Baked Pretzel Crusted Chicken Tenders

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Total Time 30 minutes

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Juicy seasoned Baked Pretzel Crusted Chicken Tenders – perfect for serving with your favorite dipping sauces for dinner or a tasty appetizer. 

Try these other pretzel inspired recipes next! Like my Pretzel Dogs, Cheddar Jalapeño Pretzel Bites, and Pretzel Crust Pizza.

top view of baked pretzel crusted chicken tenders with dipping sauce on a plate.

Welcome to this week’s episode of Confessions of a Chicken Tender-aholic! For real though. I have an addiction to chicken tenders. And it goes way, way back.

baked pretzel crusted chicken tenders on a baking sheet.

When I was younger I ordered chicken tenders probably 90 percent of the times I ever ate out with my family. We didn’t go out very often, because hello – nine children, scary. But when we did, I wanted chicken tenders with allllllll the dipping sauces. Ketchup, BBQ, honey mustard, ranch, sweet and sour….

YES PLEASE.

baked pretzel crusted chicken tenders and dipping sauce on a plate more with tenders in the background.

I even ordered chicken tenders when we went to iHop. People…. the house of pancakes. I ordered chicken tenders. Numerous times. I told you, chicken tender-aholic. These days I usually don’t order chicken tenders when I go out to eat, but not because I love them any less than I did as an eleven year old. I order something else because chances are I’ve recently had my chicken tender cravings quenched when I made a batch at home.

close up of a hand dipping a baked pretzel crusted chicken tender in dipping sauce.

Personally, I really hate frying food. Health reasons are closely followed by the fact that it makes me, my house, and my mile-long hour-to-blow-dry-hair smell to high heaven and too many of my favorite t shirts have been ruined by a rogue splatter of grease.

So for those reasons I bake my chicken tenders and here’s the thing…. I don’t miss the fried version. (gasp!) Seriously though, I can’t remember the last time I had fried chicken tenders and my craving are 100 percent in check you guys. Plus with a healthier baked version I feel less guilty about dunking them in a gallon of honey mustard sauce.

This is my latest and greatest chicken tender love affair: pretzel crusted chicken tenders. SO good. Even my husband, who doesn’t even like pretzels (I know. weird.) asked for seconds! So easy to make, and super yummy.

a baked pretzel crusted chicken tender dipped in sauce sitting on top of a bowl of dipping sauce with more tenders on the side all on a plate.

Plus I made another video for you guys! Side note: I realized about three seconds ago that it has a little hiccup with the titles – they kind of appear and disappear a little quicker than intended but, you get the gist and I’m still figuring out this whole video thang. Thanks for understanding!

What people are saying about these Baked Pretzel Crusted Chicken Tenders

“Loved these! Tried them a couple weeks ago and totally fell for that pretzel flavor. I’m a complete pretzel addict lately so these suited my cravings perfectly!” – Rachel

“Made these for my husband and I – they were really easy to make and turned out great! I added some Parmesan to the pretzels just to experiment and it was heavenly!” – Katie

Baked Pretzel Crusted Chicken Tenders | Creme de la Crumb
4.98 from 74 votes

Baked Pretzel Crusted Chicken Tenders

Juicy seasoned chicken strips with a pretzel crust – perfect for serving with your favorite dipping sauces for dinner or a tasty appetizer.
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
0 minutes
Total: 30 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
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Ingredients 

  • 4 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to ½ inch thickness
  • ½ cup flour
  • ½ teaspoon chili powder
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 cups pretzels , (sticks or twists), crushed
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • sauce for dipping, (see note)

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease a baking sheet.
  • Slice chicken into 1 1/2 inch strips. Place pretzels in a medium bowl. Whisk together eggs and water in a second bowl. In a third bowl stir together flour, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
  • Toss chicken strips in the flour mixture to coat, then dredge in the egg mixture being sure to coat all sides. Lastly, roll chicken pieces in the crushed pretzels and place in a single layer on the greased baking sheet.
  • Bake chicken for 15-20 minutes until cooked through and browned. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.

Notes

Some of my favorite dipping sauces are blue cheese dressing, ranch dressing, barbecue sauce, and honey mustard sauce (my personal favorite!). 

Nutrition

Calories: 500kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 57g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 226mg | Sodium: 1095mg | Potassium: 949mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 261IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 4mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Did you make this?Leave a star rating or comment below!
Tiffany of Creme de la Crumb in the kitchen

Welcome!

Hey there, I’m Tiffany – chef, photographer, mother, and avid taco eater. I am passionate about turning simple flavors and ingredients into tasty meals the whole family will love, with minimal prep and cleanup so there’s more time to spend eating and enjoying. Stay awhile, and help yourself to a taco or two!

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4.98 from 74 votes (66 ratings without comment)

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27 Comments

  1. Tiffany says:

    5 stars
    Hi Tiffany, second time making these. They appease my picky kids, which is hard to do. 🙂 can leftovers be frozen? If so, how long will they keep? Thanks!

    1. Tiffany says:

      So glad to hear your kiddos love these! They freeze just fine but as leftovers the pretzel crust can soften and totally depends on personal taste (or your kids taste) if they mind or not. I would freeze up to 2 weeks and reheat in the oven on parchment paper for best results.

  2. Jessica says:

    5 stars
    These were so good! Rather than egg, I dipped them in a mayo/honey mustard mixture. These were great!

  3. Wayne Orazek says:

    5 stars
    2nd time making them and this new years eve made them again for supper. they were just great.

    1. Sandra Pedersen says:

      5 stars
      I made these and they were FANTASTIC!!! Very quick and easy!! I used Dots pretzels probably a little harder to crumble up but super yummy!! Thank you for your great ideas Tiffany!!

  4. B says:

    These were delicious! A great alternative to frying. very quick and easy to make. thank you!

    1. Tiffany says:

      Super excited to hear that you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks 🙂

  5. Amanda says:

    Do you think i can make these the night before and REFRIGERATE and then put them in the oven when ready to cook?

    1. Tiffany says:

      Hi Amanda- I am afraid that the pretzel coating will get soggy sitting on the chicken for that long! I don’t recommend letting them sit that long before cooking!

  6. Katie says:

    5 stars
    Made these for my husband and I – they were really easy to make and turned out great! I added some Parmesan to the pretzels just to experiment and it was heavenly!

  7. Rachel @ Mesa Cooking Co. says:

    5 stars
    Loved these! Tried them a couple weeks ago and totally fell for that pretzel flavor. I’m a complete pretzel addict lately so these suited my cravings perfectly!

  8. Kotah says:

    Do you know the nutritional value of these?

  9. Andrea says:

    This recipe sounds great, and the videos you’ve made have all been awesome! I really like them.

    1. Tiffany says:

      Thanks so much Andrea! I think I’m starting to get the hang of the video thing so there will be lots more coming! I’ll always include the written recipe but videos can be so helpful when you want/need to SEE what’s supposed to be happening. 🙂 thanks again!

  10. mj says:

    These look really yummy! And keep up the great work on the videos! 😀