Panko Crusted Chicken Tenders with Creole Dipping Sauce
Crispy panko chicken tenders baked until golden and served with a flavorful Creole dipping sauce. An easy, reliable weeknight dinner the whole family will love.
These panko crusted chicken tenders are a crispy, reliable weeknight dinner that just works. Served with a flavorful Creole dipping sauce, they’re one of those meals you can come back to again and again because everyone actually eats them.
If you’ve ever stood in the kitchen at 4:30 asking, “What do you want for dinner?”, know that you’re not alone. Everyone gets hungrier (and grumpier), and eventually you just pick something so you can move on with your night.
That’s not a failure, that’s real life.
But having a few meals like this one in your back pocket? That’s what starts to make dinner feel easier.
In our house, this is one of those go-to meals. My husband asks for it all the time, and honestly, that’s the point.
Meals don’t have to be new or exciting to be good. Sometimes the best dinners are the ones everyone already loves, the ones you can make without thinking too hard.
We’ve been making these chicken tenders for years because they’re simple, familiar, and flexible. A little fun, but still easy enough for a regular Tuesday.
Keep this recipe in your rotation for nights when you don’t want to overthink dinner, you just want something that works.
What you’ll love about this recipe
- A reliable dinner everyone will eat: Crispy, flavorful, and familiar! This is one of those meals you can count on without second guessing.
- Easy enough for busy nights: Simple ingredients and straightforward steps make this a great go-to when you don’t have the energy to overthink dinner.
- Perfect for your weekly rotation: This isn’t a one-time recipe, it’s the kind of meal you can come back to again and again when you need something that just works.
Try these other great chicken tender recipes:
How to make this meal:
Below is a simplified overview of how you can make this recipe so you know what to expect before you start cooking. For the full set of written directions, including ingredient amounts, please scroll down to the recipe card below.
- Preheat your oven and set up two bowls – one with the yogurt and mustard, and one with the seasoned panko.
- Dip each chicken tender into the yogurt mixture, then coat it in the panko, pressing gently so the crumbs stick.
- Let the coated chicken rest for about 10 minutes (this helps it get nice and crispy), then place on a lined baking sheet or oven-safe rack. Lightly spray the tops with cooking spray.
- Bake until golden and cooked through, about 18–23 minutes.
- While the chicken bakes, stir together the dipping sauce ingredients and refrigerate until ready to serve.
For busy, real life families
A calmer way to figure out dinner
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Creole Panko Crusted Chicken Fingers
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat the oven to 450 F.
- In one bowl, combine greek yogurt and dijon mustard.
- In a second bowl, mix together the panko, parsley, garlic powder, pepper and salt.
- Dip the chicken tenders into the yogurt mixture and turn to coat.
- Dip the chicken tenders into in the breadcrumb mixture and turn to coat, pressing gently to adhere the breadcrumbs to the chicken tnders..
- Place the chicken tenders onto a wire rack and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Do NOT skip this step, it really helps the chicken tenders turn out nice and crunchy!
- Place a piece of parchment paper or a silat mat on a baking sheet and transfer the chicken tenders to the baking sheet. If you have an oven safe wire rack, use that, too!
- Spray the chicken tenders with cooking spray.
- Bake for 18-23 minutes.
- In a bowl, combine the greek yogurt, parsley, cajun seasoning mix (start with 1 TBSp and adjust to your taste preferences) and pepper.
- Refrigerate until needed.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is provided as a general estimate and may vary based on ingredients, brands, and substitutions. For specific dietary needs, we recommend calculating nutrition using your preferred tool.
Very flavorful and different from other breaded chicken recipes. Will definitely do this again!
WOW! We loved the flavors in these chicken fingers. So unique and delicious!
What a great recipe! My kiddos would love it. Appreciate that you pointed to the hurricane relief efforts as well!
LOVE Cajun seasoning on everything! And what a great cause to partner with!
We don’t do a lot of deep frying, but when we do, we use panko crumbs. These chicken fingers look so juicy delicious, better yet for a good cause!
The recipe sounds delicious! I like that you used an “old favorite” to promote California milk and their donating to the Hurricane relief efforts. Makes for a very authentic post.
I love using panko crumbs, and this chicken dish looks divine. My grandkids would love this for dinner. Next time we have a sleepover I will have to try these out.
Jenni these look delicious! I may have to give these a whirl one day here soon!
Looks tasty. I wanna try them!