For my final recipe in my #BackToSchool series, I made a wonderful homemade version of a childhood classic… Chicken Strips with Honey Mustard Sauce. You could say I saved the best recipe for last!
Now I know we have all had frozen chicken strips before. There are varying qualities that are on the market, but I guarantee that this homemade version will blow all of them right out of the water! Not only are they made with natural, whole ingredients, they are baked and not fried. Honestly just by looking at them (and smelling and tasting them) you can’t notice a difference!
I have made a lot of chicken strips in my day, and I have experimented with many marinades, breadings, and cooking methods. This recipe combines all of my knowledge from YEARS of making chicken strips, and I am willing to give up all of my secrets to you!
Secret #1: Breadcrumbs
My first secret is the breadcrumbs and this is actually the most critical part of the chicken strip in my opinion. I always use panko breadcrumbs for my chicken strips since the breadcrumbs are bigger, crunchier and have lots of texture compared to those finer breadcrumbs that you can get in the store. But the style of breadcrumbs is only part of the secret, the other part is what gets mixed into them.
To the breadcrumbs, I add in melted butter. Haha…now you know why I’m raving! By coating the breadcrumbs in butter it allows them to get evenly golden brown and stay crispy in the oven. I also add some turmeric to the breadcrumbs to help the chicken strips get a head start at becoming that gorgeous golden colour. It does not add any flavour whatsoever but it looks much more visually appealing.
Secret #2: Baking
This secret might just be common knowledge to some, but it took me a long time to figure out the best cooking method for chicken strips. I experimented with frying (which is tasty, but not that healthy..and messy), baking at medium temperatures, baking at high temperatures, or even doing a combination of baking and frying. But after all of my trials, I found that baking these chicken strips at a relatively high temperature (425 degrees F) yields the best strips. I also flip the chicken strips halfway through cooking to ensure that they get golden brown on both sides.
Secret #3: Keeping It Simple
Apart from a few other spices added into the flour and egg mixtures that I use before coating the strips in breadcrumbs, the recipe is fairly simple and uses everyday ingredients. Sometimes you don’t want a fancy or exotic tasting chicken strip, you just want the good old version that you are used to. Even the honey mustard dipping sauce that I make with these is simple; it has two ingredients: honey and mustard. That’s it! Sometimes I think the simple things are best, and this is definitely true for these chicken strips!
So that is it for my #BackToSchool series on my blog! I hope that you enjoyed all the recipes that I have posted throughout the week, and I hope that you give some (if not all) of them a try! Let me know in the comments below which one was your favourite!
For the full recipe for my Chicken Strips with Honey Mustard Sauce, keep scrolling down below!
Get the Recipe!
Chicken Strips with Honey Mustard Sauce
Ingredients
For the Chicken Strips:
- 3 chicken breasts sliced into 2 cm-wide strips
- 1/3 cup salted butter melted
- 3 cups panko breadcrumbs
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder optional
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
For the Honey Mustard Sauce:
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/2 cup dijon mustard
Instructions
- Begin by preparing the breadcrumbs. Combine the panko breadcrumbs, butter, turmeric, cayenne, and one teaspoon of salt in a large bowl. Mix everything together to ensure that the breadcrumbs are covered in butter.
- In another bowl, add the flour, sweet paprika, one teaspoon of salt and one teaspoon of black pepper and mix to combine.
- In another bowl, beat the eggs with one teaspoon of salt and one teaspoon of black pepper until fully combined.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and set aside.
- Begin breading your chicken strips. Dip a chicken strip into the flour mixture and coat it entirely with flour. Tap it against the bowl to shake off any excess flour.
- Next, dip the chicken strip into the egg mixture and stir to coat again. Tap against the bowl to get rid of any excess egg.
- Finally, dip the chicken strip into the breadcrumbs and roll it around to coat all sides. Gently pat the breadcrumbs on the chicken strip ans shake off the excess once fully coated. Place the breaded chicken strip on the baking sheet and continue to repeat this process until all the chicken strips are breaded.
- Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, flipping the chicken strips over halfway through cooking.
- While the chicken strips are baking, make the Honey-Mustard sauce my simply combining the honey and mustard in a small bowl. Set aside until you are ready to serve.
- After 30 minutes, remove the chicken strips from the oven and let them rest for 5 minutes. They should be golden brown in colour. Serve immediately with a side of Honey-Mustard sauce and enjoy!
