It’s been almost 50 years since the clever folks at Kraft Foods first introduced us to Shake ‘n Bake.  Shake ‘n Bake was created as a healthier way to have a tasty crumb coating on chicken that eliminated greasy deep frying.  They even used slogans like “Why Fry?  Shake and Bake!”  I’ve eaten my share of Shake ‘n Bake chicken meals over the years, and yes, I think they’re pretty darn good.  I’ve always used it on the bone-in chicken breasts and they always turn out nice and juicy.

But my Kraft Shake ‘n Bake days might be over now that I have a Fake Shake & Bake clone recipe.   This crumb coating is easy to make, has a nice flavor, and most importantly, the chicken is still nice and juicy.  I adapted this recipe from the book Even More Top Secret Recipes by Todd Wilbur who has made himself into quite an expert at creating copycat recipes.

Fake Shake & Bake

Adapted from Even More Top Secret Recipes

• 2 cups cornflakes (or enough to equal a 1/2 cup of cornflake crumbs)

• 2 teaspoons flour

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon paprika

• 1/4 teaspoon sugar

• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder

Put the 2 cups of cornflakes into a food processor and process until they are small crumbs.  You want to end up with about 1/2 cup of cornflake crumbs.  Add the flour and the spices to the cornflakes crumbs.  You can either do this in the food processor, or combine the cornflakes crumbs and the spices in a small bowl.

Now you will use the same method as the instructions on the back of a Shake ‘n Bake box.

Put your crumb mixture in a bag (I use a large ziploc bag).  Moisten the chicken pieces with water.  Put one or two chicken pieces at a time into the bag and shake to coat with the crumb mixture.  Place the coated chicken pieces on a foil lined baking sheet.  Bake at 400 degrees.  Bone-in chicken should be baked for 45 minutes and boneless chicken for 20 minutes.  (discard any remaining crumb mixture that has been in contact with raw chicken).

I make this recipe with the larger bone-in chicken breasts and it makes enough coating to cover 4 of them (a little over 3 lbs).

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