Crispy Pretzel Coated Chicken Tenders – Easy Party Appetizer

These pretzel-coated chicken tenders are a crunchy, baked appetizer that’s perfect for parties, game day, or an easy finger food dinner.

Made with simple pantry ingredients, they’re ready in just 30 minutes and pair perfectly with honey mustard or your favorite dipping sauce.

The pretzel chicken nuggets have a tender, juicy center with a satisfyingly crispy exterior, whether you cut them into tenders, nuggets, or strips.

Keep reading to learn how to make this delicious pretzel chicken recipe that everyone will love!

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Ingredients for this pretzel-coated chicken tenders recipe

To make these pretzel-crusted chicken bites, you’ll need the following ingredients:

• 1 ½ pounds skinless, boneless chicken tenders
• ½ cup of all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon of sea salt
• ½ teaspoon of cracked black pepper
• 1 teaspoon pf finely chopped fresh basil
• 1 teaspoon of fresh thyme
• 2 large eggs
• 1 ½ cups of finely crushed pretzels
• Nonstick coconut oil spray

How to make pretzel-crusted chicken strips or nuggets

I baked these chicken tenders in a convection oven, but they can also be cooked in a regular oven or an air fryer.

Heat the oven

Start by preheating your oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or a sheet of parchment paper.

Prepare the chicken

Cut your chicken tenders into 1 ½ inch pieces. Set them aside.

Place the pretzels in a plastic bag. Use a heavy-duty rolling pin and roll over the bag. In a few seconds, you’ll have crushed pretzels just ready for your dipping station.

You’ll need three bowls for the pretzel breading steps.

In the first bowl, combine the flour, salt, pepper, and fresh herbs. In the second bowl, add the eggs and beat them lightly with a whisk. For the third bowl, place your crushed pretzels

Coating the chicken

The chicken is coated in three steps. First, roll the chicken pieces in the seasoned flour bowl.

Then, dunk these pieces into the eggs and finally, roll them in the crushed pretzels. These layers add a lovely to the crunchy texture to the outside when the nuggets are baked.

COOKING TIP: Use two hands for the dipping procedure to keep things neater. Use your left hand to roll in flour and dip in the egg, and drop them into the pretzels. Then, use the right hand to roll the nuggest.  Believe me, it will be much less messy!

Bake the pretzel chicken nuggets

Once you’ve dipped them, place your pretzel-coated chicken bites on the prepared baking sheet.Lightly spray over the top with nonstick coconut spray. (This adds a hint of coconut flavor to the bites.

A spray of coconut oil allows the coating to brown nicely, and you won’t miss the extra fat at all. The lack of oil also lets the flavor of the pretzel shine through.

Bake the pretzel-crusted chicken strips in your preheated oven for 8 minutes. Remove them from the oven, flip them, and spray again with cooking spray.

Continue baking until the outside is crisp and the centers are cooked through, about 6-8 minutes more. Be sure the chicken is cooked through.

Serving the pretzel breaded chicken

Remove the baking sheet from the oven and serve the bites with toothpicks (if you’re serving them as an appetizer). Be sure to add a bowl of ranch or honey mustard dressing for dipping.

The inside of these pretzel-crusted chicken tenders is so unbelievably moist and tender.  

Time to taste test the honey mustard pretzel chicken bites!

Every bite of these delicious pretzel-crusted chicken nuggets has a juicy center and crispy pretzel coating. This crunch is what makes these such a hit at parties.

Your kids will love these chicken nuggets. The homemade pretzel-crusted chicken bites add a crunchy pretzel coating, and the kids will be asking you to make them again every night!

And we don’t have to tell them that these are a healthier version of their favorite. Promise!

You can serve these pretzel-breaded chicken tenders as a main course, a fun lunch or a fantastic BBQ party appetizer. They will be gone in seconds!

Serve these delicious chicken bites with a dipping sauce. We love our homemade ranch dressing or try honey mustard for a sweet and tangy kick.

Once you have made your own chicken nuggets, you will never want to eat fast-food nuggets again. They are that good!

More appetizer recipes

Looking for more party appetizers? Try one of these recipes:

• Football Cheese Ball – Fun Super Bowl appetizer centerpiece
• Phyllo Cup Appetizers – BBQ pulled pork phyllo cups
• Ham and Spinach Pinwheel – Easy party appetizer recipe

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Looking for an easy appetizer your kids will love? Try making the pretzel crusted chicken bites recipe on Recipes Just 4U! 🥨🍗😋 #EasyAppetizer #ChickenBites #HomemadeChickenNuggets #ChickenNuggetsRecipe Share on X

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Admin note: This pretzel chicken tenders recipe first appeared on the blog in April 2017. This post has been updated with new photos, a recipe card with nutritional information, and a slideshow video.

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