Crispy Cornflake Chicken

The crunch from these cornflake chickens is irresistible. My two-ingredient breading of cornflakes and saltine crackers gives the chicken extra crunch and makes for the ultimate finger food at all our house parties.

chicken breast strips marinated in seasoned buttermilk and coated with a crispy coating of cornflakes and crackers.

There is literally nothing more addictive than crispy chicken strips with a dip. Good are the ones that are well seasoned, juicy, and tender with a super crispy coating. Even better if they are baked. This cornflake chicken ticks all the boxes. Boneless chicken strips are marinated in buttermilk and then coated with a mix of cornflakes and saltine crackers.

Reasons you will love these Cornflake chicken

Super moist and juicy on the inside. Can’t tell enough, how crispy and crunchy these chicken strips are.
It is fuss-free to make these. Marinate chicken in a seasoned buttermilk mixture and then coat with crispy coating.
The breading has just two ingredients – cornflakes and slatine crackers.
These are baked, so you can indulge guilt-free.

Ingredients

The list of ingredients is divided into 2 parts – wet/buttermilk marinade and cornflake coating.

For buttermilk marinade you need

Chicken – Boneless chicken breast cut into thin strips. If you can get hold of chicken tenders, you can use them too.
Buttermilk- Buttermilk tenderizes the meat and keeps it moist.
Eggs– Eggs help in binding so that the cornflake coating sticks better.
Seasoning – No bland chicken here. Buttermilk is seasoned with minced garlic, onion powder, Italian seasoning, paprika, salt, and pepper.

Crunchy coating

You need just 2 ingredients ( probably you already have in your kitchen) for coating the chicken. Cornflakes and saltine crackers crushed roughly. Cornflakes gives unbelievable crunch to the chicken strips.

How to make

Find the complete recipe with measurements below.

Ask for chicken tenders in the supermarkets, some do stock them. If using boneless chicken breasts, cut them into thin strips.
Marinating Chicken strips helps tenderize the meat and also the spices in the seasons the chicken.
You can marinate chicken for at least 30 minutes or overnight, for the flavors to infuse and also the chicken becomes super juicy.
For breading put cornflakes and crackers in a ziplock bag and use a rolling pin to crush. Or put them in a food processor and blitz to a rough breadcrumb-like texture.
Now this is the easy part, unlike the regular flour-egg-bread coating technique, this process is kind of hands-free and no mess. Use a fork or kitchen tong to take out the chicken strips, shake off extra marinade, and place it on the cornflake mix. To prevent the mix from sticking to hands, first sprinkle some of the mix on the chicken, and press firmly so that the cornflakes stick evenly. Flip and repeat.
Place the breaded chicken strips on a greased baking rack and bake for 12-15 minutes in a pre-heated oven.

Steps showing making of cornflake chicken.

How to make these in an air fryer?

Too hot to switch on the oven or you would like to put your new air fryer into use? Cornflake chicken comes out great in air fryer. Preheat air fryer to 400F, and cook them for 5-6 minutes on each side. For better air circulation cook them in batches.

Tips for the best result

For the juiciest chicken, marinate for at least one hour. You can keep it overnight as well.
Make sure before baking you bring the chicken to room temperature, this ensures even cooking.
Instead of placing it directly on a baking tray, place on a wired rack for the hot air to circulate evenly.
Because of the saltine crackers, the seasoning was just perfect. You could sprinkle some flakey sea salt on top once out of the oven.
You can store the leftovers in an airtight container. But upon storing they will lose their crispiness.

What to serve with Cornflake Chicken?

These are great as finger food/ appetizers and best served with a creamy dip or tomato ketchup. To make a meal out of it, serve with one of the following side dishes