★ Why You'll Love this Recipe ★
No need to travel or wait in line, you can whip up these copycat Raising Cane’s chicken fingers at home instead! This chicken finger recipe is complete with homemade copycat Cane’s dipping sauce. So now you can have your favorite comfort food at home and more money in your pocket.
All the Right Flavors and Textures
If you’ve ever had Raising Cane’s chicken fingers and sauce you know how truly delicious they are. Tender and super moist bites of crispy chicken dipped into a savory, thick, and creamy sauce that you can make using just six ingredients.
Not only do the chicken fingers come out like juicy bites of perfection but you can use the copycat Cane’s sauce to dip a batch of crispy crinkle fries, as well. With a classic sweet and ever-so-tangy flavor at a fraction of the cost, you’ll be enjoying your favorite order without having to leave your house!
Surprisingly Easy to Make at Home
This recipe starts with chicken tenderloins which are, as the name suggests, a super tender cut of meat. No additional cutting necessary which makes these so easy to make at home.
The Secret to Extra Moist and Tender Chicken
The secret is leaving time to marinate the chicken in seasoned buttermilk and then double dipping the chicken for that signature, extra thick and crispy Cane's chicken coating.
These homemade Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers are:
- Flavorful: This copycat recipe has the same comforting taste and texture you loved about Raising Canes. See if you can tell the difference between the one you make and the authentic version — bet you can't!
- Versatile: Of course, you can enjoy the chicken fingers as-is and dip them into the sauce. However, you can also roll these up into a wrap, use the chicken fingers on top of a salad, or find some other creative uses for the Cane’s sauce now that you know how to make it.
- Simple: Though the chicken fingers take some time to marinate and bread, much of the time involved is in the hands-off process of allowing the chicken to marinate and the sauce whips up in just a few moments and with minimal ingredients.
★ Ingredients You'll Need ★
Here's a look at everything you'll need to make both the chicken fingers and famous dipping sauce.
For the Chicken Fingers
- Chicken tenderloins. You’ll end up with about 8 chicken fingers. If you prefer, you can use chicken breast, but cut into strips. They won't be as tender but will still be very tasty.
- Buttermilk. The acid in the buttermilk is what helps to tenderize the chicken so be sure to buy real buttermilk from the store that includes these necessary enzymes.
- Egg. This helps the bread stick to the chicken.
- Spices: You'll just need garlic powder, paprika, black pepper, and baking powder.
- All-purpose flour. Just basic flour is all you need.
- Corn starch. This is key to holding the batter together so that everything sticks and crisps up perfectly.
- Baking powder. This adds air to your batter creating a more crispy texture when fried. YUM
- Salt. Nothing special needed, regular table salt will do.
- Canola oil for frying. Be sure it's fresh and not expired. Old oil can make your chicken taste rancid.
For the Sauce
No one really knows what's in the secret sauce, but these 5 ingredients will create a sauce that tastes familiar and satisfies that Cane's craving!
- Mayonnaise. Classic, real mayo works best.
- Ketchup. Used to sweeten and give the sauce its color. Choose your favorite brand.
- Worcestershire sauce. This is what gives the sauce its tang and added flavor!
- Spices: All you need is garlic powder and pepper.
★ How to Make this Recipe ★
These fried chicken fingers come together in just a few steps. Here's a look at the process.
- Make buttermilk marinade.
- Add raw chicken.
- Cover and refrigerate.
- Season flour.
- Dredge chicken strips in flour mixture.
- Dip coated chicken in buttermilk again.
- Roll in flour mixture a final time.
- Set on wire rack.
- Fry chicken in heated oil until crispy.
- Mix together sauce ingredients until smooth.
- Serve chicken with dipping sauce.
Super simple. Just follow the steps!
★ Tips & FAQs ★
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Copycat Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers and Sauce
Ingredients
Buttermilk Marinade
- 1 lb chicken tenderloins about 8 tenderloins
- 1 ½ cups buttermilk
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
Seasoned Flour Coating
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 cups canola oil for frying
Sauce
- 3 tablespoon mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoon ketchup
- 2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
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Instructions
- Marinate chicken. Pour buttermilk into a large bowl. Mix in ½ teaspoon of garlic powder, paprika and black pepper then ¼ teaspoon of salt. Beat in the egg. Add chicken tenderloins, cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours to overnight (8 hours).
- Season flour coating. Mix flour, corn starch, baking powder and ½ teaspoon each of remaining spices (garlic powder, paprika, and black pepper). Add ¼ teaspoon salt.
- Double coat chicken. Remove chicken tenderloins from refrigerator and uncover. First coat: Take each tenderloin out of the buttermilk marinade and dredge in seasoned flour, coating on all sides. Place on wire rack once coated.Second coat: Take each tenderloin and dip it back into the buttermilk then, once again, dredge it in seasoned flour and place on a wire rack.For best results, allow coated tenderloins to sit for 5-10 minutes so coating has time to adhere to the chicken. While chicken is resting, you can prepare the oil for frying.
- Cook chicken. In a large cast iron skillet or dutch oven, heat oil to 360ºF. Prepare a large plate lined with paper towels to place chicken on after frying.When oil is correct temperature, add tenderloins, 4 at a time or as many as you can fit leaving room for them to be moved.Fry for 7-8 minutes, turning gently with tongs. Transfer to the large plate lined with paper towels to absorb excess oil.
- Prepare sauce. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients for the sauce. Mix to combine. Serve alongside chicken fingers for dipping.
Notes
- You can use chicken breasts cut into strips in place of tenderloins if you prefer.
- Use a digital thermometer to check oil temperature. Too hot and chicken will over-brown. Too low and chicken will become greasy and soggy. You want it just right before adding each batch of chicken.
- Use your meat thermometer on each tenderloin to ensure internal temperature reaches 165ºF. Avoid cooking past this temperature. Check frequently towards the 6-7 minute mark when frying.
Heath says
Hahaha. Raising canes copied my sauce recipe. They came out in 1996. My recipe was created in the early 80s in boy scouts.lol