Shake -N- Bake

Once you make this copycat Shake-N-Bake at home, the boxed stuff feels like a ripoff. A big mixing bowl of seasoned bread crumbs tossed with canola oil, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, Bell’s seasoning, and ground celery seed, that’s the entire game.

The oil trick is the part most home recipes get wrong. Rubbing a quarter-cup of oil evenly through the crumbs before adding the seasonings is what gives you that signature crispy crust on chicken or pork when it bakes. Dry crumbs alone will bake up dusty and pale.

A whisk or pastry blender breaks up any clumps and distributes the oil so every crumb is lightly coated. Keep going until the mixture looks uniformly damp-ish, not greasy. The oil is negligible per serving once divided out over a whole batch of meat.

Stored in an airtight container, this mix keeps for months. Coat anything you’d traditionally bread, pork chops, chicken pieces, fish fillets, even thick vegetable slices.

Kitchen Tips

• Use plain dry bread crumbs, not Italian-seasoned, you’ll control the seasoning through the mix instead.
• Bell’s is the classic poultry seasoning here, but a mix of ground sage, thyme, marjoram, rosemary, and pepper works.
• Dip the meat in beaten egg or buttermilk first for maximum coating adherence.
• Bake on a wire rack set over a sheet pan so air circulates and the bottom crust stays crisp.

Variations

• Add a tablespoon of smoked paprika for a BBQ-style coating.
• Swap celery seed for dill and add lemon zest for a fish-friendly mix.
• Use panko instead of fine crumbs for extra crunch, especially on chicken tenders.