Copycat Cane’s Chicken Recipe with Homemade Cane’s Sauce

These homemade Cane's chicken tenders are golden, ultra-crispy, and way easier than you'd think! They’re that good.

Copycat Cane’s Chicken Recipe

My kids are obsessed with Cane’s chicken, and honestly, I get it. Those tenders are perfectly crispy on the outside, juicy inside, and dipped in that addictive sauce… what’s not to love? Other than the cost!

After way too many drive-thru runs and many requests to recreate the recipe, I finally cracked the code at home. This copycat recipe has become a family favorite, and it’s surprisingly simple to make.

They’re not the first I’ve remade at home; previous kid obsessions included these Chick-fil-A-style nuggets and their grilled bites, aka these air fryer chicken bites.

Ingredients

While Cane’s won’t disclose what they put in their chicken (or if they add MSG), I’m here to share with you the simple ingredients that make these taste great:

• Chicken breasts: slice each chicken breast into 3 vertical pieces, or buy chicken breast tenderloins (the small strips).
• Buttermilk: the liquid base for the marinade used to tenderize the chicken. In the recipe card, I share how to make it.
• Cajun seasoning: the only seasoning you’ll need to add flavor to the marinade and to the breading. 
• All-purpose flour: used to coat the chicken strips.
• Oil, for frying: use a neutral oil such as vegetable, canola, or peanut oil. You’ll need about 4 cups, enough to fill the frying pan with sides halfway up.

How to Make Cane’s Chicken at Home

Thanks to Paige, my intern who worked for 2 years at Cane’s, I’ve been able to nail the process of making this copycat recipe at home. If breading and frying intimidate you, I get it. Let me add a few tips to make each step easier:

1. Marinate 
   A key step that preps the chicken strips. Marinate as little as 1 hour or up to overnight.
2. Coat the chicken strips
   Place each chicken strip with as much of the wet marinade directly onto the flour mixture, making sure to press down into the flour mixture a lot to create those iconic crispy breading flakes. It’s messy, so I do all the strips at once, then wash my hands and cook them.
3. Fry them
   Heat the oil to 350F and cook in smaller batches of 3-4 strips at a time. If you add too many, the oil temperature will drop drastically. Remove them onto a wire rack and repeat.
4. Serve
   Serve these dipped in the copycat sauce below, or turn it into a full meal by baking or air-frying the iconic crinkle fries while you cook the chicken, along with some garlic Texas toast.

Watch this video to see how these strips are made step-by-step!

Can I Prep Chicken Tenders Ahead?

You can prep the chicken tenders all the way up to the cooking step and keep them in a container in the fridge for up to 24 hours. When you’re ready to cook them, remove them from the fridge and let them come to room temperature for 20 minutes before frying. Because of the thick coating, I don’t recommend freezing them.

How to Make Cane’s Sauce

The iconic Cane’s dipping sauce is made by combining mayonnaise, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, and black pepper. It can last up to a week in the fridge and tastes best cold, so I recommend making it first.