Baked Cashew Crusted Chicken Tenders

If you have kids, you know that for them, chicken tenders are basically an entire food group. But chicken tenders are definitely not just for kids… especially when they’ve been crusted in a mouthwatering breading.

And let me tell you, once you’ve tried chicken tenders that have been crusted in cashews and coconut… you’ll never want to go back to plain breadcrumbs again.

Plus, these are baked in the oven, instead of fried, so you can feel good about sharing these with your family… or indulging in a big ‘ol plate yourself.

How to make cashew crusted chicken tenders?

This is just an overview; the full ingredients and directions are in the recipe card toward the bottom of this post.

1. Toast. Toasting the cashews and coconut brings out their flavor.
2. Grind. I find it’s easiest to grind up the cashews and coconut is to use a food processor, but you can finely chop them as well.
3. Bread. This is a three step breading process; flour, egg/lime, and cashews/coconut/spices.
4. Bake. Baking the chicken on a wire rack allows the air to circulate better, and keeps them nice and crispy.
5. Make dipping sauce. Nothing fancy here, just whisk and you’re good to go!

Variations of this recipe

• Chicken – you can use chicken tenderloins, or use boneless skinless chicken breasts and slice them into strips (which is what I did here). You can use this method to bread and cook whole chicken breasts, but the cooking time will need to be increased.
• Other protein – while I haven’t tested it, I think this breading would taste great with other proteins, like white fish or pork chops.
• Coconut – this recipe was tested with sweetened coconut flakes, but you can also use unsweetened if you prefer.
• No food processor – if you don’t have a food processor, you can absolutely make this recipe without one. Just use a sharp knife to chop the cashews and coconut into very small pieces.
• Alternate cooking methods – I haven’t tested cooking these chicken fingers in the air fryer, but I’m sure it could be done. If you do some experimenting, I’d love to know how it turns out, and I’ll share your air fryer instructions in the recipe card (with credit to you of course!).

Making baked chicken tenders ahead of time

While you can make these chicken fingers ahead of time, I don’t recommend it. This is because they won’t be as crispy as if you made them right before serving.

However, you can easily prep ahead and save yourself some time.

How to prep ahead for this recipe:

• Chicken – if using chicken tenderloins, no prep is needed. But if using chicken breasts, they can be sliced into tenders and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1 day.
• Breading – the cashews and coconut can be chopped in the food processor and stored in an airtight container at room temperature for several days.
• Seasonings – any seasonings can be combined and stored a room temperature for several days.
• Sauce – the dipping sauce can be made and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Storage

Leftover chicken tenders should be refrigerated in an airtight container and enjoyed within 3-4 days.

This recipe was originally published in July of 2015, and is a slightly adapted version of this coconut chicken tender recipe from Carlsbad Cravings. This post has been updated in 2023 with new photos, additional information, and another dipping sauce!