Remember Shake ‘N Bake? This is a quick and easy, heart-healthy, homemade version without salt or other high-sodium ingredients. It’s crispy almost like fried chicken, but baked in the oven, with great flavor thanks to a flavorful combination of dried herbs and spices.
Whether or not you follow a low sodium diet, you and your family will love this delicious dish.
Components
This is a really simple dish, with just a few ingredients:
- boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- plain Japanese-style panko breadcrumbs
- dried herbs and spices
- olive oil
Component substitutions
Boneless, skinless chicken thighs
You could make it with chicken breast, but why would you?
“Hearty” chicken dishes almost always use breasts, a staple from the low-fat 1990s! Skinless chicken thighs may have a little more fat, but still qualify “low” in saturated fat and are more forgiving, moist and flavorful.
Plain panko Japanese-style breadcrumbs
You could substitute regular breadcrumbs, but they will likely have more sodium.
You could replace hardy panko or regular breadcrumbs, but they will definitely be higher in sodium.
If you can find whole grain panko, go for it! You’ll get a little more fiber and maybe minerals like magnesium and potassium. I haven’t tried it because I can’t find it in stores here, although I just noticed that it is available at Amazon.ca.
Dried herbs and spices
I like to use paprika, garlic powder, oregano, basil, black pepper, but if you don’t have or don’t like one of these, just get creative! You can use any salt free / low sodium spice mix or mix in herbs and spices that you like.
Don’t be shy with them. More is more when it comes to low-sodium dish seasoning.
Olive oil
You don’t need to use relatively expensive extra virgin olive oil for this dish, but if that’s what you have, it will work just fine.
You can substitute another liquid oil such as canola, avocado or regular olive oil. (Yes, really, it’s fine. The internet sport of canola oil hate it is worthless.)
How to make it
There are only a few steps:
Mix the herbs and spices with the panko in a large bowl.
Drizzle with olive oil and mix well.
Toss the chicken in the bowl as you would a salad dressing. Transfer with tongs to a baking sheet or parchment paper.
Bake at 400°F for 20-25 minutes.
See recipe below for details.
How to store and reheat
This dish is crunchier when eaten right away, but I make double batches because my kids gobble it up so we have chicken for salads, pasta, and other veggie-based dishes for the next few days.
(The USDA says to use cooked chicken within three to four days, assuming it’s refrigerated at 40°F / 4°C or less.)
If you want leftovers crispy, reheat at 350°F for about 10 minutes. It’s also delicious cold or in the microwave — you just won’t get that crunchy texture.
Can you freeze it? While I find frozen chicken after cooking to be tougher, due to moisture loss, it definitely can freeze it even if the raw chicken was previously frozen. Ideally leave it for over 24 hours in the fridge, because microwaving to defrost will make it even chewier.
How to get ahead
Comfortable: Take ten minutes to combine the panko, herbs, and spices, storing in an airtight container until you’re ready to toss with the chicken.
Loose: If your family loves this dish, you can make a big batch of the topping and remove a cup of it when needed.
Here comes the company: If you have room in your refrigerator, cover the chicken, place it on the baking sheet, and refrigerate it for a few hours. Pop it in the oven when they arrive and voila, you’re a super organized host!
What to serve with it
To round out the meal, I would look for a side dish that includes vegetables and fiber-rich ingredients. A salad would be perfect. These have fiber-rich ingredients: barley, lentils, avocados and farro.
In cooler weather, you may prefer a light rice, barley or farro dish.
Frequent questions
Does chicken have natural sodium?
Chicken, like many meats, has a small amount of sodium naturally. Boneless, skinless, raw chicken legs have 62 mg of sodium per 100 grams / ~ 3.5 ounces.
(To put this in perspective, aim for less than about 2000 mg of sodium per day, or 500 mg per meal.)
So why is chicken often so high in sodium?
Manufacturers add flavor to processed and fast chicken using salt and other sodium-rich seasonings. Some inject the chicken with saline to keep it juicy.
As a result, chicken can sometimes hide that sodium you’re trying to avoid. Roast chicken for example, has 335 mg of sodium per 100 grams of thigh without skin. (This will vary somewhat by store.) Still okay, but you’ll want to be more careful with your ribs.
These President’s Choice Grilled Chicken Breast Strips have 390 mg of sodiumand this Maple Leaf Roasted Sliced Chicken Breast has about 790 mg!
If you prefer the healthy Cilantro Lime Chicken Loaded Bowl at Tim Hortons, you will get 1170 mg of sodium, although this includes the other ingredients – not just the chicken.
That rotisserie chicken doesn’t look so bad after all! But I think you’ll love these Crowd-pleasing Low-sodium Crispy Chicken Thighs, which have even less sodium and not a whole lot more work!
How much sodium is in this recipe?
A 100 gram / ~3.5 oz serving is about 70 mg of sodium – a bit more than chicken naturally has, depending on how much panko you have.
I can fix this recipe in a slow cooker or Instant Pot?
I wouldn’t – these devices don’t do ‘crispy’.
I can fix the in an air fryer?
The air fryer on the other hand should work like a charm, although I haven’t tried it. Let me know if you do!
Other recipes you’ll love
If you need more easy low-sodium chicken thigh recipes, here are three you might like:
- Kickin’ Chicken, from Eat Shrink and be Merry cookbookby Janet and Greta Podleski (about 315 mg) – use the original recipe in the (now slightly outdated but fun) book if you can figure it out – there are helpful hints and the alternative of using 12 thighs — about 1 kg (2-1/4 lb ).
- Chicken legs with artichokes and zucchinip.127 in my 30 Minute Heart Healthy CookbookOkay(429 mg, but that’s the whole meal, not just the chicken)
- Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Meat – MaryAnn Jacobsen (about 335 mg) – you could reduce this by cutting back on salt and using low-sodium stock.
Crowd-Pleasing Low-sodium Crispy Chicken Thighs
- 1 pounds (454 g) boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 cup plain panko breadcrumbs
- 1 ch paprika
- 1 ch garlic powder
- 1 ch dried oregano
- 1/2 ch dried basil
- 1/4 ch ground pepper
- 1/4 cup olive oil
Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper to make cleanup easier.
Mix well the panko, herbs and spices in a large bowl.
Add oil and mix that too.
Dry the chicken legs with paper towels. Trim visible fat if desired.
Add all the chicken thighs to the panko mixture and toss well to coat, as you would a salad.
Using kitchen tongs, transfer the chicken piece by piece to the pan.
Bake for 20-25 minutes. Cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into a thick piece of thigh registers 165°F.
Do you like this recipe?
Yes! Take a moment to share this with a friend or on social media!
So many low-sodium chicken recipes leave you feeling like you’re eating cardboard. Let’s help other people find this recipe and free ourselves from wild chicken!
Join the conversation
Join us in my free Facebook group, the Sweet Spot Heart-Healthy Cooking Club, and find out what others are saying about this dish. Our members are cooks with healthy hearts with great ideas!
As always, this post is not sponsored! Any reference or links to specific products are for your convenience, not for financial gain.
