This easy recipe for baked potato chip chicken fingers is a lighter version of fried chicken that the whole family will love! The perfect quick supper with a veggie or salad on the side.
Okay, let’s all admit it…no matter how old we are, we all love crispy, tender chicken fingers. They may be a staple on children’s menus everywhere, but at age never-you-mind, I am still a charter member of the chicken finger fan club.
However. One of the things about chicken fingers, delectable as they are, is that they usually come fried, and so I decided to try my hand at making a version that still had an irresistible crunchy crust, but that went into the oven instead of the frying pan. And the answer (as with my favorite crab cake recipe) turned out to be potato chips. Also not the healthiest ingredient in the world, but a step up from frying, I think.
[click_to_tweet tweet=”This easy recipe for baked potato chip chicken fingers is a lighter version of fried chicken that the whole family will love! ” quote=”This easy recipe for baked potato chip chicken fingers is a lighter version of fried chicken that the whole family will love! “]You want to get the traditional version of potato chips – think Lays or Wise – nice thin chips that you are going to crush up into teensy crumbs. I do this by putting them in a plastic zippered bag and getting out the frustrations of the day with my rolling pin. Dunk some boneless chicken tenders into a little butter, coat them with the potato chips and bake. 30 minutes later you have a nice plate full of these.
If you like them extra crispy (we do!) you can run them under the broiler – just watch them closely so they don’t get too brown. I serve them up with various dipping sauces. Ketchup is the old classic, but we also love ranch and my beloved bacon blue cheese dip. And while yes, there are extra chips on that plate, I do try and add a green veggie on the side.
And now that I am longing for chicken fingers, I think I will whip up a batch for my own sweet little baby girl…
OH WAIT. That picture is from a few years back. She is actually getting MARRIED in 7 days. #I’mCalm. #I’mFine.
So all of you out there, go make your kiddos some potato chip chicken fingers before they go off and grow up and get married on you. It happens in the blink of an eye. Happy sigh.
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Potato Chip Chicken Fingers
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This easy recipe for baked potato chip chicken fingers is a lighter version of fried chicken that the whole family will love!
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter, melted
- 2 cups potato chips, crushed into fine crumbs (see note)
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken tenders
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- Dunking sauce (optional) – ranch dressing, blue cheese dressing and/or ketchup
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 and line a rimmed baking sheet with nonstick foil or a silicone mat.
- Pour the melted butter into a shallow bowl or rimmed baking dish. Put the potato chip crumbs in a separate shallow bowl or rimmed baking dish and mix in salt and pepper (yes, you really are going to want a little extra salt).
- Dunk each chicken tender into the butter, and then roll in the potato chip crumbs until coated, pressing gently to make them stick. Lay them on the prepared baking dish as you go along.
- Sprinkle the chicken fingers with pepper and bake for 30 minutes. You want the chicken to be cooked through and the coating to be browned. Run them under the broiler for a minute or two if you want an extra crispy crust!
- Serve with your choice of something to dunk them in. We like ranch dressing, blue cheese dressing and good old ketchup – and of course they are just fine eaten plain as well!
Notes
Good old Lays potato chips work best with this recipe – or any light and thin potato chips. The thicker, kettle variety doesn’t stick as well.
Mmmmmm….chicken fingers; the perfect “finger” food! I miss Wise potato chips. i remember those from my child hood when we lived in upstate NY. No Wise chips in the mid-west. 🙁 Lays has a lot of interesting flavors for their chips these days; I’m thinking some of those might translate pretty well into a chicken finger coating to make for some tasty appetizers, like cheddar sour cream or sour cream and onion. The jalapeno chip might be good, too. Then you could dip them in salsa or put it in a taco shell for extra crunchy chicken tacos!
I’ve purchased Wise chips at Big Lots in Kansas. I’ve got a new air fryer – will have to try this recipe in it.
I’m so curious about air fryers! Let me know how it comes out!
I love how you think, my friend! Let me know if you try any of these amazing variations!