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Easy oven-baked Crispy Turmeric Chicken Tenders. Each crispy tender is tossed with brown rice flour, turmeric, black pepper, and shredded coconut, then oven-baked and dipped in a spicy homemade “special sauce”. Serve these turmeric tenders up for game day, or cook up some baked french fries and call these fun, yummy tenders dinner! It’s a homemade version of everyone’s favorite crispy chicken. These are the best!
I’m so excited about this recipe. These are my crispy, oven-baked turmeric chicken tenders! And they are so good!
Inspired very much by the tenders everyone orders at the LA grocery chain, Erewhon. The turmeric chicken tenders on their menu are served with their homemade special sauce. I saw these tenders on my good friend Cait’s Instagram story the other week, and the picture looked so yummy!
I messaged her to find out what she was eating, and she quickly explained. The idea of tenders sounded really fun. I knew this could be a great recipe to share ahead of the Super Bowl, so I picked her brain even more about the details.
Of course, I won’t know for sure if my tenders are similar, but what I created is a delicious, happens to be gluten-free, crispy chicken.
And the sauce! The chicken is really just a vessel for the sauce. When you read the recipe, you’ll think that the combination of ingredients is odd, but it’s one of the yummiest special sauces. Creamy with some spice, some tang, and the slightest bit of sweetness. Delish!
Let’s jump into the details
Ingredients
- chicken tenders – these are so convenient, no need to cut the chicken!
- brown rice flour – you can also use all-purpose, but I like the texture the brown rice flour provides
- onion and garlic powder
- black pepper
- buttermilk – or you can also use canned coconut milk
- fine shredded unsweetened coconut – like to use Let’s Do Organic brand or Bobs Red Mill. These two brands come finely shredded, almost crumb like.
- ground turmeric
- smoked paprika
- lime zest
- olive oil
- flaked sea salt
Ingredients – for the Special Sauce
- mayo
- buffalo sauce
- ketchup
- garlic powder
- black pepper
Special Tools!
None here. Just a bowl, a sheet pan, and another bowl for mixing up the sauce!
Steps
Step 1: bread the chicken
Toss the chicken tenders with the brown rice flour, onion powder, and garlic powder. Add a good pinch of black pepper.
Now, in a separate bowl, mix brown rice flour, the coconut, paprika, and turmeric pour over the buttermilk or I also like coconut milk, but not that will lend to more coconut flavoring.
Toss the chicken until a thick paste-like batter forms around each tender. It’s OK if it’s a bit chunky.
Step 2: baking
Next, arrange the chicken on a baking sheet. I like to grease my baking sheets with olive oil. I think using oil instead of parchment gives you crispier pieces of chicken.
Arrange the chicken in an even layer, don’t overcrowd the pan. There should be some batter left in the bowl, set this aside.
Drizzle each tender with olive oil, then bake until the breading begins to get crispy all around!
Now, pull the chicken out and spoon over the remaining batter left in the bowl. These clumps will get crispy! Drizzle the chicken once more with olive oil. Don’t skimp using the olive oil, this really helps the coating get crispy. Bake another few minutes, get them crispy all around!
Step 3: make the sauce
While you have the chicken baking, mix up the sauce. Use your favorite mayo or vegan mayo and mix in some buffalo sauce, ketchup, garlic powder, and black pepper.
Step 4: serve
When the chicken comes out of the oven and it’s sizzling, sprinkle with some flaked sea salt.
Put the special sauce in a bowl for dipping, and serve the chicken up with lots of sauce. SO YUMMY! And fun too!
The chicken has just the right amount of crisp. You might think it’s fried, but it’s not!
The sauce is spicy, creamy, and tangy. It’s really great with the turmeric chicken. To finish the meal off, I always serve with home fries. Such a fun, easy dinner or game day appetizer!
Looking for more recipes? Here are a few to try:
Sheet Pan Honey Garlic Chicken and Feta Potatoes
Sheet Pan Buffalo Chicken Pizza
Lastly, if you make this Crispy Turmeric Chicken Tenders, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Crispy Turmeric Chicken Tenders
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 494 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless chicken tenders
- 2 tablespoons + 3/4 cup brown rice flour
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- flaked sea salt and black pepper
- 3/4 -1 cup buttermilk
- 1/4-1/2 cup finely shredded unsweetened coconut
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2-1 teaspoon ground turmeric, use to your taste
- 2 teaspoons lime zest
- extra virgin olive oil, for brushing/drizzling
Spicy Sauce
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 1/4 cup buffalo sauce
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 450° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or rub with olive oil. 2. In a bowl, combine the chicken, 2 tablespoons brown rice flour, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper. Toss well to coat. 3. In a separate bowl, mix 3/4 cup brown rice flour, the coconut, paprika, turmeric, and lime zest. Pour over 3/4 cup buttermilk and mix until a thick batter forms. Add additional buttermilk to loosen if needed. The batter should be thick.4. Add the chicken and toss to coat. Place each piece on the prepared baking sheet. Do not overcrowd the baking sheet. Reserve any batter left in the bowl. Drizzle the chicken with olive oil. Bake 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, spoon the remaining batter in the bowl onto the chicken. Drizzle again with oil. Bake another 15 minutes until crisp all around. Sprinkle with sea salt. 5. To make the sauce: combine all ingredients in a bowl.6. Serve the chicken with the sauce. Enjoy!
Notes
Important Note: I have updated this recipe due the amount of trouble many have had. I apologize for anyone is if finding this recipe a challenge! This has been tested and made many times now. We really enjoy the chicken as I have written!
This post was originally published on January 30, 2025
Soggy & gross. Do not recommend.
Tieghan’s are clearly fried, there’s no way baked breading looks that way.
I wish I saw these reviews before I made these. I love the Erewhon ones! I thought I’d try these. Omg the breading on these is so so bad, it doesn’t brown or crisp up. I would really like to see a picture of what HBHs tenders looked like on the baking sheet before they were baked. The picture above look fried for sure, nothing like what mine looked like. I took only one bite, the taste was not good either. They were inedible.
Made these for the family last night. They were truly awful. We made a lot of HBH recipes and are experienced cooks, but I’m still open to this being user error. Everything seemed to be going fine. But the end result was the opposite of crispy chicken. It was disgusting, soggy chicken in a moist, almost wet, goop. Worst dinner we have made in years.
Hi Brian,
I am so sorry to hear this. I appreciate you trying this recipe and sharing your feedback. I tested the recipe again and made a few adjustments using buttermilk and less coconut. Again, my apologies. xx
Why do you post recipes before they are fully tested? You realize how expensive groceries are these days? People trust that the recipe has been tested multiple times before you publish it!! I cannot trust this blog anymore.
Being diabetic can almond flour be substituted?
Hey Jann,
You bet, that would work nicely for you. I hope you love this recipe! xT
These were a miss.
I would love to hear what you’ve eaten lately that has inspired you. It seems like a lot is what other people have eaten (your cousin Abby, Lyndsie), but I would like to hear about you! Would you be able to include more of that?
Thanks for sharing your feedback, Jen. I will work to incorporate more of that into my recipes. Have a great weekend! xx
Mine did not get crispy. The breading was pretty soft and thick and kinda peeled off the tenders. I cooked them an extra 10 min trying to get them crispy, but was worried the chicken would dry out if I left them in any longer (which it did). I’ve made you coconut chicken tenders before and those were great- I’ll stick with that recipe!
Hi Kelly,
Thanks so much for trying these chicken tenders and sharing your comment. So sorry to hear they weren’t the best. xx
These were a big, big miss. Weird flavors. Not even my husband finished his.
Hi Kendra,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear it was not enjoyed! xx
I’m not sure why these aren’t called coconut chicken tenders because that’s all they tasted like. I was also confused about the recipe requiring brown rice flour, I wish you would explain why this is a better choice than flour a person typically has on hand, I didn’t feel it added anything to this compared to foods I usually fry with AP flour, and rice flour is expensive. This unfortunately wasn’t worth the time and expensive ingredients.
These are a copycat of the Erewhon chicken tenders as she states above. Erewhon uses brown rice flour, most likely only to make them gluten free.
Not much of a copycat if the author never tried them herself, is it?
Hi Barb,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback. Sorry to hear the tenders were not enjoyed. If you take the time to read the blog, I talk about how these chicken tenders are a copycat of the Erewhon recipe, I specifically state “you can also use all-purpose, but I like the texture the brown rice flour provides”. The brown rice flour also makes these gluten free for those who are looking for GF recipes. I hope this makes more sense. Again, sorry you felt this recipe was a waste of ingredients. xx
YUM! These look A-mazing! Thanks for another great recipe!
Thanks so much, Sara! I hope you love this recipe! xT
I do not like the taste of coconut so would it be ok to leave the shredded coconut out? Could it be replaced with something?
Hey Diane,
Yes, you can easily omit the shredded coconut, no big deal:) Let me know if you give this recipe a try! xT
Do you think Almond flour would work?
Hey Jean,
Yes, that would be just fine for you to do! Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xT
Love a good chicken tender, looks delish!
Thanks so much, Jenn! I hope you love this recipe! XxT
Why is the recipe titled Turmeric Chicken? There’s only 1/2 tsp of turmeric in the recipe. Can you even taste the turmeric in this?
Hi Eric,
Turmeric has a very distinct, potent flavor, so I found that amount was perfect for these chicken tenders:) Please feel free to use more to your liking. Also, if you read the blog post, I talk all about the tenders and inspiration behind them. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
I read the post and didn’t see any mention of what turmeric adds to the flavor profile. You wrote that this recipe is based on a dish you’ve never had, and like many of your recipes is based on something someone else ate and told you about. Why don’t you make food inspired by things you’ve actually eaten?
Why don’t you go and find your perfect food blog.
If you keep on questioning this one….it mustn’t be for you!
Karen, you seem disproportionately agitated that someone would ask a food blogger about food. Settle down.
Flavorful and interesting . . . And a plus for me: gluten-free! I did allow 5 more minutes in the oven after the flip to crisp them up a bit more. I wasn’t sure about the technique, but it worked fine. My husband enjoyed them, too!
Thanks so much, Ann! Love to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Hope you are having a nice weekend! xT
Can you use regular or whole wheat flour instead of the brown rice flour?
Hey Mary,
You bet, either of those will also work nicely for you! Let me know if you have any other questions:) xxT