If we are picking out chips, there is a 95-98% chance that my husband will grab a bag of cool ranch doritos. He loves them and so does… everyone. They are tangy, cheesy, salty and absolutely delicious, so I wanted to do something special with these addictively tasty chips… ya know, aside from just eat a hundred of them straight out of the bag.
After some careful consideration, I decided to make a cool ranch dorito breading for some chicken tenders and why on earth haven’t I done this before? This chicken is amazing! The breading is crispy, flavorful and fabulous and who wouldn’t want to combine crispy chicken with those delicious cool ranch flavors?
Let’s get started…
The most important ingredient is, of course, the cool ranch doritos. To transform them into the perfect breadcrumb like texture, place about 4 ounces of cool ranch doritos into a food processor and pulse until you have a nice fine texture. If you don’t have a food processor, simply place the doritos into a large zip lock bag and crush them with a rolling pin, meat tenderizer or even just a heavy skillet.
Transfer the crushed cool ranch doritos into a shallow bowl along with 2/3 cup of fine breadcrumbs and 1/3 cup of grated parmesan. In addition to this delicious breadcrumb situation, whisk 2 eggs in a second shallow bowl and add 1/2 cup of all purpose flour in a third shallow bowl. Season all three bowls with a pinch of salt and black pepper.
Breading – ready.
To prepare the chicken, cut 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts into strips by halving them horizontally and then cutting each half into thirds. Alternatively, you can buy pre-cut tenders. I prefer to cut my own for two reasons: boneless skinless breasts are usually cheaper than tenders and I can cut my tenders as big or small as I want for the recipe.
Once the chicken is cut, season the tenders with garlic powder, onion powder, salt and black pepper.
To bread your seasoned chicken strips, start by lightly coating them in all purpose flour.
Shake each chicken strip to allow any excess flour to fall off and working one at a time, transfer the flour coated chicken strip into the seasoned whisked eggs.
Once the chicken strip is dipped into the egg, transfer it into the cool ranch dorito breadcrumb mixture…
… and press to make sure that the entire chicken strip is generously coated in all that deliciousness before transferring them onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat this process with each chicken strip until they are all breaded.
Leave a little space between each strip to allow their sides to get crispy too. Lightly drizzle each strip with some extra virgin olive oil (this will help them get golden brown and crispy in the oven) and transfer them into a 425 degree oven.
Bake the strips for 18-22 minutes (depending on how thick your strips are) or until they are golden brown, crisp and cooked through to an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
Aren’t they pretty? So crispy and so cool ranch. This is officially new my favorite chicken coating.
These cool ranch chicken strips are perfect on their own, but if you are like me in the fact that I need a sauce for everything, I whipped up a batch of my creamy poblano and herb ranch dressing and it was so good with these chicken strips. Its creamy, herby and just a little spicy. Try it out!
So, if you like cool ranch doritos (and of course you do!) and are looking for a way to transform your average chicken tenders into something not so typical, then you have got to try these crispy cool ranch chicken strips. Eat them with some of that creamy ranch, put them over a salad, wrap them in a tortilla with some cheese and lettuce or take them to the beach with you… just make some, because I know you are going to love.
Crispy Cool Ranch Chicken Strips
Ingredients
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup of all purpose flour
- 4 ounces of cool ranch doritos
- 2/3 cup of fine breadcrumbs
- 1/3 cup of parmesan, grated
- salt and black pepper
- 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees
- Place 4 ounces of cool ranch doritos in a food processor and pulse until fine
- Combine the finely crushed doritos with 2/3 cup of fine breadcrumbs and 1/3 cup of grated parmesan in a shallow bowl
- Whisk 2 eggs in a second shallow bowl and season with salt and black pepper
- Add 1/2 cup of all purpose flour and a pinch of salt and black pepper in a third shallow bowl
- Cut the boneless skinless chicken breasts into tenders and dry with paper towels
- Bread the chicken tenders by lightly coating them in the flour mixture, then dipping them into the whisked eggs and then into the dorito mixture
- Set coated tenders on a parchment lined baking sheet
- Lightly drizzle with extra virgin olive oil
- Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the tenders are golden brown, crispy and cooked through with an internal temperature of 165 degrees
- Enjoy!
