How Long To Cook Chicken Tenders In Air Fryer?

If you have been looking for a quicker and healthier way to make the foods you love, you have most likely come across the air fryer. This cooking device can make a lot of classic and loved dishes in a fairly quick amount of time.  If you want to give air frying a shot, start by making some delicious and crispy chicken tenders. It is really easy to make these boneless chicken strips with an air fryer without any oily mess. And there’s no need to worry about how many times can you reuse the oil or whether the oil used is healthy. To make a good air fried chicken tenders, the cook time and temp must be set right. I often hear these questions. How long to cook chicken tenders in air fryer? And what temp to air fry these chicken strips? Let’s cover them in this guide and hear tips to perfect the recipe to air fry homemade chicken tenders in the air fryer.

What temp to air fry chicken tenders?

If you want to make chicken tenders in an air fryer, cook them at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for mouthwatering results. When you cook chicken tenders in an air fryer at 400 degrees, you can expect perfectly baked tenders that are crispy and golden in color. If you cooked them correctly, you should be able to hear a crunch when you take a bite. They also shouldn’t be dry and tough on the inside. If you are worried about the air fryer drying out your chicken tenders, try wrapping them in foil to retain moisture.

How Long To Cook Chicken Tenders In Air Fryer?

You only need to cook the chicken tenders in the air fryer for about 9 to 10 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit to get the best results. Do not leave them longer than that in the air fryer as you won’t want to risk over baking them. The great thing about air fryers is that they can cook your food faster than the oven while being healthier. Using an air fryer can cut off more than half the time it takes to cook than an oven would. If you decide to use a higher or lower temperature, make sure to learn how long to bake these chicken strips so that you don’t end up eating raw chicken tenders.

What other temperatures to cook chicken strips in an air fryer?

Chicken has a bit of leeway when it comes to the temperature it can cook at, so feel free to increase or decrease the temperature to better suit your liking. If you set your air fryer to 375 degrees Fahrenheit, you can expect delicious chicken tenders in about 12-14 minutes. A lower temperature is never a bad option when it comes to cooking, the only downside is that you have to wait longer to eat. Air frying at 375 degrees will also help to retain more moisture due to the lower temperature, but continue to wrap your chicken tenders in foil if you want to be safe.

If you decide to increase the temperature of your air fryer to about 425 degrees, you can get these air fried chicken strips in about 8 minutes, but they might be hard and dry. The air fryer itself is not really made to retain moisture, so the higher the temperature, the less juicy your chicken tenders will be. But if you are in a hurry though, 425 degrees might be the perfect option for you to get these strips air fried fast.

How to make chicken tenders in air fryer?

Chicken tenders are a classic food that has become a regular dish in many homes and restaurants. The internet has many air fryer recipes for chicken tenders. But when it comes to air frying chicken tenders with flour, I like to follow this simple and easy recipe to get extra crispy chicken tenders with my air fryer. If you want to make these healthy and delicious tenders yourself, here are all the steps to how to make chicken tenders in an air fryer.

1 Get ingredients

Go to the store and buy frozen chicken tenders, flour, eggs, bread crumbs, seasonings, a large zip lock bag, and foil.

2 Wash chicken tenders

Start by rinsing off the chicken tenders and cutting away any unwanted pieces

3 Marinate chicken tenders

Marinate the chicken tenders with your favorite seasonings for 1 hour to get more flavors infused in it.

4 Prepare breading for chicken tenders.

Grab two large eggs and crack them in a bowl. Take 1 1/2 cups of flour and put it into the zip lock bag, season well (add more flour if you need to).  Get a separate bowl and have the breadcrumbs seasoned in it.

5 Preheat air fryer

Start to heat your air fryer and set it to 400 degrees.

6 Coat chicken tenders with flour and breadcrumbs

Dry off the chicken tenders and place them in the bag of seasoned flour, shake them up and remove any excess flour. Dip the chicken tenders into the egg and then place them immediately into the breadcrumbs

7 Air fry chicken tenders

Put your tenders into the heated air fryer, close the door, and let them cook for 10 minutes. Flip after 5 minutes if you want even cooking. If you struggle with your chicken tenders drying out, wrap them in foil next time to retain moisture. After air frying, let them cool and enjoy!

Can I air fry chicken tenders with no breading?

If you prefer an air fried chicken strips with no breading, the recipe we just gone through will also work. Just drop the steps which involves the breadcrumbs. However, without breadcrumbs, you are not going to get a very crispy crust.

How long to air fry frozen chicken tenders?

If you want to cook chicken tenders from its frozen state, it’s going to take a little more time than raw chicken tenders would. That being said, the average time to air fry frozen chicken tenders at 400 degrees is about 14-16 minutes. I always shoot for the higher side of recommendations just to guarantee that the chicken is cooked all the way through.  This timing is regardless whether these frozen chicken strips were uncooked or cooked previously.

How to cook frozen chicken tenders in air fryer?

For scenarios when you have no time to defrost the chicken tenders first, here are the steps to how to cook frozen chicken tenders in air fryer.

1. preheat air fryer to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
2. place the frozen chicken tenders in the basket. Keep the pieces separate from each other as much as possible to allow the hot air to better circulate them.
3. bake the frozen chicken tenders in the air fryer for 14 to 16 minutes at 400 degrees

How long to reheat chicken tenders in the air fryer?

Everybody loves having a little something left to eat for the next day. The only problem is that the food tends to lose some quality after it’s been refrigerated. Thankfully, you can reheat your leftovers chicken tenders in the air fryer to get the same quality that you had the day before in less time. And it only takes 4 to 5 minutes to reheat chicken tenders in the air fryer to get piping hot and tasty tenders.

How to reheat chicken tenders in the air fryer?

So, if you want to eat some leftover chicken tenders  the next day, here’s the steps to how to reheat chicken tenders in the air fryer.

1. preheat air fryer to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
2. arrange the chicken tenders in the basket with minimal overlapping to allow better circulation of hot air
3. heat these chicken tenders in the air fryer for 4-5 minutes .

 

What goes with fried chicken tenders?

These air fried chicken tenders are fantastic on its own. But you can up the taste with some great dipping sauces. You can try fried chicken tenders with honey mustard for extra sweetness. Or if you love cheesy texture, dip your chicken tenders with cheddar cheese. And if you want a tangy layered flavors, barbecue sauces are also a great sauce to goes with these fried chicken strips. Pesto, cajun sauces, avocado, and mango salsa are also great alternatives to consider as dipping sauces.

Conclusion

Writing about these chicken strips have already make me hungry and wanting to reach out to my fridge for some tender to air fry. These chicken strips are great delight. And with an air fryer, you can get healthy fried chicken tenders with minimal effort and fast cooking times. So I hope this guide has been helpful in providing you the information required to try air frying chicken tenders yourself with your air fryer!