Sticky Chicken Fingers with Yogurt Blue Cheese Sauce.
It’s official: I’m obsessed with these crispy sticky chicken fingers.
They are INCREDIBLE. Saucy, crunchy, crispy, sweet, savory and slightly spicy if you’d like. Oh, and BAKED! Not fried.
Absolutely divine and perfect for a snack, fun weeknight dinner, super bowl eats or just… today. Because they’re that good.
It’s no secret we looooove some homemade chicken fingers in this house! Our favorites are these pretzel crusted chicken fingers, but I’ve been making them since I first started the blog 13 years ago, waaaay before kids. Eddie and I always loved using crunchy chicken fingers on salads or just as a part of dinner. In fact, they are probably one of Eddie’s favorite foods.
Needless to say, I’ve perfected my method over the years. They are baked, super crispy and crunchy and tender inside. They are wonderful and work everytime.
We love these even more than any fried chicken fingers. Okay, maybe not chick-fil-a, but you know what I mean. Others don’t hold a candle to these.
Now, this sticky sauce makes them even MORE incredible. Not even joking when I say I’ve made these twice some weeks by request.
Everyone LOVES them.
The sauce makes these taste 100% restaurant-worthy.
The sauce is a combo of brown sugar, butter, buffalo wing sauce (or you could use hot sauce!) and a drop of water if you need it. It’s divine. It’s fairly indulgent too, but it makes the crispy chicken taste fantastic. I know some of you may ask if you can reduce the sugar… you can try, but this combo is what makes it perfectly sticky and saucy. If you don’t want to coat the chicken in the sauce, you could even use it as a dip. It’s addictive!
You can also add a little more hot sauce or even a dash of cayenne if you want to make this spicier. I’m a huge baby, so it’s a no for me. But I know some of you love your spice.
Oh and the blue cheese! I’ve shared this before on the blog but it’s wonderful here in this recipe. Greek yogurt, some lemon, salt, pepper, lots of blue cheese or gorgonzola. Deeeelish. Super refreshing and a wonderful complement for the chicken.
And if you’re feeling ranch, here’s my incredible homemade ranch recipe that also is a delish dipper.
Now please run and make them!
Sticky Chicken Fingers with Yogurt Blue Cheese
Sticky Chicken Fingers with Yogurt Blue Cheese Sauce
Ingredients
sticky chicken
- 1 pound chicken tenders
- kosher salt and pepper
- garlic powder
- 1 cup flour
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup seasoned fine breadcrumbs
- olive oil spray, or nonstick spray, coconut oil spray, avocado oil spray, etc
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup buffalo wing sauce
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon water
yogurt blue cheese
- 1 cup plain greek yogurt
- 1 lemon, juiced
- big pinch of kosher salt and pepper
- ¾ cup crumbled blue cheese
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a wire rack. Spray the wire rack with nonstick (or olive oil/coconut oil/avocado oil) spray. This is key so the breading sticks to the chicken!
- Line up 3 bowls or large plates. Put the flour in one, the eggs in the second and stir together both breadcrumbs in the third.
- Sprinkle the chicken all over with salt, pepper and garlic powder, covering both sides. Dip each piece of chicken in the flour, covering completely. Then dip in the egg, then in the breadcrumb mixture, pressing gently so the crumbs adhere. Place each chicken piece on the sprayed wire rack.
- Bake the chicken for 12 minutes, then gently flip and bake for 12 minutes more.
- While the chicken is baking, heat the brown sugar, wing sauce, butter and water in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk until the sugar dissolves. Let the mixture come to a boil (watch it the entire time!) then reduce it to a simmer and cook for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool while the chicken finishes.
- When the chicken is done, gently lift it on the wire rack with a spatula or tongs. Place it on a plate or in a bowl and drizzle it with the sauce. Don’t let the chicken sit too much in the sauce, because the sauce gets stickier and thicker as it sits, and it will rip off the breading! So toss in the sauce, then serve on plates with the dip. Enjoy!
yogurt blue cheese
- Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, mashing the blue cheese in as you stir. Serve immediately! You can make this ahead of time and store it in the fridge.
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32 Comments on “Sticky Chicken Fingers with Yogurt Blue Cheese Sauce.”
Ahhhh, I’m confused at step #6. Take chicken off the rack and place on a plate to drizzle with sauce then stir together to coat? I Wonder how the breading stands up to this. These sound sooooooo good! I’m dying to make but just wanted to be clear so I dont end up messing them up.
Thanks. I love starting my day with you!
so sorry – i mean just toss in the sauce gently!! poor choice of wording, haha. if you’re afraid of ripping off the breading, you can also dip them in the sauce or just gently spoon it all over!
These are delicious. Love the sauce! I think I might try the sauce with grilled chicken as well.
it’s SO good with grilled chicken too!
My husband prefers basically every meat over chicken. I made these tonight and he said we have to save this recipe! Soooo good and easy!
woohoo!!
Making these for the Super Bowl! Looks amazing!!!
enjoy!!
These were amazing! Made them for my family Sunday and they were a huge hit. And the sauce is like candy for people who love the sweet hot combo! Crispy delicious perfection!
love that!
This recipe was a hit with my family. I made it in my air fryer instead of baking it. Will be making this again.
This recipe was a hit with my family. I made it in my air fryer instead of baking it. Will be making this again.
so glad!
These were really delicious and I’ll be making them again. I wasn’t sure what was meant by “Buffalo wing sauce” since there are prepared bottled sauces on the market but I don’t know what’s in them. Being from the Buffalo, NY area, I decided to use Frank’s Red Hot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce which we usually combine with melted butter for true Buffalo wings and it was perfect – although it might be too hot for some folks. The finished sauce is very sweet and a nice change from the usual Buffalo wings but due to the sweetness, I’d suggest trying it sparingly before deciding just how much you want overall.
love that, so glad you liked them becky.
Made a version of these with trader joe’s chickenless tenders, and the sauces are SOO GOOD OMG. I’m going to make another bag um…. later tonight.
omg love that idea!
THIS CHICKEN IS SO FREAKING GOOD. Made it exactly as written and it was all the things: crunchy, tender, sweet, spicy, delicious. I didn’t make the blue cheese dip, but the chicken easily stands on its own. Thank you, Jess!
so glad!! thank you!
These were SO delicious and the chicken stayed nice and crispy. Served this great sauce on the side and it was a real winner. I think I’ll try this with some fish that’s fairly sturdy…like maybe some large fillets of Swaii. With these chicken lovelies, I served an apple and broccoli salad with a honey and cilantro dressing. Turned out to be a nice combination with the hot sauce.
Loved these for the Superbowl, I reduced the sugar to 3/4 cup, used light butter and used nonfat Greek yogurt for the sauce to lighten it up. It was soooo good!
Was excited about trying this, however, was not anticipating the sauce to be more like camel sauce. Remade with less sugar and more buffalo sauce and it was spot on. Are the measurements wrong on the post?
no. the measurements are correct.
A good alternative to the fried version….only from you!
Needs a good beer with it.
I have to give you a huge pat on the back/thumbs up/good for you.
It is not easy to write a recipe…that all I have to say……😊
These are to die for; even without the blue cheese dip( didn’t have all ingredients ). Yes, the cooked breaded fingers stand up well to being put on a plate and drizzled with the sauce; even on both sides. This recipe is going into my permanent collection.
I made this for my husband for Valentine’s Day and he lost his mind. These taste like they are from a restaurant and the sauce is really good. Going in the rotation!
Good Garden of Goodness! This was fantastic!
These are absolutely incredible. You’re right – they are totally restaurant-worthy and not hard at all. Thank you for always sharing spot-on recipes!
Delicious! This is a keeper!!!
WOW! This was so good and pretty simple to make! Will definitely make again.
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I had to save the url for this recipe in my notes because I’ve been asked for it so many times. Well done on one of the most delicious foods I’ve ever eaten!