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This copycat shake-n-bake uses ingredients you already have in your pantry.
Copycat Shake-N-Bake: Economical
Shake-N-Bake has been around for ages. I’m old enough to remember when it first appeared on the horizon. First it started with chicken, then came pork, BBQ and several other flavors. My mom stuck pretty much to the original chicken and pork varieties because we really liked the flavors.
My copycat version is pretty much interchangeable for either chicken or pork like the traditional varieties. It’s a good all-around coating for either meat.
The best part is this is far more budget conscious than the national brand–even the house label brand! I recently checked the prices in my local store and almost keeled over for what they wanted for a single box of this stuff. You can make my copycat Shake-N-Bake for a fraction of that cost and have an amount equal to about three boxes of the stuff.
Tailoring The Flavor
As I mentioned above, this version is pretty generic with a tip of the hat to a slightly Italian flavor because of the herbs.
Substituting thyme and sage for the basil and oregano would work with chicken as well as pork. I tend to go pretty light on herbs so my suggestion is for the full recipe to use a scant teaspoon of thyme and a scant half teaspoon of sage. My philosophy is go easy because you can always add more.
There’s many dry BBQ seasonings on the market so if that’s a flavor you like, replace the basil and oregano with about two teaspoons of that.
As you can see, the possibilities are almost endless. Eating low sodium? Eliminate the salt and any flavorings that contain it and you’ve got a tasty coating that works with your diet.
Perfect For The Air Fryer
There’s really nothing better than chicken or pork chops made in the air fryer. This coating is perfect to use when air frying!
Since it contains some oil, spraying the meat with a bit of oil is eliminated. The coating will brown nicely without the spritz of oil.
The Recipe
Copycat Shake-n-Bake
Ingredients
- 2 cups fine bread crumbs
- 1 cup Panko bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 tbs sea salt
- 1 tbs onion powder
- 1 tbs paprika
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tbs dry parsley
- 1 tsp basil
- 1/2 oregano
- 1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
Instructions
- Put bread crumbs and all the seasonings in a medium bowl. Blend well. Add vegetable oil and blend in, whisking until there are no clumps.
- Spoon into a Mason jar and store in the freezer. Keeps a long time.
