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Air Fryer Chicken Tenders Recipe – tender juicy chicken strips with a crisp and crunchy coating from the air fryer!
If you’ve tried our Air Fryer French Fries, Air Fryer Broccoli, and our Air Fryer Chicken Drumsticks recipes – and want to find another amazingly easy and delicious recipe you can make in your air fryer, you’re going to LOVE these chicken tenders!
These easy chicken strips are huge family favorites – they are easy to whip up, and they can be made ahead and frozen, ready to cook anytime you need a quick meal!
We’ve started making these chicken strips instead of buying frozen from the grocery store – simply cook and freeze, then pop in the air fryer from-frozen (just like store bought) and serve with an easy dessert for a quick weeknight dinner!
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At Sweet C’s, I add lots of tips in all of my recipes – because I am a home cook without any formal training, and I find I am more confident making dishes when I understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe – my goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.
I want each reader to walk away with a solid knowledge of each recipe, with all of the tips I’ve gathered from extensive testing of each recipe. I also answer questions my friends and family have asked about my recipes, to help everyone better understand the processes we use – and why!
Table of contents
Air Fryer Chicken Strip Breading
We’ve designed this chicken strip breading to be flavorful and crispy when air fried, without being dry or watery so that it can air fry into a perfect crunch!
Make sure to evenly coat chicken in the breading – if it is too watery, add a bit more flour.
Breading should stick to chicken without sliding off (more of breading, less like batter).
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce
You can adjust the spices if it is too spicy – but we find the garlic and onion powder and dash of hot sauce really kick this chicken tender recipe up a notch!
How To Keep Chicken Tenders From Sticking In an Air Fryer
To keep your chicken tenders from sticking, you can lay down a small piece of parchment paper to the bottom of your air fryer basket – though we prefer the crispier crunch from placing the tenders directly in the basket.
To prevent sticking, you must spray the basket well with a nonstick cooking spray. I recommend a baking spray that has a touch of flour in it for the best results.
Even after spraying the air fryer basket well with olive oil spray they tend to stick a little during the mid-way flip. I suggest using a spatula to turn the tenders over instead of a tongs.
What Air Fryer To Use
This recipe was designed to work with any air fryer model or pressure cooker (Ninja Foodi or Instant Pot) with broiler lid and basket.
Other Easy Air Fryer Recipes
If you love this easy recipe, be sure to check out our other favorite easy air fryer recipes!
Our air fryer french fries and air fryer chicken drumsticks are always huge hits with the whole family – but be sure to check out our air fryer broccoli that has a great rich, buttery flavor and is great alongside tons of dishes!
To find our complete air fryer recipe archives, click here.
What to Serve With Air Fryer Chicken Tenders
To see our complete side dish recipe index, click here.
Recipe FAQs
This recipe can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days, or frozen for up to four months.
To reheat, pop in the air fryer for 4-5 minutes to crisp until piping hot!
This recipe makes fabulous frozen chicken tenders that you can pull out and air fry anytime the craving hits!
Please fully cook chicken tenders and then freeze for best results. Reheat by air frying from frozen – the crunch is fabulous!
Air Fryer Chicken Tenders Recipe
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Air Fryer Chicken Tenders Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce
- 1 pound chicken tenderloins
- Olive Oil Spray
Instructions
- If your air fryer requires preheating, preheat to 400°F.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder, set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the eggs, water, and hot sauce until fully combined, set aside.
- One at a time, place the tenders into the flour mixture and coat on all sides, shake off any excess.
- Place the tender into the egg mixture until fully coated, let any excess egg drip off.
- Place it back into the flour mixture and pack the flour on the tender to form a crust. Shake off any excess.
- Spray the air fryer basket with olive oil spray, place the tenders not touching into the basket, you may need to do this in batches.
- Spray the tops well with more olive oil spray, you want to make sure there are no dry patches.
- Air fry for 10 minutes, flipping halfway through.
- After flipping, spray with more olive oil spray. Chicken tenders are ready when they are golden brown and the internal temperature reaches at least 165°F.
- Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These sound yummy. How do you deal with the tendon (?) in the tenderloin before you cook them?
Some people don’t mind the tendon but I prefer to remove it. Either way will still be tasty!
I have a hard time removing them. What is the best way to remove them?
Use a pairing knife to slice around the circumference all the way to the bone. This will expose the ends of about six thin white tendons. Using a clean pair of pliers, grip the end of each tendon and pull firmly to remove it. Repeat until there are no more visible tendons.