Top Secret Zaxby's Chicken Fingers Recipe (Super Easy To Make)

This copycat Zaxby's chicken finger recipe is just so darn delicious. It combines tender pieces of juicy chicken with just the right amount of seasonings and a breading that will knock your socks off. But these chicken fingers aren't just super tasty, they're also super easy to make. In fact, from start to finish, they'll only take you about 30 minutes to make and they taste just like the ones from the restaurant.

The Best Chicken Finger Recipe

If you love fried chicken as much as I do, then you probably already know that Zaxby's chicken fingers are some of the best around.

Luckily, I've cracked the code on Zaxby's chicken fingers recipe, and I'm here to tell ya, it's a lot easier than you think. Even if you've never made chicken fingers from scratch before, I can guarantee you that you can make this recipe.

In fact, all you need to follow are 3 simple steps to make these fingers, and they'll be ready in no time.

Plus, this copycat version of 'em seriously hit the mark on everything. They're crunchy on the outside and juicy on the inside, and they have the perfect balance of seasonings and spices.

Honestly, these homemade ones give the "real" Zaxby's chicken fingers a run for their money. And that's saying something because Zaxby's has some of the best fingers out there.

Also, since this chicken fingers recipe doesn't take all that much time to make, you'll have plenty of time to whip up a delicious side dish to go with it. I love serving my fingers with these copycat McDonald's french fries, these Texas Roadhouse rolls, and/or these bacon wrapped armadillo eggs. They all are total crowd-pleasers. You can't go wrong with making any of them.

Ingredients

One of the things I love most about making these Zaxby's chicken fingers is that you only need a few simple ingredients to whip 'em up. Honestly, you probably already have most - if not all - of them on hand already since they're mostly pantry/kitchen staples!

Anyway, here's everything that you'll need to make 'em:

• ⅓ cup buttermilk or mayonaisse
• ¼ tsp. salt
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Cooking spray
• 1 lb. chicken tenderloins
• 1 cup bread crumbs 
• ⅓ cup all-purpose flour 
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup cornflakes, crushed
• ½ tbsp. Italian seasoning

Pretty simple stuff, right?

By the way, if you end up with some extras of these ingredients you can put a lot of them to good use and make this McDonald's chicken nuggets recipe with 'em and/or these Chick-Fil-A nuggets. They're two more of my favorite fast-food chicken recipes to make. I highly recommend giving them a shot sometime.

Ingredient Substitutions And Suggestions

Now, I pretty much almost always make this chicken fingers recipe with the ingredients listed above, but there are some changes you can make to it, and it'll still turn out great.

With that said, I'll go over a few substitutions you can make below.

Swap The Buttermilk With Whole Milk

This recipe calls for using either buttermilk - or mayonnaise - to give the chicken a slightly tangy and creamy flavor. That said, if you don't have buttermilk, then you can use whole milk with a little splash of lemon juice or white vinegar.

Make Buffalo Chicken Fingers

If you love buffalo wings, then you're just one small step away from making some Buffalo chicken fingers with this recipe.

To make a buffalo sauce to toss your chicken fingers in, simply combine 1 cup of your favorite hot sauce - I recommend using Frank's - with 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Then, toss your cooked chicken fingers in the sauce right before serving 'em.

Make Some Homemade Zax Sauce To Go On The Finger

I'll be honest, half the reason I go to Zaxby's is for their Zax sauce. Luckily, I've come up with a pretty good copycat recipe for that too.

To make Zaxby's Zax sauce, just combine 1 cup of mayonnaise with ½ cup of ketchup and a teaspoon each of Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, white vinegar, and garlic powder Trust me, give it a try, I think you'll be impressed.

How To Make Zaxby's Chicken Fingers

As I mentioned earlier, it's super easy to make these Zaxbys chicken fingers. All you have to do is soak the chicken in some buttermilk, then dredge 'em in the wet and dry ingredients before placing them in the oven to cook.

So with all that said, let's stop wasting time and make some chicken fingers, shall we?!

Step 1: Prep Work

To start, you'll want to add the chicken pieces to a shallow dish and then cover them with buttermilk. Using a shallow dish is key because it will ensure that the chicken is entirely covered in buttermilk.

Anyway, after you've combined the chicken and buttermilk together, you'll want to let it marinate together for around 15 minutes or so - just so that the chicken has a chance to soak up all of the buttermilk flavors.

Also, while the chicken is sitting in the buttermilk, you can preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and coat a baking sheet with some nonstick cooking spray.

Step 2: Prepare The Breading Mixtures

When the chicken is almost done soaking, you can prepare the breading stations. So, to do that, you'll want to take out another shallow bowl and combine the bread crumbs, cornflakes, salt, pepper, and Italian seasonings.

Then, in a separate bowl, you can beat the eggs together until they're thoroughly combined.

Lastly, you can grab a wide and shallow plate and spread the flour on it.

Step 3: Bread and Bake The Chicken Fingers

Now that the chicken is done soaking and the breading stations are good to do, it's time to bread the chicken.

Start by coating the chicken on both sides in the flour, then dip it in the egg, and finally cover it with the cornflake and breadcrumb mixture.

Once you've coated all of your chicken tenders, you can arrange them on the prepared baking sheet and bake 'em for approximately 10 minutes or until it's fully cooked and crispy. Just make sure that the internal temperature of your chicken reaches 165°F.

My Recommendations For Storing The Chicken Fingers

This recipe for Zaxby's chicken fingers will make about 4-6 servings, so it should be enough to serve as an appetizer for a big crowd or even as a main dish for a big family dinner. You might even get lucky and end up with some leftovers to eat the next day.

Speaking of leftovers, if you end up with some, you can store 'em in an airtight container in the fridge, and they should last for about 3-4 days.

Alternatively, if you want your leftovers to last even longer, you can freeze the chicken fingers in an airtight container - or a freezer-safe bag - and they'll stay good for up to 3 months. Personally, I love making a big batch of this recipe and freezing the tenders. It's like having a bag of Tyson chicken from the store but ten times better.

My Recommendations For Reheating The Chicken Fingers

Whenever you're ready to enjoy your Zaxby's chicken fingers again, you'll definitely want to reheat them first.

My favorite way to reheat these chicken fingers is to transfer them to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and then cook 'em in the oven at 350°F for about 5-8 minutes - or until the chicken is thoroughly warmed through.

Alternatively, you can reheat them in an air fryer set to 350°F for about 3-4 minutes - or until they've reached your desired temperature. I do this from time to time as well and it's almost just as good as the oven.

By the way, if you're starting from frozen chicken fingers, you can reheat them straight out of the freezer, just add more reheating time to one of the methods I mentioned above.

My Final Thoughts

Well, that's how to make Zaxby's chicken fingers at home!

I know I'm a bit biased, but I really do think this is the best copycat Zaxby's chicken fingers recipe out there. Honestly, it might even be the best baked chicken fingers recipe out there too! Yeah, it's that good.

I don't know if it's the perfect balance of spices, the crispy cornflake coating, or the tangy buttermilk marinade that makes these fingers so good, I just know my family can't get enough of them! My 2-year-old especially can't.

Anyway, I hope you and your family enjoy this recipe as much as we do at our house.

As always, if you give this Zaxbys chicken fingers recipe a try, leave a comment below and let me know how it went.

More Copycat Recipes

If you're looking for more copycat recipes that you can recreate your favorite restaurant meals, we have a bunch on the blog that you can try next!

Here are some of my favorites:

• Popeyes chicken sandwich
• McDonald's spicy chicken sandwich
• McDonald's snack wraps
• Olive Garden chicken alfredo
• Little Caesars crazy bread
• KFC famous bowl
  
• Chick Fil A mac and cheese
• Cracker Barrel meatloaf

Oh, and for even more tasty tastiness, be sure to follow us on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. We post new recipes on them every single day.