Healthy Air Fryer Chicken Tenders

Crispy air fryer chicken tenders that can be made suitable for any diet and ready in under 15 minutes. The choice of bread crumbs you can use to fry your chicken tenders are endless!

Chicken tenders are fabulous in the air fryer and a great dipping food. I love to dip my chicken tenders in Bolt House Farms Greek Yogurt Ranch Dressing. I'm not sponsored by them that is just my favorite Ranch Dressing at the moment. The choice of breading you can use for these chicken tenders are endless! If you are Keto or Low carb, grind up some Chicharrones in your food processor until they are fine crumbs. I added some cajun seasoning to them for a little extra kick and they were delicious.

If you are on WW use either Panko, Shake and Bake, plain bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, or crushed up chips for the breading.

To get the bread crumbs to stick there are multiple ways you can do that. Dip the chicken tenders in an egg before dipping them into the bread crumbs. Spray your chicken tenders with nonstick cooking spray and then dip the chicken in the bread crumbs. Soak them in buttermilk, you get the idea.

Jump to:

• How to make Air Fryer Chicken Tenders
• What type of Bread Crumbs can I use for Air Fryer Chicken Tenders?
• egg wash substitute for breading
• What are the Best Air Fryers?
• More Great Recipes to Try :
• Air Fryer Chicken Tenders

How to make Air Fryer Chicken Tenders

• Preheat air fryer if your brand requires preheating. Warm the air fryer by setting it to 400 degrees F for 5 minutes. Allow it to run without any food in the basket.
• Season both sides of your chicken tenders with salt and pepper.
• Prepare 2 shallows dishes. Add the egg to one dish and whisk it well until it looks like scrambled eggs. In another dish add the breadcrumbs.
• Dip the chicken tenders into the egg wash and then press it into the bread crumbs. Turn to coat both sides.
•  Add the breaded chicken tenders into the air fryer basket.
• Fry the Chicken. Place the Fry Basket back into the air fryer and spray the bread chicken tenders with some Cooking Spray. Set the temperature to 400 degrees. Cook the chicken tenders for 5 minutes on one side, and then flip them. Continue cooking for another 5 minutes.

What type of Bread Crumbs can I use for Air Fryer Chicken Tenders?

When I made these air fryer chicken tenders, I used some chicharrones for the bread crumbs. Pork rinds are something I never thought I'd enjoy but I do like them. They are a great snack for when you're trying to watch your carbs! I took a whole bag of them and crushed them in my food processor until they looked like bread crumbs. If pork rinds don't fancy you then try these for breading.

• Almond Flour
• Crushed potato chips
• Panko bread crumbs
• Parmesan Cheese
• Shake and Bake
• Cracker Crumbs
• Crushed Corn Flakes
• Oats, you name it!

egg wash substitute for breading

For breading or dredging chicken or fish a lot of times an egg wash is used. What is an egg wash? To keep it simple it is just beaten eggs.

Cooking Spray - If you wish to keep these chicken tenders really low in fat spray them cooking spray first before dipping them in bread crumbs. Will keep the calories low at bay.

Milk - Milk has moisture, fat, and consistency to help your breading stick. Regular milk works just fine, but buttermilk will add more moisture and texture. If you don't have buttermilk add a couple of drops of lemon juice to plain milk. Let it sit out for a while, and it will eventually become buttermilk. Avoid using flavored milk such as vanilla almond milk for dipping. (That'd be kind of gross)

Buffalo Wing Sauce - If you like your chicken tenders to be really spicy try dredging them in some buffalo wing sauce.

Ranch Dressing - What kid doesn't love ranch dressing? I'm sure if you served them ranch chicken tenders they will love you forever!

What are the Best Air Fryers?

I've had 3 or 4 different air fryers or the past 5 years and each one of them has worked very well with the air fryer recipes on this site. If you want to be able to cook more food for your family at once then get an air fryer with a large basket such as 5.3 quarts. Look for ones that say nonstick on them and has multiple program settings.

Power XL Air Fryer 5.3 Quart Basket. - This was my very first air fryer.

Our 5.3QT Power Air-Fryer comes in handy in preparing amazing meals from your cookbook, and frying a variety of dishes, such as: French fries, chicken, steak, roasts, fish tacos and sticks, waffle fries, pies, pudding and donuts.

Ninja Foodi Grill and Air Fryer - This air fryer works very well too but the air fryer setting doesn't go below 300 degrees. If there's a recipe that calls for lower temperatures you have to use the bake setting. It air frys, roasts, grills, and dehydrates food.

Cosori 4 Qt Air Fryer- This air fryer doesn't require any preheating and has several different functions for cooking chicken, meat, frozen foods, etc. There are 5 different functions.

GoWISE USA 1700-Watt 5.8-QT 8-in-1 Digital Air Fryer 

Air fryer temperature settings vary according to brand and model. If your air fryer does not have the exact temperature setting called for in the recipe, consult your manual for suggested temperature settings.

More Great Recipes to Try :

• Air Fryer Onion Rings
• Grinder Salad Sandwich - Tiktok Recipe 
• Zero Point Cabbage Soup 
• Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks
• French Fries in the Air Fryer
• Air Fryer Pickle Chips

Print