These crispy chicken strips are a delicious chicken breast recipe that is seasoned perfectly, fried to golden perfection, and are the perfect weeknight dinner recipe the whole family will enjoy.
Fried chicken strips are always a big hit with anyone in any family. From childhood to adulthood, almost everyone seems to love chicken strips, and we never seem to outgrow them. I think kids have it right, honesty. If I could wrangle someone into feeding me chicken strips every single day of my life, I would! That’s especially true with my crispy chicken strips recipe. These chicken strips are loaded with flavor, ready in no time, and so easy to make. You can’t beat that!
Crispy Chicken Strips
These delicious chicken strips start with boneless skinless chicken breasts. I dredge them in a 3-layer coating that’s finished off with a zesty, seasoned panko and tempura layer, and fry them until they’re juicy and tender on the inside and perfectly crispy on the outside. It’s just about the best fried chicken strip recipe you’ll ever make, and being so easy is a huge bonus. I love to serve these for dinner when my kids come to visit, at potlucks, or for game day.
Why You’ll Love This Crispy Chicken Strips Recipe
- They are easy to make and the ingredients are easy to find at the local grocery store, and the instructions are straightforward.
- The chicken is super crispy and flavorful. Dipping the chicken in flour, then a buttermilk mixture, and into a seasoned breadcrumb mixture ensures the chicken is nice and crispy when cooked.
- The chicken can be used in a variety of different recipes, like wraps, in salads, as chicken sandwiches, and even on waffles with honey.
Crispy Chicken Strips Ingredients
Every ingredient needed for this recipe is a basic one, and they’re all easily found at your local grocery store. You’ll be in and out in just a few minutes.
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Buttermilk
- Pickle juice
- Buffalo sauce
- All purpose flour
- Large eggs
- Panko breadcrumbs
- Tempura
- Garlic powder
- Slap Ya Mama seasoning
- Black pepper
- Paprika
- Vegetable oil
How to Make Crispy Chicken Strips
Making these chicken strips is a very straightforward affair. It just takes a little mixing, dredging, and then frying. After marinating the chicken, the rest of the recipe only takes about 20 minutes tops!
Step 1: Marinate the Chicken
Combine the buttermilk, pickle juice, and Buffalo sauce in a large bowl or resealable bag. Then, add the chicken strips, stir to coat, and refrigerate for an hour or more.
Step 2: Make the Dredging Station
Add flour to a shallow bowl. Then, whisk the buttermilk and egg together in another shallow bowl. Finally, combine the breadcrumbs, tempura, and seasonings in a third shallow bowl.
Step 3: Coat the Chicken
Remove the chicken strips for the marinade and shake off the excess. Then, dredge them in the flour, dip them in the buttermilk mixture, and dredge them again in the breadcrumb mixture to coat.
Step 4: Fry
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat until very hot. Then, add a few chicken strips at a time and fry for 4 to 5 minutes until golden brown. Place the chicken strips on a plate lined with paper towels and continue until all the strips are fried. Enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- 1 hour is the minimum time to marinate the chicken. Longer marinating produces even more tender and juicy chicken.
- To keep your chicken crispy, don’t crowd the pan while frying. Too many strips will lower the oil’s temperature, creating soggy chicken strips rather than crispy ones.
- If you don’t have buttermilk, add a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to a liquid measuring cup. Then, add enough milk to make one cup and let it sit for 5 minutes. You’ll have buttermilk!
Variations
- Cut the chicken into cubes for chicken nuggets.
- For a spicy kick, add a bit of cayenne to the breadcrumb mixture.
- If you don’t have vegetable oil, you can use any oil with a high smoking point to fry the chicken.
- Try using cornstarch instead of flour for an even crispier coating.
What to Serve with Crispy Chicken Strips
Chicken strips are a classic favorite, and they’re perfect with all the classic sides you love. Try them with:
- French fries
- Sweet potato fries
- Potato wedges
- Baked potatoes
- Mashed potatoes
- Corn
- Coleslaw
- Baked beans
- Potato salad
- Potato chips
Recipe FAQ
There are a few reasons that chicken tenders can be soggy. If you use too much flour for the dredge, it will give you a soggy crust. If you fry your chicken while cold, the meat will seize and release excess juice, creating a soggy crust. Finally, if you crowd your pan, the oil’s temperature will dip too low, and the crust will be soggy and greasy rather than crispy.
Both work well, however, cornstarch can create a coating that is even crispier than a flour-based dredge.
Heat the chicken in the oven at 400 degrees. This crisps the coating and heats the chicken without drying it out. You can also use an air fryer for the same effect but faster.
You can place them on a cooling rack over a baking sheet in a warm oven to keep them crispy while you finish frying the rest of the chicken. To keep tenders crispy while reheating, use a hot oven or an air fryer.
Buttermilk is acidic. This acidity breaks down the protein in the chicken just a bit, making it tender and juicy when cooked. In addition, the tangy flavor of the buttermilk adds a wonderful taste to the batter.
How to Store and Reheat Leftover Chicken Strips
Refrigerate your chicken strips for up to 3 days in an airtight container. For longer storage, you can freeze them for up to 3 months in an airtight, freezer-safe container.
To reheat the chicken strips, bring them to room temperature and place them on a wire rack over a baking sheet and bake them for 10 to 15 minutes at 400 degrees. You can also air fry them for about 4 minutes at 375, flipping them halfway through reheating.
Try This Delicious Crispy Chicken Strips Recipe Today
Fried chicken strips are a classic favorite that everyone loves. Tender, juicy chicken coated in a super crispy, seasoned coating? What could be better? Oh, wait! I know – an easy crispy chicken strips recipe. And that’s exactly what this is. Aside from the marinating, the entire process takes about 20 minutes from start to finish, and these chick strips are crispy with a capital CRISPY. Give them a try and get ready to fall in love.
More Delicious Chicken Recipes You’ll Enjoy
This Chicken Caesar Bowtie Pasta Salad is easy to make, tastes delicious, and is made with crispy romaine lettuce, tender rotisserie chicken, crispy bacon, bowtie pasta, shredded Parmesan cheese, croutons, and topped with creamy Caesar dressing.
Crispy Chicken Strips
Ingredients
- 4 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced into strips
Buttermilk Marinade
- 2 cups buttermilk
- ⅓ cup pickle juice
- ½ cup buffalo sauce
Dredge
- 2 cups all purpose flour
Egg Mixture
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 2 large eggs
Breadcrumb Mixture
- 3 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 ½ cup tempura
- 3 tablespoons garlic powder
- 2 tablespoon Slap Ya Mama seasoning
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1-2 cups vegetable, for frying
Instructions
- Place buttermilk, pickle juice and buffalo sauce in a large bowl or large sealable bag.
- Add chicken strips, stir to coat, and place in the fridge to marinate for an hour or more.
- In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat.
- Using 3 separate bowls, or shallow containers, add flour to one bowl,
- Whisk buttermilk and egg mixture in the second bowl.
- Breadcrumbs, tempura, and seasonings to the third bowl. Stir to combine.
- Remove chicken strips from bowl or baggie, shake off excess liquid and place in the flour. Coat a few pieces at a time, then place into the buttermilk mixture, and lastly, into the breadcrumb mixture.
- Add chicken, a few pieces at a time, into the hot oil.
- Fry 4-5 minutes on each side until golden brown.
- Remove from the skillet and place on a plate lined with paper towels.
- Repeat process and continue cooking until all the chicken has been cooked.
- Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.
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