A Simple, DIY Homemade Shake and Bake Recipe
Kraft’s classic boxed Shake ‘N Bake mixture is a kitchen cupboard classic, but we like to DIY it a bit. Why? Well, because our homemade shake and bake recipe is just, well, better! Homemade is always better. Whether you’re wanting a super crispy, shake and bake chicken or tender, moist shake-and-bake pork—BTW if you’ve never tried to shake and bake pork, get on that right now!—our homemade herby breadcrumb mixture is here to blow you away! It’s so easy to throw together, and you can even mix up the breadcrumbs and spices in a double, triple or even quadruple batch and have them on-hand for quick and easy crispy chicken dinners! And for more pork recipe ideas, check out our round up of the Best Pork Recipes.
Everything You’ll Need to Make A Homemade Shake and Bake Mixture
The full recipe (at the bottom of the page) includes meat suggestions—feel free to use chicken breasts, chicken tenders, or pork chops. But for now, let’s just focus on the shake and bake ingredients that go into the coating! The coating is really just seasoned breadcrumbs, and there’s nothing fancy about it in the slightest. The herbs are flexible—you can add all three, or just use whichever you have in your pantry right now. Only got dried parsley? No prob! Got all three? Use a mixture! What we’re getting at is that this is a really easy going recipe. You can also mix up a big container of the seasoned breadcrumbs and keep it around to make shake and bake night even easier. Without further ado, here are our of shake and bake mix ingredients:
Breadcrumbs
Salt
Sugar
Paprika
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Black pepper
Dried basil, oregano or parsley
It’s Shake and Bake, and I Helped!
Yeah, the old school shake and bake commercial is pretty cheesy (awesomely cheesy, TBH), but our homemade shake and bake recipe is actually a really fun one to make with kids. Even the littlest helpers can get in on the action, and no, getting them involved doesn’t mean dealing with a huge mess. How is that possible? Well, this entire recipe pretty much happens in a big zip-top bag! Shake and bake directions can be summed up as “dump everything into a bag and shake, then bake”. But truly, this is so easy! Here’s how to make shake and bake:
Make the crispy shake and bake mixture: Mix together breadcrumbs, salt, sugar, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder black pepper, cayenne and basil in a large zip-top bag, drizzle in a little oil. Close the bag and (this is a good moment to involve a kid, if you’re looking to do so) and sort of massage the oil into the spiced breadcrumb mixture.
Dip each chicken piece or pork chop into a little water. This helps the spiced breadcrumb mixture adhere to the meat.
One by one, put a piece of pork or chicken into the bag of shake and bake coating and yes, shake! Shake the bag around until the meat is totally coated in crumbs. Again, this is a super fun job for a kid! All fun, and no mess!
Bake for about 20 minutes, until the meat is perfectly crisp on the outside and juicy, tender (and of course done) on the inside!
Tools You’ll Need
More Quick and Easy Copycat Recipes
Why Fry? Shake 'N Bake!
We really cannot resist the ultra-fab retro appeal of these old Shake ‘N Bake ads. It’s a serious YouTube rabbit hole. Seriously, watch them and enjoy. But when you do, we hope you fall equally as hard for our homemade shake and bake recipe! If you make it, let us know how you like it! Share a photo and tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper so that we can see your stuff! Happy eating!
