Crispy Parmesan Chicken Fingers

Sometimes baked chicken fingers come out with very little crunch. The panko, cheese, and then butter drizzled over top of these bake these fingers up into a very satisfying, if not a little fattening, crunch. I love these chicken fingers, and they are especially good cold in a lunchbox. They are fairly quick to make but make sure you don't line the pan with parchment paper. You really want these things to crisp up, and the parchment doesn't allow them to do that. Instead you'll end up with soggy bottoms.

Adapted from Canadian Living

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
2 eggs
1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (the real stuff, not powdery stuff)
1 cup Panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
4 tsp chopped fresh oregano (or 2 tsp dried)
1 tsp salt (I skipped the salt-the cheese was salty enough)
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 cup butter, melted

Slice the chicken breasts into "fingers". Usually I remove the chicken tender part, then slice the breast on the diagonal into 5 pieces.

In a bowl, combine the panko, cheese, oregano, salt, pepper, and paprika.
In a separate bowl, crack and beat the eggs.

Working assembly-line style, dip the pieces of chicken into egg. Let the excess drip off, and then roll in the panko/cheese mixture, pressing to make the crumbs adhere. Transfer to baking sheet. Continue until all the chicken is coated. Drizzle with the melted butter.




Bake the chicken in a 425 F oven for about 15 minutes, or until golden, crispy, and cooked through. What I love about these is that You can make them ahead of time and freeze them, raw, for up to two weeks. Bake straight from frozen and add 5 minutes to the cooking time.

They were delicious! Very crunchy and cheesy-almost a bit too cheesy. Next time I'd reduce the cheese to 3/4 cup and add 1/4 cup more Panko crumbs.

Makes 4 servings.


Honey Mustard sauce

1/3 cup light mayonnaise
2 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp liquid honey



Stir together in a bowl and serve with raw veggies and the chicken fingers.