Crispy Coconut Chicken Recipe

Ultra-crispy baked Coconut Chicken tenders with a quick five-ingredient honey-mustard dipping sauce.

Serve Coconut Chicken with a simple side dish like this Roasted Broccoli, Cucumber Salad, or Panzanella Salad.

Coconut Chicken

These tasty Coconut Chicken fingers are a favorite in my home. To keep them on the more nutritious side, they’re baked instead of fried, but don’t worry — they’re still ridiculously crispy and crunchy!

They’re deeply coconut flavored — if you love coconut you are going to love these chicken fingers! And to round things out nicely, we’ve got a (super-quick) five-ingredient honey-BBQ mustard dipping sauce. It’s the perfect complement to Coconut Chicken!

Let’s Talk Chicken Tenders

Ok, first things first. We use chicken tenders for this recipe. You can use chicken breasts, but you’ll need to cut them into thin strips — so they’re the size of tenders. Depending on the breast size, you can get three or four tenders from one breast.

To prepare the chicken tenders, you’ll need to remove the tendons. This may seem like a tedious task (I used to hate it), but wait till you see and try this easy hack! For more deeply embedded tendons, I like to cut them out with a sharp paring knife. Once you remove the tendons, cut out any other gristle or fat and then pat dry the tenders with a paper towel.

There are two options at this point:

• Marinate the chicken tenders. Don’t worry — the “marinade” isn’t a whole cacophony of ingredients; in fact, there’s only one ingredient: coconut milk! The coconut milk further emphasizes the tropical coconut flavor in the chicken and also acts as a tenderizer to make the chicken ultra juicy and flavorful. Even as little as 20-30 minutes can make a difference! 
• Use as-is. If you want to skip the marinating, no problem. You’ll still get crispy and tasty coconut chicken! Pat the chicken tenders well with a paper towel and proceed with the recipe.

Coconut Chicken Breading Notes

Once the chicken is prepped, it’s time to dredge it in the batter, then the breading, and then pop it in the oven. Here’s a quick rundown of the batter and breading steps:

First, the batter:

• Egg and coconut milk. These two ingredients contribute flavor and are the main components of liquid in this batter.
• Dijon mustard. This ingredient adds complexity to the flavor.
• Flour. A little flour thickens the breading to ensure it stays on the chicken.
• Spices. I like to add the spices to the batter, rather than the breading, to ensure the chicken gets that spice blend all over it. We use pretty standard spices here — paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt & pepper.

Then, the two-ingredient breading:

• Panko. Panko bread crumbs are similar to regular bread crumbs, but they create a much crunchier, lighter, and more delicate result. Using panko ensures a more crispy and crunchy end product than bread crumbs. And when you are baking chicken instead of frying, the panko makes a huge difference!
• Sweetened coconut flakes. We use sweetened coconut flakes to add a touch of sweetness to the chicken — it’s delicious. Instead of leaving the coconut in flakes, we quickly pulse it in a food processor or blender to break it down. This ensures a more even breading that doesn’t flake or fall off as easily. 

Making Coconut Chicken Crispy without Frying

No, you’ll never get chicken tenders as crispy and crunchy by baking instead of deep frying, but we can still get some mighty crunchy chicken! Here are the secrets to crispy chicken without frying:

• Bake on a wire cooling rack. If you have a wire cooling rack, place it right on top of a sheet pan and bake the chicken on top. This allows more even circulation of heat in the oven, and that ensures crispier chicken all around. When chicken is flat on the pan, it ends up just being crispy on one side. If you don’t have a wire cooling rack, the chicken will still bake up nicely on a sheet pan, as long as you flip it halfway through.
• Generously spray with cooking spray. The cooking spray not only ensures the chicken doesn’t stick to the pan or wire cooling rack, but it also contributes to the crunchy texture.
• Bake the panko and coconut. By quickly baking the coconut and panko before breading the chicken in it, we accomplish two things: 1. Toasting the coconut and panko adds more flavor, and 2. We’re making both ingredients even crispier ahead of time. With a coating that is already crunchy before being added onto the chicken, the end result is that much more crunchy!

Air Frying Coconut Chicken

1. Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees F. Add the tenders to the fryer basket in one even layer. You may need to do this in batches; don’t overlap chicken.
2. Cook for 5-8 minutes, flip the tenders, spray with cooking spray on the other side, and cook for another 5-8 minutes or until golden brown and cooked to 160 degrees F. (Carryover heat will take them to 165 degrees F.)

Dipping Sauce Tips

The sauce is a must-have for coconut chicken — it has so much flavor and makes the chicken truly unforgettable! I have a few tips to share:

• Use good mayo. I highly recommend real, full-fat mayonnaise for the best possible dipping sauce. Hellmann’s/Best Foods® is my favorite brand (not sponsored). 
• For this sauce, we’re using yellow mustard, not Dijon–which won’t taste quite right here. Dijon is for the breading batter, and yellow mustard is for the dipping sauce.
• Sweeten to taste. I wouldn’t consider this sauce overly sweet, but it does have a touch of sweetness. If you prefer a less sweet sauce, add the honey slowly and to taste.
• Don’t forget to season. A little pinch of salt and pepper goes a long way in rounding out flavors and balancing ingredients.
• Add a flavorful honey BBQ sauce. We like Sweet Baby Ray’s Honey BBQ® sauce best in this recipe (not sponsored).

More delicious chicken recipes: 

• BBQ Chicken Salad with a creamy cilantro-lime dressing
• Shish Tawook with a quick Tzatziki sauce
• Grilled Chicken Marinade great all-purpose chicken marinade!
• Chicken Pot Pie Pasta made in one pot
• Rotisserie Chicken Tacos made in under 30 minutes!

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4.80 from 5 votes

Easy Coconut Chicken

By Chelsea Lords

These ultra-crispy baked Coconut Chicken tenders are golden, crunchy, and downright irresistible—no frying needed! Pair them with a quick and delicious five-ingredient honey-mustard sauce.

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings

Equipment

• Large sheet pan (15" x 21")
• Cooling rack
• Blender or food processor

Ingredients

1x2x3x

USMetric

Chicken

• ▢ 1 pound chicken tenderloins about 7 to 9 tenders
• ▢ 1 cup coconut milk full-fat; optional—see note 1

Breading Mixture

• ▢ 1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
• ▢ 1 cup panko breadcrumbs see note 2
• ▢ Cooking spray

Batter Mixture

• ▢ 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ 2 tablespoons coconut milk full-fat, see note 1
• ▢ 1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard
• ▢ 1-1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
• ▢ 1-1/2 teaspoons paprika
• ▢ 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Dipping Sauce

• ▢ 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons mayo
• ▢ 1-1/2 teaspoons yellow mustard
• ▢ 1 lemon
• ▢ 1-1/2 tablespoons honey
• ▢ 1 tablespoon honey BBQ sauce like Sweet Baby Rays
• ▢ Salt and pepper

Instructions 

• Optional Marinade: Pat chicken tenders dry with a paper towel and trim any fat, then remove tendons (try this easy hack!). Add to a large bag or container and pour 1 cup coconut milk over. Toss with tongs to coat the chicken. Cover container or seal bag and refrigerate for at least 20–30 minutes, up to overnight. When done marinating, discard coconut milk; holding one tender at a time, run your fingers down the tender to remove excess coconut milk. Dab with a paper towel. (It’s okay if some coconut milk remains.)
• Preheat the oven to 400°F. Set out a large sheet pan and wire cooling rack.
• Breading: Add the coconut flakes to a blender or food processor and process to crumbs. Pour the crumbs on the sheet pan along with the panko. Spread in an even layer, spray with cooking spray, and add to the preheated oven. Bake for 2–4 minutes or until lightly golden brown (watch closely!). Dump the toasted panko and coconut into a shallow bowl and stir to combine. We’ll use this sheet pan again to cook the chicken; add the wire cooling rack on top of it and spray it generously with cooking spray.
• Batter: Add all the batter mixture ingredients to a large, shallow bowl. Whisk to combine. Press the chicken tenders, one at a time, into the batter mixture and evenly coat all sides. Repeat to dredge all the tenders in the batter. Tenders should use up all the batter and be well coated with the mixture.
• Next, dredge each tender in the breading. Again, coat them all generously; you should use most of the breading. Place coated chicken tenders on top of the wire cooling rack on the prepared sheet pan. Press any leftover breading on top and generously spray the tenders with cooking spray on one side.
• Bake in the center of the oven for 10 minutes. Remove and carefully flip the tenders to the other side. Generously spray with cooking spray and bake for another 5–10 minutes or until the chicken registers 160°F on a thermometer. (Smaller tenders should be done at 5, medium at 7, and large at 10 minutes.) Remove from oven and taste test. Add a light sprinkle of salt on the tenders if needed to make the flavors come alive.
• Sauce: Meanwhile, make the dipping sauce by whisking together all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Add 3/4 teaspoon lemon juice. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. (I add 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.) Whisk, taste, and adjust the ingredients to preference.
• Serve chicken tenders right out of the oven with lots of sauce on the side for dipping! These don’t stay crispy when stored, so I recommend cooking only enough for one meal.

Video

Recipe Notes

Note 1: These tenders are still tasty without marinating in coconut milk. If you’d like to forgo the coconut milk marinade, use 2 tablespoons mayo instead of coconut milk in the breading. Use full-fat coconut milk (like Imperial Kitchen®)—lite versions are too watery.

Note 2: Panko bread crumbs are similar to regular bread crumbs, but they create a much crunchier result. They can be found near breadcrumbs, flour, or cornmeal in the grocery store.

Nutrition Note: Calories do not include the dipping sauce as the amount you use will vary.

Storage: Store leftover Coconut Chicken Tenders in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the oven at 375°F until crispy. Keep the honey-mustard sauce separate in the fridge for up to a week and stir before using.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 501kcal | Carbohydrates: 35.3g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 25.1g | Cholesterol: 129.2mg | Sodium: 432.8mg | Fiber: 3.4g | Sugar: 9.5g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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