Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Tenders (The Easy & Healthy Recipe)

For an easy chicken tender recipe, try these chicken tenders, which are juicy and spiced with a wonderful crunchy coating. While it may seem that these require some effort to make, they are extremely easy to make for a quick dinner on a weeknight.

All you have to do is make an egg mixture with eggs and different seasonings along with a breadcrumb mixture with breadcrumbs, panko breadcrumbs, and parmesan. Then, chicken tenders get dipped in the egg mixture followed by the breadcrumb mixture until they are coated. Finally, they are cooked in an air fryer for 20 minutes. At this point, you can get the other components of your dinner ready so you can have an entire meal ready when the chicken tenders are cooked.

What are Chicken Tenders?

Chicken tenders are made with the tender part of chicken breasts, known as chicken tenders. Often, chicken tenders are breaded and baked in the oven before being served with dipping sauces like bbq sauce or plum sauce. This version of chicken tenders includes parmesan cheese in the breadcrumb coating which helps them become golden brown while giving them a salty, cheesy flavor.

Pro Tips

• Use separate hands when you dip the chicken tenders in the wet ingredients and dry ingredients. This will prevent the breading from caking on your hands.
• If you find that your chicken tenders have a patchy breading coating, you can add some extra egg mixture to the patchy parts before coating them with breadcrumbs again.
• Feel free to add other spices or herbs to your chicken tenders such as oregano, cayenne, onion powder, and more.
• If you don’t have parmesan cheese on hand, you could easily replace it with pecorino romano or asiago.

Frequently Asked Questions

What to Serve with Chicken Tenders?

Serve these chicken tenders with a dipping sauce such as barbecue sauce or plum sauce. They are also great with French fries and coleslaw or salad for a complete meal.

What if I Can’t Find Chicken Tenders?

If you can’t find chicken tenders in your grocery store, you could replace them with chicken breast that you have sliced into strips.

Why Aren’t the Chicken Tenders Becoming Crispy?

If you find that your chicken tenders aren’t becoming crispy in the air fryer, it could be that you overcrowded the basket. Make sure you leave space between each chicken tender to ensure that the air can circulate around them easily.

Can I Assemble Chicken Tenders Ahead of Time?

While you could assemble them ahead of time and store them in the fridge to cook later, the coating may become soggy during this time. Ideally, you should assemble them and cook them immediately. You could easily pre-cook the chicken tenders and reheat them when you plan to serve them for convenience, though.

How to Store Chicken Tenders

These chicken tenders can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge where they will keep for up to 3 to 4 days. Then, you can warm them up in your air fryer so that the breading becomes crispy again.

How to Make Air Fryer Chicken Tenders

Step 1

Step 1

Beat the eggs in a bowl. Stir in the olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, salt, pepper, garlic, and paprika until combined.

Beat the eggs in a bowl. Stir in the olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, salt, pepper, garlic, and paprika until combined.

Step 2

Step 2

Add the chicken to the egg mixture to coat. In another bowl, stir both types of the breadcrumbs with the cheese. Coat the chicken tenders in the breadcrumbs until coated.

Add the chicken to the egg mixture to coat. In another bowl, stir both types of the breadcrumbs with the cheese. Coat the chicken tenders in the breadcrumbs until coated.

Step 3

Step 3

Place the chicken tenders in the air fryer and spray each side with the cooking oil spray. Cook them in a 374 F/190 C air fryer for 10 minutes

Place the chicken tenders in the air fryer and spray each side with the cooking oil spray. Cook them in a 374 F/190 C air fryer for 10 minutes

Step 4

Step 4

Then, turn the chicken tender and continue cooking them for another 10 minutes. Serve immediately!

Then, turn the chicken tender and continue cooking them for another 10 minutes. Serve immediately!