Air Fryer Chicken Strips (Chicken Tenders)

by Sabrina Snyder

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6 Servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
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Air Fryer Chicken Strips (Chicken Tenders) is a quick dinner that kids and adults will love. Prep and cook crispy chicken in 20 minutes!

Super Crispy Chicken Tenders make an excellent appetizer or kid-friendly dinner! This Air Fryer Version makes the recipe even easier, just like my Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets.

Sabrina’s Air Fryer Chicken Strips (Chicken Tenders) Recipe

These Air Fryer Chicken Strips (Chicken Tenders) are the perfect weeknight dinner that you can throw together in under a half hour. It only takes a few minutes to season and add the crispy breadcrumb coating, then pop in your air fryer. Enjoy alongside your favorite dipping sauces and sides like BBQ Sauce, Grilled Vegetables and Instant Pot Rice. To get the crispiest chicken, be sure to read my tips underneath the recipe card.

Recipe Card

Dinner, then Dessert

Air Fryer Chicken Strips (Chicken Tenders)

Air Fryer Chicken Strips (Chicken Tenders) is a quick dinner that kids and adults will love. Prep and cook crispy chicken in 20 minutes!
Yield 6 Servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder
Dinner plate with breaded chicken, and dipping sauces.
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

  • 2 pounds chicken tenderloins
  • 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 2 large eggs , beaten
  • 1/4 cup whole milk
  • 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs

Instructions

  • Pre-heat air fryer to 390 degrees.
  • Season chicken with salt, black pepper paprika, garlic powder and cayenne pepper.
  • In a shallow bowl beat together the eggs and milk.
  • Dredge chicken in the beaten egg mixture, then into the bread crumbs.
  • Spray basket with vegetable oil.
  • Place in basket.
  • Spray the top with vegetable oil.
  • Cook for 10 minutes, turning halfway through.

Nutrition

Calories: 311kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 38g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 160mg | Sodium: 1176mg | Potassium: 660mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 270IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 81mg | Iron: 2mg

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Chef’s Note

If your chicken turned out soggy, either your air fryer hasn’t come to full temperature, the basket is crowded, or the cooking spray was skipped. I follow all of these steps to ensure the best possible result.

Table of contents

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Can this be made ahead of time?

This recipe is so quick to make that you’re better off just making it fresh. However, if you want to meal prep, you absolutely can. Wait for the Air Fryer Chicken Tenders to cool, then package them in a freezer bag with parchment paper between the pieces of chicken. The premade chicken can keep well frozen for up to 6 months and then be reheated in the air fryer. 

How to Store

  • Store: Wait to cool to room temperature first. Then, package in an airtight container to keep in the fridge for 3-4 days. 
  • Reheat: To reheat, preheat your air fryer to 375 degrees. Place the chicken in the air fryer basket and heat for 1-2 minutes on each side. Repeat if not yet heated through. 
  • Freeze: For longer storage, you can freeze. Place the chicken pieces in a freezer bag or another freezer-safe airtight container to keep them frozen for up to 6 months. 

Tips & Tricks to Air Fry Chicken

  1. Achieve perfectly crispy chicken
    • To ensure the outside of the chicken browns and crisps up nicely in the air fryer, prep the air fryer basket and the top of the chicken pieces with a light coating of vegetable oil spray. You don’t need a lot of cooking oil, but a light coating makes a world of difference to your chicken’s texture. 
  2. How to tell if your chicken is done
    • As you air fry, the outside of the chicken will become a beautiful golden brown, and the inside should cook through but remain juicy. To ensure the chicken tenders are fully cooked, you can break one in half to check that there is no pink meat or use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature. Chicken is safe to eat when the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. 

More Easy Air Fryer Recipes

Chicken strip dipped in sauce.

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

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