Air Fryer Chicken Strips (No Breading)

This best chicken tenders recipe provides a low-carb version of the well-known chicken tenders. These air fryer chicken strips with no breading are crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and will bring joy to your family.

Why you will love this recipe

• Homemade chicken tenders are low-carb and gluten free because we don’t use a breadcrumb mixture
• Air fryer chicken tenders are much healthier than traditional fried chicken tenders
• Quick and Easy weeknight dinner for your family with a cooking time of just 12 minutes
• Paleo and Keto friendly recipe

Recipe Ingredients

You will need the following ingredients to make these air fryer chicken tenders with no breading:

• Chicken tenders: chicken tenders are meat prepared from the pectoralis minor muscles of chickens. These strips of white meat are located on either side of the chicken breast
• Seasoning: for this recipe we will use smoked paprika powder, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, salt and cumin seed powder
• Olive oil

How to make air fryer chicken strips : step by step

Preheat the air fryer for 5 minutes at 375°F (190°C).

Make sure that the chicken strips are dry; if they aren’t, pat the chicken tenders dry with a paper towel.

Place the raw chicken tenders in a medium-sized bowl and add the olive oil and seasoning. Mix everything with a spoon until all the chicken strips are covered with the oil and seasoning mix. Spray the air fryer basket lightly with olive oil spray and transfer the chicken pieces to the air fryer basket.

Air fry the chicken tenders at 375°F (190°C) for 10 minutes, flipping halfway through to ensure both sides get cooked evenly. Your chicken strips without breading should be ready and golden brown after 10 minutes, but you can always double-check with a meat thermometer.

The internal temperature of chicken needs to be 165°F (65°C) to be considered completely cooked. At this internal temperature, you don’t run a risk for salmonella anymore.

Recipe Tips & Tricks

• Flip the chicken strips over halfway through to ensure both sides get equally crispy
• Make sure that the chicken meat is dry before you apply the oil and seasoning. This will lead to a crispier result.
• Place the chicken strips in the air fryer basket in a single layer to ensure they can properly cook
• Serve these air fried chicken tenders with your favorite dipping sauce! Some examples of sauces you could serve this with are bbq sauce, honey mustard sauce or buffalo sauce.
• Preheat the air fryer to get a crispier end result
• Spray the air fryer basket with cooking spray to prevent your chicken strips to get stick to the air fryer basket

Storage, Reheating and Freezing

• Storage: store your leftover chicken tenders in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
• Reheating: reheat the cooked chicken tenders in the air fryer at 360°F (180°C) for 3 to 5 minutes
• Freezing: You can freeze your remaining chicken tenders. Frozen chicken can last anywhere between 9 to 12 months, but I would recommend to consume your air fried chicken tenders again within the first 3 to 4 months.

Additions & Substitutions

Seasoning: you can add herbs like oregano and/or basil to the seasoning mix. You could even add some chili powder to make the chicken tenders more spicy. They also are delicious with some italian seasoning.

Cayenne pepper: adjust the amount of cayenne pepper depending on how spicy you want the end result to be.

Air fryer chicken tenderloins: replace these by cutting boneless skinless chicken breast into pieces.

Sprinkle some lemon juice over the finished chicken strips to add a fresh taste

Frequently Asked Questions

Other air fryer CHICKEN recipes that you will love

• Simple spicy air fryer chicken wings
• Air Fryer Boneless Chicken Thighs

Serve these chicken strips with:

• Easy oven baked carrots with thyme
• Easy oven roasted tenderstem broccoli (broccolini)
• Low calorie parsnip puree

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