice and crispy (not soggy), thanks to that cornstarch coating.
This is the best recipe I’ve tried for Pretzel Chicken Strips!
The coating stays crisp, and the flavor is fantastic! Will definitely be making these again!
Thank you so much, Renee!