Homemade Shake and Bake
I’ll be the first to admit that I am super paranoid about what goes into my food. Whenever I am in the grocery store, providing I am not panicking lol, I scrutinize the ingredient labels to the nth degree. Now, chicken is a hard meat for me to eat. I have often used Shake and Bake to make it tastier, while still keeping the dish on the healthier side. However, after reading through the ingredients list of prepackaged shake and bakes and bread crumb mixtures at the store, and not liking what I saw, I immediately went on the hunt for a healthier, homemade alternative. I came across this Homemade Shake and Bake recipe by Jen at Home in the Finger Lakes and had to try it. And it is….delicious! So simple to make, and you can make a huge batch of it, stick it in the freezer, and you will always be ready for a quick chicken dinner. 🙂
Homemade Shake and Bake
This Homemade Shake and Bake has a variety of uses, including coating meats like chicken and pork, and it can also be used as a casserole topper!
Ingredients
- 4 cups dry bread crumbs (I use a whole 8 oz. box of Kikkoman Panko Bread Crumbs)
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon basil leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon oregano
- Freshly ground Himalayan pink salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
Instructions
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In a medium bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients, including the salt and pepper. Stir until combined.
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Add in the vegetable oil, and stir until all of the dry ingredients look wet.
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Pour Shake and Bake mixture into a labeled gallon-size freezer bag. Store the mixture until needed. It doesn’t freeze solid, so you will always be able to measure out what you need.
Shake and Bake Chicken
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Preheat oven to 400°F.
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Pour some of the shake and bake into a large resealable bag. I usually do around ~1/2 cup of mixture per chicken breast (might be a little less/more, depending on size of chicken).
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Rinse chicken breast in cold water, let the excess drip off, then put into bag with the mixture. Seal the bag and shake until uniformly coated. Remove coated chicken breast from the bag and shake off the excess. Repeat for remaining chicken breasts, if needed.
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Place coated chicken breast(s) on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil.
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Bone-in chicken: bake for about 45 minutes, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
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Boneless chicken: bake for about 20 minutes, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
Recipe Notes
Make sure you thaw your chicken breasts beforehand, if needed. The shake and bake will not stick to a frozen chicken breast. Found this out the hard way. 🙂 Also, feel free to alter the proportions of the spices to suit your tastes.
Credit: Recipe lightly adapted from Jen at Home in the Finger Lakes.
Have you made this dish? Follow thepanickedfoodie on Instagram and tag me @thepanickedfoodie in your photo to show me your beautiful creation! 🙂
I love finding healthier homemade alternatives to convenience foods!
Thank you for sharing 🙂
No problem!! I spent 15 minutes one day at the grocery store in the bread crumb aisle just shaking my head, thinking there’s got to be a healthier way to make this. And then I came across your recipe and was like Eureka! 🙂