The Best (non-fried) Chicken Fingers
During this CRAZY time of life, I am craving comfort food! I may be totally wrong but I feel like it helps my kids stay grounded when they eat recipes they know and love. And those are the ones I want to make right now. I need familiarity, stability, and the ease of making things I’ve made many, many times before. One of our favorites is what we call Magic Chicken (I didn’t come up with that name but it is so appropriate for this chicken that it has just stuck).
I have no shame in admitting that I am one of those people who will almost always order chicken fingers if I see them on the menu. A really GREAT chicken finger puts most other things to shame (& a really bad chicken finger can ruin my day)! My kids must’ve gotten their love of chicken fingers from me as well because my youngest could eat them for every meal. So when I saw this recipe while thumbing through Bon Appetit a few years ago, I knew I had to try it. A good chicken finger that isn’t deep fried in oil? I was a little skeptical. But it passed the test with flying colors! These chicken fingers are crispy and delicious without the mess of frying. It is one of our family’s favorites & I hope you love it as much as we do!
Note: Since groceries are scarce these days and you might not be able to find panko, you can use any kind of sandwich bread in place of the panko. When we were in Mexico and I made these, I definitely didn’t have panko! Instead, I put about half of loaf of bread in the food processor and made rough bread crumbs. Then I mixed in a few saltines for some added crunch. Follow the rest of the recipe & you’ll never know the difference!
Magic Chicken Fingers
Bon Appetit's delicious, non-fried chicken fingers are one of our family's favorite recipes! They are perfectly crispy without the mess of frying and ready in under 30 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts or tenderloins
- 2 cups panko *see note below
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 3 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 egg yolk
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Cut chicken breasts into strips.
- In a medium sized bowl, mix together mayo, dijon, and egg yolk. Add some black pepper and salt and stir well.
- Add the chicken strips to the mayo mixture and stir until they are all coated.
- Add 1/2 cup of vegetable oil to a small pan over medium heat. Once the oil is hot (test the heat by adding a pinch of panko - if the panko bubbles, the oil is ready), add 2 cups of panko to the oil and stir well. *Note - Substitute for panko: Add slices of bread (about half a loaf) to a food processor and chop roughly. Add a small handful of saltines if you want some added crunch.
- While the panko is browning, cover a baking sheet with foil and top with a wire rack. Spray the rack with cooking spray.
- Once the panko has browned in the pan (be sure not to burn it), transfer it to a large plate. One by one, roll the coated chicken in the panko and add each piece to the wire rack.
- Once you have all the chicken coated with panko and onto the rack, bake for 10-12 minutes.
- Serve with your favorite dipping sauce!
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
