Crispy, crunchy baked chicken tenders using buffalo flavored pretzels and coconut oil. Who’s ready for game day? YUM!
This post was sponsored by Crisco® Coconut Oil as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.
With fall comes one of my favorite things: game day food. I couldn’t care less about the football, it’s all about the food and drinks for me! Since most people typically graze all day on game days, I like to try to add a healthy twist when I can!
Have you tried oven “fried” baked chicken before? It’s soooo crunchy and delish, just like it’s fried…but not! I like to switch up my breading quite a bit. Sometimes it’s just seasoned panko or breadcrumbs, but that can get boring. With all of the flavors of pretzels out there, I had to try baking some tenders up for the family last Sunday. Verdict: the family gobbled them up!
If you’re not a fan of heat, don’t fear; the buffalo pretzels aren’t too spicy. They just add a great pop of flavor. I prefer Pretzel Thins because they tend to break up in better pieces, almost like flat crisps to coat the chicken in. YUM, right!?
Even though these are baked in the oven, you still need a little oil for the tenders to cook in. Instead of canola, I prefer Crisco® Refined Organic Coconut Oil. This is my new go-to brand because it doesn’t taste like coconut AT ALL. I don’t mind a coconut flavor, but other members of the family (*cough* Maddie) really didn’t enjoy the extra taste when I was cooking with it. Problem solved: buy refined coconut oil!
Crisco® offers both Refined (no coconut scent) and Unrefined (coconut flavor) coconut oil. I like to keep both varieties on hand for various uses. For recipes where I want the coconut flavor to shine, like stir-fry or bulletproof coffee, I use Unrefined. For baking or recipes like these chicken tenders, I use Refined.
I’ve been a fan of coconut oil for quite some time, especially for cooking. It’s a great organic substitute for butter, margarine and other oils in cooking and baking recipes. It stays right on the counter in my kitchen. One tip: if it’s kept over 75º, it will turn to liquid, otherwise it’s a solid. For recipes, if your coconut oil is solid, you might have to melt it quickly in the microwave.
Right now there’s a Target Cartwheel available for an extra 25% savings, until 10/07! I found it right in the baking aisle.
Just like with any other battered food, you start with the flour, egg wash, breading trio of steps. After shaking in a bag of flavored flour, you coat the chicken tenders in a whisked egg wash. If you don’t mind your kiddos getting a bit messy, this is a fun step for them, especially shaking the chicken in a flour baggie!
These bake up crispy in the oven in about 20 minutes. Feel free to double or triple the recipe for a big crowd –simply use a larger cookie sheet to bake. How fun would it be to make different dippers or different flavor pretzel batters for a party?
Crispy, crunchy, baked chicken tenders using Buffalo flavored pretzels!
- 2 Tablespoons Crisco® Refined Coconut Oil
- 1.25 pounds chicken tenderloins
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- salt + pepper, to taste
- 2 large eggs, whisked with 1 Tablespoon water
- 1 Tablespoon hot sauce
- 1 cup Buffalo flavored pretzel thins, crushed
- 1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
- 1 cup pepper jack cheese, shredded
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Preheat the oven to 425º. Add coconut oil to 9x13 pan and put in oven to allow it to melt. Remove after 2-3 minutes.
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Put flour, baking powder, plus salt + pepper in a large baggie. Add chicken tenderloins to the bag and shake to coat.
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Using a pie plate, add eggs and whisk until smooth. Add hot sauce. Coat chicken in egg wash one at a time.
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Add panko and crushed pretzels to another large baggie. After coating chicken in egg wash, shake in baggie, coating all sides.
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Repeat steps until all chicken is coated.
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Place chicken in the warm 9x13 pan. Bake for 10 minutes, then flip. Bake an additional 5 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.
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Serve immediately with ranch to dip, plus carrots and celery.
Buffalo flavored pretzels are found right in the chip aisle. It's fun to use other flavors too, especially honey mustard!
How do you use coconut oil in the kitchen? Have you tried Crisco Organic Coconut Oil yet?
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