By:Nagi
237 Comments
TheseKFC Oven Fried Chicken Tenders aremy KFC copycat recipe!! Made in the oven, tastes like KFC, nice andcrunchy but with just a fraction of the calories! These are Baked Fried Chicken Tenders are a total crowd pleaser!
Confession: I love KFC. I have it maybe three times a year. I don’tcrave it regularly (thankfully) but I’d say every few months, I have the urge to splurge. And my bottom hates me for it.
I do the drive through because I’m too ashamed to risk being seen inside KFC. And though I savour every bitewhile I’m consuming it, I always regret it afterwards. Always. It’s heavy and excessively greasy and I don’t feel great.
And yet, there’s a repeat performance every few months.
I contemplated about the ridiculousness of craving something that makes me feel not-so-crash-hot afterwards. Then I realised – well, it’s like champers. SO much fun, so enjoyable while it’s being consumed. But the next morning? Ugh. Not so fun! (Unless you’re drinking real French champagne, in which case, you’ll be headache free! Did you know that? It’s true!!)
I’ve been on a mission to make the “best” oven baked KFC since early this year. I’ve had around 10 goes, using recipes I’vefound online and trying my own variations.
Here’s the thing that I’ve come to accept. You will never, ever be able to make “fried chicken” in the oven that tastes as good as chicken that’s been deep fried. You canmake truly crispy oven baked wings,but it only works really well with wings usinga very unique technique discovered by America’s Test Kitchen. (Have you tried my Truly Crispy Baked Buffalo Wings and Truly Crispy Baked Wings with Honey Garlic Sauce?)
But to make chicken with the properthick, craggy crust that you get with KFC and Southern Fried Chicken, you need to…well, fry it. In oil. Lots of it. There needs to be enough oil so the chicken floats in it, not just a thin layer in a skillet.
So I have conceded defeat.
BUT! There’s a silver lining to every cloud! Just because anexact KFC copycat can’t be made in the oven, it doesn’t mean that you can’t make somethingsimilar!
And that’s what I have here for you today.This chicken really does taste like KFC! It’s a mash up of two genius recipes I discovered by 2 very talented bloggers.
1. The “11 Secret Herbs & Spices” from the Homemade KFC recipe by Jo from Every Nook and Cranny. I tried a whole bunch of spice mixes and I think hers is the closest!
2. The coating mixture fromCarlsbad Cravings‘Best Baked “Fried” Chicken. I think Jen’s nailed the coating ratios of flour, panko and cornmeal (polenta / yellow corn). It’s the crunchiest I have tried!
So I made a mash up of these 2 recipes with a few tweaks of my own. You know me. I have “my way” of doing things.:-)
I hope you love it! I am seriously obsessed with this and was VERY happy making it over and over and over again to get it “right” before I shared it with you! – Nagi x
PS I served these with my “go to” Honey Mustard dipping sauce. Recipe also below!
PPS One more look at how crunchy they are? YES!
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KFC Oven Baked "Fried" Chicken Tenders
Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Prep: 15 minutes mins
Cook: 25 minutes mins
Total: 40 minutes mins
Dinner
4.92 from 57 votes
Servings4
Tap or hover to scale
Crunchy and perfectly seasoned, it really does taste like KFC! It is a mash up of my own recipe, the "11 Secret Herbs and Spices" from the Homemade KFC recipe by Every Nook & Cranny, and the coating recipe from this Best Baked "Fried" Chicken by Carlsbad Cravings.. Marinating makes the chicken extra juicy but if you don't have time to marinate, this is still worth making! (See Note 3) PS I know it looks like a lot of salt but it's not overly salty, it's KFC level salty. Reduce salt and/or celery salt if desired.
Ingredients
KFC Spice Mix
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp celery salt (Note 1)
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tbsp coarsely ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp mustard powder
- 2 tbsp paprika (not smoked, use sweet or plain)
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper or ground pure chili (optional - for KFC "Zinger" flavour!)
Chicken
- 1.2 - 1.4 lb / 600 - 700 g chicken tenderloin (10 - 12 pieces) (Note 2)
- 1 cup buttermilk OR 1/3 cup plain yoghurt + 2/3 cup milk (Note 3)
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup cornmeal (Note 4)
- 2 tbsp butter (unsalted)
- 1 tbsp vegetable or canola oil
- Oil spray
Instructions
Combine the Spice Mix in a bowl.
Place 1 tbsp of Spice Mix in a ziplock bag with the chicken and buttermilk. Set aside to marinate for at least 2 hours, preferably 3 but ideally overnight.
To Cook
Preheat oven to 400F/200C.
Place the butter and oil on a large rimmed baking tray. Place in the oven for a few minutes until the butter is just melted. Remove and tip the tray to spread the oil and butter all over.
Combine the remaining Spice Mix, flour, panko and cornmeal in a bowl and mix. Place half in a large ziplock bag.
Drain the chicken of excess marinade using a colander.
Transfer half the chicken into the ziplock bag, seal in air so it is puffed like a balloon, then shake to coat the chicken in the seasoning. Press through the bag so the coating is firmly stuck onto the chicken. Place the chicken onto the baking tray.
Place the remaining coating into the ziplock bag and repeat with remaining chicken.
Spray the top with oil and place in the oven. Bake for 12 minutes, then turn, spray and bake for a further 8 to 10 minutes or until golden. Don't bake more than 25 minutes, otherwise the chicken will dry out!
Serve with your favourite dipping sauce. I used Honey Mustard Sauce (Note 7).
Recipe Notes:
1. Celery salt is common in America but not so well known in Australia. But you can find it in the herb section of Coles and Woolworths! It is also easy to make your own - just bake celery leaves until just dried (not burnt), crumble and combine equal amounts of the celery leaf dust and salt in a jar.
If you can't find celery salt, just substitute with 3/4 tbsp ordinary salt.
2. You can substitute with chicken breast cut into chicken tenderloin size strips. It will also work with small boneless thigh fillets - around 100g/3.5 oz each - or any other cut of chicken that will cook in 20 to 25 minutes.
3. If you don't have time to marinate, use 1 to 2 eggs instead (just enough to coat all the chicken). Add 1 tbsp of the Spice Mix, dredge the chicken in the egg mixture, then drain and follow the recipe directions.
4. Cornmeal are small, fine yellow grains and is also known as yellow corn. It's also sold as "polenta" at supermarkets though that is not technically correct because polenta is actually a dish that cornmeal is used to make! The cornmeal adds extra crunch to the coating but if you can't find it, then it's ok to skip it, it's still quite crunchy.
5. I find that using a bit of oil (instead of all butter) stops the butter from browning and burning which can sometimes happen, depending on the strength of your oven.
6. This does not have the wrinkly, thick, craggy coating like deep fried KFC and southern fried chicken. To achieve that, you need to deep fry or bake in loads of oil! But the crust of this is pretty close! It's crunchy and really does taste just like KFC!
7. Honey Mustard Dipping sauce - whisk together equal amounts of Dijon mustard, mayonnaise and honey, plus salt and pepper to taste.
Nutrition Information:
Serving: 229gCalories: 465cal (23%)Carbohydrates: 25.4g (8%)Protein: 53.4g (107%)Fat: 16.5g (25%)Saturated Fat: 4.2g (26%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 12.3gCholesterol: 145mg (48%)Sodium: 563mg (24%)Fiber: 2.7g (11%)Sugar: 2.7g (3%)
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Hi, I'm Nagi!
I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!
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237 Comments
Sarah says
I saw in the comments that these could be prepped up to the point right before baking and then frozen. I did that and followed the rest of recipe exactly but they never got crunchy or crispy. The topping even started coming off. I don’t know what went wrong since the recipes on this site are so amazingly good. I’ve made tenders before and didn’t have this trouble. 🙁Reply
- Debbie says
OMG, hubby made these and they are the bomb 👌 He had them in wraps for lunch for a few day after and so so good. We’re going to cook these and cryovac to take away with us when we go camping for our lunches. Absolutely perfect and deliciousReply
- Dewey says
Hi Nagi, just wondering if I could make these without the use of any dairy products, or eggs? Turns out my child has developed a dairy allergy, and unsure about the eggs at the moment too. Could the spice mix be used as a straight up seasoning with some oil? I could still add the polenta and flour as part of the seasoning mix maybe? Or do you think this would not be flavoursome enough? I understand the texture would be different to your recipe, but hoping to capture the flavour at least? Any advice you could offer would be much appreciated!
Reply
- Michelle says
Hi Dewey, I have 2 daughters, one is allergic to dairy and the other eggs. I just substitute according to the ingredients. Nuttelex Buttery instead of butter and for buttermilk I add white vinegar to soy milk and let it sit until it goes a bit lumpy.
Reply
- Mike Harrison-Lamond says
My lord Nagi – these are divine! You research everything so thoroughly and I love your recipes.
I did deep fry these for a dinner party – 180 degrees Celsius for 5 minutes (I brought the basket up every minute or two to check). Absolutely perfect!
Reply
- Angela says
Can these be made in an air fryer?
Reply
- Ali says
Great, crispy Baked Oven Fried Chicken Tenders – better than KFC!Reply
- Rebecca says
So moist and flavorful! This is going in my regular rotation.Reply
- Alice says
I made this with whole chicken thigh fillets. Cranked the fan forced oven to 230 and didn’t turn half way just checked on them. 25 min cooking time. It’s the second time I’ve made this with my kids. I don’t actually like KFC but these are great and much better than the original in my opinion. Great crunch and really tender chicken. Love your recipes Nagi!Reply
- Finn Brown says
What would you suggest as a suitable mustard powder substitute in this recipe?
Reply
- Louisa says
Hi Nagi. When I compare the recipes for KFC Oven Baked Tenders and the Fried Chicken, I notice that the proportions in the spice mixes are quite different, eg 1.5 tsp of paprika compared to 2 tbls. Some spices are higher in one and lower in the other recipe and vice versa. Just wondering which is closer to KFC. Thank you
Reply
- Holly says
These were tasty.Thanks Nagi!
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- MR.K says
Been making these for ages (pre kids). Made it again recently for my 3 year old – in a wrap (who btw, has never tried KFC) and asked him what he thought, he said: “it tastes just like a twister”. 😂 Go figure.Reply
- Nagi says
Are you sure he’s NEVER tried KFC?? 😂 N x
Reply
- Bron says
I made this for my partner who loves fast food but never gets to it because it’s gross and unhealthy and just no. So I thought I’d treat him and I made the full feast of these chicken tenders, the potato and gravy, some fries with chicken salt and corn on the cob. It was so delicious! These tenders were unbelievable and I loved the potato and gravy too.Reply
- Nagi says
Sometimes you just gotta get that fix Bron!! N x 🍗
Reply
- Danielle Toso says
Hi Nagi, I made this on Christmas Day last year and it was a hit! I was wondering if you could use this recipe with chicken drumsticks instead of tenderloins? My partner loves KFC chicken drumsticks so I wonder if it’s possible to. What would be the cooking time and temp? Thank you!Reply
- Clare Casey says
Hey Nagi have you tried using deb mash potato mix as a crumb coating? Mix it as a ratio of your crumb mix and try not to get it wet or you’ll end up with potato mud. It fries up really crunchy like potato crisps. Yum
Reply
- Nagi says
No I haven’t, Clare…thanks for the tip! N x
Reply
- Nag says
Hands down an amazing meal. Served with your KFC gravy and baked hot chips covered in chicken salt. About to share this recipe with the family xxReply
- Sue says
MasterFoods make Celery Salt
Reply
- Barbara says
My husband never cooks and made your chicken recipe with my daughters help. We had your chicken gravy to accompany it and both tasted amazing. We are having it again tonight – my turn to cook. The bar is raised high by my hubby!!!!Reply
- Crystal says
Make this tonight, served with kfc mash and gravy. Big winner with the SO. Out of the 3 Nagi recipes I’ve made this week this was rated #1. Chicken was cooked perfectly, and crisped up a bit once out of the ovenReply
- Crystal says
I’m going to make this on the weekend (wish me luck, I am the worst chicken cooker) but wondered if I could use the air fryer? And second question, could you shallow fry so it’s a more crispy like your other recipe and what would be the cooking time?Reply
