Baked instead of fried and coated in whole-wheat cracker crumbs, these tender chicken strips are a much healthier alternative to fast food or frozen chicken nuggets. Serve them hot out of the oven with a kid-friendly dipping sauce like honey-mustard, barbecue, or ranch, or let them cool and pack them in tomorrow’s school lunch.

What to buy: Wheatsworth crackers make a crunchy, flavorful coating and can be found in the cracker aisle of most supermarkets.

This recipe was featured as part of our Good Food for Kids photo gallery.

  • Yield: 2 to 4 servings
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Total: 35 mins 

Ingredients (6)

  • 1 pound chicken tenders or boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 1 1/2 cups finely crushed whole-wheat crackers (about 5 ounces), such as Wheatsworth
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed
  • 2 large eggs

Instructions

  1. Heat the oven to 450°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Set a wire rack on a baking sheet and set it aside.
  2. Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper; set aside.
  3. Combine the cracker crumbs, olive oil, and measured salt and pepper in a shallow dish. Place the eggs in a second shallow dish and lightly beat with a fork to break them up. Dip the chicken pieces in the eggs, allowing any excess to drip off, then dip them in the cracker mixture, turning and patting to get the crumbs to adhere. Place the coated chicken pieces on the prepared rack.
  4. Bake until the chicken is opaque throughout and registers 165°F on an instant-read thermometer, about 15 minutes. Serve with your desired dipping sauce.