This page contains some affiliate links. Please review my disclosure policy.
A fun twist on a childhood classic, these everything bagel baked chicken tenders will quickly become a family favorite. They come together in under 30 minutes with just 5 ingredients and 3 easy steps. You’ll never buy store-bought chicken fingers again!
I’m not gonna lie, I’m a big fan of every recipe I’ve posted on The Healthy Maven. You’d hope that would be true but I get the incentive to post things other people want to see, not just recipes you love. But sometimes I post recipes I don’t just love but am whole-heartedly obsessed with and kind of wish I could jump through the computer screen and give you a good shake while yelling “MAKE THESE NOW”. Okay a bit aggressive, but it’s true. These everything bagel chicken tenders have officially become my new favorite recipe.
Given that most of you are home right now and I’m guessing are getting a little sick of your usual recipes my hope is that these everything bagel chicken fingers can shake things up a little bit. Not only are they kid approved, but they’re adult approved too! They will be appearing on next week’s meal plan (I email it to you on Sundays!) so get ready because you’ll want to jump through the computer screen and tell all of your friends about them too.
Make Your Own Everything Bagel Seasoning
I’ll be honest, I typically buy the pre-blended everything but the bagel seasoning mix from Trader Joe’s but if you can’t find everything but the bagel seasoning around you, I’ve got you covered. Here’s an easy recipe to make everything bagel seasoning yourself.
- 1 tbsp white sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp black sesame seeds
- 2 tbsp poppy seeds
- 1.5 tbsp dried minced garlic
- 1.5 tbsp dried minced onion
- 2 tsp sea salt
This mix will make more than you need for these everything bagel chicken tenders so just scoop out what you need and store the rest in a glass jar. It will last you several months.
How to Make Everything Bagel Chicken Tenders
These everything bagel chicken tenders are so easy to make but I figured I would walk you through it step-by-step so you can see so yourself.
First off, collect your ingredients:
- 2 large chicken breasts
- almond meal OR breadcrumbs – either work but use almond meal if gluten or grain-free
- everything-but-the-bagel mix
- 1 large egg
- salt and pepper
That’s it! Now let’s go through the steps
STEP 1: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cut chicken into strips. In a shallow bowl mix almond meal or breadcrumbs, everything bagel mix and salt and pepper. In a separate bowl whip an egg.
STEP 2: Designate one hand as the “wet” hand and one hand as the “dry” hand. With the wet hand pick up a chicken strip and dip it in in the egg. Using the same wet hand pick it back up and place it in the everything bagel/breadcrumb mix. Use your dry hand to coat the chicken tender and gently shake to remove excess. Place chicken tender on a silicone or parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat for each chicken finger.
STEP 3: Bake everything bagel chicken tenders for 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked all the way through. Remove from oven and let cool slightly before serving. Enjoy!
Make it a Meal with These Sides!
- The perfect crispy baked french fries
- Crispy baked curly fries
- Sesame snap peas
- Baked sweet potato fries
- Easy tahini kale salad
If you enjoy this recipe be sure to leave a 5 star review below in the comments. Bon appetit!
PrintEverything Bagel Baked Chicken Tenders
A fun twist on a childhood classic, these everything bagel baked chicken tenders will quickly become a family favorite. They come together in under 30 minutes with just 5 ingredients and 3 easy steps. You’ll never buy store-bought chicken fingers again!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts (roughly 2 large chicken breasts)
- 2/3 cup almond meal or breadcrumbs*
- 3 tbsp everything bagel seasoning (store-bought or see above for recipe)
- 1 large egg
- salt and pepper
For the honey dijon dipping sauce:
- 1/2 cup greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp honey
*Be sure to use almond meal NOT almond flour – breadcrumbs also work great here!
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Cut chicken into strips.
- In a shallow bowl mix almond meal or breadcrumbs, everything bagel mix and salt and pepper.
- In a separate bowl whip an egg.
- Designate one hand as the “wet” hand and one hand as the “dry” hand.
- With the wet hand pick up a chicken strip and dip it in in the egg. Using the same wet hand pick it back up and place it in the everything bagel/breadcrumb mix.
- Use your dry hand to coat the chicken tender with the mix and gently shake to remove excess.
- Place chicken tender on a silicone or parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat for each chicken finger.
- Bake everything bagel chicken tenders for 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked all the way through.
- Remove from oven and let cool slightly before serving.
- Combine all ingredients for honey dijon sauce and dip chicken tenders into sauce before enjoying.
Like this post? Here are a few others you might enjoy:
So quick and delicious.
My husband loves them, so I would give them 10 stars ⭐️ if I could.
So good and super easy. I made a large batch of chicken tenders and froze them. I plan to pull these out for the kiddos instead of the store bought variety and so excited about them! My husband also loved them on a sandwich with huckleberry cheddar and aioli. Great recipe!
Instead of baking would you be able to cook the chicken tenders in the air fryer? I usually find that it is crispier this way but don’t know if it would work with the breading mixture. Thanks!
This was INCREDIBLE and perfect timing because this Canadian just got her hands on the Trader Joe’s mix very recently so when this popped up I was soo excited. Really tasty and the sauce was amazing, I’m gonna use that for everything. ?
This was great. Cut everything spice in half to get near 1/3rd cup if you do not want leftover, though we all agreed, move everything spice would be nice. Will also try adding grated Parmesan cheese to the bread crumbs, like the bagel shop my daughter worked at. Great step in breading – roll chicken in flour before the egg to help the egg stick. Also add a tablespoon of liquid, milk helps it brown better, to the egg to help it adhere. I used a rack over the parchment paper lined baking sheet. I used chicken tenders and chicken breasts, the tenders were much juicier. The breast were a bit dried out. The tenders can be cooked to a higher temperature and still be juicy.
Tried this for dinner this evening and it was fantastic! The Everything spice was easy-though I had to sub out the black sesame seeds for chia seeds since there’s no Trader Joe’s around WNC where I live. The only thing I changed was adding some turmeric to the breadcrumb mixture. My TJ breadcrumbs were pretty pale. This is a keeper!!! Thank you for all you do especially during this time of isolation!
So happy to hear that! We had them for dinner last night too with some sweet potato fries and asparagus! So clever to add chia seeds!
This looks awesome I can’t wait to try it! I have everything bagel seasoning in my cupboard but didn’t know what to use it with! Thank you for the recipe 🙂
Enjoy, Diana! It’s quickly become a classic recipe around here.