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Have you jumped on the air fryer bandwagon? The last thing we needed was another kitchen appliance, but after hearing many of our friends and family rave about theirs, my curiosity was peaked. We ended up getting the Ninja Foodi which serves a multitude of functions (toaster, roaster, dehydrator, etc.). With so many uses we can eliminate a few other appliances and keep it on the counter where the toaster was.
One of the first recipes we tried (after french fries of course) was chicken tenders, because…children! My son refuses to eat “naked chicken”, his name for nonbreaded chicken. His sister has tried all tactics to get him to eat it, including cognitive reasoning. It is all chicken on the inside and it’s what’s on the inside that counts, right?
The great thing about this recipe is you can customize it to your liking and even make several “flavors” at once. The amount of panko can also be decreased by adding more parmesan and seasoning for a lower carb option (yes please!). Enjoy!
Air Fryer Chicken Tenders
Ingredients
- Skinless, boneless chicken tender cutlets (1-2 lbs. depending on servings)
- Box of Panko (plain or seasoned)
- Egg slightly beaten
- 1/2 cup of Flour (Optional)
- 1 cup of Shredded Parmesan
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- Seasoning of your choice:
- Everything Bagel
- Italian
- Chili Powder
- Olive or avocado spray oil (I use this refillable sprayer)
Directions
- Preheat Air Fryer to 400 degrees (Ours literally takes less than a minute to preheat so you can wait until you are done prepping).
- Spray the air fryer basket with a light coat of oil to prevent sticking.
- Pour Panko and flour on to separate plates
- Wisk egg in a large bowl
- Mix in seasoning of choice with the Panko
- Place the each chicken tender into the flour to get a light coat on each side.
- Place the chicken into the egg and cover both sides.
- Next place the chicken into the Panko and press into the mixture to cover, then flip to the other side and until both sides are covered with the breading mixture.
- Place chicken onto the air fryer basket. and lightly spray each side of the chicken tender with oil (optional).
- Place chicken into the air fryer for 20 min. I like to flip them over at 10 min. to ensure even browning on both sides.
- Remove and use a meat thermometer to make sure chicken is at least 160 degrees.
- Serve with your choice of dipping sauce (Ketchup, BBQ, Ranch)
Additional Options:
- I will sometimes skip the coating of flour for a lower carb option as well as adjusting the parmesan to panko ratio.
- Split up the panko into separate plates to make different seasoning options for the family (my kids are not fans of spicy).
- Add leftover chicken to a salad for an easy dinner or lunch option.
This is the Air Fryer we use, you can fit a pizza in there and it folds up when not in use.
Let me know if you try this recipe!
