Baked coconut chicken tenders get tons of crunch from panko breadcrumbs, and tons of flavor from sweetened shredded coconut.
Baked coconut chicken tenders were part of a previously posted recipe for tropical salad with coconut chicken and pineapple vinaigrette. This crunchy, flavorful chicken goes perfectly with the fruity tropical salad. However, it’s fantastic served with anything. So, I’m creating this post specifically for the star of that tropical salad, the coconut chicken.
Making crispy baked chicken is a great alternative to making fried chicken. It’s crunchy and flavorful like fried chicken, but it has a lot less fat. However, this type of chicken only stays crispy for about 20 minutes. Once it gets properly stored in the refrigerator, the coating softens. The flavor is still great. It’s just not crispy. That’s something to keep in mind when determining how much of this chicken you want to make.
Baked Coconut Chicken Tenders Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
- 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
- 3/4 cup shredded sweetened coconut
- 1 pound chicken tenders about 8 tenders
- cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
- In a wide shallow dish, add the eggs, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Whisk until well combined. In a second wide shallow dish, add the panko breadcrumbs and shredded coconut. Stir to combine.
- Dip the chicken tenders in the egg mixture, coating both sides. Lift the chicken out of the egg and allow the excess to drip off. Place the egg coated chicken into the coconut mixture. Press the coconut mixture into the chicken ensuring that all sides are completely coated. Place the coconut coated chicken on the prepared baking sheet. Discard the excess egg and coconut mixture. Spray the tops of the chicken tenders with cooking spray.
- Bake on the middle oven rack for 12-14 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the coating is crisp and golden brown.
Nutrition
Check out all of my great chicken recipes.
Marisa @ Uproot from Oregon says
These look delicious! I love the idea of breading the chicken in coconut. I only have unsweetened – do you think that would work?
Terry says
I too only had unsweetened adn just added a little sugar.
Elizabeth @ Enjoy Every Bite says
I haven’t had these in years!! I’ll have to add these to next week’s menu 🙂
Jessica @ Nutritioulicious says
These look fabulous! I make panko-crusted chicken often, but like the idea of adding coconut. Pinning now!
Francesca says
These look great! Never thought about added coconut for some extra toasty crunch.
rachel@ athletic avocado says
These look amazing! I love that you added coconut! yum!
Kelli @ Hungry Hobby says
loosk delish! Can’t wait to try it!
Bec says
do you know if theses would freeze well? could you make them all the way up until baking them, put them in the freezer (raw), and then take out and bake when ready to eat?
Bridgit McCarthy says
Hello…..I made these tenders but, had no flaked coconut on hand. Feeling too lazy to go to the store, I used coconut milk in place of of of the eggs. They were delicious, maybe not as crunchy as they would have been with the flakes but ALL the coconut flavor was there. I served with ginger peanut slaw and Thai sweet potato soup…aw yeah!!!
Kat says
If you freeze them, you don’t have to worry about soggy breading.
Cindy Siano says
It helps to pat dry the chicken pieces before dipping them into the egg mixture. This recipe also works well with firm fish.
Sadie Malmberg says
I substituted ground almonds for the Panko breadcrumbs and served it over riced cauliflower. My kids loved it. Great keto recipe.