These KFC Oven Fried Chicken Tenders are my KFC copycat recipe!! Made in the oven, tastes like KFC, nice and crunchy but with just a fraction of the calories! These are Baked Fried Chicken Tenders are a total crowd pleaser!
Confession: I love KFC. I have it maybe three times a year. I don’t crave it regularly (thankfully) but I’d say every few months, I have the urge to splurge. And my bottom hates me for it.
I do the drive through because I’m too ashamed to risk being seen inside KFC. And though I savour every bite while I’m consuming it, I always regret it afterwards. Always. It’s heavy and excessively greasy and I don’t feel great.
And yet, there’s a repeat performance every few months.
I contemplated about the ridiculousness of craving something that makes me feel not-so-crash-hot afterwards. Then I realised – well, it’s like champers. SO much fun, so enjoyable while it’s being consumed. But the next morning? Ugh. Not so fun! (Unless you’re drinking real French champagne, in which case, you’ll be headache free! Did you know that? It’s true!!)
I’ve been on a mission to make the “best” oven baked KFC since early this year. I’ve had around 10 goes, using recipes I’ve found online and trying my own variations.
Here’s the thing that I’ve come to accept. You will never, ever be able to make “fried chicken” in the oven that tastes as good as chicken that’s been deep fried. You can make truly crispy oven baked wings, but it only works really well with wings using a very unique technique discovered by America’s Test Kitchen. (Have you tried my Truly Crispy Baked Buffalo Wings and Truly Crispy Baked Wings with Honey Garlic Sauce?)
But to make chicken with the proper thick, craggy crust that you get with KFC and Southern Fried Chicken, you need to…well, fry it. In oil. Lots of it. There needs to be enough oil so the chicken floats in it, not just a thin layer in a skillet.
So I have conceded defeat.
BUT! There’s a silver lining to every cloud! Just because an exact KFC copycat can’t be made in the oven, it doesn’t mean that you can’t make something similar!
And that’s what I have here for you today. This chicken really does taste like KFC! It’s a mash up of two genius recipes I discovered by 2 very talented bloggers.
1. The “11 Secret Herbs & Spices” from the Homemade KFC recipe by Jo from Every Nook and Cranny. I tried a whole bunch of spice mixes and I think hers is the closest!
2. The coating mixture from Carlsbad Cravings‘ Best Baked “Fried” Chicken. I think Jen’s nailed the coating ratios of flour, panko and cornmeal (polenta / yellow corn). It’s the crunchiest I have tried!
So I made a mash up of these 2 recipes with a few tweaks of my own. You know me. I have “my way” of doing things.:-)
I hope you love it! I am seriously obsessed with this and was VERY happy making it over and over and over again to get it “right” before I shared it with you! – Nagi x
PS I served these with my “go to” Honey Mustard dipping sauce. Recipe also below!
PPS One more look at how crunchy they are? YES!
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KFC Oven Baked "Fried" Chicken Tenders
Ingredients
KFC Spice Mix
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp celery salt (Note 1)
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tbsp coarsely ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp mustard powder
- 2 tbsp paprika (not smoked, use sweet or plain)
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper or ground pure chili (optional - for KFC "Zinger" flavour!)
Chicken
- 1.2 - 1.4 lb / 600 - 700 g chicken tenderloin (10 - 12 pieces) (Note 2)
- 1 cup buttermilk OR 1/3 cup plain yoghurt + 2/3 cup milk (Note 3)
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup cornmeal (Note 4)
- 2 tbsp butter (unsalted)
- 1 tbsp vegetable or canola oil
- Oil spray
Instructions
- Combine the Spice Mix in a bowl.
- Place 1 tbsp of Spice Mix in a ziplock bag with the chicken and buttermilk. Set aside to marinate for at least 2 hours, preferably 3 but ideally overnight.
To Cook
- Preheat oven to 400F/200C.
- Place the butter and oil on a large rimmed baking tray. Place in the oven for a few minutes until the butter is just melted. Remove and tip the tray to spread the oil and butter all over.
- Combine the remaining Spice Mix, flour, panko and cornmeal in a bowl and mix. Place half in a large ziplock bag.
- Drain the chicken of excess marinade using a colander.
- Transfer half the chicken into the ziplock bag, seal in air so it is puffed like a balloon, then shake to coat the chicken in the seasoning. Press through the bag so the coating is firmly stuck onto the chicken. Place the chicken onto the baking tray.
- Place the remaining coating into the ziplock bag and repeat with remaining chicken.
- Spray the top with oil and place in the oven. Bake for 12 minutes, then turn, spray and bake for a further 8 to 10 minutes or until golden. Don't bake more than 25 minutes, otherwise the chicken will dry out!
- Serve with your favourite dipping sauce. I used Honey Mustard Sauce (Note 7).
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
My husband never cooks and made your chicken recipe with my daughters help. We had your chicken gravy to accompany it and both tasted amazing. We are having it again tonight – my turn to cook. The bar is raised high by my hubby!!!!
Make this tonight, served with kfc mash and gravy. Big winner with the SO. Out of the 3 Nagi recipes I’ve made this week this was rated #1. Chicken was cooked perfectly, and crisped up a bit once out of the oven
I’m going to make this on the weekend (wish me luck, I am the worst chicken cooker) but wondered if I could use the air fryer? And second question, could you shallow fry so it’s a more crispy like your other recipe and what would be the cooking time?
Hey I’m planning on making this tomorrow with 2kgs of chicken breast. 6 Tbs of plain paprika seems like an awful lot. Has this recipe changed at all?
Hi Jay, no the recipe hasn’t changed, but if you have 2kg of chicken tenderloins you’ll need a fair bit of spice mix! N x
Did this dish last night absolutely awesome. It is now in my having this again recipe book. 10 out of 10
My family has always loved this recipe and tonight I made a vegetarian version for my wife using cauliflower florets with egg to bind the crumbed seasoning. Yummo. Our oven is mediocre at best and we’ve struggled to get decent crunch on chicken tenders. However the cauliflower was crunchy crunchy goodness! Yummo.
Hi Nagi, I tried this recipe but it was mostly a fail for me… the best thing was the seasoning. After the buttermilk dredging I didn’t get a good coat on the chicken with the flour seasoning. It came out soggy but I think it’s because I used olive oil sand then a margarine/butter spread. I will have to try again. 🙁
If your oil isn’t hot enough it will come out soggy.
Hi Nicole, sorry you had issues here – did you use olive oil for frying? How did you use the margarine? N x
I made this so many times before, it’s truly amazing, but I have guests coming over tomorrow and I’m out of garlic powder, dried basil, and ground ginger. Are there substitutes for these ingredients? And can I prepare this spice mix and store for later use? Also, if possible, please add a dozer photo to this post, it makes my day really.
I have a choice of ‘polenta traditional’ or ‘instant polenta’ at the supermarket! Does it matter which one I use?
Fabulous, used deboned thighs, marinated with egg as no buttermilk, and had with your honey and mustard dip and coleslaw. Utterly delish!
Yum, sounds like you nailed it Karen!! N x
Getting ready to try this. It looks incredible. It’s a great alternative to frying. Thanks
Haven’t tried this yet, just wondering how it can be similar to KFC with panko breadcrumbs? And they look a lil burnt in the photos (due to the panko ,no doubt. )
Hopefully the flavor is there.
😉
This was amazing. I’m addicted to homemade fried chicken but never feel great afterwards. This recipe will be my new go-to for when the craving hits. I used halved chicken breasts served in buns with lettuce and light mayo with chips, salad and the honey dipping sauce on the side. Excited for tonight’s leftovers. Thanks so much for another wonderful recipe!
Made this on top of elevated rack over baking sheet and sprayed both sides of chicken with olive oil spray. Forgot to add cornmeal but still worked out well. Also made the honey mustard dip which took this to a whole new level of tastiness.
I’m wondering if instead of cooking them directly on top of the butter and oil I could spray both sides of chicken with oil and then bake them without turning on an elevated rack placed on top of a baking sheet.
G’day Nagi and Dozer, how are you both?
Hey Nagi, I’d like to make the KFC Baked Oven Fried Chicken tender recipe.
I note one of the ingredients is cornmeal, which in ‘Note 4 describes what cornmeal is and polenta is an alternative.
I purchased Masa, am I able to use it in place of cornmeal?
I’d love to hear from you.
Sonja
Have made these twice now and a hit with all the family and healthier too! Great with homemade potato wedges and coleslaw
Just had these for dinner. We are a long way from a KFC but I’m sure your version is much nicer anyway. I used gluten free flour and breadcrumbs which turned out fine. They turned over ok but stuck a bit at the end which pulled off some of the coating.
I’m so happy to hear they worked gluten free! That’s great Abi! N x
I don’t have buttermilk and can’t get out due to an ice storm! Would this work with making buttermilk out of whole milk and vinegar instead (1T vinegar + milk to reach 1 cup)?
Hello Nagi! I haven’t made this yet but what do you think about making this with bone in thighs and if so how would you recommend adjusting the temp and time? Thanks!