Cornflake chicken tenders recipe with a kick appeals to kids as well as kids at heart. Homemade chicken tenders are great right out of the oven, as an on-the-go protein snack or freezer friendly so the crunchy tenders are at your beck and call anytime you want them!
Cornflake chicken tenders recipes have been around since my grandmother was a kid……..or whenever they first started selling corn flakes. You’ll see a lot of chicken tender recipes with Ranch and garlic added. Our version is a twist on a great food truck in the Austin, Texas scene, The Mighty Cone.
What Is A Mighty Cone Hot & Crunchy Chicken Treat?
The Mighty Cone is an Austin, Texas food truck born from a restaurant there called Hudson’s On The Bend. The breading started out for a fish recipe that became popular on the menu. In 2002 they were asked to create a festival friendly treat for the famous Austin City Limits Music Festival.
The owner used the fish breading on chicken, wrapped in a tortilla and put it in a paper drinking cone to make it easy to eat while walking around. The Mighty Cone was born and later became a food truck.
How To Make Cornflake Chicken Tenders
I’ve veered off The Mighty Cone recipe quite a bit. But kept the premise of the breading almost the same with different amounts of spices, etc. The Mighty Cone serves the crunchy chicken tenders with a mango-jalapeno slaw. We opt for the classic American coleslaw for ease.
Cut the chicken into roughly 1” X 4” long strips.
You’ll want three shallow bowls for the breading station. I like to use pie plates or tart pans. Fill one with flour, the other with the egg mixture (mix 2 eggs with 2 Tablespoons milk, mix well) and the third with the cornflake breading.
Throw all the ingredients in a food processor and whir for about 30 seconds. You want to keep the breading a little crunchy, not all the way to a powder.
Our cornflake chicken tenders have a unique breading that hails from The Mighty Cone that we talked about earlier. I’ll put their original recipe below. The breading consists of cornflakes, almonds, crushed red pepper, sugar and salt. It’s a great combination of salty, sweet and hot. Love it!
Fry the chicken tenders in 180 degree oil for about 4 minutes or until it’s nice and golden on one side. Gently flip over and continue to cook for another 3 minutes or until cooked through.
Remove chicken to a rack over a baking tray or on a paper towel lined plate to catch the excess oil. I always check the thickest piece of chicken once it’s on the plate to make sure that it’s cooked through. But also to make sure that I didn’t overcook it.
How To Tell If Cornflake Chicken Tenders Are Cooked
You want the chicken to be opaque. If using thighs there is a natural pink tinge to the cooked chicken. The breast will be white. You want to see clear juices on both. If you aren’t seeing any juice or liquid then turn down the heat or take the chicken out earlier.
How To Serve Cornflake Chicken Tenders & Dipping Sauces Of Choice
Serve the crispy fried chicken with creamy, cooling coleslaw and your favorite dipping sauce.
The Mighty Cone uses an ancho “paint” of which I don’t have the recipe for. I use a mixture of sriracha and mayonnaise called Comeback Sauce or Jalapeno Tartar Sauce for those that like a little heat.
For kids or those that don’t care for spicy things, I use a honey mustard sauce.
If you have a squeeze bottle, put your sauce in the bottle and you can decoratively zigzag the sauce across the fried chicken tenders.
Baked Chicken Fingers Instead Of Fried Chicken Fingers
Of course. Fried chicken has its own fan club and I think I can speak for most people that it’s delicious. But let’s face it, frying can be messy, smelly and time consuming.
You can bake our cornflake chicken tenders in 450 degree oven for about 12-18 minutes, depending on how thick you’ve made the chicken strips. Make sure to cut one of the baked chicken tenders open to see if they are cooked through.
Why Chicken Thighs Over Breasts For The Cornflake Chicken Tenders?
I always choose chicken thighs over chicken breasts because the thighs have more flavor and don’t dry out like breasts do. But if you are a breast lover then go ahead and use them. Reduce your frying time by about 1-2 minutes.
You can buy already cut up chicken tenderloins, but if frying I don’t recommend it. Not only are the tenderloins more expensive, but they are thin for frying and tend to get overcooked. If you bake them then the tenderloins will be fine.
How To Make Cornflake Chicken Tenders Gluten-Free
When my gluten-free niece visited I substituted the flour that the chicken is rolled in with almond flour, but any gluten-free flour will do.
I couldn’t find a gluten-free corn flake cereal so used Cheerios that were labelled gluten-free. I also left out the red pepper flakes for her and my son as they aren’t spicy fans.
What If I Don’t Have A Food Processor?
No problem, the food processor is a time saver but not necessary. Use a heavy duty ziplock bag. A gallon size is good. Use a freezer bag. The thinner regular bags tend to rip.
Fill the bag with all the breading ingredients, close. Roll with a rolling pin or crush with the back of a heavy pan until you get the consistency you want. You don’t want the breading completely pulverized, leave it a little crunchy.
How To Make Cornflake Chicken Tenders On-The-Go
Cornflake chicken tenders are great hot or at room temperature which makes them a great on-the-go treat.
You can pack them in any kind of lidded container like you would for anything else you pack for lunch.
OR take a walk on the wild side. I love these cones that are similar to what The Mighty Cone uses. We use the cones all the time for all kinds of on-the-go food if we will be walking while we eat. The cone makes it easy to hold with one hand and keeps you from tipping the food off a plate.
Put a few smaller pieces of chicken on the bottom of the cone to build it up. Fill with a scoop of coleslaw and then top with larger pieces of chicken. Bring along a fork or you can make a taco and not use a fork at all.
To make the taco, roll it inside the cone first and then follow the previous instructions. This way you will be forkless and truly hand held snack.
Of course you can skip the coleslaw all together and just fill the cone with the cornflake chicken tenders.
Cornflake Chicken Tenders Recipe With A Kick
This is not your usual cornflake chicken tenders recipe. We add almonds and crushed red pepper to give a nice zing.
Ingredients
- 1 pint coleslaw store bought or homemade
- 1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs
- 4 ten inch tortillas, optional
- vegetable oil for frying amount depends on the size of your pan
- 1/2 cup sauce see notes for suggestions
Breading
- 3 cups corn flakes use GF Cheerios for Gluten-Free
- 6 Tablespoons almonds, slivered or sliced
- 6 Tablespoons sugar
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons crushed red pepper less or leave out for those that don’t like heat
- 1 Tablespoon kosher salt
Egg Dip
- 2 large eggs you may need 3
- 2 Tablespoons milk
Flour
- 1 cup flour use almond flour for Gluten-Free
Sauce
- 1/2 cup favorite sauce like comback sauce or honey mustard
Instructions
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Heat ½” oil in cast iron skillet (or other heavy duty skillet) over medium heat to reach 380 degrees. This may take 10 minutes.
Breading
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Cut chicken thighs into roughly 1” X 4” strips. Cut any excess fat and discard.
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In food processor add cornflakes, almonds, sugar, red pepper flakes and kosher salt. Run for about 30 seconds to coarsely chop. Transfer to a pie plate or shallow bowl.
In another pie plate or shallow bowl, mix egg and milk with a fork until well combined.
In a third pie plate or shallow bowl add 1 cup flour.
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Dip the chicken strips in flour, gently shake to get excess flour off. Dip in egg mixture, rolling to make sure egg is on the entire piece of chicken. Roll in the cornflake breading.
Frying – see notes for baking instructions
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Line a plate with paper towels or set a metal rack over a baking sheet to place the fried chicken on after removing from the oil. Place about 4-6 pieces of chicken, depending on the size of your skillet, in the oil. Don’t overcrowd.
Cook for about 4 minutes on the first side, flip when bottom is a nice golden brown and continue to cook for about 3 more minutes. Remove to rack or paper towel lined plate.
Continue with the rest of the chicken. Let the oil heat back up in between frying, for about a minute.
Serving
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Serve with coleslaw. “The Mighty Cone” puts the chicken and the coleslaw in a tortilla to make a taco.
Recipe Notes
Oil Temperature Test: If you don’t have a thermometer the use the bread test by adding a small piece of bread to the oil, time for a minute. Judge whether to increase, decrease or keep the oil temperature the same by the color of the bread. You want a nice golden almost brown color.
Dipping Sauces: For kids or those that don’t care for spice use a honey-mustard sauce. For those that like heat use our comeback sauce or jalapeno tartar sauce.
Chicken: You should see some bubbles as soon as the chicken hits the oil. Don’t overcrowd the pan or the oil will decrease in temperature too much and you’ll end up with greasy chicken.
Is The Chicken Cooked? I always cut open the thickest piece of fried chicken to make sure that it’s cooked all the way through and/or isn’t overcooked. You want to see some nice juice beads on the chicken when you cut it open.
If using chicken thighs, the meat will have a slight pink color to it. Make sure that the juices are running clear. If using chicken breasts, the cooked meat will be white and clear juices.
On-The-G0-Snack: Paper cones are really great for eating snacks or meals on-the-go. If you use a cone, drop a couple of pieces of chicken in the bottom of the cone to build it up. Then add coleslaw and a couple more pieces of chicken. If you line the cone first with a warm tortilla then there’s no need for a fork.
To Make Gluten-Free – Replace flour with almond flour (or other gluten-free flour), make sure the corn flakes say gluten-free or use gluten-free cheerios, skip the tortilla or use gluten-free corn tortillas.
To Crush Cornflakes: If you don’t have a food processor you can put the breading ingredients in a large ziplock baggie. Roll with a rolling pin or crush with the back of a heavy pan.
Can these be cooked in a air-fryer? If so any modifications necessary?
Diane I am behind the times and do not have an air fryer. If any of you other readers have tried this recipe in one please let us know how it turned out.