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:
I saw in the comments that these could be prepped up to the point right before baking and then frozen. I did that and followed the rest of recipe exactly but they never got crunchy or crispy. The topping even started coming off. I don’t know what went wrong since the recipes on this site are so amazingly good. I’ve made tenders before and didn’t have this trouble. 🙁
OMG, hubby made these and they are the bomb 👌 He had them in wraps for lunch for a few day after and so so good. We’re going to cook these and cryovac to take away with us when we go camping for our lunches. Absolutely perfect and delicious
Hi Nagi, just wondering if I could make these without the use of any dairy products, or eggs? Turns out my child has developed a dairy allergy, and unsure about the eggs at the moment too. Could the spice mix be used as a straight up seasoning with some oil? I could still add the polenta and flour as part of the seasoning mix maybe? Or do you think this would not be flavoursome enough? I understand the texture would be different to your recipe, but hoping to capture the flavour at least? Any advice you could offer would be much appreciated!
Hi Dewey, I have 2 daughters, one is allergic to dairy and the other eggs. I just substitute according to the ingredients. Nuttelex Buttery instead of butter and for buttermilk I add white vinegar to soy milk and let it sit until it goes a bit lumpy.
My lord Nagi – these are divine! You research everything so thoroughly and I love your recipes.
I did deep fry these for a dinner party – 180 degrees Celsius for 5 minutes (I brought the basket up every minute or two to check). Absolutely perfect!
Can these be made in an air fryer?
Great, crispy Baked Oven Fried Chicken Tenders – better than KFC!
So moist and flavorful! This is going in my regular rotation.
I made this with whole chicken thigh fillets. Cranked the fan forced oven to 230 and didn’t turn half way just checked on them. 25 min cooking time. It’s the second time I’ve made this with my kids. I don’t actually like KFC but these are great and much better than the original in my opinion. Great crunch and really tender chicken. Love your recipes Nagi!
What would you suggest as a suitable mustard powder substitute in this recipe?
Hi Nagi. When I compare the recipes for KFC Oven Baked Tenders and the Fried Chicken, I notice that the proportions in the spice mixes are quite different, eg 1.5 tsp of paprika compared to 2 tbls. Some spices are higher in one and lower in the other recipe and vice versa. Just wondering which is closer to KFC. Thank you
These were tasty.
Thanks Nagi!
Been making these for ages (pre kids). Made it again recently for my 3 year old – in a wrap (who btw, has never tried KFC) and asked him what he thought, he said: “it tastes just like a twister”. 😂 Go figure.
Are you sure he’s NEVER tried KFC?? 😂 N x
I made this for my partner who loves fast food but never gets to it because it’s gross and unhealthy and just no. So I thought I’d treat him and I made the full feast of these chicken tenders, the potato and gravy, some fries with chicken salt and corn on the cob. It was so delicious! These tenders were unbelievable and I loved the potato and gravy too.
Sometimes you just gotta get that fix Bron!! N x 🍗
Hi Nagi, I made this on Christmas Day last year and it was a hit! I was wondering if you could use this recipe with chicken drumsticks instead of tenderloins? My partner loves KFC chicken drumsticks so I wonder if it’s possible to. What would be the cooking time and temp? Thank you!
Hey Nagi have you tried using deb mash potato mix as a crumb coating? Mix it as a ratio of your crumb mix and try not to get it wet or you’ll end up with potato mud. It fries up really crunchy like potato crisps. Yum
No I haven’t, Clare…thanks for the tip! N x
Hands down an amazing meal. Served with your KFC gravy and baked hot chips covered in chicken salt. About to share this recipe with the family xx
MasterFoods make Celery Salt
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?