March 5, 2019

Cheese Doodle chicken tenders

Platter of cheese doodle chicken tenders.

Chicken tenders coated with crushed up cheese doodles are baked until golden and yummy! These make a fun and delicious dish for kids and adults of all ages.

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It's National Cheese Doodle Day, so I'm sharing a recipe featuring these crunchy cheesy snacks. You can find more cheese doodle recipes from other bloggers at the bottom of this post.
 
Cheese doodles, sometimes called cheese puffs, have always been a favorite snack of mine, but I had never thought about using them in a recipe before these chicken tenders. When I was thinking of ways to use them, chicken was the first thing that came to mind.
 
To make these chicken tenders, I used my food processor to grind up some cheese doodles to make a cheesy coating. They are first dipped into a flour mixture, then an egg mixture, and then lastly the cheese doodle coating. 

Cheese doodle chicken tenders with barbecue sauce.

These chicken tenders are baked in the oven. You'll need two non-stick baking sheets to bake these. 

I like to serve these with a sweet barbecue sauce for dipping. I enjoy the flavor of barbecue sauce with these cheesy coating. A spicy barbecue sauce would be delicious too for the adults who like a kick of heat. However, ranch or honey mustard for dipping would also work well.

These cheese doodle chicken tenders are a great meal to make for kids. Chicken tenders are almost always a dish that kids, and people or all ages, enjoy. 

Serve with a side of tater tots, oven fries, sweet potato fries, sweet corn, coleslaw, green beans, or whatever else you choose. 

If you are looking for a way to change-up your chicken dinner, give this recipe a try!

Yield: about 4 servings
Author: Amy (Savory Moments)
Cheese Doodle Chicken Tenders

Cheese Doodle Chicken Tenders

Chicken tenders coated with crushed up cheese doodles are baked until golden and yummy! These make a fun and delicious dish for kids and adults of all ages.

Ingredients

  • olive oil, for greasing
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon hot sauce
  • 2-1/2 cups finely ground cheese doodles (see note)
  • about 2 lbs. chicken tenders

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease two baking sheets with olive oil.
  2. Gather three shallow dishes or pie plates. In the first, stir together the flour, salt, and pepper. In the second, whisk together the eggs, hot sauce, and a splash of water. In the third, place the ground cheese doodles.
  3. One at a time, dredge each chicken tender in the flour, knocking off any excess. Then dip in the egg and then dredge in the cheese doodles. Place on the baking sheets about 1-inch apart. Repeat until all are used.
  4. Bake for about 17-19 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.
  5. Serve hot with barbecue sauce, or other dipping sauce such as ranch or honey mustard.

Notes

Pulse cheese doodles in the food processor until they form a fine crumb and you reach about 2-1/2 cups.

Did you make this recipe?
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I hope you give these cheese doodle chicken tenders a try! Let me know in the comments below.

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Close-up of baked cheese doodle chicken tenders.

This recipe was originally posted in 2019 and has been updated in 2023 with a recipe card, new text, and more to improve reader experience.

Check out these other chicken recipes:

Slow Cooker Honey Mustard Chicken 

Pecan-Crusted Chicken Tenders w/ Cranberry Ketchup 

Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken & Tomato Pasta Sauce 

Check out more creatively cheesy recipes:
Beefy Cheeto Burrito from Palatable Pastime
Cheese Doodle Chicken Tenders from Savory Moments
Cheese Doodle Macaron from A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures
Cheese Doodle Meatballs from The Freshman Cook
Cheetoh Cheese Balls from A Day in the Life on the Farm
Cheetos Sushi from The Spiffy Cookie
Lightning Bolt-Encrusted Chicken Wings from Culinary Adventures with Camilla

15 comments:

  1. They look so crunchy and fingerlickingly delicious with that cheese doodle coating!

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  2. I'm so glad you went outside the box a little and joined us today! Definitely a very approachable way to use cheese doodles.

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  3. I think the teen and toddler (oops, preschooler, she is constantly correcting me LOL) would love these.

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  4. I ALMOST made tenders, too. Now, I can just make yours. They look so fun! And I have leftover doodles, too.

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  5. You definitely had the right idea with the smaller crumb. I can't wait to try this recipe. Thanks for sharing.

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  6. OMG! Incorporating cheese doodles into dinner??? Yes please!!!

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  7. chicken tenders corn, and sweet potato fries - I'd clean my plate as well! Wish I were a kid in your house. These tenders look delicious.

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  8. Wow, neat idea! These look incredibly flavorful -- and very original. Thanks!

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  9. My daughter is picky, picky and doesn't eat much meat. I have a feeling she'd go for these, too. In fact, my hubby and I would, too!

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  10. Yum, that is a perfect dinner for me☺

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  11. I love chicken tender, and you sure made it even tastier with the cheese puff coating...thanks for the recipe Amy.
    I hope you are having a great week!

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  12. I didn't know there was a day for cheese doodles! These look like lots of fun. I can see why they disappeared.

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  13. No wonder these are the favourite treats for kids... perfect meal for any party

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  14. excellent idea! i can't remember the last time i had a cheese doodle but would buy a bag just for this purpose!

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  15. Nice post.Keep sharing. Thanks for sharing.

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