Baked Breaded Chicken Tenders with Spicy Tomato Cream Sauce

Everyone loves a good fried chicken! But not everyone can (or should) indulge in it everyday. That’s why you have oven “fried” chicken – Breaded chicken baked to crispy golden perfection!This is as close as you can get to a healthy version of chicken tenders. So forget about those you get from burger king and give these a go!

I like to use seasoned breadcrumbs whenever I need to do any breading – reason being that every layer you season adds to the overall flavour. For this recipe, I seasoned panko (japanese bread crumbs that resemble flakes) with paprika, dried basil, garlic powder and freshly ground black pepper. I also added parmesan cheese to the breading for some extra flavour. This also helps with browning.

The spicy tomato cream sauce compliments these chicken tenders so well. It takes 2 minutes to make. I use arrabiata pasta sauce because its already spicy (and also my favourite). Warm the sauce in a saucepan and add the cream cheese – this is a great alternative to add creaminess to a sauce when you don’t want to use cream. Season and stir till combined and your sauce is ready!

Try these the next time you have a craving for fried chicken. You will not be sorry 🙂

• Servings: 2
• Time: 20 mins
• Difficulty: Easy
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Ingredients:

• 5 chicken tenders
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 egg beaten and seasoned
• 1/3 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
• 1/2 tsp cayenne powder
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan
• Salt to taste
• Black pepper to taste
• Lemon wedge to serve
• Handful of baby arugula to serve
• cooking spray for greasing

Tomato Cream Sauce

• 1/2 cup simple tomato based pasta sauce (I like to use arrabiata)
• 2 tbsp cream cheese
• Black pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 205°C

1. Spray the wire rack of your oven with cooking spray and line a baking tray with foil and place below the wire rack.
2. For the seasoned breadcrumbs add paprika, basil, garlic powder, black pepper and parmesan.
3. Pound the chicken tenders to get an even thickness throughout. Season both sides with salt & pepper.
4. Coat each chicken tender in a thin layer of flour followed by egg and seasoned breadcrumbs.
5. Place on the prepared wire rack and bake for 12-15 minutes. They should be cooked through and lightly golden.
6. While the chicken tenders are baking, prepare the sauce by heating the pasta sauce in a small saucepan on medium low heat. Add the cream cheese and black pepper. Stir till combined. Remove and set aside.
7. Serve chicken tenders with arugula, lemon and warm tomato cream sauce.