I’m not gonna lie, anything breaded is better fried than baked but I felt like being good today so I baked these honey mustard chicken strips. If you give them a shallow fry in a skillet, they’ll be crispier, more moist, and more golden brown.
BUT for a baked chicken strip, they’re pretty freakin’ fantastic. Especially with the honey mustard dipping sauce. The sauce is actually the marinade, binding agent for the panko crumbs, AND the dipping sauce. It’s very multi-purpose, which makes this recipe a whole lot faster and easier than most breaded chicken recipes. No three step dredging here! Oh, and did I mention that I made it with light mayo? Yep, and it was still bangin’. But you gotta use Hellman’s light mayo because that’s the only one that tastes right.
Here is a tip for keeping this recipe low cost: buy the chicken and the panko in bulk. I buy chicken breasts in a large 5 lb. pack and then divide it up into freezer bags of two breasts each when I get home. If you happen to catch a “getting close to the sell-by date” sale on top of that, you’ll get a super deal. Panko crumbs can be expensive if you buy them in a small box but if you have a Whole Foods or similar store near by, check their bulk bins. I got my panko crumbs for 1.99/lb. I bought about 4 cups for only $1.39. Score!
Honey Mustard Chicken Strips
Honey Mustard Chicken Strips
Servings 4Ingredients
- 2 large chicken breasts, about 1.5 lbs. ($2.48)
- 1 cup mayonnaise ($1.69)
- 1/3 cup honey ($0.79)
- 1/4 cup mustard, any variety ($0.27)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp paprika ($0.02)
- to taste salt and pepper ($0.05)
- 2 cups Panko breadcrumbs ($0.70)
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine the mayonnaise, mustard, honey, garlic powder, paprika, and some freshly ground black pepper. Stir until everything is evenly combined then taste and season with salt to your liking. Divide the sauce into two portions. Half will be the marinade and half will be the dipping sauce – it MUST stay separate. Keep the sauce refrigerated until ready to use.
- Trim the chicken breasts of excess fat and slice diagonally into 1/2 inch thick strips. You should get about 14-16 strips total. Place the sliced chicken in a bag or bowl with half of the honey mustard sauce and stir to coat. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or over night.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a dredging station by lining a large baking sheet with foil and then placing two wire cooling racks on top. The wire racks keep the strips lifted as they bake so that the bottoms will crisp too. Coat the wire racks with non-stick spray. Pour the panko crumbs into a wide, shallow bowl.
- One by one, coat the chicken strips with panko crumbs. Do not wipe off excess honey mustard sauce before coating with panko, the sauce helps it adhere. Place the strips on the wire rack as you bread them. Continue until all of the strips are coated with panko crumbs. Discard the leftover honey mustard sauce that the chicken was marinating in.
- Bake the chicken strips in the oven until the crumbs have turned golden brown (about 30 minutes). To Fry: Alternatively, heat about 1/2 inch of vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until the surface of the oil looks wavy. Fry a few strips at a time on each side until they are golden brown and crispy. Drain on a plate covered with paper towels.
- Serve warm with the reserved half of the honey mustard sauce.
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Nutrition
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Step By Step Photos
Start by making the sauce/marinade. Combine the mayonnaise, mustard, honey, garlic powder, pepper and paprika in a bowl. I used both regular yellow mustard and dijon but you can use any kind that you like.
Stir it all together until it’s well combined then taste it and season with salt to your liking. Separate the sauce in two. Half will be used to marinate the chicken, the other half will be used to dip the cooked chicken strips in. Keep the sauce refrigerated until you’re ready to use.
Slice the chicken diagonally into thin strips. I got about 15 strips out of the two breasts.
Place the chicken strips and half of the honey mustard sauce into a ziplock bag or a bowl, toss to coat the chicken, and then marinate for at least 30 minutes (refrigerated).
Prepare the dredging station by lining a large baking sheet with foil and then placing two wire cooling racks on top. The racks will keep the strips elevated as they bake, allowing the bottom to crisp up too. Pour the panko crumbs into a wide shallow bowl.
One by one, coat the chicken in the panko crumbs. Do not wipe off excess mustard sauce before breading. The sauce is what makes the crumbs adhere. I like to completely bury the strip in the crumbs, pat down on it, then gently fish it out and then they are completely coated. Place the strips on the wire rack as you bread them. Discard any left over marinade because it has raw chicken germs in it.
Once they’re all breaded, bake in a 400 degree oven (preheated) for about 30 minutes or until they’re golden brown. If you want to give the chicken a light dusting of spray oil before they go in the oven, this will help with the browning… I forgot to do that step!
This is my chicken after about 35 minutes. Frying them in oil will yield a much more golden, crispy chicken strip… but that’s up to you.
Dip the chicken strips in the reserved half of the honey mustard sauce. Oooh, it was so good.
Mmm, thick, sweet, tangy sauce…
AND I just happened to have the ingredients on hand to turn the chicken strips into a wrap! YUM.
Has anyone tried freezing the uncooked chicken strips with the marinade on it?
A favorite in our household! Super easy, and even though I’m not a fan of most honey mustards, I love this homemade honey mustard and use it all the time. My oven cooks fast so it only takes a our 25 min for the chicken strips to cook. They come out wonderful and consistent everytime. My daughter is always excited when she knows I’m making this for dinner.
This is my children’s favorite dish!! I have been having trouble finding something that all 4 of them like…it has become a constant battle, but every time I make this (I have now made it about 5 times), they are ALL happy!!
Thank you so much!!
I’ve made this twice now! My go to chicken tender recipe , easy and delicious! I only home cook now and this is a great recipe for anyone who is looking to dish the processed frozen food for good! Amazing honey mustard too!
What if i dont have a rack to plce them on :(
You’re welcome to bake them right on the pan! The rack just allows air to circulate under the bottom so they stay super crispy. Yours might just not be as crispy on the bottom!
DELICIOUS! Seriously, every one of your recipes is amazing. In the past couple of weeks, I’ve made these, the falafel, sticky soy ginger chicken…all delicious! Thanks so much!
Delicious! I halved the recipe and it was perfect for 2-3 people. Didn’t have time to marinade, just dredged in seasoned flour and then in 1/2 of the sauce and then Panko. Finally the secret to a yummy and creamy honey mustard sauce and crispy oven baked Tenders Thank you.
Delicious. I added some extra dijon mustard and about 1/4 cup of sriracha. Also, instead of frying, I baked these according to the directions in the Sriracha Chicken Strips recipe on this site. Absolutely outstanding. Thanks for another great recipe, Beth!
Excellent, easy recipe! Any idea how long the honey mustard dressing would last in the fridge?
There’s no exact cut off date, but probably around 4-5 days.
I would think as long as the ingredients in the sauce would last that’s how long the sauce would last. I think Beth has to play it safe saying 4-5 days. But if the ingredients are mayo, mustard, and honey, I’d feel completely comfortable leaving that in the fridge for as long as I’d leave mayo or mustard in the fridge. And the honey doesn’t even need refrigeration. So unless I’m fouling something up, I say you’re good for as long as you need it.
Amazing recipe. Super easy and tasted delicious! I added Parmesan and Italian seasoning into the panko mixture and since I was low on panko, I ground up corn flakes and that fluke put the added crunch in my tenders.
Absolutely delicious. I didn’t have any panko bread crumbs so I used regular Italian seasoned ones and they came out wonderfully. So much easier than trying to fry them.
hi, can i freeze the baked chicken? To reheat, do i first thaw in fridge then reheat in oven to retain the crispyness? what temperature should i set to reheat and for how long?thank you.
You can freeze it, but the breading will most likely get very soggy upon thawing. This one is best eaten fresh out of the oven.
Wow great recipe, will definitely try this!
2lg. chicken breasts – what does lg. mean? I could not find anywhere.
Sorry, that was “large”. I’ve updated it in the recipe. :)
This recipe was absolutely delicious! This is a must try recipe.
Could greek yogurt be used instead of mayonnaise?
I wouldn’t suggest substituting more than half of the mayo because Greek yogurt has a much more acidic flavor. Mayonnaise is more mellow and creamy thanks to the egg yolk.