“Kids love fast food” – that’s a common perception that I strongly disagree with. Given so many healthy choices around, do I have to introduce this unhealthy stuff to my son? No, of course I don’t. To set a good example to my son, my hubby and I have decided to stop eating fast food since we moved to Singapore five years ago. For that, my son also happily follows our footsteps. The only exception was that he had a KFC happy meal during his school field trip, which is pretty fine for him to enjoy this once-in-a-while treat. Even after that, he never requests to go to fast food restaurant. I’m really glad that he can understand and fully support our stand.
Although I dislike those deep-frying, unhealthy fast food, I do welcome the idea of creating healthy “fast food” for my family. These baked popcorn chickens are one low-in-fat “fast food” version that I can’t wait to share with you. We named it popcorn chicken because they resemble KFC popcorn chicken. How close they are to the real one, I will leave it to your own judgement.
These popcorn chickens are made of bite-sized chicken pieces. They are pounded and lightly marinated for a tender and tasty inside, and then breaded (or double-breaded) with cornflake crumbs, cheese and spices for more irresistible tasty and crispy crunch. The way to assemble them is extremely simple and straight forward, just like how I did for my oven baked fish fingers. You may get your kids to help out as this is such a fun and interesting baking activity. A great parent-and-child bonding too!
When served warm, these popcorn chickens are so moist, delicious and super crunchy. I have made them many times and they remain popular with my family. Served with dips, it makes a superb finger food for kids. They also make a good brunch for the whole family during weekends.
Get the recipe and step by step tutorial at PAGE 2 BELOW.
If you like this article, please share:
Sweet! Hope to try out this recipe soon over the year-end hols. Thanks for sharing again. BTW, I still haven’t try out your biscotti…oops. 🙂
Ling: That will be a fun holiday activity for parent and child. Happy Trying!! 😉
mmmmmm, this is my kids favourite….mine too…lol!
Peteformation: Yeah, a great hit for everyone! 😉
U know what, I am a big fan of popcorn chicken!! Lovely clicks!
MyCookingHut: Do give it a try! Thanks for your compliment! 😉
These popcorn chicken are perfect. I’ve never thought of making them at home and my family seldom eat fast food as well. 🙂 Good these goodies are oven baked and is a much healthier version compared to the fast food version. Can’t wait to try this.
Amy Tong: Do let me know how it turns out. 😉
OMG such a cute post!!! My husband LOVES popcorn chicken. I’m going to check the recipe now. 😀
Nami (JOC): Thanks!! I’m sure your two little tots will love it too. 😉
Omg, cant take my eyes from those attractive popcorn chicken.
Priya: Hahaha! Seriously addicted! 😉
[…] I am making this for tea tomorrow and I am already drooling. HOLY FREAKIN CHICKEN, I think I might die of happiness if I found a box of this. Bless you, Food4tots, for this recipe. […]
Lovely! I bet my son will love this to bits! 😀
Alice: Oh really? You got to do it fast!! 😉
my most wanted ever, yummmm…
Willyn: Now, you can have this homemade version… and best ever too! 😉
OOo, lovely. Good idea with cornflakes. I tend to use the leftover crushed up bits of weetabix for my chicken nuggets – only sometimes there are raisins left in there and it ends up tasting a little weird. Love your popcorn chicken – oven cooking is nice and healthy too.
Wokandspoon: Thanks!! Give it a try! Hope your kid loves it as much as we do! 😉
Is there anything else I can substitute for the oyster sauce?
Angela: There is no direct substitute for oyster sauce. But you can try to replace the amount with light soy sauce. Hope it helps!! 😉
This looks really tasty!
Elaine: Thanks!! Do give it a try! 😉
your cooking is far superior to the fast food sold outside =)
Noobcook: Thanks!! 😉
This looks so good, it’s making me hungry.
Megan: Thanks for your wonderful comment. 😉
Hello,
I loooove your blog. Saddly I have not being very successful at none of the recipes.
We’ve been living in Pakistan for a while and it is HARD to find really good and trustworthy scale to weight all the ingredients.
Is there a way to get the version in cups/tablespoon etc of the ingredients? Any unit converter easy to use? Please let me know.
Thanks!
🙁
Karla: Thanks for your lovely comment. You can try the following links for the conversion:
a) Diana Desserts: http://www.dianasdesserts.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/tools.measures/Measures.cfm
b) Joy Of Baking: http://www.joyofbaking.com/ConversionsEquivalencies.html
Hope it helps! Happy trying! 😉
Tried this and love it. I have half a box of cornflakes left and decided to try this recipe. I have most of the condiment n spices from other of your recipes I had tried and I must say all e recipes I have tried from this website are really easy to follow and I always end up with “good endings”. Thank you so much for helping a newbie cook like me… Keep up the good work!
Noon: Thanks for sharing your kind feedback. So glad it’s up to your expectation. Thank you for your words of encouragement!! 😉
I like to add that the chicken is juicy and moist on the inside right after its done. Best eaten straight away!
Noon: Yup, you said it all!! 😉
Hi, can I ask how to spray or drizzle oil before putting in oven?
Can wait to try your recipe 🙂
Thks!
Lux: Some use cooking spray. For me, I use my baking brush to drizzle the oil. Happy trying! 😉
no kidding, really looks tasty, i’m craving right now 🙂 I think I can consume a box of it..Mmm..gonna be making it this Xmas 🙂
Wilyn: Thanks! Hope you will love it! 😉
Emma Loved these!!! Thanks for sharing great recipes.
Karla: Thanks for sharing your feedback!! So glad to hear that! 😉
[…] Food-4tots.com […]
Many thanks for the recipe! I tried it today and they are very tasty. Only thing is they are not crispy. Is there any tips to make them crispy? Not sure if it is because I left the chicken in the cornflakes for too long :p It gets really messy as I did the coating :p
Baking Scientist: Did you try double breading for extra crunchiness? Use a tong to do the coating so that it won’t be a mess. 😉
I didn’t try double breading.. okok shall try that next time 😀 I used a pair of chopsticks to do the coating and the chopsticks were coated and it was messy in the end :p hehe.
Baking Scientist: Don’t worry, it happens to me too. If the chopsticks are getting messy, use kitchen paper to wipe away the coating that stick on them. 😉
I tried this last night with the help of my 4yo and we had so much fun! The popcorn chicken did not turned out as crispy as we thought it would be and the breading wasn’t tasty. Not sure why, I tried your fish fingers and they were lovely tho. We did not double bread them as we were getting hungry 🙂 Using tong is such a great tip.
Nezzy: Glad to know that you have great fun making these popcorn chicken. Did you omit anything from my recipe? You can try double-breading the chicken in your next attempt. Make sure your cornflakes crumbs are not too small. Hope it helps! 😉
Just tried this awesome recipe! I needed a recipe for chicken breast that i can rely on thats low fat and easy. This dish is one that i eat regularly now! thanks!
Smgoh: Thank you for your kind feedback! It’s great to know that you love it too!
I have made this twice in one week, it made a great Thanksgiving meal option for kids and adults alike! I made some “popcorn” sized pieces, some chicken strips and some drumsticks, and all were wonderful. I brushed oil on the tinfoil I cooked them on (don’t overcook!) and then drizzled oil on some – Hubby said the ones without oil tasted drier, the ones with drizzled oil tasted amazing! I also tried freezing some (before cooking, coated on a tray) and hopefully they turn out too! 🙂 Thanks for the great recipe! 🙂
Carle: It’s my pleasure to share. Glad to know that it suits your family’s palate. Hope the frozen ones turn out good as well! 😉
Hi, just wondering if it is possible for me to prepare beforehand and freeze it? If so, at which step should I stop and freeze?
And also is it possible to replace the cereal with breadcrumbs instead?
Thanks!
Marie: Yes, you can freeze them after step 8. Put them on a baking sheet lined with aluminium foil. Freeze for 2-3 hours until solid, then transfer to a zip lock bag. Cook them direct from frozen. No need to thaw. You may need to extend a little bit of the cooking time to ensure they are cooked thoroughly. Yes, you can substitute cornflakes with breadcrumbs. Happy trying! 🙂
[…] Popcorn Chicken won’t make you feel guilty going back for seconds. […]
can we make this even without using an oven? love to make some of your recipes but need an oven. what would be the alternative? thanks
Sabby’s mom: Alternatively, you can deep fry them. It’s definitely worth investing an oven as your family will get to enjoy more delicious and healthy meals. 🙂
I love the idea, I’m sure it’s so incredibly crispy 🙂
The FoodTrotter: So glad you love the idea! 🙂
Oh my, this recipe is wonderful! Thou i make a mess of it but seeing my tods enjoying it, is all worthwhile. I add some chicken power to my cornflakes as i do not have garlic powder, must serve hot to enjoy the crunch. Thanks for the recipe!
Vandy: Thanks a lot for the wonderful feedback! So glad that it suits your kids’ palate! 🙂
What are the nutritional values?
Stephanie: Sorry, I don’t have that.
The measurement for garlic is a bit too much for the amount of cornflakes provided. I would just put 1 tsp of garlic to make it toddler-friendly. Even tasting it as an adult, it was a bit much.
Also, I am not sure why only egg whites are being used. Large chunks of egg whites ended up sticking to the chicken as I was trying to bread it. Eventually I added the yoke back in and it made the egg mixture more runny instead of gooey.
Jenny: Thank you for your kind feedback. Usually, the cornflakes mixture will not be fully used up. Thus, not all garlic powder will go to the coating. Sometimes, the taste of garlic powder may differ from brand to brand. Feel free to adjust the recipe according to your family’s taste bud. As for the egg whites, you need to whisk it first. Egg white yields a more crispy texture. Sometimes, I also used the whole egg so I don’t have to freeze the egg yolk for future usage. 🙂
My daughter is allergic to egg whites, any suggestion on a substitute??? I think she would love these but don’t know what else I can use to make the cornflakes stick.
Megan: Sorry that I’m not sure what kind of substitution is suitable. Maybe you can check online for the solution. 🙂
Hi,
I tried your recipe but left out the cheese. I pan-fried the chicken since I do not have an oven. The meat was soft and nice but I find the coating hard. Is it because I left out the cheese? Thanks.
Dawn: Thanks for sharing your feedback. I don’t think the cheese will affect the coating much. I would say that coating will be a bit messy if you coat the pieces one by one. It will be better to coat the entire batch step by step. Hope it helps! 🙂
Sorry, if I did not make myself clear in my earlier question. I meant the corn flakes coating taste a bit hard. Is it due to the lack of cheese? Can I substitute cornflakes with other things like cream crackers? Thank you.
Dawn: I don’t recommend cream crackers as the end results is similar to corn flakes. Maybe you can try panko crumb or bread crumb. 🙂