My homemade gluten-free chicken tenders are about to become a weeknight dinner staple – golden, crispy, and ready in 30 minutes using nothing but an affordable bag of potato chips for an extra crunchy baked coating. No breadcrumbs, no flour, no pricey specialty ingredients needed. Air fryer method included, plus a creamy honey mustard dipping sauce to tie it all together.
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Easiest Baked Gluten-Free Chicken Fingers Recipe
I’ve always been budget conscious when it comes to groceries because our larger family means things can get out of hand quickly. Writing my cookbook, Frugal Gluten-Free Cooking, made me hone in on my thrifty tendencies even more, and the inspo behind creating a gluten-free chicken tenders recipe without using bread crumbs.
Skipping a traditional bread crumb or panko breading doesn’t mean complicating things. I wanted the baked chicken strips to fit right in with loads of other easy GF chicken recipes, meaning it has to be fuss-free and easy enough for a weeknight. How do we do that? A bag of potato chips, friends.
Make a crispy, crunchy, and uber-flavorful GF chicken tenders breading is as simple as crushing up potato chips. To get the coating to stick to during baking (or air fry option), shake the tenderloins in cornstarch first, then egg, and finally in crushed GF potato chips.
This means no hard-to-find speciality ingredients, no complicated dredging process, no messy frying, and absolutely no complaints from family members – a big bonus for making one gluten-free dinner idea the whole bunch enjoys.
For dipping, I included my easy creamy honey mustard sauce but sometimes I make this quick BBQ ranch sauce instead or as a second option. For sides, serve with frozen GF french fries, but the ultimate accompaniment? World’s creamiest gluten-free mac and cheese. No notes.
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(Below shows step-by-step photos and modified instructions. For the complete recipe, along with ingredient amounts, scroll down to the recipe card.)
Prep the dipping station
If I can find a shortcut, I’m taking it. Coating the chicken doesn’t take long, so have everything prepped and ready to go. Finely crush the potato chips with a meat mallet or rolling pin.
Time to dip
Shake off any excess cornstarch, move the chicken strip to beaten eggs, then coat with potato chips on each side. That’s all and it goes pretty fast.
Bake or air fry option
If baking, lay the breaded chicken on a liberally greased baking sheet. If you’d like to air fry, I still dip all the chicken and lay it out on a baking sheet so I can cook in batches. Baking will take about 14-16 minutes, while air frying takes about 7-9, both at 400℉. This is a good time to mix together the honey mustard sauce for dipping!
I mostly use chicken tenderloins because they stay juicy with baking or air frying and are cut in perfect chicken-tender-size already. If you have chicken breasts on hand, those can but cut in strips or into bite-sized nuggets.
Any flavor potato chips work, as long as the ingredients are all safe for a gluten-free diet. I typically use salted ridged chips, but BBQ, sour cream cheddar, or even tortilla chips taste great.
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Crispy Effortless Gluten-Free Chicken Tenders
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon seasoned salt
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups (150 g) crushed potato chips, read label for gluten-free
- 1 ½ pounds chicken tenderloins
- 2 tablespoons oil, for baked chicken strips
Honey Mustard Sauce
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven or air fryer to 400℉. If baking, pour 2 tbsp oil on a baking sheet and spread evenly. Set aside.2 tablespoons oil
- In a gallon ziplock bag combine the cornstarch, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, seasoned salt, and salt. Shake to combine. Season both sides of the chicken tenderloins with additional salt and pepper. Add seasoned chicken to the bag and shake to coat evenly.⅓ cup cornstarch, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon seasoned salt, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper
- In a separate gallon ziplock bag crush the potato chips finely with a rolling pin or meat mallet. Pour into a shallow bowl. In another shallow bowl beat two eggs with a fork.2 cups crushed potato chips, 2 large eggs
- Remove the chicken from the bag, shaking off excess cornstarch. Dip in the egg on both sides. Move to the potato chips to coat on both sides. Transfer to the greased baking sheet if oven baking or ungreased baking sheet if air frying. Repeat with remaining chicken strips.1 ½ pounds chicken tenderloins
- Bake for 14-16 minutes, flipping halfway through. For air fryer, spray the tray and cook in batches for 7-9 minutes, flipping halfway through.
- While chicken is cooking, combine the honey mustard dipping sauce ingredients. Serve immediately with dipping sauce.½ cup mayonnaise, 3 tablespoons dijon mustard, 2 tablespoons honey, 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar, ⅛ teaspoon salt
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