Chicken Planks (Like Chicken Fingers, Only Better)
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Tender chicken coated in crispy Saltine crackers – this quick and easy chicken planks recipe is sure to become a new family favorite. It’s like chicken fingers, only better!
This chicken planks recipe was one of my Mom’s weekly dishes growing up. They are so good! Our friends would hear we were having chicken planks and conspicuously hang around our house until Mama called us in for supper so they could secure an invite. After all, aren’t Southerners known for their fried chicken?
The taste and texture of this dish are so amazing, you’d never know the ingredients were so few and so simple. Yep, you only need 4 ingredients to make my chicken planks: chicken, oil, eggs, and Saltine crackers. We coat each chicken piece in the egg and Saltine crackers before frying them in the oil. It doesn’t take long for your plate of chicken planks to be ready to eat! I love serving them with my favorite dipping sauce, but you can serve them however you like.
Tender on the inside and crunchy on the outside, one bite and you’ll understand why these chicken planks are so popular! I think you will also be surprised at how much better they taste than any other chicken finger you’ve had. Let’s get fryin’!
Recipe Ingredients
- Saltine crackers (please don’t get low salt or no salt crackers, just trust me on this).
- Oil
- Eggs
- Chicken
How to Make Chicken Planks
Crush a sleeve of crackers and put half of them in the bowl, reserving the other half.
Pour about 1/4 inch of oil into the bottom of a skillet and let it heat up over medium heat.
While this is heating, place the chicken breasts inside two ziplock bags and beat out thin with the blunt end of a meat tenderizer or mallet.
I use two ziplock bags because one usually ends up splitting open in the course of my beating. I guess I have a lot of untapped aggression 😉.
They will be nice and flat and thin, about 1/4 of an inch.
Crack eggs into a bowl and beat them well.
Cut each chicken breast into three strips. Set up an assembly line of the three ingredients: chicken strips, eggs, and cracker crumbs.
Dip each strip into your egg mixture, on both sides.
Then press each side into the cracker mixture.
Here are our breaded chicken fingers, all ready to go.
Fair warning that after you do several pieces, your cracker crumbs will start to get gunky. That is when you add in your reserved crumbs.
Drop them into the hot oil. I cook mine on medium to medium-high heat. I like to use a heavy skillet for this, like my cast-iron skillet. Turn after they brown on one side and continue cooking.
Remove from the pan and place on a paper towel-lined plate.
These chicken planks are wonderful with any dipping sauce, or on their own.
Personally, I’m a ketchup gal. My husband likes honey mustard. Sara Jane (our bonus daughter) likes ranch, and Katy likes ’em plain.
I hope you make these soon, friends!
Storage
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. It’s best to reheat them in the oven or air fryer.
- You can also freeze leftovers for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before following the above reheating instructions.
Recipe Notes
- The best cooking oil is vegetable oil, canola oil, or peanut oil.
- Substitute the crackers for breadcrumbs if you prefer.
Recipe FAQs
What do you serve with chicken planks?
First, pick your dipping sauce and serve it as an appetizer. Here are some homemade sauce recipes you might like: Alabama white barbecue sauce, Comeback sauce, and chipotle ranch dressing.
Secondly, you can serve your fried chicken as a main dish with your favorite side dishes. This might include coleslaw, potato salad, mac and cheese, parmesan oven fries, pasta salad, or cornbread.
Finally, you may also like to serve them in a tortilla wrap with your preferred salad toppings, like cheese, avocado, and fresh tomato. Add your sauce of choice and you have an unbeatable lunch right there!
Check out these other quick and easy chicken dishes:
Grilled Chicken Tender Recipe (No Grill Needed)
Easy Ranch Fried Chicken Tenders
Baked Chicken Tenders With Zesty Seasoning
Southern Fried Chicken (Fuss-Free)
Ingredients
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 -3 sleeves Saltine crackers
- 2 eggs
- cooking oil
Instructions
- Pour the oil into a large skillet to a depth of 1/4-inch. Heat on medium while you prepare the chicken.cooking oil
- Place chicken in a gallon ziplock bag and beat out until 1/4-inch thick. Crack eggs into a bowl and beat with a fork. Crush saltines and put them in a separate bowl.2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, 1 -3 sleeves Saltine crackers, 2 eggs
- Cut each chicken breast into three strips and dip each piece first into the egg bowl, then in the cracker crumbs; being careful to coat completely. Drop each piece into oil and cook, turning once, on medium to medium-high heat until golden brown on both sides. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
Nutrition
removeI originally published this recipe in 2008 and updated the photos and this post in 2020.
This post is featured on Meal Plan Monday and Weekend Potluck.
By “heavy” pan do you mean cast iron? I’m rather afraid of cast iron. My neighbor had one when we lived in Italy & she said you don’t wash cast iron you “season” it using Crisco…lard….PLUS she said iron comes out of the pan & into your food. That scared me, plus not knowing how to take care of cast iron skillet & we have a flat top electric stove, is cast iron safe to use on that? If you didn’t mean cast iron what on earth kinda skillet should I use? Oh goodness.
No fear, Melissa – Cast iron has been one of the best investments my grandma ever made. I’m the current owner of her stash as she is unable to really cook much anymore. They have been passed down for generations and have held up marvelously. I never “wash” them (not with soap and scrubby sponge for sure!). That’s one of the great things about them – they conduct heat really well, cleanup is easy (after they have been “seasoned” with Crisco) because virtually nothing will stick to them, and there’s no better way to make a batch of cornbread! Now she always told me to be careful and not use a lot of tomato products in them as the acid from the maters will cause a reaction, and anything “saucy” left in the pan just gets rinsed with warm water and a soft cloth, immediately dried and a light rubbing of oil to keep it sealed. 🙂
I made this with catfish instead of chicken, and my family went crazy for it! To spice it up just a little, I seasoned the catfish with Creole seasoning and added a little hot sauce to the eggs but otherwise followed the recipe. The saltines smelled SO GOOD while they fryied. So much better than seasoned bread crumbs.
On the side I served your Meme’s mashed potatoes, and I’m pretty sure I’ll never make mashed potatoes any other way from now on. They’re so creamy and good. What a comforting meal. I had gotten these recipe by checking out your book from the library, but I’ve already asked for it for my birthday next month. Thanks for sharing your family’s wonderful recipes. What a treasure!
This was my first attempt frying anything in oil. That sounds positively un-Southern, doesn’t it? 🙂 It did take a little longer than I thought it would (I actually pulled out the first couple planks too soon, but I just plopped them back in when I discovered my mistake.) And I found that the planks that were covered with finer saltine crumbs kept their coating a lot better than the chunkier cracker pieces. So next time I’ll crush up the crackers more thoroughly. But this recipe is FANTASTIC; my husband loves chicken fingers, and he raved about these. I served this with the creamy mac and cheese recipe from southernplate, and it was just divine. Thanks Christy!
I’d love to make these for a dinner party. Can I make them ahead and keep them warm in the oven for serving? Would they stay crispy?
I made these for the first time tonight, and had the pleasure of looking at the recipe from your cook book! This may sound dumb, but I was a bit nervous to make these chicken planks because I’ve never cooked anything in oil like that and I was envisioning grease splatters everywhere, burned (or oil logged) chicken, and maybe even a grease fire (I had my lid ready!). I was careful though and they turned out beautifully. I made 2 chicken breasts worth and served them with mashed potatoes and corn just like in the picture on the front of the book. Maybe I had really big chicken breasts, but we stuffed ourselves and still have a leftover plank. They are SO good! The crunchy coating is perfect and the flavor is fantastic. Hugs to your mom for inventing them and to you for sharing the recipe!
Looks yummy! On my way to the store. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi Christy! When I first saw this recipe on your Facebook page a month or so ago, I’d just had gum surgery and was only allowed to eat soft foods. I knew that as soon as I could eat solid food again, I had to try your chicken planks. Well, it seems now I can’t stop trying them! They are so delicious! I make them a couple of times a week. I never thought I’d be able to make fried chicken as good as my mom, but I think this recipe beats hers 😉 (I’d never tell her that though) Thank you so much!