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Baked Ranch Chicken Strips + Dipping Sauce

Source of Recipe

From "Little Foodie" by Michele Olivier and Sarah Peternell


Recipe Introduction

"I am the queen of chicken strips. Cannot. Get. Enough. I wanted a recipe that would rival my favorite fried version: moist on the inside and crispy on the outside, all with a creamy ranch dipping sauce. This recipe hits the mark! The key is to marinate the chicken strips in the ranch dressing before coating them with extra-crunchy panko bread crumbs. In the end, I ate four strips, while Ellie ate a half—I'm calling that a win."

List of Ingredients

For the Ranch Sauce:
â—¦ ½ cup mayonnaise
â—¦ ½ cup sour cream
â—¦ ½ cup buttermilk or full-fat milk
â—¦ 1 teaspoon finely chopped chives
â—¦ 1 teaspoon finely chopped parsley
â—¦ 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
â—¦ ½ teaspoon dried dill weed
â—¦ ½ teaspoon garlic powder
â—¦ ¼ teaspoon onion powder
â—¦ Salt
â—¦ Freshly ground black pepper

For the Chicken Strips:
â—¦ 1 ½ pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 2-inch strips
â—¦ ¾ cup of Ranch Sauce
â—¦ Cooking spray
â—¦ ½ cup whole-wheat flour
â—¦ 1 teaspoon salt
â—¦ ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
â—¦ Freshly ground black pepper
â—¦ 2 large eggs
â—¦ 2 cups panko bread crumbs


Recipe

Preheat the oven to 400° F.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, buttermilk, chives, parsley, Worcestershire sauce, dill weed, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Reserve ¾ cup of sauce, cover, and refrigerate until needed. In the medium bowl, add the chicken strips to the sauce. Cover and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, and up to 8 hours.

Generously spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Combine the flour, salt, and cayenne pepper in a shallow bowl and season with black pepper. In another shallow bowl, beat the eggs. In a third shallow bowl, place the panko bread crumbs.

Take each chicken strip, and coat it first in the flour mixture, brushing off any excess, then the egg mixture, dripping off any excess, and then finally roll the strip in the panko. Place the chicken strips on the baking sheet, making sure they do not touch. Continue until all the strips are coated.

Spray each chicken strip with cooking spray, and bake for 20 minutes, flipping it halfway through the baking time. Serve with cut carrots, celery, and extra ranch dipping sauce.

Makes 4 small servings