Thai Sticky Chicken Fingers are a crunchy, sticky, and irresistible recipe for any occasion. Absolutely addicting!
“I made these exactly as written and my family loved them! The breading technique works great – it adheres to the chicken and stays nice and crispy. The sauce has so much flavor. Thanks for a great new recipe for my rotation!”
Capital D-ying over the recipe for Thai Sticky Chicken Fingers, which are special enough to serve going to be a smash hit at your Super Bowl watch party (or dinner tonight)!
After learning which teams are going to the Super Bowl this year (and totally guilty of asking my husband for the sole purpose of creating a themed dish for you) I decided to throw a theme out the window and instead concentrate on creating a dish that you’re going to crave until you physically make then sink your teeth into, because that’s exactly how I’d describe Thai Sticky Chicken Fingers – craveable!
Watch How to Make Them
What are Thai Sticky Chicken Fingers?
Chicken breasts sliced into strips are coated in a gluten-free breading that’s spiked with sliced almonds for a spectacular crunch that, get this, actually stays on the chicken fingers!
How many times have you made homemade chicken fingers or chicken breasts only to have the breading fall off after pulling them out of the oven?
I’ll show you my secret to making sure it stays firmly in place.
After baking, the chicken strips are tossed in a sticky-savory-sweet, Thai-inspired sauce then placed back in the oven for a few minutes to create a fabulous tacky coating.
These chicken fingers are going to knock your socks off. A little sweet, a little heat, and perfectly crunchy and sticky. Grab a wet wipe.
I recently heard that pizza is the #1 food people eat during the Super Bowl but seriously, ditch the grease and make a batch of these bad boys instead. You won’t regret it!
How to Make This Recipe
Start by pulverizing 1/2 cup sliced almonds in a food processor until they’re mostly crumbs, like the photo below, then add to a shallow dish like an 8×8 baking dish.
Next, process 4 cups Rice Chex to create 2 cups crumbs OR measure out 2 cups panko-style gluten free bread crumbs. I like Schar brand!
Add the crumbs to the almonds in the shallow dish then season lightly with salt and pepper and set aside.
Next get the chicken ready. Chicken tenders work great for this recipe, but they are SO expensive. Chicken strips are a cinch to make from chicken breasts!
That said, slice 1-3/4lbs chicken breasts into 1″ strips then add them to a gallon size Ziplock bag with 1/2 cup gluten-free flour (or AP flour if not GF) plus 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper then shake until well coated.
Working in batches, shake any excess flour from the chicken strips then dunk them in a shallow dish with 2 eggs whisked with 2 Tablespoons milk, then roll in the crumbs, pressing to make sure they stick to the chicken strips.
Place the chicken strips on 2 baking sheets that have been lined with parchment paper, or foil sprayed VERY well with nonstick spray.
How to Make Your Chicken Breading Stick
Now, this is the important part!
Place the baking sheets into the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes to give the breading a chance to adhere to the chicken strips. This is what will prevent it from falling off the chicken fingers once they’re baked. Miracle secret revealed!
After the resting period, spray the tops of the chicken strips with nonstick spray or olive oil then bake for 10 minutes at 425 degrees. Turn the strips over, spray the tops with nonstick spray, then place back into the oven, flipping and rotating the baking sheets to ensure even cooking. Bake for 7-9 more minutes or until the chicken fingers are golden brown and cooked through.
Meanwhile, get the sticky Thai sauce cooking!
To a saucepan add 1/2 cup each sweet chili sauce and water, 1/4 cup each brown sugar and gluten-free Tamari, 2 Tablespoons each rice vinegar and lime juice, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes, and 1 microplaned or minced garlic clove. Honestly it sounds like a lot of ingredients but I usually have 99% of them on hand.
Bring the sauce to a boil then reduce the heat to medium and simmer until slightly thickened and reduced, 5-6 minutes.
Pour the sauce into a large bowl then dunk the chicken fingers in using tongs until well coated and place back onto the baking sheet. Bake for 4-5 more minutes, watching carefully to avoid burning, then pull them out.
Transfer the chicken fingers to a platter then sprinkle with more sliced almonds and chopped cilantro for freshness and color, then feast!
Crunchy, sweet, salty, STICKY – you’re going to love these chicken fingers on game day or any day! Serve with rice and steamed broccoli to make it a meal or place on a platter to nibble on throughout the game. Enjoy!
More Craveable Chicken Recipes
- Crispy Gluten-Free Chicken Cutlets
- Simple Grilled Chicken Thighs
- Chicken Pad Thai
- Chicken Fried Rice
- Gnocchi Chicken Pot Pie
- Pizza Chicken
- BBQ Chicken Quesadillas
- Baked Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 1-3/4 lbs chicken breasts, cut into 1” thick strips
- 1/2 cup gluten free flour, or AP flour if not GF
- salt and pepper
- 2 eggs
- 2 Tablespoons milk, any kind
- 4 cups gluten-free Rice Chex pulverized into 2 cups crumbs OR 2 cups gluten free bread crumbs
- 3/4 cup sliced almonds, divided
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
For the sauce:
- 1/2 cup sweet chili sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup gluten free reduced-sodium Tamari, or soy sauce if not GF
- 2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 clove garlic, pressed or minced
- 1/4 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes, or more or less
Directions
- Line 2 half sheet pans with parchment paper or foil then spray very well with nonstick spray and set aside.
- Whisk eggs and milk in a shallow dish. Add 1/2 cup almond slices to a food processor then process until mostly fine crumbs and then pour into another shallow dish. Add Rice Chex to food processor then process until fine crumbs and then add to almond crumbs (omit step if using store bought bread crumbs). Season almond + bread crumb mixture with salt and pepper.
- Add flour, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper to a large Ziplock bag then toss with chicken fingers until well coated. In batches, shake excess flour from chicken fingers then dunk into egg mixture, and then roll in almond + bread crumb mixture, pressing to make sure crumbs stick. Place onto prepared baking sheets then refrigerate for 20-30 minutes to let breading fully adhere – don’t skip this step or breading will fall off.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray tops of chicken fingers with extra virgin olive oil or nonstick spray then bake for 10 minutes. Flip then spray tops of chicken fingers again with nonstick spray. Place back into the oven, flipping and rotating baking sheets, and then bake for 7-9 more minutes or until chicken fingers are golden brown and cooked through.
- Meanwhile combine ingredients for sauce in a small saucepan then bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Lower heat to medium then simmer until sauce is reduced and slightly thickened, 5-6 minutes. Pour into a wide bowl then dunk baked chicken fingers into sauce using tongs and place back onto baking sheets. Bake for 4-5 more minutes, watching closely to avoid burning, then serve sprinkled with remaining 1/4 cup sliced almonds and chopped cilantro.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
I love this recipe ! They are so delicious and are so tender. I have shared it with multiple family members who enjoy them as much as we do. Can you coat these the day before or the morning of, or will they get soggy. I would love to be able to save some time prepping the day of. Thanks.
I’m so glad to hear that, .Lorraine! You can definitely coat ahead a day ahead of time.
These look insanely good. Can’t wait to make these!
This was a lot of work but they were delicious! Thanks!
So glad to hear that, April!
You didn’t specify if the rice wine vinegar is seasoned or not. I will use non stick foil next time. What do you think about using a greased rack to hold the chicken during baking? I also had to substitute lemon for the lime, don’t know how that would change the flavor.
Hi Lori! You could use a greased rack if you like though I found the greased foil gave both sides great crunch. Using a lemon instead of a lime would definitely alter the flavor of the sauce.
Hi! These were great! My family devoured them ?
Do you by chance have the nutritional value for this recipe or the sauce?
TIA ?
This looks amazing. However, my daughter has a severe nut allergy. Is there a way to make it without the nuts?
You can leave the nuts out and add more breadcrumbs, Deb! :)
I am looking at the Thai Sticky chicken fingers recipe. What could I use instead of the egg?
These were absolutely DELICIOUS! I loved the idea of using almonds and Chex as breading and will use this for other recipes, too. I did not change anything, but just omitted the crushed pepper flakes. Wonderful recipe❣️
LOVE these!! Thai sauce was delicious might try making with a buffalo sauce. The tenders were so crispy and not soggy.
I took the shortcut route and used frozen chicken fingers, but this sauce hit it out of the park. Big thumbs up from the family, even those who don’t necessarily like spicy. Looking forward to making the real deal.
These are wonderful! My wife and I loved them and the idea of using rice checks cereal rather than bread crumbs. I cut the recipe in half and it scales very nicely.
We are not GF people but with the exception of the flour I followed the recipe exactly.
Thanks for a great dish!
We love this recipe! Instead of using the nuts, we bread the chicken strips in a mixture of parmesan and panko bread crumbs (a couple of tablespoons of parmesan to 1 cup panko). For the chicken, we 1) place chicken strips in melted butter (1 stick should do it), 2) roll the butter-coated chicken strips in the panko-parmesan mixture, 3) place on a parchment lined cookie sheet, 4) bake at 400 for about 10 – 12 minutes per side. Then, we coat the baked chicken strips in the sticky thai sauce and bake for an additional 2 – 3 minutes per side. We serve with bagged asian salad (I’m looking at you, Aldi). This is one of our favorite easy dinners!
I will try with butter this time. So you didn’t coat in egg or flour right?
If you have not made these yet, get to it! Perfection. I have made this recipe many many times over. We use coco amino (not the one with soy) and leave out the almonds. There is a soy and nut allergy in the house. I’d love to try it with almonds but there is no lack of anything whatsoever with it’s absence. I double the glaze to use it for dipping. I made a spicy mango dipping sauce the first time around and no-one ate it. All about that glaze!
***** I forgot to give it five stars so there you go!