Super crispy baked chicken tenders covered in a sweet and spicy asian inspired sauce along with garlic roasted broccolini and brown basmati rice. A healthy, delicious, and easy weeknight meal!
Sweet & Spicy Asian Chicken Tenders
This recipe was a compromise to please both my husband and I for dinner. My husband constantly requests my quinoa crusted baked chicken tenders, one of his all time favorite meals. I, on the other hand, love anything asian inspired, like my healthy pad Thai. So, I combined what we both love and created these sweet and spicy baked asian chicken tenders.
It’s suuuuper crispy panko crusted baked chicken tenders covered in a sweet and spicy soy and honey based sauce served with extra garlicky roasted broccolini and brown basmati rice. It’s a quick and easy meal, made with nutritious ingredients, and packed with so much flavor!
This has now become both a new favorite for my husband and I!
Main Ingredients for baked asian chicken tenders
- chicken tenders
- honey, I would be cautious to substitute other sweeteners for the honey as the stickiness and viscosity of the honey thickens the sauce and helps it adhere to the chicken
- soy sauce
- siracha, for the spicy part
- sesame oil
- rice wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar would work too
- whole wheat panko bread crumbs, regular panko breadcrumbs work too
- brown basmati rice, veggie noodles, white rice, regular brown rice, or quinoa works well too
- Broccolini, or other good roasting veggie(s) you have on hand
How to make the sauce
It’s super easy! You just whisk together all of the sauce ingredients in a large measuring cup or small bowl. The star ingredients are the honey, which makes the chicken tenders sweet and sticky, the siracha, which gives it a nice spicy kick, and the soy which adds salt and umami. Its a balanced, delicious sweet and spicy sauce!
One Sheet Pan Plan
What is this, you ask? When the entire dinner can essentially be made on one sheet pan.
As a new mama (and working mama), I now appreciate easy and quick meals. I just don’t always have the time, or the energy, to make anything too complicated. That’s why I’m a huge fan of these kind of meals and you will see many more like this on the blog.
I created the sweet and spicy baked asian chicken tenders so you can bake both the chicken and broccolini on one sheet pan. The sauce doesn’t even need to be cooked on the stove top to thicken – it will do that in the oven when you brush it over and bake the chicken. That way there is no extra sauce pans, sauté pans, or skillets. One sheet pan = easy clean up = happy mama!
The only other possible step is cooking the rice if you plan to serve that with this meal. But, if you don’t want to get out a rice cooker or pot to cook the rice, I recommend buying the bagged rice that you can cook in the microwave. There are so many good brands available at the store now. Here is my favorite.
Tips for making extra crispy panko breaded baked asian chicken tenders.
I decided to bake these chicken tenders for several reasons: it’s much easier and healthier and less messy than pan-frying because less oil is involved.
However, I still wanted to create an extra crispy breaded chicken tender even though it’s baked. Yes – it can be done!
Here are some helpful tips to achieve an extra crispy coating on these sweet and spicy asian chicken tenders:
- Heat up the baking sheet before using it to the cook the meal. I put the baking sheet in the oven while it’s pre-heating so it get’s hot. When I take it out of the oven, I drizzle a little olive oil on it and then add the chicken. You will hear a sizzle, a good sign the chicken is already starting to crisp up.
- I bread the chicken the day before and place it in the fridge to set up overnight. This allows the breading to better adhere to the tenders.
- I use panko bread crumbs instead of regular bread crumbs because they have a crisper, lighter texture.
- I broil the chicken for about 2 minutes at the end of cooking. The intense heat helps crisp up the panko breadcrumbs and caramelize the sauce.
Enjoy!
This recipe is quick and easy, packed with flavor, and surprisingly light and healthy – all reasons my husband and I adore it! If you make these sweet and spicy baked asian chicken tenders, please leave a comment below. I absolutely love to hear from you guys and your thoughts on my recipes. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram or pin it on pinterest, cuz sharing is caring!
Sweet and Spicy Baked Asian Chicken Tenders
Super crispy baked chicken tenders covered in a sweet and spicy asian inspired sauce along with garlic roasted broccolini and brown basmati rice. A healthy, delicious, and easy weeknight meal!
Ingredients
For sauce,
- 1/3 cup honey
- 2 tablespoons siracha
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar or neutral vinegar like apple cider
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon fresh garlic 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder will also work
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder will also work
- Pinch of red pepper flakes optional
For breaded chicken tenders
- 1 pound chicken tenders
- 1 cup whole wheat panko bread crumbs regular panko breadcrumbs will work too
- 1/2 cup oat flour or flour of choice
- 1 egg + 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
For broccolini,
- 1 bundle broccolini
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or as much as desired
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh chopped garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
To serve,
- 1 cup cooked rice I used brown basmati rice
Instructions
Prep.
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Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees. Put a sheet pan in the oven to allow sheet pan to heat up as well.*
Make the sauce.
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In a small bowl, whisk together the ingredient for the sauce. Set aside.
Bread the chicken tenders.
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To complete this step, get out three shallow, but wide mouth bowls (or small baking sheets will work). To the first, add the flour seasoned with a pinch of salt and pepper. To the next, add the whisked egg and tablespoon olive oil and stir to combine. Finally, in the last bowl add the panko bread crumbs, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
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Add the chicken to the flour mixture, making sure to shake off any extra flour. Next dip the chicken into the egg mixture. Finally dip the chicken in the panko mixture until fully coated.
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Repeat this process until all of the chicken tenders are coated.**
Bake.
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Take sheet pan out of oven and drizzle with a little olive oil.
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Place breaded chicken on the heated sheet pan** Bake for 10 minutes.
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Take chicken out of oven and flip. Also, add brocolini to the sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle salt and garlic over broccolini as well.
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Bake for another 8 minutes.
Sauce the chicken.
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With a pastry brush or spoon, slather the sauce on one side of the chicken. Bake for an additional minute. Flip the chicken again and slather the other side with sauce (be generous!). Bake for another minute or two, or until sauce is bubbly and sticky.
Extra crispy option.
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If you want to crisp up your chicken and caramelize the sauce even more, broil each side of the chicken for about a minute. Warning, Broilers can be very intense, so be sure to watch the chicken during this step so you do not burn it. Also, make sure to remove brccolini during this step.
Recipe Notes
*I prefer to do this step ahead of time and place the breaded chicken in the fridge to allow the breading to set up. I find this helps the coating best adhere to the chicken. You can bread the chicken and set in fridge overnight or do it 30 minutes before dinner. Not necessary, but suggested extra step!
**Heating the sheet tray before hand helps make the breading extra crispy.