Air Fryer Naked Chicken Tenders

Air Fryer Naked Chicken Tenders Recipe – easy keto chicken tenders loaded with garlic lemon flavor right from the air fryer!

This chicken is tender, juicy, and delicious – loaded with garlic and lemon, it is simple and a huge hit with even picky eaters.

If you’re on a low carb or keto diet, or you’re looking for a quick and easy chicken tender recipe without breading – this is one of my all time favorites!

I make this chicken a couple times a week – you can marinate and air fry, from the fridge to the table – in under 45 minutes.

Serve these easy chicken tenders with air fried broccoli, air fryer asparagus,

We hope you love this recipe as much as we do.

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If you’re wondering what a naked chicken tender is, it’s just a chicken tender that hasn’t been breaded. Think of it as grilled chicken tenders – but instead of the grill, we’re using the ultra high heat and convection style of our air fryer to get tender, juicy chicken strips that are melt in your mouth delicious!

This recipe is simple enough for even beginner air fryers to learn – but is one I make time and time again. It is my go-to low carb lunch, especially with air fried broccoli!

Some of the reasons we know you’ll love this super simple flavor packed recipe:

• These chicken tenders are bursting with flavor – thanks to high heat from the air fryer and NO extra breading!
• We’re infusing flavor by marinating the chicken with a simple olive oil, garlic, and lemon juice marinade, so you have tons of fresh flavor – and no extra calories or carbs.
• You can add your own favorite spices and herbs, guilt free!
• This chicken takes less than 20 minutes to cook and is super simple – toss it in the air fryer, flip, and you’re done. That’s all it takes for a knockout chicken tender dinner!

This recipe is packed with flavor in part thanks to a super simple incredibly delicious quick chicken marinade – simply toss chicken in marinade and let sit for 20-30 minutes before air frying (up to overnight) and then air fry!

The marinade serves two functions – to help keep chicken tender and moist and keep it from drying out – and also loads chicken up with tons of lemon and garlic flavor without adding extra calories to chicken breasts.

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon Italian herbs
• optional: 1 teaspoon fresh grated lemon zest, up to 6 lightly crushed garlic cloves, 1 minced shallot, and 1 teaspoon aleppo pepper

For the best results, we prefer to air fry chicken tenders at 400 degrees, flipping often to ensure even cooking time and lots of golden browned bits.

Prepare air fryer basket by preheating at 400 degrees and then spraying a bit of nonstick cooking spray into basket, then adding chicken.

Cook 8 minutes, flip, and cook another 8 – and check internal temperature of chicken.

Continue to air fry until chicken tenders are fully cooked.

How long you air fry chicken tenders depends on a couple of factors – how hot your air fryer cooks at, if your air fryer was preheated, and how large your chicken tenders are cut – making it a bit tricky to give an exact cooking time.

Chicken tenders will generally take 15-20 minutes in the air fryer to cook.

Please go by chicken’s internal temperature, not time on the clock, to gauge when your chicken is done cooking.

If you’re looking for a delicious, healthy, hearty, and low carb side dish, be sure to check out some of our favorites below:

You can find our complete keto side dish recipe archives here.

We love easy, delicious, and flavor-packed chicken recipes here, and are sharing some of our absolute favorites below:

You can find the rest of our chicken recipe index here.

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If you love this easy recipe, be sure to check out more of our reader favorites – including our famous baked pork tenderloin!