This Hot Cheetos Chicken Tenders recipe features tender and juicy, oven baked chicken that’s coated in a seasoned Hot Cheetos crunchy crust. They are mouth-wateringly delicious with a little kick of heat in every bite.
Hot Cheetos Chicken Recipe
If you’re a Cheetos fan (and even if you’re not), you’re going to love these tasty chicken tenders. For this recipe, crushed hot Cheetos are used in the place of traditional breadcrumbs which just gives them a whole other delicious layer of flavor. Once they’re coated, the chicken tenders are baked until they’re tender and juicy and the crust is golden brown and perfectly crispy.
Because they’re baked on a large sheet pan, you can make a whole batch of these tenders at once, making them the ultimate easy game day, holiday or party appetizer or a great option for a quick weeknight dinner. For two other great chicken appetizers, you should check out our air fryer Copycat Chick-fil-a Chicken Nuggets and Brown Sugar Bacon Wrapped Chicken Nuggets.
💓 Why We Love This Recipe
- Easy: We love that these tenders are baked and not fried. That not only saves money by not having to use oil for deep frying, but cleanup is a whole lot easier.
- Simple ingredients: Other than the fresh chicken, this recipe uses simple pantry staples that you probably already have on hand.
- Unique: The Cheetos crust gives the tenders amazing and unique flavors that adds a fun twist to traditional chicken tenders.
🛒 Ingredients
- ChickentTenders
- Milk
- Eggs
- Flamin’ Hot Cheetos (or regular Cheetos)
- All-purpose flour
- Sweet paprika
- Garlic powder
- Salt and black pepper
🧑🏻🍳 How to Make Flamin’ Hot Cheeto Chicken Tenders
Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and then place an ovenproof rack on top of the foil. Set aside.
Step One: Make the Cheeto Coating
- Place the Cheetos in a food processor and blitz until finely ground. It’s okay if the texture isn’t completely uniform. (You can also use a large ziptop bag and crush the Cheetos with a rolling pin.)
- Place the Cheetos crumbs in a shallow dish and set aside.
Step Two: Make the Egg Wash
- In a second shallow dish, whisk together the eggs and milk. Set aside.
Step Three: Prepare Flour Mixture
- In the final shallow dish, stir together the all-purpose flour and seasonings.
Step Four: Coat the Chicken Tenders
- Dry the tenders off with paper towels. This helps the flour stick.
- Dip tenders in the flour mixture, then dip in the egg mixture, then finally coat completely in the Cheeto crumbs.
Step Five: Bake the Coated Tenders
- Place the Cheeto-coated chicken tenders on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 18-22 minutes, until the thickest parts of the chicken tenders reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F on an instant read meat thermometer.
Variations of Hot Cheeto Chicken Strips
- Tame the heat: Though they aren’t super-hot, they may have a little more kick than what the kiddos prefer. If you want to make a milder version, just use regular Cheetos instead.
- Chicken nuggets: If you’d like to make them smaller to serve as an appetizer, just take boneless, skinless chicken breasts and cut them up into bite-sized chicken pieces. Just make sure you reduce the cooking time.
- Cheetos chicken sandwich: These spicy tenders make an amazing lunch or dinner sandwich. Place a couple of tenders on a hamburger bun or between a couple of slices of Texas toast.
- Adjust the seasonings: When it comes to the breading for these tenders you can use any variety of spices you prefer. To add more heat, you can add a couple dashes of hot sauce or a little bit of cayenne pepper to the egg mixture. You can also add onion powder, cumin, chili powder to any combination of seasoning you like.
Can I Make Them in the Air Fryer?
You can, but you’ll want to make them in batches. For best results, place the tenders in the air fryer basket, leaving room around each one. Air fry them at 400 degrees F for 8-9 minutes, flipping them half-way through.
What Dipping Sauce Goes with this Spicy Chicken Tender Recipe
Sour cream or creamy based dipping sauces, like blue cheese dressing or ranch dressing go great with these Cheetos tenders, but they will go well with just almost any of your favorite dipping sauce recipes. Try them with some of this Copycat Chick-fil-a Sauce for a great, sweet and savory flavor.
To give them a Nashville hot chicken twist, you can drizzle them with a little hot honey.
More Awesome Chicken Recipes
- Chicken Tetrazzini
- Crack Chicken Soup
- Chinese Chicken Salad
- Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Homemade Chicken and Dumplings
- Neiman Marcus Salad
- Chicken Enchiladas
- Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas
- Slow Cooker Southwest Chicken
- Copycat Chick-fil-a Chicken
Cheeto Chicken Fingers
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders approximately 3 breasts
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 eggs
- 4 cups Red Hot Cheetos
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Line a baking sheet with tinfoil and then place an ovenproof rack overtop. Set aside.
- Place the cheetos in a food processor and blitz until finely ground. It's okay if the texture isn't completely uniform. (You can also use a large zip top bag and crush the Cheetos with a rolling pin.)
- Place the Cheetos in a shallow dish and set aside.
- In a second shallow dish, whisk together the eggs and milk. Set aside.
- In the final shallow dish, stir together the all-purpose flour and seasonings.
- Dip each chicken tenders in the flour mixture, then dip in the egg mixture, then finally coat completely in the Cheeto crumbs.
- Place the Cheeto-coated chicken tenders on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 18-22 minutes, until chicken tenders reach an internal temperature of 165 F.
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?
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