Add Crispy Onions To Your Breadcrumbs For Top-Tier Chicken Tenders

Chicken tenders have an all-American nostalgia quality, but they are also a go-to for quick and satisfying snacks, and a mealtime no matter your age. You may be accustomed to making certain additions to your chicken tenders after the fact like mustard, ketchup, mayonnaise, ranch dressing, soy sauce, or salsa. Fast food restaurants offer entire selections of sauces to go along with your fried strips for this reason, and while dipping your dredged, breaded, and fried chicken is always a surefire way to enhance your dining experience, there are also ways to boost your flavor experience without reaching for a single condiment.

To make tenders that are totally bursting with flavor all on their own, take the opportunity to add crispy onions to your breadcrumbs before frying. It couldn't be simpler to make this modification, which takes your tenders into crispy French onion territory. You'll want a ratio of about three-to-one onions to breadcrumbs in the mix, and you'll find this single-ingredient tweak not only enhances the crunch factor of your coating, but it also brings depth and onion-y aromatics that only amplify that classic crunchy chicken craveability.

Breadcrumbs are an ingredient that usually doesn't get too much consideration. There are a few variations you can typically find in store, usually plain and unseasoned, or Italian-style (which features garlic powder and dehydrated herbs like oregano and parsley, and cheese), or in the form of panko breadcrumbs, which result in a bigger crunch factor.

But for the home cook with a little creative inspiration, they invite plenty of opportunity to play with different flavor profiles. Pairing with the crispy onion, you can easily add your own selection of spices, herbs, seeds, and more. Try caraway, coriander, dill, or nutmeg, all of which pair well with the subtly sweet and aromatic onion. Oregano, basil, sage, and tarragon offer bright herbaceousness that complements onions, too, and can be added in either fresh or dried form to your breadcrumbs. And if you want to double down on the onion kick, you can add French onion soup seasoning to your breadcrumbs and onions, along with some mayonnaise and garlic paste for moisture.

You can add these ingredients to amp up a store-bought can of crumbs, or you can make your own from scratch. The process couldn't be simpler and can be done with fresh or stale bread — even salty crackers.

As discussed, dipping your chicken tenders is a tried and true way to enjoy big flavor in every bite. But with the built-in breadcrumb addition of crispy onions (and any of your own enhancements), you can open up a whole lot of new possibilities that don't require external flavor adds.

This onion-y iteration makes for exceptional chicken and waffles (which you can even make into bite-size appetizers) and is a perfect complementary flavor profile for an umami-rich, gooey chicken parmesan. In crispy chicken street taco form, the built-in onion is an ideal match for habanero peppers, citrus, and cilantro. You can always lighten things up by mixing your tenders into a Chinese chicken salad with mandarin, rice noodles, and bean sprouts. If you're looking for a heat-packing handheld, this onion-spiked chicken lends itself well to a spiced-up gojuchang sandwich. These elevated top-tier tenders are sure to be a total crowd-pleaser in so many forms, so stock up on crispy onions during your next shopping trip.