This baked crispy coconut chicken recipe is definitely my go to recipe when I am trying to impress someone with my cooking skills. They are so tasty, and actually pretty simple to make and this recipe comes with the perfect sweet and spicy apricot sauce for dipping.
Don’t get me wrong, I love popping in those premade frozen chicken nuggets into the air fry just as much as the next mom, but sometimes you just need to make these delicious homemade baked chicken tenders just to remind yourself you could make fancy tenders if you wanted to.
Plus these tenders are an easy chicken dinner you can make when you are trying to switch things up a bit. No need to have the same chicken all the time, it’s always nice to enjoy a little oven-fried chicken every now and again.
These delicious homemade coconut panko tenders go wonderfully with our Instant Pot sweet potato casserole, slow cooker brown sugar glazed carrots, and then finish up with some tasty orange fluff jello salad!
Ingredients You’ll Need For Our Baked Crispy Coconut Chicken Tenders Recipe:
- Flaked coconut
- Panko bread crumbs
- Garlic powder
- Salt
- Curry powder
- Onion powder
- Cayenne pepper
- Flour
- Eggs
- Boneless, skinless chicken tenders
- Olive oil
- Apricot preserves
- Rice wine vinegar
- Crushed red pepper flakes
How To Make Our Baked Crispy Coconut Chicken Recipe:
Begin by preheating the oven to 450 degrees.
While the oven is preheating, roughly chop up the coconut flakes into the size of the panko crumbs as best as you can and then combine them with the panko crumbs in a shallow dish.
Then add in the garlic powder, salt, curry powder, onion powder, and the cayenne pepper to the panko and coconut flakes mixture and mix it all together.
Once you are done with that, place the flour in a separate shallow dish, as well as the beaten eggs in a shallow dish.
After you have the dishes set up, line a baking sheet with foil and then spray it with nonstick cooking spray and set it off to the side.
Then, take out your tenders and dredge one chicken tender through the flour, and then dip it in the beaten eggs, and then carefully coat it in the coconut panko mixture.
Be sure to press the coconut layer into the chicken to make sure the tender is coated well.
After it is coated, place the tender on the prepared baking sheet, and continue the same step with the rest of the chicken tender.
Once all of the tenders are on the baking sheet, lightly drizzle them with olive oil (this will help them crisp up nicely), and then place the pan in the oven, and let them cook for about 20 minutes or until the juices run clear.
It is important to keep an eye on the tenders especially if you have some thinner ones because they will go from perfectly cooked to overcooked fast. So start checking them around the 15 minute mark.
The tenders will be a light golden color when they are done.
While the coconut chicken tenders are cooking, you can begin making up the apricot dipping sauce.
Combine the apricot preserves, rice wine vinegar, and crushed red pepper flakes in a small bowl and mix it all together until they are completely blended.
To Make This Oven-Fried Chicken Dinner You Will Need:
- Shallow dish (3) (ones like THESE work great!)
- Baking sheet
- Aluminum foil
- Nonstick cooking spray
“I have so much time!” -No mom ever
Get My Meal Plans NOW!What Other Sauces Can You Serve With the Homemade Chicken Tenders?
If you don’t think you will like the sweet and spicy apricot dipping sauce, that is okay! There are plenty more sauces that will go great with these homemade baked chicken tenders.
Some of our favorites to serve with them as well are either sweet and sour, teriyaki sauce, honey, or really any other Asian dipping sauces that you like.
I am also a sucker for Chick Fil A’s Polynesian sauce. It is so good! It would go great with these homemade tenders too! If you love it and want to try and make it for yourself at home, take a look at The Frugal Navy Wife’s copycat Chick Fil A Polynesian sauce recipe. It is delicious!
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Save More Sweet and Savory Chicken Tender Recipes to Make Later!
- Baked Honey Lime Chicken Tenders Recipe
- Air Fryer Chicken Tenders Recipe
- Brown Sugar Bacon Chicken Tenders Recipe
- Pineapple Chicken Tenders
- Baked Chili Lime Chicken Tenders Recipe
- Baked Panko Chicken Recipe
Baked Crispy Coconut Chicken Tenders Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
- 1 cup Panko bread crumbs
- 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon curry powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ⅙ teaspoon cayenne pepper, (optional)
- ½ cup flour
- 2 eggs
- 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken tenders
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
Sweet and Spicy Apricot Dipping Sauce Recipe
- ½ cup apricot preserves
- 1 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- ¾ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Roughly chop the coconut so it's about the same size as the Panko pieces. Combine it with Panko and spices in a shallow dish. Mix well to distribute all of the spices.
- Place the flour in another shallow dish, and the eggs in another. Give the eggs a quick beating.
- Working with one chicken tender at a time, dredge in flour and then dip in egg, and then finally coat in the coconut Panko mixture. Press in with your fingers to make sure the entire thing is well coated.
- Place chicken tenders on a foil-lined baking sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. I give mine a tiny drizzle of olive oil on top to help them crisp nicely.
- Bake in your 450 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until juices run clear. Try not to overcook them because chicken tenders go from perfect to overcooked really fast! If your tenders are on the small side, they could even be done in about 15 minutes so keep an eye on them. If they're big they can take more like 25. The coconut will be nice and golden and the Panko crisp, but light in color still.
- To make the dipping sauce, combine the preserves, rice wine vinegar, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl until blended.
Notes
- sweet and sour sauce
- teriyaki sauce
- honey
- any Asian dipping sauce you like
Nutrition
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mary
xo,
Laurie @ Gallamore West :)
The Teachers? Cauldron
I would be absolutely THRILLED if you would stop over at my place and link this up to Feature Friday FREE-FOR-ALL?going on right now!: http://www.fivedaysfiveways.com/2012/01/feature-friday-free-for-all-4.html.
So looking forward to seeing you there!
P.S. I tried to follow so I could keep up with you lovely blog, but the connection kept timing out. I'll try back soon : \
~Abbie
Aubrey
We just dipped our chicken strips in the sauce and then had a green salad on the side. I think it could be really good with sauce poured over it on rice, but you would need to double (or triple) the sauce recipe.