You’ll be shocked at how easy it is to make perfectly crisp homemade baked (not fried!) chicken fingers at home along with a dip that will quickly become a favourite in your house just like it is in ours!
If you’ve been buying chicken fingers pre-made and want to create something more wholesome for your crew … try this recipe! These chicken fingers have so much flavour thanks to the Spicy Maple Mustard and are super crispy, moist and tender. The secret to crispy chicken fingers is in the coating which gets a quick toast in a pan with some extra virgin olive oil before being baked. We go out of our way to buy organic chicken that is sourced from a local farm that cares for their animals and I would urge you to do the same! Like most kids, there are few things that my kids like more than chicken fingers for dinner. They’re fun to eat, taste great and can be dipped … and anything that can be dipped earns huge bonus points in the kid world!
I partnered with Maison Orphée this month to create this recipe using some of their amazing products: have you tried any of them? I’m SO impressed; we’ve used them for years! I LOVE their extra virgin olive oils, I buy it every week (we go through a lot of olive oil and theirs is such a beautiful product) along with their coconut oil and grey sea salt that I buy for everyone I know, and Maison Orphée has just come out with a line of new mustards and vinaigrette dressings (that double as a marinade) that are all sooooo good!
I had my cousin Steph over the other night, and she can’t eat gluten. So of course I tried to make a gluten free version and bam, nailed it! It’s so easy guys – just substitute the flour for cornstarch and the Panko for gluten-free Panko (there are so many varieties on the market now!). Of course, like always, make sure that your ingredients like your spices are gluten free if serving it to someone with celiac disease. Many spices are not suitable.
5 from 9 votes
Perfectly crispy baked chicken fingers in a few simple steps served with a spicy maple mustard dip that everyone will love!
CourseMain Course
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 6
Author Fraiche Nutrition
Ingredients
Spicy Maple Mustard Dip
- 1/4cupMaison Orphée Spicy Maple Mustard
- 1/2cupmayonnaise
- 2teaspoonsmaple syrupoptional, depending on how sweet you like it
Chicken:
- 3poundschicken tenders or chicken breastcut into strips about ½” thick
- 1/2teaspoonsaltI use Maison Orphée Fine Grey Sea Salt
- 1/2teaspoonpepper
- 1/2teaspoonsweet paprika
- 1/2 teaspoongarlic powder
Flour coating
- 1cupflour
- 1/2teaspoonsalt
- 1/2teaspoonpepper
- 1/2teaspoonsweet paprika
- 1/2teaspoongarlic powder
Egg coating:
- 4free range eggs
- 1tablespoonMaison Orphée Spicy Maple Mustard
Panko coating
- 1/4cupMaison Orphée extra virgin olive oil
- 2 1/2cupspanko bread crumbs
- 1/2teaspoonsalt
- 1/2teaspoonpepper
- 1/2 teaspoonsweet paprika
- 1/2teaspoongarlic powder
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper (you can alternately place a metal baking rack on each baking sheet, both work).
To prepare the dip, stir the mustard and mayonnaise together in a small bowl. Add maple syrup to taste, stir well, and refrigerate until ready to use.
Place the chicken in a medium bowl and season with the salt, pepper, paprika and garlic powder. Toss to coat and set aside.
In a separate shallow medium bowl or pie plate, stir together all of the flour coating ingredients and set aside.
In a separate shallow medium bowl or pie plate, whisk together the eggs and mustard and set aside.
To make the panko coating, heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat and add the panko bread crumbs, salt, pepper, paprika and garlic powder. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon, tossing until the panko is lightly toasted and fragrant, 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat, place in a large shallow dish and set aside.
To assemble the chicken fingers, lightly dredge a piece of chicken on all sides in the flour coating (shaking off the excess), followed by the egg mixture (again on both sides) and then the panko mixture, being sure to lightly press some panko on all sides of the chicken finger. Place the finger on the prepared baking sheet and repeat this process with the remaining chicken fingers until they are all coated.
Bake the chicken fingers for approximately 15-20 minutes or until the chicken fingers are golden brown and the internal temperature is 165F. Remove from the oven and serve immediately with the dipping sauce.
Recipe Notes
To make these gluten free simply substitute corn starch for the flour and gluten free Panko for the regular Panko crumbs, being careful that all of your other ingredients are free of gluten of course.
Thank you to Maison Orphée for sponsoring this post! All opinions are my own.
