Tortilla Chip Chicken Tenders with Creamy BBQ Sauce

It all began when my kids started watching Food Network.  Chicken fingers were banned from our household!  Not only were they a bad word at home, but my children refused to even look at a kids menu when dining out.  They would make haughty little comments like “I bet there’s chicken fingers on there – yuck!”  They had graduated to shrimp cocktail and seared ahi.

Therefore, when I made chicken fingers as my comfort food of the week, I aimed for unique with a gourmet twist.  Personally, I don’t snub the chicken finger the way my kids do.  I mean, they are darn good all crispy brown, dipped in a bit of ranch dressing.

These chicken fingers are especially fun with their tortilla chip crust and lightly spiced dipping sauce.  The crunchy chips make a perfect coating with just the right amount of salt and richness.  The creamy BBQ sauce has a bit of zip provided by Sriracha (my favorite hot sauce of all time) and lends that extra flavor to make a satisfying mouthful.

Couple of notes – instead of the BBQ sauce, I loaded on some guacamole that I had left over from Super Bowl Sunday.  It was another great complement to the tortilla chip crust.  Also, it's easy to make these gluten free by replacing all-purpose flour with corn flour.

Tortilla Chip Chicken Tenders with Creamy BBQ Sauce

serves 4

Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs. chicken tenders
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 3 cups tortilla chips, ground to a fine meal in food processor
• 2 large eggs, whisked thoroughly

Creamy BBQ Sauce

• 1/2 cup BBQ sauce
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon Sriracha

Cooking Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 475 degrees F.
2. Mix flour and paprika. Place flour mixture, tortilla chips and egg on shallow plates.
3. Dip each tender in first flour, then egg and then tortilla chips until thoroughly coated. Place on a baking sheet. 
4.  Bake for 15 - 20 minutes. Tenders should be golden brown.
5. While chicken is baking, thoroughly combine sour cream, BBQ sauce and Sriracha in a small bowl. Serve as a dipping sauce.

More chicken recipes from FN Dish:

Jeanette's Healthy Living: Chinese Braised Chicken With Chestnuts
The Cultural Dish: Chicken Marsala
Thursday Night Dinner: Girls' Night Chicken and Artichoke Pasta
Feed Me Phoebe: Honey Mustard Chicken Wings
Devour: Fried Chicken, 5 Ways
Made By Michelle: Chicken and Kale Casserole
Virtually Homemade: Tortilla Chip Chicken Tenders With Creamy BBQ Sauce
Cooking With Elise: Chicken Pastry
FN Dish: The New Face of Comforting Chicken Dishes