Air Fryer Chicken Tenders Recipe – How to Make it in 8 Simple Steps

Air fryers are currently one of the hottest kitchen appliances available. It seems that almost everyone is talking about the last meal that they made with their air fryer. Rumor has it that air fryers cook meats with tasty golden brown crusts while the inside stays moist and tender. Air fried veggies are perfectly crisp and never soggy. All of this happens with just a small amount of oil. How does the miraculous air fryer work?

An air fryer works with the same technology as a convection oven. The top section of the cooker holds a heating element and a fan. As the air fryer works, extremely hot air swirls down into the air cooker, circulating rapidly around the food. The rapid movement of air cooks the food similarly to frying it. The addition of a little oil on the surface of the meat helps improve the browning of the meat and helps add additional crispiness to the texture of the coating. 

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Air Fryer Chicken Tenders Recipe

Equipment

Ingredients 1x2x3x

Instructions

Notes

Air Fryer Chicken Tenders Recipe

April Freeman

They are not considered fine dining, but regardless, chicken tenders are a favorite entree of adults and children alike. A tasty chicken tender has a deliciously crunchy outer coating, while the inside of the chicken piece is moist and tender. A well-made coating allows diners to pick up the chicken and eat it with their fingers. Our recipe for Air Fryer Chicken Tenders comes out perfectly crisp on the outside, while tender and delicious on the inside. However, the amazing thing about our recipe is that very little fat is used to cook these tenders to perfection. This miracle is possible by the use of an air fryer.

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Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 30 mins

Total Time 40 mins

Cuisine American

Servings 6 Servings

Equipment

• Air Fryer
• Three Small Bowls
• Fork
• Tongs
• Food Thermometer

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 10 pcs Chicken Tenders
• 3 pcs Eggs
• 1 cup Panko Bread Crumbs
• 1 cup All-Purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon Pepper
• 4 tbsp Olive Oil
• Olive Oil Cooking Spray

Instructions

 

• Preheat your air fryer to 330 degrees for about 5 minutes.
• Crack the eggs into a small bowl and beat them with a fork.
• Into a separate small bowl, measure out the flour.
• Into a third small bowl, stir together the panko bread crumbs, the salt, and the pepper. Stir the olive oil into the panko crumbs. 
  
• Roll the chicken tenders all over in the flour. Then, dip them into the beaten egg. Finally, roll the chicken in the panko crumbs. Do this with all the chicken tenders and place the breaded chicken onto a plate.
  
• Place half of the chicken into the cooking basket of the preheated air fryer. Spray the chicken with the cooking spray.
• Cook the chicken for about 6 or 8 minutes before turning the chicken with a pair of tongs. Spray the backside of the chicken with cooking spray and cook for another 6 to 8 minutes. The chicken should be golden brown and the internal chicken should be 165 degrees. 
• Remove the chicken from the air fryer and serve accompanied by barbeque sauce, honey mustard, or ranch sauce for dipping.
  

Notes

People love their air fryers for several reasons. First, with an air fryer, you enjoy the wonderful texture of fried foods but with only a tiny bit of additional fat. These foods will be much lower in calories and healthier than traditionally fried foods. 

Second, you can enjoy the taste and texture of fried foods without the mess. Frying food in your kitchen means using large puddles of oil that can splatter all over the kitchen. When the cooking is done, you have a huge mess to clean up and excess oil to dispose of. Air fryers can allow you to enjoy fried food with very little mess. All you have to do is clean the inside of the fryer, and you’re done. 

Third, air fryers can cook fried food much more safely than traditional frying. When you fry food the old-fashioned way, the hot oil can pop and sizzle, causing dangerous burns, and if the oil gets too hot, it can catch fire. Air fryers are so safe that a teen can heat them up and enjoy all the fried foods they want. No worries about burns or fires. 

Fourth, air fryers are way more energy efficient than using your stovetop or your oven. Both of these appliances can use lots of electricity, and they will heat up your home, something that you probably want to avoid in the hot part of the summer. By using an air fryer in place of your traditional stove, you can save on electricity as well as avoid making the kitchen miserably hot.

People use air fryers for all kinds of things. Processed foods like frozen French fries and tater tots taste amazing when cooked in the air fryer. But, you can also air fry healthy things like cauliflower, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts as well, enjoying crispy, perfectly seasoned veggies in just a few minutes. Our recipe shows you how to make homemade chicken tenders in your air fryer. These are just as good as the ones that you enjoy from your favorite fast food restaurant, except they are much less expensive to make and much healthier to eat.

Keyword Air Fryer Chicken Tenders, Main Course, Recipe

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