patriotic chicken fingers

These patriotic chicken fingers are breaded in white & blue colored tortilla chips served with ketchup to make a fun and festive meal not filled with artificial colors. They are gluten-free and can be egg-free & dairy-free!

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Over the weekend, I made my family celebrate 4th of July early so I could have recipes to post this week.

I got all of us pretty crowns to wear and we wore our most festive red white and blues.

We made lots of different things: breakfast, drinks, a snack, and even salad.

Thankfully, I had lots of help, and we had lots of fun.

Maybe I went a little overboard on the amount of red white and blue, but honestly, I don’t feel like you can ever be patriotic enough. Am I right? (of course I am)

These chicken fingers are patriotic because they are breaded in white and blue corn tortilla chips served with ketchup to make the colors red white and blue.

I love that I didn’t have to use artificial colors to make the chicken fingers fun colors.

You can find white corn tortilla chips at any store. Blue ones are a little harder to find but they are at pretty much every grocery store.

I’m sure I could have found some sort of naturally red colored chip to bread the chicken. However, I decided that would be a lot of trouble for my sister since she was the one going to the grocery store for me.

I think blue and white looks wonderful. Then you serve with a big bowl of ketchup and call it a (festive) day.

These are fun to make with kids because they can smash the chips and then shake the chicken in the crushed chips.

Honestly, I found it easier to use a food processor and blend the chips because the breading sticks better with smaller pieces but it’s up to you.

These take about 15-20 minutes to prepare and are pretty simple. Just let the chicken soak in a mixture of milk, spices, and an egg {which is optional. I forgot to add it, but it will help the chips adhere to the chicken a little better} for about 30 minutes to two hours. Then crush up the chips, take the chicken out of the mixture {letting excess milk drip off} and shake the chicken in the chips.

You’ll want to preheat the oven with the baking sheet in it to get the baking sheet hot {but be careful}.

That way, when you are breading the chicken you can put each breaded piece on the hot baking sheet. This will help it cook on the bottom and not get soggy while you are breading the remaining chicken fingers.

No one wants soggy chicken fingers.

And there you have it – Patriotic Chicken Fingers.

Be sure to check back for the delicious salad I paired with it {did you really think I wouldn’t have veggies?! ha}

Patriotic Chicken Fingers

These patriotic chicken fingers are breaded in white & blue colored tortilla chips served with ketchup to make a fun and festive meal that isn't filled with artificial colors. They are gluten-free and can be egg-free & dairy-free!

Print Rate

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Servings: 8

Author: Meme

Ingredients

• 3 cups milk any kind
• 1 egg optional
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 lb chicken tenders or breast cut into strips
• 6 oz white corn tortilla chips
• 6 oz blue corn tortilla chips

Instructions

• Whisk together milk, egg {if using}, garlic powder, salt, and cayenne pepper in a large bowl. Add chicken, and let sit for about 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.
• Meanwhile, crush the white tortilla chips in a bag; set aside. Crush the blue tortilla chips in another bag and set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 375*F and line a baking sheet with foil. Put the baking sheet in the oven to preheat.
• Carefully remove the hot baking sheet from the oven.
• Take one piece of chicken at a time out of the milk and let the excess milk drip off. Add to either the white tortilla chips or the blue, and shake in crushed chips. Put the breaded chicken strip on the hot baking sheet {be careful not to burn yourself}. 
• Repeat with remaining tortilla chips until all of the chicken has been breaded. Bake in preheated oven to 28-34 minutes depending on the size of the chicken fingers. 
  
• Remove from baking sheet and serve with ketchup or salsa. Enjoy!

Notes

*The egg is optional but will help the breading stick better. (The recipe was tested without using an egg)
*Use any milk desired. Recipe was tested using 2% organic milk. For non-dairy options, use unsweetened unflavored almond or coconut milk.

Did you try this recipe?Be sure to leave a comment & recipe rating below. Bonus points for tagging @memeinge & #livingwellkitchen on Instagram! THANK YOU! xo

What to use in this recipe:

Meme