Rice Krispie Chicken is an easy Amish chicken recipe with an irresistibly crispy coating and tender, juicy chicken inside. Small pieces of chicken breast or chicken tenderloins are dipped in a simple egg and milk batter, coated with crushed Rice Krispies, and baked until golden and crunchy.
This oven-baked chicken is a family favorite that's easy enough for a weeknight dinner but delicious enough for Sunday dinner. If your family loves crispy chicken, this is a fun twist on traditional breaded chicken that you'll want to try!
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Why You'll Love This Rice Krispie Chicken
- Extra crispy coating: Crushed Rice Krispies give this chicken an especially crunchy coating that's hard to resist.
- Tender and juicy: The chicken stays moist and tender underneath that crispy coating.
- Oven-baked: You get crispy chicken without the mess and hassle of frying it.
- Family-friendly: Kids love the crunchy coating, making this an easy dinner the whole family can enjoy.
- Simple ingredients: There's nothing complicated here. You probably already have most of the ingredients in your pantry.
Ingredients
You only need a few simple ingredients to make this crispy oven-baked chicken. The combination of a seasoned batter and crushed Rice Krispies gives the chicken a crunchy coating while keeping the meat tender and juicy.
- Boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenderloins: Chicken tenderloins work great, or you can cut larger chicken breasts into smaller pieces. Pieces about the size of chicken tenders work especially well.
- Egg and milk: These form the base of the batter that coats the chicken and helps the Rice Krispies stick.
- All-purpose flour: Gives the egg and milk mixture enough body to make a good coating for the chicken.
- Salt, garlic powder, black pepper, and poultry seasoning: These simple seasonings add savory flavor to the chicken.
- Rice Krispies: Lightly crushed Rice Krispies create the crispy coating. Don't crush them into a fine powder; leaving some small pieces gives the chicken extra crunch.
- Paprika: Adds color and a little flavor to the Rice Krispie coating.
- Butter: Melted butter is drizzled over the coated chicken before baking, helping the Rice Krispies turn golden and crispy.
How to Make Rice Krispies Chicken
- Prepare the batter. Whisk together the egg, milk, flour, salt, garlic powder, pepper, and poultry seasoning until smooth.
- Prepare the Rice Krispies. Crush the Rice Krispies, leaving some small pieces for extra crunch. Mix them with the paprika.
- Coat the chicken. Dip each piece of chicken into the batter, making sure it's well coated. Then dredge it in the crushed Rice Krispies, pressing gently so the coating sticks. (This process is a bit messy, but it's totally worth it!)
- Place on the baking pan. Arrange the coated chicken pieces on a greased, foil-lined baking sheet, leaving a little space between each piece. Drizzle the melted butter over the chicken.
- Bake. Bake uncovered at 375°F until the coating is golden and crispy and the chicken reaches 165°F in the thickest part. The exact baking time will depend on the size of your chicken pieces.
I don't like dry chicken, so I recommend using a kitchen thermometer (affiliate link) to check for doneness. It takes the guesswork out of knowing when your chicken is perfectly cooked.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can use either chicken tenderloins or boneless, skinless chicken breasts. If using larger chicken breasts, cut them into smaller pieces so they cook evenly and are easy to coat with the Rice Krispie mixture.
The egg, milk, and flour batter acts as a slurry that helps the crushed Rice Krispies stick to the chicken. Be sure to coat each piece well in the batter before dredging it in the crushed cereal.
Yes. One reader successfully made this recipe with a filleted chicken breast in the air fryer and said it turned out crispy and juicy. Since air fryers vary and the cooking time will depend on the size of the chicken pieces, check the chicken with a meat thermometer and cook until it reaches 165°F.
What To Serve With Crispy Oven-Baked Chicken
This chicken is delicious on its own, so you don't necessarily need a dipping sauce. But if you enjoy dipping sauces, Chick-fil-A dipping sauce is especially good with this crispy chicken.
These homemade chicken tenders pair well with all kinds of classic sides. Parmesan potatoes and a simple lettuce salad make an easy meal.
Or you could serve it with Buttered Noodles, Amish Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad, Pennsylvania Dutch Potato Filling, or Homemade Amish Potato Salad.
Growing Up Amish: Butchering Our Own Chickens
Growing up Amish, we usually butchered our own chickens, as did many Amish families around us. Even families who didn't live on a large farm often had a little farmette with chickens and other animals.
Homegrown chicken was a staple in many Amish homes, and butchering the chickens was simply part of the work that came with raising our own food.
This chicken dipped in Rice Krispies is a little different from the traditional ways we often prepared chicken, but it's still the kind of simple, family-friendly meal that fits right in with an Amish kitchen. One chicken recipe that was especially popular in my Amish home was my Shake and Bake Chicken Legs - another easy way to turn simple oven-baked chicken into a delicious family meal.
More Amish Dinner Recipes with Chicken
- Old-fashioned Chicken and Noodles
- Chicken Corn Noodle Soup Recipe
- Pennsylvania Dutch Chicken Croquettes Recipe
- Pennsylvania Dutch Chicken Pot Pie Recipe
- Amish Chicken Roasht Recipe (chicken and stuffing mixed)
- Chicken Gumbo
- Chicken Salad
Chicken breast is one of my favorite meats. There are so many good dishes to make with it, such as Parmesan Chicken and Baked Chicken Breast in Creamy Sauce.
I hope you enjoy this Amish recipe for Rice Krispie Chicken as much as we do. It's a simple, family-friendly way to make chicken with a deliciously crispy coating, and it's always been a favorite in our home. If you give it a try, I'd love to hear how your family liked it! Leave a comment and star rating below. Thank you!
📖 Recipe Card
Amish Rice Krispies Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 - 2 ½ lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast (cut into slices or strips) or tenderloins
- 1 large egg
- ¾ c. milk
- ¾ c. all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- ¼ tsp. black pepper
- 1 tsp. poultry seasoning, optional
- 4 ½ c. crushed Rice Krispies
- 1 tsp. paprika
- 4 Tbs. melted butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°.
- Line a baking pan (or cookie sheet with sides) with aluminum foil and spray it with cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, whisk the egg and milk, add flour, salt, garlic powder, pepper, and poultry seasoning. Whisk until creamy.¾ c. milk, ¾ c. all-purpose flour, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. garlic powder, ¼ tsp. black pepper, 1 tsp. poultry seasoning, optional, 1 large egg
- Place the Rice Krispies into a ziplock bag and crush them with a rolling pin. It's ok if some whole pieces remain, you don't want to turn them into powder.4 ½ c. crushed Rice Krispies
- Place the crushed Krispies into a small bowl. Add the paprika and mix.1 tsp. paprika
- Dip each piece of chicken into the batter to cover. Then dip the battered chicken into the crushed rice crispies. Cover completely.2 - 2 ½ lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast (cut into slices or strips) or tenderloins
- Place the pieces of chicken into the prepared pan. Then drizzle the chicken with the melted butter.4 Tbs. melted butter
- Bake, uncovered, for about 35 - 40 minutes. (This will depend on how big your pieces of chicken are.) The internal temperature needs to be around 165°F.
Notes
- If you buy large chicken breasts, cut them in half and then cut them into smaller pieces. Pieces about the size of chicken strips work best for this recipe.
- You can crush the Rice Krispies in a food processor, but use only a few short pulses. Don't turn them into a fine powder - the small pieces give the chicken extra crunch.
- Chicken pieces can vary in size, so baking time will vary. Use a meat thermometer and cook the chicken until the thickest part reaches 165°F.
- Nutrition information is approximate.
Susan
Planning to use this for lunch today and swap out for gluten free flour and gf rice crispies! I remember mom making this a lot as a kid and I was in need of a refresher for how to keep the cereal on the chicken. Thanks Anna!!
Anna
Hope it turns out great for you! 🙂 Also, big surprise seeing you here! Love it 🙂
Anna
A family favorite!
Dana Littleton
I made this tonight and it was really good. I was looking for a recipe that kept the rice krispies on the chicken. Your slurry did the trick! Thank you!
Anna
Thank you for taking the time to leave a nice comment!
Karen
I cooked a filleted chicken breast in the air fryer it came out crispy and juicy. Brought back childhood memories will definitely be making it again.
Anna
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment!
Becky
My Mom used to make something similar! SO YUMMY! I have four kids and not ONE of them disliked this dish! Thanks!
Anna
Glad you enjoyed it! It's always a win finding recipes that the whole family enjoys🙂.
Lisa
My family loved it!! I really appreciated that during the steps, you listed the ingredients, so I didn’t have to scroll back and forth. My only error was I missed the salt because it’s listed next to the garlic powder, but that was my error. I will definitely be making this again!!
Anna
I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Ashley Icardi
I was also excited to see the measurements listed with the steps. I’m cooking my first round of tenderloins right now and they smell delicious - I can’t wait to try them - but really the most exciting part of this for me so far is that the measurements were included in the instructions. Hahaha! Such a small but impactful courtesy! 🤣
Anna
I hope you enjoyed your chicken! And yes, I list the measurements with instructions because I appreciate it myself. Not sure why not more people do it?
C
Very tasty! My family loved them.
Anna
Yay! I'm so glad you enjoyed them.