When the air fryer first came out, a lot of people were skeptical. Seriously, cooking with air? It all seemed far-fetched but after trying one, most agree this is the best thing to ever happen to the world of cooking.
The biggest appeal is that an air fryer is healthier than frying food in oil. In fact, this method reduces calories by as much as 70 percent. With popularity growing, there’s no shortage of amazing recipes … including this one for crispy chicken tenders.
Step-by-step instructions
For easy and delicious crispy chicken tenders in an air fryer, simply follow these instructions:
In a medium-sized bowl, you’ll combine the egg, olive oil, parsley, spices, and lemon juice. Then, whisk everything together. Make sure you whisk long enough to thoroughly combine the ingredients.
In a second medium-sized bowl, mix the parmesan cheese and the two different types of breadcrumbs. Again, make sure you mix these thoroughly.
Start by dipping the chicken tenders first in the egg mixture, followed by the breadcrumbs and cheese. Carefully coat each piece. Using a small spritzer, spray both sides of the chicken strips with a generous amount of olive oil.
Now, turn the air fryer on and set the temperature to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Next, place the now-coated chicken tenders in the basket. When doing this, be sure there’s a little bit of space between them.
Cook the tenders for five minutes, turn them over, and cook an additional five minutes. If you like extra crispy tenders, you can cook them for a few minutes longer on each side. Once they’re crispy and brown, remove them from the air fryer.
There are two important things to note. First, depending on how large your air fryer is and the number of tenders you plan to cook, you may need to do them in batches. Also, you can keep the chicken hot by placing all the already cooked tenders back in the air fryer basket for one to two minutes.
Ingredients
As delicious as this chicken tender recipe is, you’d expect it to have more ingredients but what the recipe calls for is perfect.
- 1 pound chicken tenders (roughly 10 to 12 pieces)
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Spice mix – 1/2 teaspoon each salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder)
- 1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Direction’s recap
As you can see, this is a simple yet amazing recipe for crispy chicken tenders in an air fryer. Here’s a recap on how to make them.
- Whisk the egg, oil, parsley, lemon juice, and spices in a bowl
- In a separate bowl, mix the two kinds of breadcrumbs and the cheese
- Dip the tenders in the egg mixture first, then the dry mixture
- Spritz both sides of the chicken tenders with oil
- Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees F
- Place the coated chicken tenders in the air fryer basket, leaving space between them
- Cook for five minutes, then turn the tenders over for an additional five minutes
- If you like your chicken extra crispy or you want to keep cooked chicken warm, keep the tenders in the air fryer for another one to two minutes
When fully cooked, you can serve the crispy chicken tenders with various sauces, including ranch dressing, fry sauce, remoulade sauce, and even ketchup. Or you can enjoy them just as they are.
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Source: Gimme Delicious, Health Line
