These Crispy Coconut Chicken Strips can be an easy weeknight meal or a quick-fix party appetizer! Make them as mild or as spicy as you’d like with cayenne pepper for a great sweet & spicy combo!
Need more chicken dinner ideas? Try my MIYM Chicken or my Chicken and Noodles!
Crispy Coconut Chicken Strips
My youngest’s favorite meal is fried chicken cutlets.
And while I am never one to turn away a piece of crispy chicken, I can say that switching up the usual breadcrumbs for coconut (in the case) is a welcome variation! Even my non-coconut loving child loves these!
The sweet coconut gets brown and crispy while the chicken stays tender. I love adding some sriracha sauce and a little cayenne pepper to really play up the sweet and spicy combo! AND if you’re not into frying stuff (I get it) you can TOTALLY bake these. They don’t get AS crispy, but they are still pretty delicious!
Anyhow, let’s talk about the simple steps…
How to Make Crispy Coconut Chicken Strips
Your step-up is easy. You’ll need a wet dip, a dry dip and some chicken.
In the wet dip (I think that’s the technical term 😉 ) I use eggs, milk, and some sriracha sauce. In the dry dip I use sweetened flaked coconut, panko, salt, pepper, and cayenne (if you’re feeling spicy).
Just dip your chicken into the wet, then the dry. Obviously.
You’ll need a large skillet to fry, or you can absolutely bake these if you prefer…I just really love the extra crispy that you get from pan-frying. Calories be damned!
They only take a few minutes in the hot oil, and you’ll want to serve them warm!
We like to dip them into some sweet chili dipping sauce (we use the brand Thai Kitchen) just to make them extra yummy!
I’m telling you these are gooooooood.
Enjoy!
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Crispy Coconut Chicken Strips
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Chicken
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: Dinner
Description
These Crispy Coconut Chicken Strips can be an easy weeknight meal or a quick-fix party appetizer! Make them as mild or as spicy as you’d like with cayenne pepper for a great sweet & spicy combo!
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon sriracha sauce
- 1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
- 3/4 cups panko crumbs
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne (optional)
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken breasts, cut into strips
- vegetable oil for frying
- Sweet Red Chili Sauce for dipping (optional)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, and sriracha sauce. Set aside.
- In a medium, shallow dish combine the coconut, panko, salt, pepper, and cayenne.
- Dip the chicken strips in the egg mixture to coat, and then into the coconut mixture, coating completely. Transfer the chicken strips onto a plate and repeat the process with all the strips.
- Turn the oven on to the lowest (or warm) setting, this is usually 160°F. Line a large baking sheet with paper towels and set aside.
- In 10- inch frying pan fill the pan 1/3- inch deep with vegetable oil. Heat the oil over medium heat until it reaches a temperature of 375°, or until small bubbles form when the back of a wooden spoon is placed in the oil. In batches place the chicken in the pan, careful not to crowd the pan. Fry 3-4 minutes on each side until golden brown.
- When the chicken is done, transfer to the paper towel-lined baking sheet and place in the oven to stay warm. Repeat with all the chicken.
- Serve warm with dipping sauce, if desired.
Notes
I usually double this recipe for my family of 6.
Option to Bake: Bake chicken at 400°F for 25 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 509
- Sugar: 4.1 g
- Sodium: 927.2 mg
- Fat: 26.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 22.5 g
- Protein: 46.2 g
- Cholesterol: 217.4 mg
Keywords: coconut chicken recipe, homemade chicken strips, how to make chicken strips, chicken strips recipe, chicken strips, coconut chicken, spicy chicken recipe, chicken fingers
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It was every bit as good as the recipe said it would be. We are big coconut shrimp fans so we thought we might like this chicken version and it surpassed expectations!
★★★★★
These were really delicious. To make them in the oven and get them really crispy (I hate the mess and smell of batch frying) I used a wet dredge from another recipe I have. First, I toasted the panko in a 400 oven for about 4 min before mixing it with the coconut. This prevents it from sucking up the wet dredge and getting soggy. Then combine 1 egg, 1 T mayo, 1.5 T Dijon mustard, 2 T. Flour, salt and pepper in a bowl. (I know. It sounds weird but it’s the BEST wet dredge for oven “frying”!) Toss all the chicken tenders in the wet batter with tongs. Then dredge in the panko/coconut mixture in this recipe with tongs, pressing the dry mixture into each piece of chicken. (Clean hands—no wet/dry hand mess!) Then I spread the pieces on a parchment lined baking sheet and spritzed them with a little cooking spray. Baked 400 for 20 minutes and then 375 convection for another five minutes. They were crispy and crunchy and delicious, and it basically took no effort at all to bake them up in the oven. I served them with a spicy chili-orange marmalade sauce that I made. Will repeat many times. Big hit here! Thank you for the dinner inspiration!
★★★★★
Thanks so much for sharing your adaptations! I will have to try it this way!
Awesome, easy, tasty recipe! I sort of just eyeballed everything and cooked the chicken in my air fryer and it turned out great. I cooked for 6 minutes and then flipped them and cooked 3 more minutes. My peices were cut fairly small. I look forward to making this one again
★★★★★
How would they do in an Air Fryer? How long and for what temperature?
I didn’t have an egg, my kids won’t eat spicy, and I wanted to use my air fryer – so – I rubbed my chicken tenders in EVOO then added the breading. I only used whole wheat panko, unsweetened coconut, salt and pepper. I pre heated the air fryer to 390. I put chicken in and sprayed with Pam. Cooked 5 minutes then flipped chicken with tongs and cooked 5 more. It turned out crispy, tasty, and perfect!
I will be trying this this week, wanted to switch to air fryer though!! Any recommendations on temp/duration of time?? Thank you!