Nothing beats homemade fried chicken strips for a fun weekend dinner! I say weekend because these are slightly time-consuming and not a recipe that I would attempt during the week. These are real deep-fried, batter-coated chicken strips, and worth every minute it takes to make them!
If you haven’t yet tried them, fried chicken livers are fantastic as well, and I highly recommend them!
Chicken strips are the one thing that my kids will eat time and time again, and we finally got around to trying them at home. And don’t worry, a baked chicken strip recipe is on the way as well! We used my homemade honey mustard sauce on these and it was divine!
Crispy Fried Chicken Strips
It’s not often that I want to cook with oil, but I made an exception for these chicken strips. I wanted to see if I could create a crispy battered chicken strip at home that the kids would eat. As almost everyone would agree, chicken strips are the universal go-to when it comes to selective eaters – adults and kids alike! I have a friend that only eats chicken strips when she goes to restaurants, she thinks they are the ultimate treat.
Chicken strips are a great addition to a salad, try them with a Cobb Salad, replace the cooked chicken with chicken strips for a treat!
How to Make Fried Chicken Strips
This is a really simple recipe, you have a flour and egg coating with some spices, then the chicken strips. Get everything set mise en place as you have to dip in a certain order!
- Cut your chicken breasts into strips. Make sure that they aren’t too thick, and if they are you can pound them with a meat mallet. Think of how thin they are in restaurants and try to emulate that!
- Combine your coating ingredients.
- Dip the chicken into the flour mixture, then egg, then back to the flour.
- Place on a baking sheet.
- Refrigerate.
- Preheat your oil and fry for 2-3 minutes per side until they are cooked through completely and reach 165 °F in the middle.
- Drain on paper towels and serve.
NOTE that Mike and I made a double batch so that the kids had lunches for the week (worked like a charm!) so that’s why we have soooo many chicken breasts on the plate!
Chicken Strips vs Chicken Tenders
Chicken strips are made from slicing up the entire chicken breast into strips, while chicken tenders are that little “filet” that is cut from chicken breasts, and are much smaller! Chicken tenders are usually removed from the chicken breast while the butcher is removing the breast from the bone while prepping boneless chicken breasts for sale and put together in a package that’s sold in the meat department.
Note that this is NOT a chicken tenders recipe, this is for the larger chicken strips, but this recipe can be used for tenders as well, just adjust the cooking time accordingly.
How to Flatten Uncooked Chicken Strips
To pound the chicken into a thinner, flatter piece simply place the strips between two pieces of plastic wrap and use a meat mallet to pound them thinner. You want them to be fairly thin so that they cook properly inside without the batter getting too dark and overcooked! Like I said above, think about how thin restaurant chicken strips are and try to get the chicken to that thickness. Yes, the ones in the restaurants are premade in factories but we can do it at home!
What to Serve with Chicken Strips
I personally find it too much grease when you serve fries with these, but go ahead if that’s what you want! I prefer a lighter pairing ( these ARE deep fried, after all, I’d totally eat fries with baked chicken strips) so here are some salads that would go great with these to lighten it up!
- Homemade coleslaw – my top choice
- Mexican coleslaw – a tangier, lighter version than American coleslaw, no mayo!
- Cucumber salad with tomato and dill
- Creamy cucumber salad – for the radish lovers too!
- Marinated vegetable salad – a classic for a reason
So if you have a hankering to try these at home, make sure that you allow enough time for them! I’ve used my not-so-secret method of refrigeration time to help the batter stick to the chicken and it works like a charm, but it does take 30 minutes of refrigeration time. This is a great weekend recipe to try out.
Happy cooking!
Love,
Karlynn
Fried Chicken Strips Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 medium chicken breasts
- 3/4 cup flour
- 1/2 cup Panko crumbs
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 1/2 tablespoons seasoning salt
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 2 large eggs
Instructions
- Cut your chicken breasts into strips lengthwise. You do not want them to be thicker than 1/2 an inch or they won't cook. If needed, you can take a meat mallet to the strips to flatten them. Each breast will make 4-6 strips.
- Whisk together the first six ingredients in a medium-sized bowl.
- Beat the eggs in a small bowl.
- Get a large baking sheet and line it with parchment paper.
- First, dip your chicken strips into the flour crumb mixture and cover it completely.
- Dip it into the egg mixture, then into the flour crumb mixture again for a second coat.
- Place on the baking sheet.
- Repeat with all chicken pieces.
- Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator for half an hour.
- Preheat a deep skillet of oil to 365 °F.
- Place each chicken tender into the oil, leaving space between them, cooking in batches. Cook for 2-3 minutes per side, turning, until each tender is browned on the outside and fully cooked in the middle, reaching at least 165 °F .
- Remove and place on a plate lined with paper towels.
- Repeat cooking the tenders until they are finished.
- Serve with dipping sauce.
Notes
- Make sure that your chicken strips are flat and no thicker than 1/2 an inch to get the best results.
- Mike and I made a double batch so that the kids had lunches for the week, so that’s why there is a large plateful of chicken breast!
Nutrition
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Judy Harris says
This is my go to recipe for chicken strips… perfect every time!!!!!
Karlynn Johnston says
I am glad to hear it! Thanks for letting me know!
Rebecca L Blair says
Can you air fry these? I can’t do fried foods. And if you can air fry , how long.
James Owen says
A very nice recipe that has only a few steps and few ingredients. Chicken fingers, strips and nuggets are favorites, and this recipe does not disappoint. I add a step that you might find helpful. I marinate the strips for a few hours or overnight in the fridge in a mixture of 2 eggs, 2 TBS corn starch, 1 TBS seasoned salt, 1 tsp Paprica and 1/2 C buttermilk that i make in a blender. I then dredge the marinated strips in the panko/flour mixture outlined in the recipe. I find this procedure works well in this recipe and can even used in making fried chicken breast sandwiches.
Zach Morrow says
From a father of 3 your doing to much guy.
Brittany says
Made these tonight, and are absolutely the best chicken tenders I’ve ever tasted/ made! There is so much flavor! And perfectly crispy! My family loved it! Will be making this often!
Kathleen M. Smedziuk says
Fried chicken strips…a must try!
Duarte Cabral says
Why does a pop up come up every time I try to read the directions? SOOOO ANNOYING! Won’t even try this recipe!
Zach Morrow says
Welcome to the internet.
Arlene says
Can you bake these
Brent says
I would have loved to try this recipe, but the ads blocked my view so bad I couldn’t. Moved on.