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    Homemade Shake and Bake

    Whether you’re making shake and bake pork chops or chicken breasts, our homemade shake and bake recipe is a quick ticket to crispy outsides and juicy insides, sans frying!

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    homemade shake and bake chicken on a serving platter

    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!

    chicken breast, vegetable oil, breadcrumbs, sugar and spices on the counter to make homemade shake and bake chicken

    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

    a bowl lined with a plastic bag filled with breadcrumbs and spices to coat chicken for homemade shake and bake chicken
    raw chicken in a plastic bag being coated with breadcrumbs and spices to make homemade shake and bake chicken

    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:

    1. 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.

    2. Dip each chicken piece or pork chop into a little water. This helps the spiced breadcrumb mixture adhere to the meat.

    3. 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!

    4. Bake for about 20 minutes, until the meat is perfectly crisp on the outside and juicy, tender (and of course done) on the inside!

    homemade shake and bake chicken arranged on a baking sheet on the counter ready to go into the oven
    baked homemade shake and bake chicken just out of the oven on a baking sheet
    homemade shake and bake chicken on a plate
    homemade shake and bake chicken on a plate with broccoli and mashed potatoes topped with melted butter

    Tools You’ll Need

    More Quick and Easy Copycat Recipes

    homemade shake and bake chicken on a plate with broccoli and mashed potatoes topped with melted butter

    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!

    Related Recipes

    Homemade Shake and Bake

    Originally published: February 3, 2022

    • Serves: 6
    • Prep Time:  10 min
    • Cook Time:  20 min
    • Calories: 375
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe

    Ingredients

    • 1½ cups plain breadcrumbs
    • 2 teaspoons sea salt
    • 1½ teaspoons sugar
    • ¾ teaspoon paprika
    • ¾ teaspoon onion powder
    • ¾ teaspoon garlic powder
    • ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
    • Pinch of cayenne, (optional)
    • 1 teaspoon dried basil or dried oregano
    • ¼ cup vegetable oil
    • 3 pounds or 6 (½-inch thick) boneless pork chops boneless, skinless chicken breast, chicken breast tenders

    Method

    1. Preheat the oven to 400°F with a rack in the center position. Prepare a rimmed sheet pan with foil, or leave ungreased.

    2. Add the breadcrumbs, salt, sugar, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, pepper, cayenne and basil to a gallon size zip-top bag. Seal the bag and toss the mixture until combined.

    3. Open the bag and drizzle in the oil. Seal the bag and mix until the oil is fully incorporated with the breadcrumbs.

    4. Fill a pie pan with ½ -inch water. Working with one chicken breast at a time, moisten with water, allowing any excess to drip off. Add the chicken to the bag of breadcrumbs, seal the bag and shake until completely coated, gently pressing to adhere. Transfer the chicken to the prepared sheet pan. Repeat with remaining pieces of chicken.

    5. Cook in the oven until golden brown and the internal temperature of the chicken reads 165°F on an instant read thermometer (see Note), about 18-20 minutes. Do not cover or turn the meat while baking.

    Note: If using this shake and bake recipe to make pork chops, cook until the internal temperature reads 145°F on an instant read thermometer, about 15-18 minutes.

    Nutrition Info

    • Per Serving
    • Amount
    • Calories375
    • Protein71 g
    • Carbohydrates10 g
    • Total Fat12 g
    • Dietary Fiber1 g
    • Cholesterol132 mg
    • sodium1007 mg
    • Total Sugars2 g

    Homemade Shake and Bake

    Questions & Reviews

    Join the discussion below.

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    • Tracie Heldreth

      Can these be frozen and reheated?

      We haven't tested it but think it should work ok. It probably won't come out as crisp as when fresh.

    • Sherri Woods

      I am on keto. Can you use pork rinds instead of the breadcrumbs

      We haven't tested this with pork rinds so not sure how it would turn out. We would love to hear if you give it a try!

    • Sherri Woods

      I am on keto. Can you use pork rinds instead of the breadcrumbs

      Hmm, we haven't tried that so hard to say if it would work or not. We would love to hear if you give it a try!

    • Ellie

      Can you store what you don’t use?

      Yes, you can reheat.

    • Martha

      What can you substute bread crumbs for? Would crushed crackers work?

      We don't recommend substituting bread crumbs in this recipe. We have never tested with crackers, it would greatly increase the sodium.

    • Lauren G

      This came out so good! I used seasoned salt instead of regular salt but everything else I followed. It was light and crispy. Tasted much better than box mix!

      Thanks Lauren, so happy you liked it!

    • Cassia Margolis

      Made this as a prop for a vide- and the actors said it was really good.

      Thanks Cassia, glad it was enjoyed!

    • Deborah Sakamoto

      What a delicious recipe! I used panko instead of traditional bread crumbs and it was fantastic! Mahalo nui for posting this great and easy recipe that uses ingredients I have in my pantry. (In Hawaii, it's very common for us to have panko on hand in the pantry; I use panko in place of bread crumbs all the time.)

      Thanks Deborah, we are so glad that you loved it!

    • Michelle

      I tried this recipe with salmon pieces, and panko with some success...about 30% coverage. (The panko must be just heavy enough that water doesn't hold.)So I added regular bread crumbs to the bag, shook again, and the bread crumbs covered the bare spots!

      So yummy and crispy! Love the water trick since eggs are a no-go due to an allergy in my family.

      I'm doing this recipe again tomorrow, with pork chops, but will stick with just bread crumbs. Can't wait!

      Thanks Michelle, so glad you loved it and that it worked with salmon!

    • Britt

      This entire time I thought the recipe called for 11 cups of bread crumbs (LOL!) After going through an entire container I figured out it was 1 and 1/2. Good times! It turned out great though!

      Oh no! haha Glad you caught it in time. Happy you enjoyed it Britt!