Babby's Easy and Delicious Cornflake Chicken Recipe

Looking for a quick and easy dinner idea that your kids will love? And it's healthy, too? These cornflake chicken strips are sure to be a crowd-pleaser!

Decades before it was trendy, my grandmother Babby was an organic, natural health pioneer. She was growing her own rose hips for rosehip tea in the mountains of Colorado. Instead of enjoying typical desserts like chocolate chip cookies, her children got sesame seed candies or carob brownies. So not surprisingly, you didn't see very much fried chicken in Babby's house, but instead, they had equally delicious and crunchy baked cornflake chicken or its even more popular sister, Special K chicken! (FYI- they're both exactly the same; the only difference comes from the type of cereal topping you use, but more on that later.)

Moist and tender with just the right amount of kick, this crispy chicken (and its various iterations over the last six decades) provides just the right amount of texture and kick to what could be an otherwise boring chicken dinner.

First of all, it requires minimal prep time. Just dip the chicken in butter, roll it in cornflakes, and pop it in the oven. You're good to go! Second, it's incredibly versatile. You can use boneless skinless chicken breasts, or just roll drumsticks with the bone and skin in the cornflakes. Finally, especially when you have smaller skinless pieces of chicken breast, just stick them on a baking sheet, and you can bake them in under a half-hour.

Most of the time, my kids will eat this chicken as-is, or maybe with a little salt and pepper. My husband and I usually like an extra sauce.

In the original version of this dish, Babby would use homemade cranberry sauce for her dip, which is a great way to bring the flavor of Thanksgiving into your home year-round.

My ultimate favorite sauce base is Mel Joulwan's Paleo Mayo, especially when you make it with an immersion blender. You can add some honey or even a sweet peach jam to it if you want a sweet and sour honey mustard. I'll add brown mustard to it if I want more of a tangy sauce. It's also great mixed with curry if you want a sharper flavor.

Originally this baked cornflake chicken recipe was served with a side of homemade cranberry sauce, green beans, broccoli, and rice.

In my house, we're more likely to serve the chicken with rice, some type of dip, and cut up vegetable spears like carrots, peppers, or cucumbers.

If you want a healthier variation of the rice, opt for some riced cauliflower. Feeling a little more indulgent? Opt for a biscuit. This is a pretty versatile cornflake dish, so it tastes great with everything!

While this recipe is classic Babby, there are lots of ways to mix it up. Babby's favorite was Special K. My house prefers the lighter, crackly taste of Rice Krispies to the heartier taste of corn flakes. So we pretty much just talk about crispy chicken, rather than the cornflake variety.

For those wanting a different binding agent than butter, you can substitute eggs or just egg whites instead.  We'll often substitute olive oil or coconut oil for the butter.

While chicken strips or nuggets are especially easy for little guys to eat, any type of chicken works- chicken thighs are often a little bit richer and especially delicious. You could even dress a complete chicken in cornflakes if you really wanted to.

Make this recipe your own! And be sure to share your favorite chicken recipes with family and friends on your favorite FamilyApp!