Cheddar Bacon Chicken Tenders
The most fantastic family-friendly meal! Cheddar Bacon Chicken Tenders are juicy, crispy chicken that’ll be a weeknight dinner favorite!
Cheddar Bacon Chicken Tenders are so easy to make, and trust me, they never fail to please! Tender strips of chicken are dipped in an egg wash, coated with cheddar jack cheese, crumbled bacon, and seasoned bread crumbs, and baked to golden perfection in under 20 minutes!
Chicken – It’s What’s for Dinner!
The popularity of Chicken Tenders has been on the rise for years as one of the most-often ordered entrees in restaurants across the U.S. And for good reason – they’re packed with protein, tasty, filling, and relatively inexpensive!
Chicken strips are also versatile and easy to make at home, so they’re perfect for family dinners! This savory Cheddar Bacon Chicken Tender recipe is a notch above the rest – try them with sour cream ranch or honey mustard dip. YUMMY!
Other Recipes to Serve with Cheddar Bacon Chicken
- Dill Pickle Dip is another dip option that’s SO good with chicken!
- And what goes better with “fried” chicken strips than a Classic Macaroni and Cheese? Warm and creamy – it’s the ultimate comfort food!
Ingredients
Chicken: Uncooked chicken tenders (not breaded!) are where we start with this fantastic recipe!
Seasoning: To season the chicken and give it layers of flavor, pat a little garlic salt, onion salt, and black pepper on the chicken before breading it.
Coating: Shredded cheddar jack cheese, crumbled bacon, and plain panko bread crumbs give these tenders a cheesy, smoky, wonderfully crispy breading.
Sauce: I love to dip these tenders in sour cream ranch, but you can use any dip you like for chicken nuggets – honey mustard, buffalo sauce, ketchup – whatever makes you happy!
How to Make Cheddar Bacon Chicken Tenders
STEP ONE: Heat your oven to 400 degrees F. Place a wire rack over a baking sheet and spray the rack with non-stick cooking spray. Using half of the seasonings, season each of the chicken tender generously.
STEP TWO: In a shallow bow, beat one egg. In another shallow bowl, combine the panko bread crumbs, cheddar cheese, bacon crumbles, and the rest of the garlic/onion/pepper seasoning that’s left over.
STEP THREE: Dip each strip into the egg wash, then immediately into the breadcrumb mixture until each chicken tender is fully coated and breaded.
STEP FOUR: Place strips of breaded chicken onto the sprayed roasting pan. Once all the chicken is breaded, spray the top sides of the chicken with a light mist of cooking spray.
STEP FIVE: Bake 15-20 minutes until the breading is crispy and golden brown and the chicken is cooked through (internal temperature of 165 degrees F). Serve with your favorite dipping sauce and sides, and enjoy!
Tips for Success
- Substitute gluten-free bread crumbs in place of the regular style for a completely gluten-friendly entree!
- Always use a meat thermometer when cooking chicken to ensure it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. Less, and it’s not safe to eat. More, and it starts to dry out and get tough.
- As with virtually every meat, allow the chicken to rest a few minutes after cooking so the juices will redistribute throughout the meat.
How Do I Make Chicken More Tender?
A couple of easy tricks for tender white chicken are: 1) Use a meat mallet to pound the meat to an even thickness (place the chicken between pieces of parchment paper). This ensures they cook evenly; and 2) Once pounded, place the raw chicken in a bowl of saltwater for a half hour before seasoning, breading, and cooking. This further tenderizes the meat and helps it retain moisture.
What’s that White Strip in Raw Chicken?
That white string is a tendon. It’s a part of the meat that connects it to the bone. It’s fine to eat, though most people prefer to remove it.
To get rid of the tendon easily, turn the chicken tender (or chicken breast) skin side up with the narrow end toward you. Pinch the end of the white tendon between two fingers, then press down on it with your chef’s knife, holding that tendon firmly between the knife and the cutting board. Pull with your fingers while pushing the meat away with the knife. The tendon should slide right out with no problem!
Other Terrific Chicken Tenders!
- Jalapeno Ranch Chicken Tenders
- Pecan Crusted Chicken Tenders
- Parmesan Chicken Tenders with Onion Dip
- Crockpot Maple Dijon Chicken Tenders
- Honey Sriracha Chicken Nuggets
- Air Fryer Chick-Fil-A Chicken Nuggets
*This post originally posted on 07/22/2013.
Cheddar Bacon Chicken Tenders
Equipment
Ingredients
- 14 ounces raw chicken tenders
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 teaspoon onion salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 egg
- ½ cup panko bread crumbs
- ½ cup cheddar jack cheese finely shredded
- ¾ cup bacon cooked and crumbed
- Parsley chopped, for garnish
- Ranch dip for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place a wire rack over a baking sheet. Spray the rack with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
- Using half of the garlic salt, onion salt, and pepper season the chicken tenders all over.
- In shallow bowl, beat the egg. Stir together the panko, shredded cheese, crumbled bacon, and the remaining garlic salt, onion salt, and pepper in another shallow bowl.
- A dip chicken tender into the egg until coated. Let the excess dip back into the bowl. Then dip the tender into the breadcrumb mixture until it is evenly breaded all over.
- Place the breaded chicken tenders on the prepared wire rack. Spray the tops of the chicken tenders with a little more cooking spray.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until chicken is cooked through (165 degrees F internal temperature) and the bread crumbs are golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle with chopped parsley. Serve on a platter with ranch dip or a plate with your favorite sides for dinner.
Made these tonight and they were delicious!
Awesome!! Thanks so much.
Made this last night and it was quick, easy, and delicious! I’m a novice in the kitchen and this recipe was perfect for my skill level.
Are the chicken tenders found in frozen food? Or fresh?
The chicknen is not frozen and is raw.
Any suggestion on how I could make a big batch of these before hand and freeze them
I made these tonight. Will make it again!! Great flavor, but a little too crunchy for my kid. It got too golden brown.
The bacon and cheddar sound yummy! I make a similar dish, using ranch dressing in place of the egg and I add parmesan to the panko. I can’t wait to try it your way. Thanks for the recipe.
Would this recipe work on a plain baking sheet? I don’t have a roasting grill pan.
If you have a wire cooling rack you can place that on a baking sheet and cook it on that.
THanks, that was my question, and just what is a roasting grill pan? Is it the one that comes with the oven that goes in the broiler?
Do you make the sour cream ranch dip or is his something I can buy in the store?
You can usually buy it in the grocery store near the sour cream.
What brand is it? I haven’t been able to find it.
Made this last night and we all loved it!! Thank you!
Thanks Kendra!
We just made these tonight and they were epic! We just used garlic powder, onion power and salt and pepper because we didn’t have the other stuff, and I used regular bread crumbs because we didn’t have panko. We had to increase the temp to 450 because we used breast halfs instead of tenders. They were fantastic! Thanks for the great recipe!
I’m so glad to hear they were a hit!
Looks awesome going to make them tonight for dinner
Thanks Mike! I hope you liked them. 🙂
These sound just wonderful!!! I will sub grated parmesan cheese for breadcrumbs because I can’t have them…but I can’t wait to experience this flavor!
Thanks Steph!
How much onion salt/garlic salt should I use?
That’s to taste, just sprinkle on all sides of the tenders.