Crunchy Nut Encrusted Chicken Tenders
I love chicken tenders. I am not ashamed to admit that on the rare occasion that I eat fast food, I always go for the chicken tender. Not sure why, but I do. I love the crunchiness of the outside and the piping hot chicken on the inside. And I love dipping anything in a mixture of yellow mustard and ketchup. Or bbq sauce.
So when I saw Michelle post these crunchy nut encrusted chicken tenders I knew I had to make them. What a great way to get my chicken tender fix in a healthier manner! Not only do they use ground up nuts for the coating, they’re baked not fried. Anything you make at home is going to be MUCH better for you than something from a fast food chain.
I just used the ingredients I had on hand and they came out great. I had a pretty big thing of chicken tender meat, so Hubby and I enjoyed these for a couple days in our lunches too.
I always always toast nuts before using them in any recipe. It’s just a habit, but I love how it brings out the nuttiness of nuts more so than just using raw nuts.
One Year Ago: BBQ Chicken Pizza Sticks
Crunchy Nut Encrusted Chicken Tenders
These chicken tenders are crusted with a variety of nuts instead of breadcrumbs!
Yield: Serves 6-8
Ingredients:
2 lb chicken tenders
2 cups nuts (any variety), toasted
4 Tbsp dijon mustard
2 Tbsp horseradish mustard
2 Tbsp whole-grain mustard
4 tsp yellow mustard
2 Tbsp smoked paprika
1 Tbsp worcestshire sauce
2 Tbsp water
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Line a pan with foil and place a cooling rack on top of the foil.
Rinse chicken and pat dry.
Pulse nuts in food processor until they resemble course bread crumbs. Be sure not to process too much, so you don't make a nut butter.
Combine the remaining ingredients in a shallow dish.
Dredge the chicken tenders through the mustard mixture, then coat with nut crumbs. Place on cooling rack (using a cooling rack will result in a crispy chicken tender). Repeat until all chicken tenders are coated.
Place pan of tenders in the oven for 15 minutes. Flip tenders and cook for an additional 15 minutes.
Recipe adapted from Fun and Fearless in Beantown
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
This is brilliant. What an informative post! I need to use my crockpot more often… poor thing is so ignored.
This is brilliant. What an informative post! I need to use my crockpot more often… poor thing is so ignored.
I love my crockpot. Most people think they should only be used in the winter, but I love using mine in the summertime because then your kitchen doesn’t get hot and you still have a hot meal ready when you get home from work!
I have been in love with Stephanie O’Dea’s crockpot blog for a few years now and cook from it all the time. It was so exciting to see that you were linking back to her in this post – it’s like the corners of my culinary universe have collided into deliciousness! I highly recommend Stephanie’s blog and book for those who are looking to utilize the crockpot more often.
I’ve always wanted to make a chicken stock like this. (I thought that chicken broth involved the chicken meat while the stock involves the carcass. I could be wrong since I just started cooking over a year ago.) Anyway, thanks for sharing this recipe!
I’m excited to try this recipe. I love homemade soup and love your idea omn how to freeze it!!