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Dipping baked parmesan chicken tender into honey mustard dipping sauce.

Air Fryer Chicken Tenders

These Air Fryer Chicken Tenders yield a crispy, flavorful, and healthy version that rivals any deep-fried tender. Plus, you can prep, freeze, and air fry the frozen chicken tenders any time. We’ll show you how!

Yield: 4 servings (3 tenders per person) 1x
Prep: 15 minutesCook: 10 minutesTotal: 25 minutes
Scale:

Ingredients

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Instructions

Make It Now:

  1. Set Up Stations: Add the Panko, Parmesan, paprika, garlic powder, and cayenne to a blender or food processor and pulse several times until breadcrumbs are a finer texture and everything is well combined. Pour this mixture into a shallow dish. Add the egg and a splash of water to a second small bowl or shallow dish. Whisk with a fork until very smooth. 
  2. Trim & Season Tenders: Trim off any tendon that is sticking out. Season both sides of the tenders evenly with salt and pepper.
  3. Bread Tenders: Dredge each tender in the egg mixture, letting the excess drip off. Dredge the chicken in the breadcrumb mixture, pressing it in on both sides. Set aside on a plate, pan, or piece of parchment.
  4. Air Fry: Preheat air fryer to 400°F. Place tenders in the basket (leave a little space between them) and spray the tops with cooking spray. Cook for 5 minutes, flip, and spray the tops with cooking spray. Cook another 5 minutes.
  5. Serve: Season with a little more salt right out of the air fryer, if desired. Let cool slightly and serve with your favorite dipping sauce.

Freeze For Later: Follow Steps 1-3. Place breaded tenders in a freezer container or gallon sized bag in single layers divided by parchment paper. Alternately, flash freeze the breaded tenders on a sheet pan for 1-2 hours until solid and toss into a freezer bag. Squeeze out any excess air, seal, and freeze.

Prepare From Frozen: Follow the exact same instructions in the recipe above. Frozen tenders air fry in the same amount of time as the fresh tenders!


Notes/Tips

  • If You Don’t Have a Food Processor/Blender: In all my tests, the blending step yielded the most perfectly golden and crispy tenders. However, if you don’t have a blender or food processor, use plain breadcrumbs instead of Panko and be sure to stir the mixture very well until combined.
  • Gluten-Free Version: Use gluten-free breadcrumbs instead of Panko.
  • Dairy-Free Version: Replace the Parmesan cheese with more bread crumbs (and a pinch of salt) or try using nutritional yeast in place of it.
  • Be sure to season the tenders generously with salt and pepper to infuse flavor.
  • Kitchen shears are very helpful with the task of trimming off the excess tendons.
  • It’s safest to only use one hand to touch the chicken in a recipe like this, leaving the other one clean to season the chicken, open the oven, etc.
  • To cut your own with chicken tenders: Cut chicken breasts in half lengthwise to create two cutlets. Then, cut those in half vertically to create chicken tenders.
  • I created this recipe with picky kids in mind. These are not very spicy at all. Feel free to kick up the paprika and cayenne some. 
  • My favorite way to enjoy these is with our Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce. (Sooo good!)
  • Variations: 
    • Use 1 teaspoon cajun seasoning or Old Bay seasoning in place of paprika for more heat and complexity. Omit cayenne pepper.
    • Add ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning, crushed in hand, to the breading mixture.
© Author: Rachel Tiemeyer
Cuisine: American Method: Air Fryer