These sweet and salty chicken tenders will please everyone at the dinner table — and you’ll never believe what the secret ingredient in the breading is. This post also includes a yummy, homemade honey mustard sauce.
I wrote this review while participating in a campaign for Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Twinkies. I received samples and a promotional item to thank me for participating.
I’m always up for a kitchen challenge. So when I was asked to create a creative recipe using Twinkies to enter to be in the comeback edition of the Twinkie Cookiebook, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to think outside the box. I wanted to think outside the box, and after discussing it with Forrest, we decided to do some sweet and salty chicken tenders.
I thought the Twinkie breadcrumb idea was rather clever. Forrest put them in the food processor, and pulse them until it was crumbly. I was worried about the cream, but somehow it got all mixed in and you could hard tell. After we baked them for about 15 minutes, they were hard enough to pulse until they were fine like breadcrumbs.
We wanted to keep the spices that we added simple but still impactful enough to balance out the sweetness. We used pretty similar spices to what was in our Better-than-KFC chicken, and it seemed to be quite perfect, even after Jack poured in more paprika than we initially wanted. Jack knew best in this situation!
We melted a little bit of butter in the bottom of a dish, just to help them cook a little bit and add some more flavor. It all came together pretty quickly, and they definitely didn’t last long on the dinner table.
I thought that a honey mustard sauce would pair well with the chicken. So, I looked around at a few different recipes online and then put my own twist on it. Honey mustard is one of my favorite condiments, and I definitely think I will making it more often.
All in all, I think this dish was a major success. I really hope it gets into the Twinkie Cookbook — I don’t think many people would think something like this would be possible! If you think you have a creative dish, be sure to enter it in the recipe contest. I’d love to hear if you enter (and if you make this yummy dish!)
Sweet & Salty Chicken Tenders
Ingredients
- 2 large chicken breasts, cut into strips (or 5-6 chicken tenders)
- 1 cup milk, Kefir, or Almond Milk
- 5 Twinkies
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
Instructions
- Place chicken strips into a gallon sized Ziploc bag with one cup of milk. Place in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
- Pulse Twinkies (cream and all) in food processor until crumbly.
- Spread on a baking sheet and place in the oven for 300 degrees.
- Put crumbles back in food processor and pulse until Twinkies are the consistency of graham cracker crumbs.
- Add paprika, seasoned salt, black pepper, and garlic powder. Taste and adjust as needed.
- Preheat oven to 375.
- Cut up 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter into the bottom of a glass dish. Place in oven for a few minutes.
- Remove chicken from fridge. Shake off excess milk and dredge in Twinkie mixture. Put in glass dish (on top of melted butter.) Repeat with tenders.
- Cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink.
Katie is a Colorado-native, BYU graduated, and most importantly, wife to one and mother to three beautiful boys. She is passionate about sharing her experiences with others – especially about pregnancy, breastfeeding, cooking, and crafts. She is currently training to be a Certified Lactation Educator. She loves spending time with her family and helping others find joy in family life.
Kathleen @ Fearlessly Creative Mammas says
This is interesting for sure. How fun that Jack was able to help. My sister loves Twinkies. I wonder if she would try this. I will have to send her this recipe.