SoFabFood

From our household to yours, a group of diverse, self-taught home chefs share family-tested unique recipes daily.

The Best Crispy Oven Fried Chicken Recipe

by 31 Comments

Baked Chicken Tenderloins that look and taste like they're fried! #SoFab

Oven Fried Chicken that looks and tastes like traditional fried chicken!

If you’re anything like us, you love fried chicken, but you try to avoid it as much as possible for health reasons or dietary guidelines. If that sounds like you, you’re going to love this Oven Fried Chicken recipe. We love to “cheat” by baking these chicken tenderloins that taste and look just like our favorite fried chicken. Baked entirely in the oven, this baked chicken is perfect for dipping in your favorite sauce, to use in your traditional Chicken Parmesan recipe, or as a sandwich with lettuce and tomato on a whole wheat thin bun. You’ll fool your family and friends into thinking it’s fried chicken, but you’ll feel good knowing that you’re serving up a healthier alternative to one of their favorite foods.

4.7 from 6 reviews
Baked "Fried" Chicken Tenderloins
 
Save Print
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
These chicken tenderloins are cooked entirely in the oven but they taste and look just like fried chicken.
Author:
Recipe type: Dinner
Serves: 12 tenderloins
Ingredients
  • 1 lb chicken tenderloins, thawed
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • ½ cup bread flour
  • ½ cup bread crumbs (we use stale bread and crumble it)
  • 1 tbsp Mrs. Dash Garlic & Italian Herb Seasoning
  • Light Canola Oil Cooking Spray
Instructions
  1. In a bowl, beat the egg.
  2. Spread flour on a plate.
  3. Mix bread crumbs and seasoning on a different plate and spread.
  4. Dredge chicken tenderloin in egg, then flour, back in egg, then bread crumb mixture. Repeat with each tenderloin and place on a separate plate.
  5. Place the plate of breaded tenderloins in the freezer for 20 minutes to allow the breading to set.
  6. Preheat oven to 375º.
  7. Spray a thin layer of the cooking spray in the bottom of a glass baking dish.
  8. Remove tenderloins from freezer and place in a single layer in your baking dish.
  9. Spray the tops of the chicken with a thin layer of the cooking spray.
  10. Bake at 375º for 15 minutes, then spray another thin layer of cooking spray on top of the tenderloins and continue baking for an additional 5-10 minutes depending on your oven.

These baked chicken tenderloins are crispy on the outside and moist and delicious on the inside. Although a spray oil is used in this recipe, since you are using a very small amount and the spray basically bakes off of the chicken in the oven, the oil does not seep into the chicken so this chicken is never greasy and is a much healthier alternative to traditional frying. As an added bonus, these tenderloins are very low in sodium so they’re great for anyone on a heart-healthy diet.

We hope you love this recipe for baked “fried” chicken as much as we do. If you enjoyed this low sodium recipe, be sure to visit our Low Sodium section for more recipes like it. Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter so you never miss a single healthy recipe. For daily recipe inspiration, like us on Facebook, follow us on Pinterest, and stop by our Google+ Community to see all of the amazing recipes our community members are sharing. Enjoy!

Related posts:

Chicken and Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers Hearty Chicken Noodle SoupLow Sodium Chicken and Vegetable Soup Roasted Chicken Two Ways Heart Healthy Crock Pot Loaded JambalayaHeart Healthy Loaded Jambalaya in the Crock Pot The Best Granola Crusted Oven Fried Chicken Heart Healthy Leftover Chicken and Vegetable Pie Spaghetti Squash Turkey Sausage Lasagna BoatsSpaghetti Squash Turkey Sausage Lasagna Boats 3 Ingredient Baked Dijon Chicken Breasts3-Ingredient Baked Dijon Chicken Breasts

Comments

  2. Wow, this is super easy and look delicious. I must admit that I am fried chicken cooking challenged so I am happy for this new recipe!
    Reply

  5. :) these look really delicious! yes, we're from the south and we're all about that fried food.. haha it's too bad jacob's family has a history of bad heart health so we do need to watch what we eat. this looks like a great alternative to fried chicken :)
    Reply

  8. The only reason people eat fried in my house is because they prefer the flavor. If you can bake it and make it taste fried that's a huge win-win!
    Reply

  9. This looks delish!! I love how easy and simple it is to make, also that it isnt too time consuming. I will definitely be making them soon! Thanks for sharing :)

    Reply

  13. I love fried chicken but can't seem to get it to taste like anything but grease. We end up eating out which makes it even more so unhealthy. I'm so looking forward to trying this baked recipe. You have me hungry and it's bedtime!
    Reply

  15. This baked fried chicken looks so yummy. I love fried chicken but it is so bad for you when your are watching your cholesterol. Thanks so much for sharing.

    Reply

  18. I've tried this several times and love it! I'm trying it with chicken breasts instead if tenderloins tonight. Gonna bake a few minutes more. Hope it's good!
    Reply

    • Thanks for stopping back by, Rachel! Glad you love the recipe. We use this for all types of chicken (breasts too), as well as pork, fish, and vegetables that you would typically fry. So simple and so much better for you!
      Reply

  20. This does sound good and easy! Wonder if it could be a make-ahead meal, maybe when it goes in the freezer for a few minutes? If frozen at that time then transferred to a freezer container, maybe add 10-15 minutes to bake time. Do you think this would work? I love to double recipes and freeze half when possible. Thanks!
    Reply

  21. Just made this tonight - came out perfect! We doubled the recipe and it worked great. We might season the flour next time but even as is, it came out perfectly. Will definitely make again.

    Reply

    • About 110 mg per large tenderloin. That would raise significantly if you decide to use processed bread crumbs like Panko. This value is figured on using stale wheat bread that's crumbled. Hope that helps!
      Reply

Trackbacks

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Rate this recipe:  

Looking for something else?