I love that these chicken fingers are baked, but you’d never know it from tasting them… they are incredibly crunchy!
Just set up your breading area with 3 dishes and work your way down the line, breading your chicken fingers.
Tip: Breading chicken can be very messy and frustrating, so here’s how I do it. Have one hand your designated “wet hand”. It’s the one you pick up the raw chicken, toss it in the flour, give it a bath in the egg mixture, and place it in the breadcrumbs dish. Then use your other designated “dry hand” to coat it in the breadcrumbs. It helps a lot 🙂
Place your chicken fingers on a foil lined baking sheet that’s been sprayed with cooking spray and bake for about 20 minutes or so. While they’re baking, go ahead and whisk your sauce together in a saucepan. It will bubble and smell deeeeelicious!
Once the chicken is done baking, either dip the chicken fingers into the sauce, or place your chicken in a big bowl and toss it with the sauce.
This chicken has a kick… but definitely a delicious one! The sweetness tones down the heat, and you can always drizzle some ranch or blue cheese dressing over the top to cool them down even more if you’d like.
I had some of my roasted corn and poblano salsa leftover, so I thought about making these into a chicken taco!
You guys… Best. Chicken. Taco. EVER. You have to try this 🙂
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
- Chicken:
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts sliced into strips
- 1 tsp salt
- black pepper to taste
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- pinch of cayenne pepper
- 1 cup flour
- 2 large eggs and about a tablespoon of water whisked
- 2 cups Panko bread crumbs
- Sauce:
- 2 1/4 cups brown sugar
- 2/3 cup Frank’s hot sauce I used original
- 2-3 Tbsp honey
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 4 Tbsp water
Instructions
- For the chicken:
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.
- Set up your breading “station” by having three dishes all side by side. Place the flour in one dish, egg mixture in another, and the bread crumbs in the last dish.
- Add your paprika and cayenne to your flour and stir together to combine.
- Lightly salt and pepper your chicken, then coat chicken strip in flour. Place chicken in the egg mixture and turn to coat. Next, place the chicken in the breadcrumbs and press the bread crumbs into the chicken to coat thoroughly. Repeat with remaining chicken strips.
- Place the chicken on prepared baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, or until chicken is brown and cooked through.
- For the Sauce:
- Whisk the brown sugar, honey, and hot sauce together in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it bubbles. Add the garlic powder and water, and whisk to combine thoroughly.
- Coat the chicken with the sauce and set aside on a serving plate. Garnish with green onions if desired.
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Chef Tips
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Lathiya says
This looks so delicious.. mouthwatering?
Carlee @cookingwithcarlee says
Those look so good! That sauce sounds wonderful. I love Franks hot sauce. I’ve never used it in a sweet and heat recipe. I think we would love this! Pinning to try!
The Chunky Chef says
Thank you Carlee!! Franks hot sauce is super tasty and I hope you love these as much as we do!! 😀
Cydnee/Tampa Cake Girl says
Wow! Your recipe looks delicious! Thank you very much for joining in the celebration of #purebloglove, we enjoy having you each week. I hope to see you on Thursday at 8PM, EST through Sunday night. ~Cydnee
The Chunky Chef says
Thank you Cydnee!! I love joining the #purebloglove party each week 😀
Indu says
Another mouthwatering recipe Amanda! Love this spicy version of chicken nuggets and the sticky sauce. thanks for the tips on breading technique. I always get frustrated! I will try your method now! 🙂
The Chunky Chef says
Thank you Indu!!! 😀 I hope you love the breading method and how yummy these chicken fingers are 😀
Sandhya says
Amanda,
These look awesome. My mouth is watering looking at them. The breading tips are brilliant too!
The Chunky Chef says
Thank you so much Sandhya!! I spend many a time with two completely coated hands and thought, “there has to be a better way!” 🙂
Liz says
I bet those tacos were amazing, what a great combnation of crunchy – sweet – and spice. Yum!
The Chunky Chef says
Thank you Liz!! They’re crazy good 🙂
skd says
OMG! OMG! This is sheer torture. Not just one bite. I can live on that for days and weeks. It looks incredible……
The Chunky Chef says
Thank you SO much skd!! 😀
Angie says
Totally making these!! Look crazy good! You and Stephanie sure know how to cook chicken. I’ve already bookmarked her maple waffle nuggets, and now I’m bookmarking this! 🙂
The Chunky Chef says
Thank you Angie!! 😀 Ohhh yes, we sure do love our chicken! And I know what you mean, those maple waffle nuggets look SOOOOO good!
Miz Helen says
Oh my goodness your Sweet and Spicy Sticky Chicken Fingers look fantastic! Thanks so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday and have a great week.
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen
The Chunky Chef says
Thank you Miz Helen!! 😀 Enjoy your weekend!
Sonal says
These look great! I would probably end up eating at least 25% before serving these! Yum!
The Chunky Chef says
Thank you Sonal!! I *may* have taste tested one or two before they hit the table 😉
Caroline | carolinescooking says
Ooh, these look delicious! And they look really good in the tacos too (clearly tacos on the mind this week 🙂 – me too!) Will definitely have to see about trying these.
The Chunky Chef says
Thank you Caroline!! Tacos are allllways a great idea, and yours look yummy too 😀
Hilda says
Another great chicken dish! I also appreciate the tips on breading without breading one’s own fingers in the process.
The Chunky Chef says
Thank you Hilda! I swear sometimes I would end up with more breading on my fingers than on the actual food lol
Jhuls | The Not So Creative Cook says
Oh, these are lip-smackingly good!! Happy FF!! 😀
The Chunky Chef says
Thank you Jhuls!! Happy FF to you too 😀 😀
Dee says
I love panko, and the chicken looks good too! Pinned. 🙂
The Chunky Chef says
Thank you Dee!! 😀
Michelle @ A Dish of Daily Life says
I am all over this recipe…I LOVE It! It’s going on the menu SOON! I actually pinned it earlier today! 🙂
The Chunky Chef says
Thank you so much Michelle!!! I can’t wait for you to try it 😀
Jen says
This chicken looks so AMAZING! I am thinking we will give it a try this weekend. Thanks Much. Dropping by from Foodie Friends:)
The Chunky Chef says
Thank you so much Jen! I hope you LOVE them as much as we do 😀
Dini @ Giramuk's Kitchen says
You can bet that I will be making these!! We eat SO MUCH chicken at home and I’m ALWAYS looking for new ways to try them! This is number one on the list!! 😀
The Chunky Chef says
Thank you Dini!! We’re the chicken twins lol… I buy so much chicken, it’s insane. I hope you LOVE these 😀
Julie is HostessAtHeart says
You “girls” hit it out of the park with this one! I love the sticky stuff and is a big reason I love Asian dishes.
The Chunky Chef says
Thank you Julie!! 😀 I’m so with you, sticky is awesome 😀
Sridevi Ravi says
These chicken fingers are so tempting that a vegetarian like me cannot stop gawking! Lovely pictures and amazing preparation! I could not believe they are baked! I like your breading station and the technique to follow. Good…good job, Amanda!
The Chunky Chef says
Thank you so much Sridevi!! That’s a great compliment, that a vegetarian loves the look of the chicken 😀 I love baked chicken that is so crispy it tastes like fried, but much healthier 🙂
Stephanie says
YAAAAYYY!!!! OMG, Gorgeous pictures!!! I love the one where you’re pouring the sauce on the chicken, totally worth having a little breadcrumb come off 😉 ….I’m so glad you loved these as much as I did… they’re so sticky, I found it hard to take a pic of them but you did amazing! The idea of putting them in tacos is too much for me to handle, I have to make that tonight! You even have the homemade tortillas and everything, you killed me!! 😉
…Sincerely, Your homegirl. Love it.
The Chunky Chef says
Thank you girl!!!! I tried a few different picture ideas, and finally found a shot that showed the crispiness and stickiness 😀 You know me and tacos… I put just about anything into a taco 😉 I had such a blast both making and eating these, thank you SOOOO much for sharing them. My family all loved them, and we’ll be making them A LOT 😀