Crispy chicken tenders are a tasty snack or dinner any day of the week!
This chicken tenders recipe uses fresh chicken tenderloins or sliced breasts coated in seasoned breading and then pan-fried to crispy perfection!
Love at First Crunch!
- Flavor: Lightly seasoned with a crunchy outside and tender chicken.
- Difficulty: These are easy to make but take a bit of time to prepare.
- Technique: Double dipping the chicken makes it extra crunchy – let the breading rest for a few minutes before frying if time allows.
- Important: Fry the tenders in small batches to keep the oil hot and avoid overcrowding. Salt immediately after removing from the oil.
- Prep tip: Place the bowls of flour and crumbs on a rimmed baking tray, it makes for easier cleanup.
- Serving suggestions: Dip and dunk them in your favorite sauce or dressing, or try the one honey garlic sauce in the notes (it’s so good!).
Ingredient Tips For Chicken Tenders
- Chicken: Use either chicken chicken tenderloins or boneless, skinless chicken breasts. If using frozen chicken, thaw and pat dry so the breading sticks well.
- Egg: The egg helps the crumbs stick to the chicken.
- Flour: Flour is the base of the coating, while the Panko crumbs add some extra crunch.
Variations: Switch up the seasoning and make a new recipe every time! Try a spicy adobo blend or a zesty Cajun.
Storage and Leftovers
- Keep leftover chicken tenders in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Enjoy cold in a wrap or slice them and top a green salad.
- Fried chicken can be frozen for up to 4 months.
- Reheat them in the air fryer or microwave them, then pop them under the broiler to get them crispy again.
More Ways to Cook Chicken Tenders
Did your family love these Chicken Tenders? Leave us a rating and a comment below.
Chicken Tenders
Juicy, tender chicken is double-dipped in a boldly seasoned breading and fried for extra crispy crunch.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds chicken tenderloins or boneless chicken breasts sliced into ½-inch strips
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup Panko bread crumbs
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon seasoned salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 large eggs more if needed
- 3 tablespoons water
- vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, bread crumbs, and seasonings. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, water, and 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil.
- Dab the chicken tenders dry with a paper towel.
- Working with half of the flour mixture at a time, dip each piece of chicken in the egg mixture and then in the flour. Dip it into the egg a second time and then the flour again to double-coat it. Gently press the flour into the chicken. Shake off any excess. Place on a wire rack and repeat with the remaining chicken. If time allows, let the chicken rest for 10 minutes.
- In a large deep skillet, heat 1-inch of oil to 350°F. Fry chicken in small batches until crispy and the chicken reaches 165°F, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels and season with salt.
- Serve with honey garlic sauce or your favorite dips.
Video
Notes
- Flour Mixture: When working with the flour mixture, I find it helps to work with just half of the mixture at a time, to prevent the flour from getting clumped or wet.
- Chicken: If using boneless chicken breasts, slice them ½-inch thick.
- Honey Garlic Sauce for dipping or drizzling (optional): In a small saucepan, combine ½ cup honey, ⅓ cup water, ¼ cup soy sauce, 4 cloves minced garlic, 1 tablespoon minced ginger, ½ teaspoon chili flakes. Simmer uncovered for 15-20 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat and cool before serving.
- Nutrition will vary. Information provided is an estimate and includes 10% oil absorption and ⅔ of the breading mixture.
- Nutrition information does not include optional sauce.
- Keep leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for 3-4 months.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 340 | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 166mg | Sodium: 399mg | Potassium: 525mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 334IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 38mg | Iron: 3mg
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Appetizer, Chicken, Dinner, Lunch
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Do you have a version that is baked instead of fryed? Absolutely loved in our house but want a healthier version.
Faith, I don’t have a baked version of these chicken tenders, but you may enjoy my baked Honey Garlic Chicken Wings, Crispy Baked Parmesan Chicken or Oven Fried Chicken!
I have a question regarding the nutrition information… Is it based on 1 chicken tender or all 6 tenders? Thanks!
Nutrition is based on ⅙ of the full recipe. Enjoy Savannah!
Greetings from cold South Africa, Holly!! Just wanted to let you know that this recipe is a KEEPER! I made this for Sunday lunch yesterday when my parents came to visit. My father is a fussy eater but boy oh boy did he LOVE this!! He went back for seconds and even asked for a doggy bag! I was so thrilled. Am looking forward to using them as guinea pigs again next Sunday when I try your ‘Slow Cooker Salisbury Steak’.
Thank you for sharing this success with us Dominique!!
Oh my, these are on my to cook list, thank you for the recipe. I will return and post a review after I make these (I am certain this will rate 10 stars) ;)
:) Thank you Lee!
These were absolutely delicious, my husband and I enjoyed it very much
Going to try this with the pre-breaded chicken tenders from Costco. Looks fabulous.
I hope you enjoy the recipe Heather!
Made this last night. I divided the flour and egg into four separate containers (2 each) and went from one to the other – less messy and the flour stays less gunky. I did this an hour ahead of time and put them on a parchment lined sheet in the fridge – saves doing all the messy stuff when guest are there.
Why do you say to heat oven to 375 degrees? I fried these per your instructions…confused if I missed something that goes in the oven
The oil is preheated, not the oven. :)
Often when buying fresh chicken breasts(also good for pork tenderloins!) in bulk, I divide the meat up and keep the pieces I want to marinate and the rest just plain. I put the pieces in a freezer bag and the already made marinade and freeze that. Then on the day you require it for your recipe, it’s already marinated. Just thaw in the fridge and voila it’s ready for grilling, dredging etc.
Made this for visiting family members in August; went down a treat! Absolutely delicious and I’m making it again tonight
It’s easy to love, isn’t it?
Loved this recipe, my kids loved this recipe. Took a little longer than anticipated due to the double dredging, and deep frying in small batches as I don’t have a fryer.
I am so glad your family enjoyed this recipe Sharon!
Delish! My family absolutely loved the recipe tonight
I’m so glad you loved them!
We made these a little while ago and they were absolutely AAMMAAZZIINNGG!!!!! And we are making them again right now. Just waiting for my oil to heat up. Omg these are yum
So glad you loved it!! :)
Have you tried egg, flour then panko instead of mixing together? This works for me when I am making chicken katsu. Your recipe sounds delicious I will try it tonight .
Thank you for sharing, I love Katsu!
I was looking for a new way to serve chicken and this recipe fit the bill. I didn’t have any Panko so I used bread crumbs..but I did everything else according to the recipe. Man was this delicious! The cooking temp and time were spot on. The chicken was crispy outside and tender inside and the sauce was fantastic. I’ll be coming back for more recipes soon. Thank you Holly.
You’re welcome! I’m so glad you loved these Nina!
Made for dinner tonight. So amazing! Doubled everything and baked half/fried half. Once I sauced it, you really couldn’t tell the difference. The only change was seasame
seeds and not onions. So, so, so yummy!!! Can’t wait for lunch leftovers!
So glad you loved them! Thank you for the great tip with baking them!
I must say, these were really really tasty. Wished the sauce would have been a bit thicker but I can just add a touch a flour or something next time. Thanks so much for sharing! I will certainly be making these often.
So glad you enjoyed them!
Wow! What a great looking recipe. I’m excited to try these one night for dinner next week. I featured your recipe in my weekly Coffee Cafe post this morning. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
http://www.perfectlycreatedchaos.com/2016/05/sunday-morning-coffee-cafe_15.html
Just a terrific, yummy recipe. We just finished this and it got rave reviews. My garlic loving husband requested double garlic for the sauce next time. One difference, I breaded the chicken and then stuck it in the fridge for 1/2 hour. This helps the breading adhere and helps up the “crunch” factor. We did not sauce all the chicken, and plan on trying it with buffalo sauce tomorrow! Thank you!
What a great tip Jennifer! Thanks so much for sharing. I am going to have to remember to stick my chicken in the fridge after breading next time!
There is a Korean restaurant where I live that serves Korean fried chicken. Their boneless strips in soy garlic sauce cost about a dollar each. I made these last night and they are almost identical to the ones served at that restaurant. These are amazing! I made the mistake initially of not putting all of the sauce on the chicken when it was cooked because I did not want it to get soggy. Big mistake! It only gets better as sits. The chicken stayed crunchy and crispy even overnight in the refrigerator. I think this is my new favorite recipe. Thank you so much for sharing. I did not have fresh ginger so I used a teaspoon of ground ginger and it tasted great!
I’m so glad you loved them Pamela! Thank you! :)