The Ultimate Crispy Baked Chicken Guide & What I Cooked Last Week

How to make the crispiest chicken in the oven, healthy dog cake with strawberry frosting, Parmesan caprese dip, jalapeño cheddar dip

Hi everyone,

Hope you had a great week! A few weekends ago, Doug and I went to our niece Sophie’s birthday party where they served incredibly delicious chicken tenders and fries. I hadn’t had chicken tenders in so long, and I was reminded of just how good they are. How have I been sleeping on them all this time?!

Those tenders inspired me to create my own recipe. I wanted them to be kid friendly because I know many of the people who follow my cooking have kids, but I also wanted to give them a twist so they’d feel elegant and interesting enough for grown-ups.

I made a creamy lemon-Parmesan dipping sauce similar to the one I serve with artichokes. To keep it a little lighter, I used a combination of sour cream and mayonnaise, then added plenty of fresh lemon juice, grated Parmesan, and black pepper. It paired so well with the chicken, though of course you can always serve ketchup on the side for the kids. You can find the recipe here.

The yummiest baked chicken tenders!

For the chicken tenders, I baked them in the oven, and they came out so crispy. Doug and I loved them so much that I felt inspired to dedicate this entire newsletter to baked crispy chicken. It’s one of my favorite things to make, and chicken cutlets are the dish my dad requests most often for dinner. Honestly, what’s not to love?

So today, I’m sharing all my tips for making the crispiest, most flavorful baked chicken tenders and cutlets. I’ll walk you through the oven method I learned from my mom and guide you through every step.

First, here’s a recipe for a Parmesan caprese dip I made last week. It’s an easy, elegant appetizer made with fresh cherry tomatoes, Parmigiano-Reggiano, garlic, and olive oil. It reminds me a bit of red pesto and is so delicious spooned onto crostini with fresh basil on top.

As always, my cookbook Maxi’s Kitchen is now available for purchase at your local bookstore or online:

Thank you so much for your support 🤍

What I Cooked Last Week! ↓

Parmesan caprese dip

Whenever I make this dip for friends, they always ask for the recipe. It’s an easy, elegant appetizer, made with fresh tomatoes, Parmigiano-Reggiano, garlic, and olive oil.

Parmesan Caprese Dip

49.1KB ∙ PDF file

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You can download the PDF recipe above and watch the video here :)

The Ultimate Crispy Chicken Guide 🍗

You can absolutely make crispy breaded chicken by shallow-frying it in a pan, but I love baking it because it’s a little healthier and so much easier. You don’t have to worry about oil splattering everywhere or the breading burning before the chicken is cooked through. It’s not that I don’t appreciate fried chicken, this is simply my preferred method at home. That said, never say never. Now that I’m writing about it, I’m craving a fried chicken cutlet, lol.

Convection is your friend

I always recommend using the convection setting if your oven has one. Convection circulates hot air throughout the oven, encouraging more even cooking while also speeding things up by about 25%. It works similarly to an air fryer. (An air fryer is really just a powerful mini convection oven!)

If you don’t have a convection setting, simply increase the oven temperature by 25°F and broil the chicken for the last minute or so to get some extra browning, if you like.

For convection, preheat the oven to 425°F. For regular bake, preheat it to 450°F.

A wire rack makes all the difference

If you have a wire rack, place it inside a rimmed baking sheet. This allows the hot air to circulate around the chicken so the bottoms crisp up too, without needing to flip them halfway through cooking. Be sure to spray the rack with oil so the chicken doesn’t stick. (It may still stick a little, but a spatula will release it easily.) For easier cleanup, line the baking sheet underneath the rack with foil.

A wire rack ensures the bottoms crisp up too!

Season the chicken before breading

If you’re making chicken cutlets, pound them to an even thickness so they cook quickly and evenly. You can use either a meat mallet or a heavy skillet. If you like, you can also cut the cutlets into smaller pieces.

Seasoning is just as important as the breading. For cutlets, I generously season both sides with salt and pepper after pounding them out. For tenders, I toss them in a bowl with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika, making sure every piece is evenly coated.

Season both sides and be generous :)

The three-bowl dredging station