There are two parts to this recipe: crunchy seasoned chicken and creamy, cheesy sun-dried tomato sauce. The nice thing about the sauce, though, is that you can serve it on other things too. I served ours over angel hair pasta and steamed broccoli on the side.

Can be made in the air fryer or the oven.

I have given instructions for how to cook the chicken in an air fryer and in the oven. I got a new air fryer that I LOVE, so I am finding all kinds of reasons to use it. I will say, all meat tastes better after being properly cooked in an air fryer…that is, as long as you don’t over-cook it.

What to do with the jarred sun-dried tomatoes.

If you have never used oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, you are in for a real treat. You can buy them in a jar, typically julienne cut, but that part won’t matter too much since you will be chopping them into small pieces for this recipe. You can usually find them near the pasta/tomato sauces or near the olives/pickles and jarred peppers in your grocery store.

For this recipe, I used a fork to take some of the sun-dried tomatoes out of the jar, and I transferred them to a paper-towel lined plate. From there, I patted the tomatoes dry to get some of the excess oil off of them.

And then I chopped them…

Creating recipes is a science and an art.

Creating a recipe is a lot like a science experiment.

I start by making my best educated guess, based off of my past experiences with foods and recipes, and then I experiment. Sometimes I get it right the first time. Other times, not so much.

Here’s an example:

Hypothesis: If I chop sun-dried tomatoes into small pieces and mix them into the breadcrumbs mixture, it will add more flavor and possibly more moisture to the crust on the chicken.

Observation after experimentation: The sun-dried tomatoes cook too quickly in comparison to the rest of the ingredients, making them dark, burnt, and crunchy.

Conclusion: I will not add the sun-dried tomatoes to the breading for the chicken, but I will make a delicious sun-dried tomato sauce that can go over top of the chicken. (So you can ignore the pictures that show red specs in the breading.)

Here is another example:

Hypothesis: If I drain the sun-dried tomatoes and chop them with a food processor with other ingredients, they will chop quickly and efficiently, so I will add that as a step in the recipe.

Observation after experimentation: My food processor did not do a very good job of chopping the pieces. It just swirled them around really fast and did very little chopping. The pieces are quite tough naturally and resist being chopped, even with my heavy duty Ninja food processor.

Conclusion: I will chop the sun-dried tomatoes the old fashioned way with a knife and cutting board or with my Pampered Chef food chopper. (It takes a couple of more minutes, but it gets the job done, and therefore, is more efficient.)

The result of all of my experimenting is this recipe:

Chicken tenders that are crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside, topped with a thick, creamy and cheesy sun-dried tomato sauce. Are you ready to give it a try?

Here is what you need:

3/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon parsley
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons flour
4 (4 ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon light butter
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup fat free half-and-half
1/4 cup cooking white wine
1/4 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained, patted with paper towel, and chopped into small pieces
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons light cream cheese
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt

Here is what you do:

Preheat oven to 400°F, if not using an air fryer.

In a shallow bowl, mix breadcrumbs, paprika, parsley, and onion powder. In another shallow bowl, put the eggs. And in a third shallow bowl, put the flour.

Coat the chicken with flour, then dip it in the eggs, and finally through the breadcrumb mixture.

Spray the chicken with cooking spray on both sides. Either cook the chicken in the oven at 400°F for 22-24 minutes, or cook the chicken in an air fryer that is set to 430°F for 23-25 minutes. (Some air fryers have a preset “chicken” button. Feel free to use that if it is a function on your air fryer.)

Meanwhile, in a large skillet set to medium heat, melt butter and cook garlic in the butter for 30 seconds.

Mix in half-and-half, cooking white wine, sun-dried tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, cream cheese, lemon juice, and salt. Cook until the sauce is warm and all of the ingredients are well-mixed, about 2-3 minutes.

Top each crunchy chicken breast with 3 tablespoons sun-dried tomato sauce. Goes great with steamed broccoli and/or angel hair pasta (for extra WW SP).

Makes 4 servings.
One serving is one crunchy chicken breast and 3 tablespoons sun-dried tomato sauce.
One serving is 9 Green, 6 Blue, and 6 Purple points.

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Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Crispy Chicken with Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce

9 Green, 6 Blue, and 6 Purple points per serving.

Makes: 4 servings

Calories: 157

Author: Alisha Hughes

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 4 4 ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Cooking spray
• 1 tablespoon light butter
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup fat free half-and-half
• 1/4 cup cooking white wine
• 1/4 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained, patted with paper towel, and chopped into small pieces
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons light cream cheese
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400°F, if not using an air fryer.
• In a shallow bowl, mix breadcrumbs, paprika, parsley, and onion powder. In another shallow bowl, put the eggs. And in a third shallow bowl, put the flour.
• Coat the chicken with flour, then dip it in the eggs, and finally through the breadcrumb mixture.
• Spray the chicken with cooking spray on both sides. Either cook the chicken in the oven at 400°F for 22-24 minutes, or cook the chicken in an air fryer that is set to 430°F for 23-25 minutes. (Some air fryers have a preset "chicken" button. Feel free to use that if it is a function on your air fryer.)
• Meanwhile, in a large skillet set to medium heat, melt butter and cook garlic in the butter for 30 seconds.
• Mix in half-and-half, cooking white wine, sun-dried tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, cream cheese, lemon juice, and salt. Cook until the sauce is warm and all of the ingredients are well-mixed, about 2-3 minutes.
• Top each crunchy chicken breast with 3 tablespoons sun-dried tomato sauce. Goes great with steamed broccoli and/or angel hair pasta (for extra WW SP)