Raising Canes Recipe – Tenders & Sauce

This Raising Canes Recipe is so good you’ll never need to stop by canes again. What is Raising Canes? Raising Canes is a fast food restaurant that has gained a massive following thanks to its delicious crispy chicken tenders, French fries, Texas toast, and, of course, their signature cane’s sauce. So, what makes their food so good? Let’s break it down.

First, their chicken is made using chicken tenderloins, which are marinated in a buttermilk mixture for 24 hours before being coated in a special blend of flour and spices. The result is a crispy and flavorful chicken that is next level. Plus, you can choose from different chicken options like chicken strips or cane’s chicken fingers, depending on your preference.

The real star of the show is their cane’s sauce. This amazing sauce is the real thing, and it’s the only dipping sauce you’ll ever need. It’s a little bit of spice mixed with a tangy and sweet flavor that just makes your taste buds go wild. let’s not forget about the crinkle-cut fries and Texas toast, which are the perfect accompaniment to the chicken. The crinkle-cut fries are crispy and perfectly seasoned, while the Texas toast is buttery and delicious. Both are cooked to perfection, and they pair perfectly with the cane’s sauce. Their delicious sauce, crispy chicken tenders, and crinkle-cut fries are a staple for many fans of the traditional fast food chain.

Corn Flake Breaded Chicken!

As a huge fan of raising cane we were disappointed to find out there isn’t a single raising cane’s restaurant in SWFL. Obviously this lead me to do what I do best, I started working on a homemade chicken tenders and copycat raising cane’s sauce recipe.

Raising cane’s uses a buttermilk mixture and a deep fryer to make their signature cane’s chicken fingers. We don’t have the calories for that. I’m going to be using corn flakes and an air fryer. I know, I know. Corn Flakes? Kristen, what in the hell backwards ass world are you living in?

A world where crushed cornflakes are the easiest way to get that crispy outer shell without actually having oil fried chicken. Corn Flakes are also the same calories as bread crumbs but make a significantly better breading. I know you probably don’t believe me. That’s okay, the star of the show here is the homemade cane’s sauce. I think my chicken recipes are pretty damn good but if you have a favorite chicken tender recipe, use that one instead!

Simple Ingredients needed for this Raising Canes Recipe

Raising Cane’s Chicken Tenders

• Chicken Tenderloins or chicken strips (cut from chicken breasts)
• Mustard or Light Mayo (We use mustard and the calories listed are for using mustard)
• Corn Flakes – Crushed
• Salt
• Black Pepper

The Homemade Raising Cane’s Sauce

• Light Mayonnaise
• Ketchup
• Worcestershire Sauce
• Garlic powder
• Black Pepper
• Salt

How is this healthier than Raising Canes?

There is no deep frying in this cane’s chicken recipe, by air frying or baking you’ll eliminate the need for vegetable oil which cut’s down the calories significantly. (you also have a much easier clean up without having to deal with a vat of hot oil)

We also are not dipping the chicken in a flour mixture, egg or buttermilk to get the breadcrumbs to stick. All of these add significantly more calories to the chicken tenders.

Our copycat cane’s sauce recipe is lower calorie by using light mayonnaise instead of full fat. I promise this is the perfect copycat recipe and you won’t be able to tell the difference between our homemade sauce and cane’s dipping sauce. The biggest bonus of being able to make this at home is that you’ll have extra sauce that you can keep in an airtight container for up to a week in the fridge.

What is the calorie difference?

Raising cane’s chicken fingers weigh about 1.5 ounces per chicken finger. When you order a combo meal you’ll get 4 chicken fingers, They state the chicken fingers are 130 calories per finger. This is 520 calories of chicken fingers (or 520 calories for 6 ounces of chicken fingers)

In this recipe I’m also going to be using 8 oz of raw chicken tenderloin to “match” the cooked weight of raising cane’s chicken fingers because chicken loses about 25% of it’s volume while cooking.

Once breaded and cooked our chicken tenders will be 332 calories. (36% less calories!)

The delicious cane’s sauce is where we really save on calories. The signature sauce is 190 calories for 1.5 oz of sauce. Let’s be honest, no one is using just one of these. It’s a minimum of two or more! This is so high calorie it’s just rude. By making our own cane’s sauce we’re going to be able to double the serving size of everyones favorite sauce. Our homemade favorite dipping sauce? 84 calories for 1.5oz.

Total Calories / Macros for the best raising canes recipe:

Chicken Tenders: 332 Calories, 28g Carbs, 1g Fat, 54g Protein

Copycat Canes sauce (makes 6 servings) 84 Calories, 8 Carbs, 5.8 Fat, 0.5g Protein

Tenders & Sauce: 416 Calories, 36g Carbs, 9g Fat, 54.5g Protein

Less calories than the real deal: 41% less.

How do I make the best Raising Canes copycat recipe?

1. Preheat Airfryer to 375F.
2. Weight out 8oz of Chicken Tenderloin and pat it dry (don’t skip drying it, it helps keep the breading attached), Season the chicken with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Lightly crush the cornflakes, they do not need to be fully ground. We like to leave them thicker which gives the chicken a flakey crust.
4. Coat chicken in a light layer of yellow mustard (If you can’t stand the idea of mustard you can also use light mayo but it will increase the calorie counts.)
5. Sprinkle cornflakes evenly across your chicken making sure to use only enough to coat the chicken while spreading. Press lightly into your chicken, flip and coat the other side.
6. Place in air fryer for 14 minutes, flipping halfway through.
7. While the chicken is in the air fryer mix together all ingredients for the raising canes sauce until combined.