I probably shouldn’t call this a recipe of the week post, especially since I’m not quite sure if I’m fully bringing that feature back yet. But, maybe advertising a recipe of the week will kick my butt into gear. I did really well with the feature a while back, but then it fizzled out. You can read more ROTW posts here.
This time around, I’m sharing a go-to favorite in my house: cornflake chicken. My mom had made this for as long as I can remember, and now it has become one of Brian’s favorite quick meals. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a bunch of pictures, but I did get one or two… I was just too hungry after getting back from a run to focus on much other than prepping dinner!
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Chicken breast tenders (you can also use whole breasts- we just prefer the “meat-to-crunch” ratio with the tenders!)
- Cornflakes or cornflake crumbs (we use the real deal so we can control how broken down our crumbs are)
- All purpose flour (bleached or unbleached)
- 2-3 eggs
- Cooking spray
- Baking sheet and cooling rack
- Whatever spices you’d like (we use Ukrainian Village Seasoning and Old World Central Street Seasoning from The Spice House, along with garlic powder, salt and pepper)
Here’s what you need to do:
1. Preheat your oven to 425 F. Find a cooling rack that fits on or in your baking dish and spray with cooking spray (this will prevent your chicken from laying directly on a flat pan, increasing yummy crispiness!
2. Set up your “stations.” Put about a cup or so of flour in a shallow dish and add desired spices. We used the Ukrainian Village Seasoning here, but you can use whatever you’d like, even just salt and pepper. Mix and set aside. In your second shallow dish, beat three eggs with a bit of garlic powder. Set aside. In the final shallow dish, crunch up your cornflakes to your desired consistency- it’s a bit of trial and error to find what you like best. Then, add whatever seasoning you like- we used the Central Street. Really, I think anything with a bit of paprika in it is ideal here- even just plain old paprika!
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| We like our crumbs to be a pretty good mix of big and small for extra crunch! |
3. Rinse your chicken, remove any excess fat, and pat dry. Then, just go through your stations! Dip in the flour to coat, shake of any excess, then dip in the egg mixture. Finish in the cornflake crumbs, making sure to coat well on both sides and all edges. Once coated, place on the greased cooling rack. Repeat until all of your chicken is done.
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| You can see here how I put a cooling rack over a baking dish! |
4. Pop in your 425 degree oven until the temperature reaches 165-170 and the juices run clear. It was about 17 minutes for these tenders, but it would be more for regular chicken breasts. Double check your packaging or search online for cook times if you are using another cut of chicken!
Then, just enjoy! These can be served up with anything- last night I had green beans. We also always serve them with a bit of ranch dressing for dipping, though I bet they’d also be good with honey mustard!
As a side note, I always make way more than we can eat in one meal- they make great leftovers. We’ll actually be having them again tonight chopped up on salads! Just make sure to reheat in the oven- the microwave can make them a bit soggy.
Do you have any favorite quick, perfect for a busy weeknight meals?
