Oven Baked Juicy Panko Chicken

Ready in less than 30 minutes, this panko chicken recipe is the perfect quick and easy weeknight dinner! Instead of the traditional egg coating, we opt for a mayo and mustard mixture that not only adds extra flavor but also ensures that the chicken is juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside.

You Will Love This

• It's super versatile! Throw a pan of this crispy chicken in the oven and the whole family can create their own dish by adding it to any salad, flatbread, sandwich, or wrap! It's fried chicken without the extra grease and mess, so it's easy to throw together and goes great with your favorite sauce or dip!
• If you loved this crispy Panko chicken recipe, be sure to check out my air fryer chicken nuggets, easy peanut butter chicken bowl, and my 5-ingredient BBQ chicken flatbread. 

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Chicken Breast - Boneless skinless chicken breast is the best option for this recipe, but you can use chicken thighs or chicken cutlets if that's what you have on hand. 
• Mayonnaise - Mayonnaise is my favorite egg replacement for breaded chicken. It adds so much flavor and helps seal in the juices from the chicken breast.
• Dijon Mustard - Dijon mustard adds a delicious depth of flavor, but don't worry your chicken won't taste like mustard! You can also use regular yellow mustard, spicy brown mustard, or whole-grain mustard instead although those options may add a bit more detectable mustard flavor.
• Panko Breadcrumbs - Panko breadcrumbs are my favorite for this chicken because they get super crispy while adding a really light breaded coating. If you don't have panko, you can use regular breadcrumbs, but the breading will be slightly different and may not get quite as crispy.
• Parmesan Cheese - Parmesan cheese adds delicious flavor to the crust. Normally I shred or grate my own but for this recipe, I prefer to use grated Parmesan from the store - like the kind you'd sprinkle on pizza.
• Herbs & Spices - Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and paprika are the primary spices in the panko mixture. See below for some of our family's favorite variations.

Instructions

In a shallow bowl, combine mayo with Dijon mustard and a couple pinches of salt and pepper.

In a separate shallow bowl, combine panko bread crumbs, Parmesan, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, paprika, and a couple large pinches of salt and pepper.

Add chicken to the mayonnaise mixture and toss to coat evenly on all sides.

Dredge chicken in the panko bread crumb mixture, gently pressing it into the chicken.

Place chicken about an inch apart on a pizza pan with holes or on a baking sheet with a wire cooling rack on top. Spray with olive oil cooking spray.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the breadcrumbs are dark golden brown.

Garnish with parsley if desired, slice, and enjoy! Serve with lemon wedges for a fresh squeeze of lemon juice and homemade honey mustard dipping sauce.

Tip

• Make sure your pan has holes or use a wire cooling rack. To make sure the chicken cooks evenly and gets crispy on all sides, I recommend using a pizza pan or placing a wire rack on a parchment-lined baking sheet. This will ensure that the air can circulate all the way around the chicken so it gets crispy on all sides.
• Not sure if the chicken is cooked through? You'll know the chicken is done when the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. You can use a meat thermometer to check this. You can also carefully slice into the center of the chicken and make sure there is no pink in the middle.

Serve with Dipping Sauces

Enjoy this crispy panko chicken with your favorite dipping sauces! Crispy chicken pairs so nicely with:

• 5-ingredient Dijon mustard sauce
• creamy Greek dressing
• garlic Parmesan sauce
• creamy avocado sauce
• 5-minute peanut sauce
• homemade burger sauce
• BBQ sauce
• ketchup
• ranch

Recipe Variations

The best part about this recipe is that you can switch up the flavors based on your family's taste. Some of our favorite things to include in the breading are:

• cayenne pepper for some heat
• dried oregano
• dried thyme
• onion powder
• lemon pepper seasoning
• Lawry's seasoning salt

How do you get panko to stick to chicken without eggs?

A creamy mixture of mayo and mustard is the best substitute for eggs when you're breading chicken! You won't believe how easily the panko breadcrumbs stick to the chicken when it's coated in this. The best part is that layer of mayo and mustard will hold in the juices giving you a deliciously moist panko breaded chicken breast!

Does panko have to be fried?

Nope! In this recipe, we bake the panko-coated chicken breast and it ends up perfectly crispy - with all that fried chicken deliciousness but none of the mess! Panko also doesn't need to be toasted before it's baked to give it a crispy texture. A quick spray of olive oil and 25 minutes in a hot oven is all it takes to get a crispy panko crust on this chicken!

How do you keep panko from falling off?

This is where the coating comes into play! The traditional flour dredge and egg wash will sometimes lead to panko that doesn't want to stick. But when you coat the chicken in a mixture of mayo and mustard, not only do you save yourself an extra step and more dirty dishes, but the panko sticks right to the chicken every single time! Coating the chicken in mayo and mustard is the secret to getting that panko to stick.

Make-Ahead, Storage, and Reheating

• Make-Ahead: You can coat the chicken in the mayo and mustard mixture, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for up to 24 hours before breading if you're looking to prep some components ahead of time. Otherwise the cooked panko chicken stores and reheats beautifully as well!
• Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
• Reheating: Reheat chicken on a baking sheet in a 350-degree oven until warmed through. Or place in an even layer in the basket or on the tray of the air fryer and cook at 350 degrees until warmed through. 

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