Air Fryer Chicken Tenders

Boneless skinless chicken breasts are easily transformed into the most delicious Air Fryer Chicken Tenders with an easy to make honey mustard dipping sauce! A simple egg wash and flavorful coating quickly cook into crispy tender pieces of chicken that are so much easier and less oily than frying.

If you’re a fan of chicken tenders for dinner, you will also love my Parmesan Herb Crusted Chicken tender recipe or my Pretzel Crusted Chicken.

Why this recipe is so great:

• Less oil: Air Fryer Chicken Tenders are very similar to tenders that are deep fried in oil, but these use much less oil to cook!
• Easy to make: A quick dip in an egg wash, coat in the crumb mixture, spray with oil, and they’re cooking!
• Kids love them: So much better than frozen processed chicken tenders. Feed your kids something delicious and more wholesome.
• That dipping sauce! It couldn’t be easier to make and adds the best flavor to these tasty chicken tenders.

Ingredients needed to make the chicken tenders:

• Chicken: You can buy a pack or chicken tenders or you can buy boneless skinless breasts and cut them into tenders (instructions below).
• Eggs: These help the bread crumbs stick.
• Panko Bread Crumbs: Help create the crispy outer coating.
• Parmesan: Shaved with a Microplane from the block is best. This adds great flavor and helps them turn a nice golden brown.
• Garlic Herb Seasoning: Adds all the salt and flavor you need. You can substitute with garlic powder and salt.
• Olive Oil Spray: This helps the air fryer chicken tenders form a nice crispy outer coating. If you don’t have a spray, you can brush on olive oil, but take care not to brush off the crumb coating.

How to cut chicken breast into chicken tenders:

You can easily buy a pack of chicken tenders to skip this step, but if you are using boneless skinless chicken breasts, this is how you cut the pieces to make tenders.

1. Turn breast upside down on cutting board: Boneless skinless breasts actually do come with a tender. You can see it easily once the chicken breast is turned over.
2. Separate: The tender can easily be pulled away. Pull back any membranes and slice away the long pieces that easily separate.
3. Tenderize: Thick chicken breasts can either be sliced thin to create tenders, or they can be tenderized first. Use a rolling pin or a meat tenderizer to flatten the remaining breast to a thin, uniform thickness.
4. Slice: Once the thick part of the breast is an even thickness, slice it into strips that are the same size as the tenders you cut away.

How to make Air Fryer Chicken Tenders:

Full ingredient list and detailed step by step instructions are listed in the recipe card below, but here is a summary.

1. Egg wash: Slightly beat egg in a flat bottomed dish. Have two eggs ready, but start with one. That way you don’t have to use the second egg if not needed.
2. Crumb mixture: Combine the bread crumbs, parmesan, and garlic herb mixture in a flat bottomed dish.
3. Dip and coat: Submerge each chicken tender in the egg wash to coat, shaking off any extra. Then dredge in crumb mixture to fully coat.
4. Arrange in air fryer basket: Chicken tenders must be placed in a single layer. if your air fryer isn’t big enough, you’ll have to cook them in batches.
5. Spray with olive oil: Spray the tops of each chicken tender so that they have a thin layer of olive oil on top.
6. Cook, flip, spray, cook: Cook the tenders for about 5 minutes, flip, spray the other side with oil, and continue cooking until done.

Honey mustard sauce:

This quick and easy sauce is basically an aioli that tastes great as a dipping sauce for these chicken tenders. Easy to mix up while the air fryer chicken tenders are cooking.

• Ingredients: Mayonnaise, honey, Dijon mustard, hot sauce, salt.
• Mix: Simply combine all of the ingredients, taste, and adjust according to taste.

Cooking tips for best results:

• Cooking times: How long your air fryer chicken tenders take to cook will vary depending on the thickness of your tenders as well as your air fryer model and how crowded they are. To determine doneness, look for the golden brown color as well as reaching an internal temperature of 160°F as determined by an instant read thermometer.
• Crumb coating: I love panko bread crumbs because of the crunch but you can use regular bread crumbs or even crushed up crackers. As far as the parmesan, the finer it is grated, the better it will stick. If you don’t have a garlic herb seasoning blend, you can substitute with your favorite herbs and spices.

Other great air fryer recipes:

Whether you’re new to air frying or have fallen in love with your air fryer and are looking for recipe inspiration, you’ll want to try these favorites:

• Air Fryer Boneless Chicken Thighs
• Brussels Sprouts and Bacon
• Air Fryer Chicken Wings
• Air Fryer Breakfast Potatoes
• Air Fryer Bacon
• Air Fryer Salmon
• Crispy Parmesan Asparagus