Tender and crispy Sesame Chicken Strips with well-seasoned panko bread crumbs and sesame seed coating stick to the chicken strips while baking, resulting in a crispy golden outer crust with tender chicken strip centers.
Time
- Prep time: 10 Minutes
- Chill time: 20 Minutes
- Total time: 30 Minutes
Key Ingredients Needed
- 1 pound chicken tenders or chicken breasts. Make sure that your chicken is from a good quality source and is not frozen when added to the oven. Frozen chicken strips will take longer to cook through and may result in the outer bread crumb coating to burn.
- 1 cup all purpose flour. You can use gluten-free flour should you like to make gluten-free sesame chicken strips.
- 1 egg. These act as the glue that will help to keep the breadcrumb coating on the chicken strips while baking. If you can’t eat eggs, consider using butter or yogurt instead.
- 1 cup bread crumbs. I’ve used Panko bread crumbs but you can make use of any other brand you prefer. There are also gluten-free packaged bread crumbs in most stores and online.
- 2 tablespoons paprika. This adds a mild spice level but you could opt for the spicy hot variety if you enjoy your food with a kick of heat.
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds. If you don’t enjoy sesame seeds, make use of poppy seeds or hemp seeds. It may alter the taste slightly but the outcome will still be super delicious!
- 1 dash salt. Table salt or kosher salt will work well. You can even opt for a low-sodium salt brand depending on your health needs.
Instructions/Step By Step Directions
Step 1: First preheat oven to 425 °F.
Step 2: Mix bread crumbs, salt, paprika and sesame seeds in a shallow bowl. Stir the bread crumb mixture so spices are evenly distributed.
Step 3: Place flour in the second bowl and beat the egg in the third one.
Step 4: If using whole chicken breasts cut them in 3/4 inch pieces and coat each in flour, then in egg and in bread crumbs mix.
Step 5: Place seasoned chicken on parchment paper or lightly greased foil and put it in the oven.
Step 6: Bake for 10 minutes and turn each piece on the other side. You can drip some olive oil at the top if you want.
Step 7: Bake another 10 minutes or until cooked through and golden brown.
Step 8: Serve with a sauce of your choice and with french fries, in tortilla or just with some salad.
How to store Oven-Baked Sesame Chicken Strips?
These sesame chicken strips should be stored in the refrigerator for 2-3 days in an airtight container. They will always taste the best freshly made with their crispy coating. I recommend reheating any leftover sesame chicken strips in the oven or in an air fryer for a few minutes, just to regain some of that crispy exterior to the breadcrumb coating.
Notes/Tips
- Although you can use chicken breasts for this recipe, I always try to use chicken tenders. It eliminates the extra work of having to cut up chicken breasts.
- Organizing your work station with the three bowls of ingredients (eggs, flour mixture, and bread crumbs with sesame seeds) will help you to work quickly and efficiently, limiting mess and fuss.
- It’s important to only coat the baking pan/tray with a light amount of olive oil. It’s why I use a pastry brush. If you are heavy handed with the oil, your sesame chicken strips will absorb that excess oil and risk becoming soggy instead of crunchy and crispy.
- You can prepare the flour mixture and breadcrumbs with sesame seeds the night before in separate bowls, covered with plastic wrap, and kept at room temperature but only whisk the eggs just prior to coating the chicken strips for freshness and food safety reasons.
- Spread the coated chicken strips out on the baking tray with adequate space between them so that they can crisp evenly without overcrowding.
Nutrition Information
- Serving size: 4
Amount Per Serving
- Calories: 398kcal
- Carbohydrates: 46g
- Protein: 33g
- Fat: 8g
- Saturated Fat: 2g
- Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g
- Monounsaturated Fat: 2g
- Trans Fat: 1g
- Cholesterol: 113mg
- Sodium: 358mg
- Potassium: 620mg
- Fiber: 4g
- Sugar: 2g
- Vitamin A: 1818IU
- Vitamin C: 1mg
- Calcium: 113mg
- Iron: 5mg
* All nutritional information provided is approximate/estimated and can vary depending on several factors such as the exact ingredients you use, so is not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietician for special diet advice.
* Nutritional values were obtained with automatic software using the amounts of products used. To get the most accurate representation of the nutritional values, you should calculate them with the actual ingredients used in your recipe. You are solely responsible for the nutritional information obtained to be accurate.