These Air Fryer Chicken Tenders are crispy on the outside and juicy in the middle. All you need is 7 ingredients, 20 minutes & your favorite dipping sauce!
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🌟Why You'll Love this Recipe
- Quick & easy recipe. These taste even better than the fast-food version and are done in just 20 minutes!
- Family-friendly. They're the perfect meal for the whole family, adults and kids alike! If you love this recipe, you will also enjoy my Beer-Battered Air Fryer Haddock.
- Simple ingredients. You only need a few simple ingredients to make these chicken tenders and you most likely have them all on hand.
🥘Ingredients and Substitutions
- Chicken tenderloins. These should be in the grocery store with the rest of the chicken. If you can't find them, buy chicken breasts and slice them into strips.
- Flour. This recipe calls for all-purpose flour but gluten-free flour can be substituted if needed.
- Eggs. Eggs help to bind the breadcrumbs to the chicken to ensure a crispy crust.
- Breadcrumbs. I recommend panko breadcrumbs but you can use regular or gluten-free if that is what you have at home.
See the recipe card below for the remaining ingredients and quantities.
🔪Instructions
Step 1: Set up an assembly line: combine flour in a bowl with the spices. Whisk eggs in a separate bowl and add breadcrumbs to another bowl.
Step 2: Start by dipping a piece of chicken in the flour mixture until it is coated on all sides.
Step 3: Dip the chicken tenderloin into the egg wash.
Step 4: Next, coat the chicken in the breadcrumbs.
Step 5: Repeat all of the previous steps with the remaining chicken.
Step 6: Air fry in a single layer until golden and cooked through.
💭Recipe FAQs
Yes, instead of all-purpose flour, you can use gluten-free flour or almond flour. The panko breadcrumbs can be replaced with any gluten-free breadcrumbs.
You can bake the chicken in the oven at 400 degrees F for 10-15 minutes. Check the chicken after 10 minutes to see if it has reached 165 degrees F internally.
For this recipe, the chicken needs to the thawed in order for the coating and breading to stick.
👩🏻🍳Top Tips
- Pat the chicken dry before dipping in the flour mixture to ensure it sticks.
- Don't overcrowd the chicken in the air fryer or it won't cook evenly. You may have to cook in batches.
- Let the chicken rest a few minutes before serving to keep them from drying out.
- Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Reheat in the air fryer or the oven at 350 degrees F for around 5 minutes.
🥗Serving
These tenders can be served as a party appetizer with your favorite dips (ketchup, honey mustard, ranch, buffalo sauce or BBQ sauce). To make it a meal, serve with seasoned frozen fries and a side salad, warm potato salad, coleslaw or your favorite veggies.
More Chicken Recipes
- Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Drumsticks30 Minutes
- Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos1 Hours
- Teriyaki Chicken Kabobs1 Hours 30 Minutes
- Air Fryer Crispy Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches40 Minutes
Did you make this recipe? Please leave a 5-star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating & comment below to let me know how it came out. Thanks for visiting!
🍳Recipe
Air Fryer Chicken Tenders
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken tenders
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 eggs, whisked
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 400 degrees F.
- Set up an assembly line: combine flour in a medium-sized bowl with the spices and mix to combine. Whisk eggs in a separate bowl and add breadcrumbs to their own medium-sized bowl.
- Dip a piece of chicken in the flour mixture until it is coated on all sides, then dip the chicken in the egg bowl, again coating on all sides. Finally, dip the piece of chicken in the breadcrumbs and press down until it is fully coated. Transfer to a plate, then repeat the process with the remaining pieces of chicken.
- Spray air fryer basket lightly with cooking oil, add chicken tenderloins in a single layer into the basket and spray with more cooking oil. Cook for 6 minutes, flip and cook for another 6 minutes. Internal temperature should be 165 degrees F.
- Serve chicken tenders with your favorite sauces and fries. Enjoy!
Notes
- Pat the chicken dry before dipping in the flour mixture to ensure it sticks.
- Don't overcrowd the chicken in the air fryer or it won't cook evenly. You may have to cook in batches.
- Let the chicken rest a few minutes before serving to keep them from drying out.
- Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Reheat in the air fryer or the oven at 350 degrees F for around 5 minutes.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
Karen Burns-Booth says
SAVED! As I have an air fryer and I am on a diet, again! They look FABULOUS! THANK YOU so much for linking up to #CookBlogShare week 22 - Karen 🙂
Sarah Holt says
Thank you Karen!
Magdalena Marsden says
This recipe looks delicious and the flavours sound amazing! It will be perfect for a mid week dinner.
Sarah Holt says
thanks so much, Magdalena! You will love them