Air fryer breaded chicken tenders feel like comfort food, but instead of being full of processed ingredients, salt, and sugar, these are made with homemade breaded chicken tenders and delicately flavored with herbs and a hint of parmesan.
They’re also super easy to make; you can have them ready in under thirty minutes – just the thing for a quick midweek meal!
Ingredients
- Panko breadcrumbs are popular in Asian cuisine, so you can usually find them in your local grocery store’s international cuisine or Asian section.
- Italian seasoned breadcrumbs: Use your favorite brand or plain breadcrumbs and add two teaspoons of Italian seasoning.
- Parmesan cheese: use freshly grated parmesan cheese or the one in a jar. Romano cheese would work with this recipe too.
- Chicken tenders: Feel free to use chicken breasts cut into strips to make this recipe if that is what you have at home.
- Eggs: if you don’t want to use egg, then butter, yogurt, or milk work just as well but may alter the flavor slightly.
How to cook breaded chicken tenders in an air fryer
The recipe to make these chicken tenders in the air fryer is very simple and pretty fast to cook them. Here are some of the steps to guide you to make the crispest air fried chicken recipe with little oil.
First, pat dries the chicken tenders with paper towels, seasoned chicken with salt and pepper to taste.
Next, combine Italian breadcrumbs and garlic powder in a shallow dish, set aside. In a second shallow dish, whisk eggs together until blended. In a third shallow dish, combine panko and grated parmesan cheese.
Working one at a time, dredge both sides of the chicken tenders in the Italian breadcrumbs mixture, then the egg, and finally in the panko parmesan mixture, coat both sides while pressing into the mix to coat well.
Finally, place the breaded chicken tenders in the air fryer basket in a single layer. Spritz with oil and cook to 400ºF for 6 minutes on each side or until an instant meat thermometer reaches 165ºF. Serve with sides of choice or dipping sauce.
