Name: Cheddar and Pretzel Crusted Baked Chicken
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 14 min
Total time: 19 min
Ingredients: 8-10 chicken tenders; 2 cups of pretzels (crushed); 1 cup panko breadcrumbs; 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon garlic powder; 1/2 teaspoon pepper; 2 eggs (beaten); 1 tablespoon dijon mustard

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Cheddar and Pretzel Crusted Baked Chicken is a quick, weeknight chicken dinner recipe that your entire family will love! Kids love the pretzel taste and texture on this fun play on the classic chicken tender!

Cheddar and Pretzel Crusted Baked Chicken is a grown up take on the classic chicken tender. My kids, just like most kiddos, absolutely love chicken fingers, but I am a mean mom and don’t like making those prepackaged frozen chicken tenders for dinner. While homemade chicken tenders take a little more work, the end result is definitely worth it!

I have had pretzel crusted chicken a few times at restaurants and love the crunchy, salty coating on the chicken. I knew my family would love it, so I adapted an easy version for at home. I decided to add some cheddar to the breading because everyone loves cheese!

I served my chicken tenders with an amazing sriracha cheddar cheese sauce but they are also so good with my skinny buffalo chicken dipping sauce. My kids love to dip them in ketchup, too!

If you don’t have a food processor to make the pretzel crumbs, just throw them into a plastic baggie and crunch them up! Your kids will love helping with this step! You can make the pretzel crumbs as fine or as crunchy as you’d like. I process mine most of the way until they resemble bread crumbs, but like to leave a few pieces bigger so you can that pretzel texture.

Chicken is always my go to for dinner but I never want it to be boring or bland. These Cheddar and Pretzel Crusted Baked Chicken will become a family favorite! Fast, flavorful, and easy, your will be happy to serve your family these homemade chicken tenders all the time!

These other weeknight chicken dinners are always a hit at my house!

Cheddar and Pretzel Crusted Baked Chicken

Amanda Paxton

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Prep Time 5 mins

Cook Time 14 mins

Total Time 19 mins

Servings

Ingredients

8-10 chicken tenders
2 cups of pretzels crushed
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 eggs beaten
1 tablespoon dijon mustard

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
In a shallow dish, mix together pretzels, panko, cheddar cheese, salt, garlic powder, and pepper. In another shallow dish, mix together egg and dijon.
Dredge chicken in egg mixture then pretzel mixture, coating well.
Place chicken on a baking sheet. Spray chicken with non-stick spray to help brown.
Bake for 12-14 mixtures, or until cooked through. Serve warm.