These sesame-crusted chicken tenders are quick to prep and a nice way to switch up a regular breaded chicken dish. The coating is made with sesame seeds and panko and bakes up nice and crispy in the oven.
I have to admit, until recently I’ve only used sesame seeds as a garnish so when I saw a recipe on Skinnytaste using them as a breading I was intrigued. I know I’ve had sesame-crusted things before at restaurants but it never occurred to me to try it at home. Spoiler alert: I’m glad I did.
If you’re wanting to switch up basic breaded chicken sesame-crusted chicken tenders are the way to do it. Sesame seeds have a distinct nutty flavor – they’re used a lot in Asian cuisine – and when you combine them with panko breadcrumbs you get a crispy coating for chicken. Chicken tenderloins, in this case, but you could also use boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
Recipe Highlights
It’s a fairly quick recipe with most of the time spent waiting for the chicken to bake in the oven.
I didn’t stray too far from the original recipe (including the sides!) but did adjust amounts of some of the ingredients and added an egg to help hold the breading together. I like a little extra coating to maximize the flavor and texture.
You can go a few directions with these sesame-crusted chicken tenders…
- Serve them with roasted broccoli or another vegetable
- Add some rice or cauliflower rice
- You can also use them for salads – just cut them into bite-sized pieces. You could use this sesame chicken in my crispy chicken salad (just omit the baked chicken).
- It was totally basic, but I might have wrapped the leftovers in tortillas the next day and it might have been delicious.
Ingredients
- Cooking spray
- Chicken tenderloins
- Egg
- Low-sodium soy sauce
- Panko breadcrumbs
- Sesame seeds
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper
- Sesame oil, for garnish
Recipe Steps
Assemble your breading station (like ya do):
- Lightly beat the egg with the soy sauce in one bowl
- In a separate bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, sesame seeds, salt and pepper
Dip each tenderloin in the egg mixture, let the excess drip off, and then coat it in the breadcrumb mixture.
Lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray and place the chicken tenders on it in an even layer. Lightly spray the tops of each with the cooking spray.
The nice thing about chicken tenderloins is that they bake pretty fast. Pop them in the oven and bake them for 15 minutes at 400°F and then flip them over. Bake them for 10 to 15 minutes longer or until the chicken is cooked through.
I like to drizzle some sesame oil over the top when they come out of the oven – it smells amazing and adds a little more flavor.
If you have leftovers, they’ll keep for a few days but the coating may not be as crispy when you reheat it. Still delicious, though.
I hope you enjoy this recipe – it’s an easy way to put a spin on chicken ❤
Happy cooking,
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📣 Do you love this recipe? I would love to know! Leave a comment below the recipe along with your recipe star rating.
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Sesame Crusted Chicken Tenders
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
These sesame-crusted chicken tenders are quick to prep and a nice way to switch up a regular breaded chicken. The coating is made with sesame seeds and panko and bakes up nice and crispy in the oven.
Ingredients
- Cooking spray
- 1 pound chicken tenderloins
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup sesame seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- Sesame oil, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.
- In a shallow bowl, beat the egg with the soy sauce until combined. In a separate shallow bowl, combine the panko, sesame seeds, salt and pepper.
- Coat each chicken tenderloin in the egg and then coat it in the panko mixture. Place them on the baking sheet in an even layer. Light spray the top of the chicken with cooking spray.
- Bake the chicken for 15 minutes and then flip each piece over. Bake it for 10 to 15 minutes longer or until the chicken is cooked through. Drizzle the chicken with sesame oil, if using.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Skinnytaste
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 of recipe
- Calories: 273
- Sugar: 1g
- Sodium: 514.3mg
- Fat: 10.5g
- Saturated Fat: 1.9g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7.1g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 12.6g
- Fiber: 1.7g
- Protein: 30.6g
- Cholesterol: 129.2mg
Keywords: sesame encrusted chicken, sesame crusted chicken
The nutrition information in this recipe is an estimate only and was calculated using Nutrifox, an online nutrition calculator.
Bridget Smith says
so so good—
feeling a little overwhelmed with everything going on-working from home, supervising online school, not to mention like all the stuff in the big outside world-
So to be able to prepare a nice meal for my SUPER PICKY kids that didn’t take a lot of time to prep and cook solved a lot of problems for me. The kids both asked for a repeat on this dish, there’s not a single thing I would change, it was delicious and made all of us happy.
thank you!
★★★★★
April Anderson says
So glad you liked it!
RMA Denver says
We loved the sesame flavor with the salt and pepper. None of it overpowered the taste of the chicken which was nice. We had bread crumbs but went ahead and bought Panko. Made a big difference in the crispiness of the chicken. We did drizzle a little Sesame Oil on top just out of the oven…it really did bring out the flavors. Super easy recipe that took just a few minutes to prep. Went well with our long grain rice and broccoli. Caesar salad on the side.
★★★★