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.
I made these tonight. YUMMMMM is right! I usually cook my chicken breast strips in the oven breaded with Panko and drizzled with butter. This was the first time I’ve fried anything in years. The chicken was great. I made old fashioned milk gravy to top it all off. You can’t make gravy like that without the browned crumbs and pan drippings. I have a very happy hubby tonight
Thanks for another wonderful down home recipe. I love it…and you too!
I am so glad you liked it Sylvia!!!
I used to make them the same way….but I made such a horrible mess of my kitchen I don`t any more…..these look so yummy though….will you come to my house and make them for me?
I`m just a messy cook and hate to clean up! I think I may just give these another try, though ( since I am pretty sure you will not come to my house ).
Love your recipes, easy & yummy, or the ones I try are 🙂
PS I`ve got “Just Beat It” running through my head since I read the instructions on the egg part 🙂
Margaret
🙂 I wish I could come make them for you, but I think my family might pitch a fit, LOL!!!
Use mayonnaise instead of the eggs! It makes it so much cleaner. I teach middle school cooking and they are messy, no matter what. The mayo was life-changing for me!
This is a walk down memory lane. My mother (may she rest in peace) used to make chicken just like this. She also would make fish using the cracker crumb method. My father used to go fishing quite a lot and we always had fresh fish. Funny thing is, I didn’t care for fish until I was a grown up. I missed out on a lot of good fish meals as a kid! I’m certainly making up for it now. Thanks for the memories! Have a blessed day.
Isn’t it funny how our taste buds change as we become adults?!
I’m so glad you were borned! Love you Christy, have a wonderful blessed day. We are having chicken planks for supper
🙂 I hope you enjoy them!!
I basically do nuggets the same way; only in ziplock bag I let my chicken marinate in buttermilk overnight and next day they are dipped and breaded in corn flake crumbs and then deep fried in largest cast iron skillet. Just something about frying in cast iron skillet makes all the difference
I agree, it doesn’t get much better than cooking anything in a cast iron pan!!
Christy,
Do you season them with salt and pepper when you have pounded them to 1/4 inch, or do you just rely on the saltines to salt them and pepper them afterwards? 🙂
I just rely on the salt in the crackers but you can certainly add additional seasoning if you prefer. I can see myself adding some dried parsley if my family wouldn’t keel over from horror at me changing them 🙂
Oooooo – I’ve been making your chicken planks for about a year now and they get everybody excited when they see them coming! Kids and my husband alike! But I hadn’t seen the sauce you made in the new video before. I see you mixed mayo and ketchup and then added pepper and . . . . ? Was that second spice simply more pepper? I don’t see any measurements for it but my sauces are never measured anyway! I just want to make sure I’m not missing a spice – never tried it before! Thanks for all your help keeping me cookin’!
Hey Pam! I’m so glad they love them! that is comeback sauce. The recipe is here: https://www.southernplate.com/2016/03/comeback-sauce-2.html