Coconut Crusted Chicken Tenders
January 17th, 2011 § 42 Comments
I am over the moon with coconut. Head over heels, batting my eyelashes, can’t get enough, wish it would call me more often, think the sun rises and sets by…coconut.
So, as you might imagine, toasted coconut takes my love to the tenth power, multiplied by infinity. Alarming levels of love and dependency are reached. The normally tender, chewy flakes become a bit crunchy…crumbly even. The sweetness turns richer, nuttier.
Enter coconut crusted chicken tenders. Exit all sensibilities.
There’s loveliness about traditional chicken tenders, chicken fingers, whatever you fondly call moist strips of chicken fried golden and crisp-crumbed. In fact, they’re some of life’s simple pleasures. They feel indulgent, satisfying, fun in that pick-upable way. Tossing and toasting them with flakes of coconut mingles their normally savory, salty flavor with sweetness.
I’m so pleased with how well these turned out. Because while I expected to like them purely based on ingredients used and the general enjoyment I get from making bar food healthier, I didn’t realize they’d have such a unique depth of flavor. I expected, well, simple coconut flavor. What I got was nuttier, more salty caramel flavor.
Fellow coconut lovers, you’re welcome.
Coconut Crusted Chicken Tenders
I began with chicken breasts, and sliced them into long, one inch thick strips.
I let them relax in a bath filled with two lightly beaten eggs.
Then I tossed them in a pile of panko breadcrumbs mixed with sweetened, shredded coconut, a generous pinch of salt, and pepper.
First, I lightly fried them in a pan for 3 minutes on each side, just so they’d develop that golden crust, and then I finished cooking them in the oven. I love this fry-bake method because it uses less oil to get the tenders cooked through, but still produces that delicious crunchy coating. It’s the same way I make buffalo chicken tenders, which are equally as tasty.
Coconut Chicken Tenders
(serves 4)
- 1 lb chicken tenderloins or chicken breasts, sliced into long, 1″ thick strips
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
- 3/4 cup shredded, sweetened coconut
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
Preheat oven to 400°F. Create an assembly line for easy coating of each tenderloin: Place all chicken strips on one plate. Next to that, place flour in a wide, shallow bowl. Lightly whisk eggs in another wide, shallow bowl. Combine panko, coconut, salt, and pepper in a fourth and final wide, shallow bowl. Now, take one chicken strip and toss it in the flour, shaking off the excess. Then, dredge the floured strip in the egg bath. Next, gently toss the chicken strip in the panko/coconut mixture, pressing to coat on each side. Place the coated strip on a plate or cookie sheet until you have finished coating all of the chicken.
Next, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat on your stove top. Add one tablespoon oil, swirling to coat. Add half of the chicken strips in a single layer, leaving space between each one. Cook for about 3 minutes, then flip and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Remove the chicken to a foil lined baking sheet coated with nonstick cooking spray. Add the remaining one tablespoon oil to the pan and then the second half of the chicken strips and cook for 3 minutes per side. Remove that second batch and place on the baking sheet. Set it in the oven for 10 minutes, so that the chicken tenders can cook through.
You’ve sold me. I’m a big fan of coconut and a fair-weather fan of chicken. But put coconut on chicken and I think I can cheer for both =)
I am the hugest fan of coconut! Omygoodness, thank you thank you thank you!
I am trying that without a doubt!!
Those look beautiful!
Have made these and they are KIller Good,hot or cold…Did alter somewhat,cut down on the salt and added 2 tablespoons of orange zest,,,Fast and very easy to put together..will be a staple in my home..
i think my husband might fall more in love with me if i make him this. seriously…with a great dipping sauce?! couldn’t be more perfect!
I just squealed a little at my desk when I read this. These look SO good that I would actually touch a raw chicken breast to make them.
This looks INCREDIBLE! Thank you for sharing, I will definitely be trying this!
These look delicious. Perfect finger food for a girls night of drinks and games. Thanks so much for the recommendation.
These look amazing. The buffalo chicken ones sound amazing. Cleary, I am going to be making a lot of chicken fingers in the next few weeks!
Oh good, I’m so glad to hear that we have yet another thing in common. Coconut. Mmm…I would put it on top of everything if I could.
This recipe sounds absolutely wonderful!
Last night I made your lemon cordon bleu. My husband loved the fact that I was making something so new, so gourmet. Everyone loved it!
Chicken tenders with coconut. Who wouldn’t share your love coconut, even if only in imaginations, after reading of your eloquent affection? The coconut is famous here in Bangkok, paired with chicken in something delicious called Tom Kha Gai. Do you ever cook Thai food?
YUM- Tom Kha Gai is delicious! I’m going to have to try a homemade version! I don’t cook Thai too often. I think the last thing I made was Pad See Ew.
I love coconut too! I make coconut crusted baked chicken breast. But it doesn’t look as fantastic as this! Yumm-y!
They are calling me!
This recipe was made for me! I could live on coconut shrimp!
That looks so good. Seriously, I want to eat them right now. It doesn’t help that I ate my lunch for breakfast. Could you please consider becoming a SW woman instead of a NW/NE one? I think TX needs your charm and elegance. I do. Truly. We have something called a Pig Sandwich here. Finesse is needed.
Food your bread yourself always tastes so much more amazing than anything you can buy in a restaurant or in the frozen section of the g-store.
Btw – I just gave you a blogger award on my last post.
Thanks Kelly!!
easiest, tastiest dinner ever! posted to my fb page and got many notes of satisfied customers!! thanks andrea!
[...] Coconut Crusted Chicken Fingers [...]
[...] recipe is courtesy of Andrea at Can You Stay for Dinner here. Wow, as I fished around her blog for the correct link, I realized something….I am getting [...]
So, I NEVER post on blogs – this is a first for me – but your awesome recipe here compels me to do so. After 6 years as a vegetarian, I’m just starting to wrap my head around cooking meat, and these chicken fingers are one of my few incontrovertible successes. I actually didn’t make it exactly to your recipe, to be honest, but your detailed directions provided a perfect framework. Since it is Passover for us Jews, I swapped out the panko and instead ran a slice of matzah through my food processor until it was a panko-like texture. And, I used matzah-meal flour instead of regular flour. Otherwise, I followed your recipe to a tee. Thanks for this great recipe!
Alycia, this makes me so very happy. Thank you thank you thank you! I’m lucky to have you as a reader
Made this tonight to the acclaim of the hubs and our guests. Thanks a mill! It was delish.
I made these last week….didn’t have panko so I just used plain break crumbs but they turned out really great! I wish I’d had some sweet chili sauce to dip them in…would’ve been even better!
I think I will make them tonight with the panko and buy the sweet chili sauce!
What do you think would make a great side dish with these?
these r on the menu for tomorrow night! chicken defrosting in fridge now:) now to find a coconut curry dipping sauce….
I have made some very similar to these before, and they are amazing! Instead of Panko I used the Shake and Bake Extra Crispy breading mixed with a dash of Cayenne Pepper and Paprika! They turned out amazing!
Hey! Do you think these would taste good at all COLD? (well, on a picnic?)
I have made these twice in two weeks now! So yummy!! I put your recipe on my blog!
I loved this idea, but I have to eat gluten and egg free, so I took the chicken and marinated it a mix of cream of coconut and coconut milk with a teaspoon of green curry. Then used coconut flour instead of regular flour, and tortilla (corn) crumbs instead of panko. Then I served it with with a pineapple salsa. It was AMAZING thanks!
oops I can’t eat gluten… bed time lol
I was going to make chicken fingers with panko bread crumbs. I’m glad I came across your site…now I will try your recipe! Love the beautiful photography too.
~Carmen
Do you think unsweetened coconut would work? These look amazing!
I just have to tell you – this recipe is genius and my family absolutely loves it! We are coconuts for coconut and this was such a hit!
)
I also want to give you major kudos for taking the time to include step-by-step pictures in all your recipes. I am a very visual person and this helps me each step of the way, knowing I am doing everything correctly. I wasn’t born with a baking gene, but a cooking gene and I love your recipes – thank you SO much!
Yumm this was amazing
thanks for the great recipes and inspiring blog!
Delicious meal!
I connected to your blog via pinterest. Your recipes look wonderful. I’m making this one tomorrow. My peeps will love it. Keep posting. You have a gift for this.
I made these the other day and I have to tell you how wonderful it was!
I am gluten free and refined sugar free, so I made a few adaptions. I used crispy gluten free bread crumbs blended in my food processor. I also used unsweetened shredded coconut, but mixed in a little agave to sweeten it up. I also dipped the chicken in a gluten free all purpose flour. These turned out so fabulous!! My daughter asked to have this chicken for her birthday dinner instead of going out to a restaurant as we normally do. I shared the left-overs (we made a double batch) with my sister, who does not like coconut and loves gluten. She LOVED these cold in her lunch the next day! She couldn’t believe the ingredients when she asked for the recipe!
My family is so very happy you shared this recipe and it will be in our rotation often! Thank you!
I can’t wait to try these! I’m going to pan-fry them in virgin organic coconut oil, though. Healthier than canola (most canola is made from pesticide ridden GMO seed) and with the coconut already in the recipe, it can only add to it!! Love your blog!
[...] really yummy!! I'll let you know how they turn out! I'm going to use this recipe instead: Coconut Crusted Chicken Tenders | Can You Stay For Dinner? Because I'm lacking some of the ingredients from the other recipe I posted, and I already did my [...]
[...] Coconut Crusted Chicken Tenders with Baked Sweet Potatoes and Salad (spinach, cherry tomatoes, goat cheese, and poppyseed dressing) [...]
I made these the other night and they were divine! Hope you don’t mind if I share them on my blog. I finally finished reading yours in its entirety this week – what a fun read. It was pure coincidence, but I finished on your second blog anniversary
Keep up the good work!
I saw your recipe here earlier today: Coconut Chicken Crispers and had to try it already tonight. It was so good! I never would have thought about coconut with chicken, glad you inspired me. My husband really liked it too.