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These gluten free chicken tenders, with the crispiest crust and the juiciest chicken, are breaded in a super easy, no-mess way. One bite, and this delicious, crowd-pleasing, and healthy dinner will be on repeat every week!
What makes this recipe special
These golden brown, crispy chicken strips taste like they were fried, even though they were baked in the oven.
Rather than dipping the raw chicken first in flour, then egg, and finally breadcrumbs, we make a super thick batter with egg, flour, mayo and spices. The batter is much less messy than dipping it separately, plus it's so thick it really clings to the chicken.
Plus, the strips are even crispier when you quickly and easily prep the raw dish ahead of time by letting the strips soak in the raw batter, covered, during the day. Coat in breadcrumbs and bake as directed about 20 minutes before you'd like to eat dinner.
How to make gluten free chicken tenders
1. Prepare the chicken
Slice skinless boneless chicken breasts into strips, cutting away any gristle or fat.
2. Make the coating batter
Whisk together mayonnaise, egg, salt, pepper, gluten free flour and savory spices in a mixing bowl. It should be smooth and soft, but thick.
3. Soak the chicken
Place the prepared chicken strips in the whisked batter, and toss to coat every piece of chicken evenly in the thick batter. Make sure it's coated on all sides. If you have the time, let the chicken sit at room temperature for at least 10 minutes or up to 8 hours, covered, in the refrigerator.
4. Coat in breadcrumbs
In a separate mixing bowl, place coarsely ground gluten free bread crumbs. Lift each chicken strip from the batter and press into the breadcrumbs on all sides. Make sure the strips don't have any bare spots without batter.
5. Place on a baking sheet
Place each piece of breadcrumb-coated chicken on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Leave just enough room between strips to spray with cooking spray on all sides.
6. Spray with oil
Spray the tops and sides of every strip generously with cooking oil spray. This will help them crisp and brown deeply and cook quickly.
7. Bake
Bake at 375°F for about 18 minutes, or until golden brown all over and measuring at least 165°F on an instant read thermometer so they're safe to eat. Since the batter is so thick, it protects the chicken from drying out so I like to bake the chicken until it reads closer to 185°F for an extra crispy shell.
Expert tips
I have never made a bad batch of gluten free chicken fingers using this method and recipe. Here are still a few tricks that can help guide you to success the very first time you make this recipe.
Use a very hot oven
If your chicken is really cold when you put it in the oven, the oven temperature will drop If you've prepared and soaked the strips in the refrigerator first, let them warm to closer to room temperature before you bake them or just plan to bake them a few minutes longer.
Prep the raw dish ahead of time
Batter the chicken and let it sit in the refrigerator for even 10 minutes before coating and baking it. The batter tenderizes the raw chicken pieces, and also helps protect them from the direct heat of the oven. Just slice the chicken strips and place them in the simple raw batter in the morning, before your day begins. Cover the bowl and place the battered but unbreaded chicken pieces in the refrigerator.
Tips for using the air fryer
I've made gluten free chicken nuggets in the air fryer, and you can use that same method to make these tenders crispy in the air fryer. Preheat your air fryer to 350°F, place the prepared strips in the air fryer basket, and spray lightly with cooking oil spray. Cook for 10 minutes, flip, and then continue to air fry until golden brown and the center of each registers at least 165°F (about 5 minutes more).
Changing up the spices
I like to make the simplest vegetable bouillon powder for this recipe, since I use it to make gluten free “Rice a Roni” all the time.
But I also sometimes substitute the bouillon with our gluten free taco seasoning with great results. Serve it with sriracha mixed with mayonnaise or sour cream, but only if you want rave reviews!
The vegetable bouillon powder just adds a rich, chicken-style flavor to the strips—even though it's vegetarian.
Be sure not to just leave out the herbs and spices, then. You'll want that flavor!
Ingredient substitutions
This gluten free chicken recipe is already also naturally dairy-free, so there's no need to discuss ingredient substitutions if you can't have dairy.
Mayonnaise is dairy free, but it's made from eggs and oil. There's also a separate whole egg in the batter.
Egg free
The mayonnaise helps seal in the moisture in the chicken, so that it bakes up crispy but still juicy every time. In its place, you can try a vegan mayonnaise. There are some really good ones, including Follow Your Heart brand “Vegenaise.”
In place of the whole egg, try a “chia egg.” That's made by combining 1 tablespoon ground white chia seeds and 1 tablespoon lukewarm water in a small bowl, and allowing it to sit until it gels.
Mayonnaise-free
If you can have eggs but you've run out of mayonnaise or just really don't want to use it, you can replace the 3 tablespoons of mayonnaise with 4 tablespoons neutral oil like canola, vegetable, or avocado oil whisked vigorously with the egg until it forms an emulsion.
Breadcrumb-free
If you don't have coarsely ground gluten free bread crumbs and don't want to make your own, you can use plain crushed gluten free crackers or a combination of crackers and crushed plain potato chips. I don't like using all potato chips since the dish tends to be oily.
Easy Gluten Free Chicken Tenders Recipe
Ingredients
For the easy vegetable bouillon powder
- 4 ½ teaspoons (8 g) nutritional yeast flakes
- 1 teaspoon dried onion flakes, can substitute 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon dried parsley
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon turmeric
For the chicken
- 1 ½ pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 egg, any size
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup (36 g) superfine white rice flour, or gum-free gluten free flour blend
- 2 to 3 cups Panko-style gluten free bread crumbs, homemade or store-bought
- Cooking oil spray
Instructions
- Make the bouillon powder. In a small bowl, place all of the ingredients and whisk to combine well. Set the bowl aside.
- Trim the chicken breasts of any fat or gristle. Cut it into strips about 4” long x 3/4” wide x 1/4” thick. Set the chicken aside.
- In a medium-size bowl, place the mayonnaise, egg, salt, pepper, and bouillon powder blend. Whisk until very well-combined.
- Add the rice flour and whisk until very well-combined again. The batter will be thick.
- Using the tines of a fork, add all of the prepared chicken strips to the batter. Toss to coat all sides of each piece of chicken in the batter.
- At this point, the battered raw chicken can be covered and refrigerated for up to 8 hours.
- When you’re ready to bread and bake the chicken tenders, preheat your oven to 375°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.
- Place 2 cups of gluten free bread crumbs in a medium-size bowl. Again using a fork, add about 1/3 of the battered chicken strips to the bowl at a time.
- Toss to coat all sides of each piece of chicken fully in the bread crumbs. Press the chicken pieces gently to help the crumbs adhere to the batter, and add more bread crumbs as necessary to coat all the chicken.
- Lift each piece of breaded raw chicken out of the bowl, one at a time, and place flat on the prepared baking sheet. The chicken pieces can be right next to one another, as long as they don’t overlap.
- Spray the tops of the chicken strips liberally with cooking oil spray.
- Place the baking sheet in the center of the preheated oven. Bake for about 18 minutes, or until the chicken strips are golden brown all over.
- Test the thickest pieces of chicken with an instant read thermometer. They should read at least 165°F (but will likely be closer to 185°F).
- Serve immediately with your favorite dipping sauce.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can you leave out the yeast powder? It’s not something I use.
The nutritional yeast gives this recipe tons of flavor. If you’d prefer to use your own spice blend, feel free!
It was totally amazing chicken. I do want to make one modification next time I make it though. I think it will be even better if I mix bread crumbs with grated Parmesan cheese before breading.
These are great and can be partially be made ahead!
Hi could these be frozen raw and then defrosted and cooked or cooked and frozen?
I’ve never tried freezing them raw, actually, Denise, but I think it would probably work quite well. I have, actually, made and frozen them many times. Just be sure to underbake them a little bit if you plan to freeze them, so you can finish baking them until brown when you’re about to eat them.
Can these be fried? I don’t have any cooking spray!
I’ve never actually deep-fried these, Jenny. I don’t recommend it, since the batter may slip off. I’d just wait until you get some cooking oil spray. It’s really useful!
can you use whole wheat flour for the chicken strips?
Nicky, this is a purely gluten free blog, and all the recipes are designed to be used with gluten free flours and gluten free flour blends. I’m afraid I wouldn’t know if you could use a gluten-containing flour.
This is really good. Didn’t have yeast so left it out & totally forgot to add rice flour so it is also a very forgiving recipe. & the kid hates mayo but he couldn’t tell it was in there. Very tender chicken & tasty too!
So glad you enjoyed it, Shannon. And yes! The mayo is a total secret. The rice flour helps crisp the crust, so definitely add it next time, you’ll love it even more. :)
Question: Can you use this recipe with fish? Also, what about using Quinoa Flakes instead of the bread crumbs?
This would work beautifully with a relatively firm white fish like tilapia, Andrea. But no, quinoa flakes are not a substitute for panko-style breadcrumbs. They’re very, very soft, and will just dissolve.
Excited to have your recipe after a failed soggy attempt my own just this past week !
I made this last night (8/25) for dinner it was delicous. The chicken was soooooooooooooooooo moist and incredibly flavorful. I only had gluten-free bread crumbs, but it was also very crispy. Thank you so much for the amazing recipes, Nicole.
I’m so glad to hear it, Stephanie! It’s a super simple recipe, but I make it every single week, and it’s a guaranteed hit. And you’re very welcome!
I have every single ingredient in this recipe except the nutritional yeast for the seasoning. Can I just leave it out or should I sub something else for it for the bulk or flavor? Suggestions? I have a pretty extensive pantry staple/spice collection but I’ve never used that so I don’t know what would be even remotely similar. I like your snazzy new upgrade on the “print” option too. Thanks for the recipes!
Hi, Faith! I discuss using another sort of spice blend, like our taco seasoning. There’s no real substitute for nutritional yeast itself, but if you have another GF powdered bouillon blend you like, use that. Or you could even just use a dried Italian seasoning, if you have one you love. It’s really just for flavor.
For the future, nutritional yeast is really good for you, and has a really lovely savory flavor. It’s sold everywhere now (it used to be a special order sort of thing), even Trader Joe’s.
Hahaha I’m glad you’re enjoying the new recipe and print format! It’s been a long time coming, and in the next week or so should be the default for every recipe. :)