I’m SO excited to share my mother-in-law’s famous Ritz cracker chicken fingers! All four of her grandkids absolutely love these crispy chicken strips, and I simply had to learn it from her. They are easy to make in advance for lunch, dinner, snack, or as an appetizer. Trust me when I say, they’re so addicting you’ll watch them disappear in no time!
My mother-in-law is all about simple cooking so she guarantees that this recipe will be ready in just 25 minutes (and don’t worry, the cleanup is minimal too). Whenever she comes to visit, it’s the first meal my kids love to help her make. She loves to serve them with air fryer Brussel sprouts or one-skillet mac and cheese.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- 5-ingredient chicken recipe. It’s really that simple. Nothing is fancy or difficult to find, but we guarantee that these will be the best chicken tenders you’ve ever had!
- Easy to pair with all different side dishes. They are great as a main course or appetizer served on their own, but you can also use these chicken tenders to top salads, serve with roasted potatoes, and other veggies.
- Great recipe to make in advance. We like to make a double batch of these and save some for lunch or dinner the next day.
Tips for Busy Cooks
These chicken tenders are my kids’ favorite meal prep recipe to have throughout the week. Reheat them in the air fryer or the oven for restaurant-style crispy chicken fingers that are healthier too!
Key Ingredient Notes
- Crackers – We love Ritz crackers for these chicken strips. Classic, whole wheat, and even seasoned Ritz crackers work great!
- Chicken Tenders – or chicken tenderloins, are a narrow and long piece attached to chicken breast meat. It’s incredibly tender and requires minimal prep.
- Dried parsley – Adds a little herb flavor in every bite.
- Buttermilk – In place of buttermilk, you can substitute 2 beaten eggs.
- Oil – Any high-heat oil, such as canola, vegetable, grape seed oil works great for frying.
How to make Ritz cracker chicken tenders
1. Prepare the crumbs
- Take your crackers of choice, salt and parsley in a food processor and blitz and transfer it into a zip lock bag. Alternatively, you can use your rolling pin, add all contents to a zip lock bag and use a rolling pin until you’ve reached the desired crumb.
2. Prepare the chicken strips
- Next step is to take your chicken tenders, and place them into the buttermilk (or beaten eggs), toss them around so all sides of the chicken get covered. Then take your tongs and place each chicken tender into the zip lock bag with the cracker mixture in it. Toss the bag around so each chicken tender is coated with the mixture.
3. Fry the chicken fingers:
- Heat a skillet and add oil. Remove the chicken tenders from the zip lock and place them in the pan. Fry them for approximately 2 -3 minutes on both sides. Once golden transfer them onto a wire rack.
Expert Tips:
- Cut your chicken strips into similar-sized pieces. This guarantees that they will cook evenly and at the same rate so they don’t burn or overcook and become rubbery.
- Swap the Ritz crackers for other breading options. Feel free to use any kind of crackers, pretzels, or even a combination of crackers and Panko breadcrumbs.
- If you don’t have buttermilk, you can use beaten eggs instead of buttermilk. You can also add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to milk and let it sit for 10 minutes, it will become buttermilk!
- In order to get the perfect golden brown chicken tenders, be sure to heat the oil in the skillet well before adding the chicken fingers.
Substitutions
- Types of chicken: I like to use chicken tenders for this dish, it’s a narrow and long piece attached to chicken breast meat. It’s incredibly tender and requires minimal prep. Chicken breast works fine too, just cut it into thin strips.
- Try another type of breading: I like to use Ritz original crackers. But you can use any kind of crackers you like. My mother-in-law uses saltine crackers, Ritz crackers and Triscuits.
- Change out the buttermilk: You can use store-bought buttermilk, or if you don’t have any on hand use my DIY buttermilk substitute it only takes 10 minutes. You can also use two beaten eggs if you are in a hurry.
Storage
You can store the chicken fingers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. When it comes to reheating, we like preserve the crispy texture and air-fry the leftover chicken tenders for 3-4 minutes at 370°F, or until heated through. The oven also works great too, simply bake for 5-8 minutes at 400°F.
What to serve with Ritz Cracker Chicken
Here’re our favorite ways to serve these chicken tenders:
- Simply over salad – Interestingly, my boys’ favorite way to eat this chicken.
- With dipping sauces – Good ol’ ranch dressing is great, but my personal favorite is this honey mustard dipping sauce.
- Oven roasted veggies are also SO good!
- And last but not least, cilantro lime rice is a perfect side.
FAQs
The short answer is no one really knows. But speculation is that the chicken looks like human fingers.
Chicken tenders are made from chicken meat, whereas nuggets are made from processed chicken.
The exact cooking time depends on the thickness of the meat. Typically, it takes 2-3 minutes per side, so 4-6 minutes total to pan fry chicken tenderloins.
Leftover chicken tenders are great for adding into fried rice, pad thai, or as a topping for a salad.
Easy Chicken Fingers
Ritz Cracker Chicken Tenders
Ingredients
- 1 sleeve crackers Note 1
- 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 2 lbs chicken tenders
- 1/4 cup buttermilk Note 2
- 3 tablespoons oil for frying
Instructions
- In a small food processor, crush the crackers. (Alternatively, you can place the crackers in a ziplock bag and crush the crackers with a rolling pin.) And then add salt and parsley and mix to combine. Transfer the seasoned crushed crackers into a ziplock bag.
- In a shallow dish, pour buttermilk and add chicken tenders. Toss to combine. Using a pair of kitchen tongs, transfer the chicken into the bag with crushed crackers, shaking off the excess buttermilk. Close the bag and toss around until the all the chicken is well coated.
- Heat a large stainless steel, or cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Once the skillet is hot, add half of the oil.
- When oil is shimmering, add half of the chicken one by one, shaking off excess breading, into the skillet. Cook for about 2 minutes, or until nice and golden. Turn and cook for about 2-3 minutes, or until cooked through.
- Transfer the chicken fingers onto a baking sheet with wire rack. Continue with remaining oil and chicken. (TIP: If needed, wipe the skillet with paper towel to remove any burned pieces before cooking the next batch of chicken.)
Share your thoughts! If you make this please leave a review letting me know how it was!
Notes
– Reheat leftover chicken fingers in the oven at 400°F for about 5-8 minutes, or in an air fryer for about 3 minutes at 370°F.
Nutrition
* Disclaimer: All nutrition information are estimates only. Read full nutrition disclosure.
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