Julie Clark
Posted:
Fried Chicken Tenders Are Ready in 30 Minutes—and Totally Kid-Approved
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Your family will love our fried chicken tenders recipe! There’s no buttermilk in this recipe, which keeps the breading light so the chicken takes center stage.
I took our gluten free chicken tenders recipe that has been popular for years and turned it into traditional fried chicken tenders that features standard pantry ingredients. There’s cornstarch in the flour mix to ensure the breading is light, similar to our fried pork chops.
From my kitchen to yours.
When summer rolls around and I don’t feel like turning on the oven, I often fry up chicken strips and eat them on a garden salad with ranch dressing, or in a chicken wrap with honey mustard sauce or chipotle lime dip.
Frying chicken often seems messy and extra, but anytime I make fried chicken such as buttermilk fried chicken, honey butter fried chicken, or crispy fried chicken drumsticks, I’m reminded of how quick it actually is.
Serve these in a salad like a fried green tomato salad, or a wrap, or with a side of home fried potatoes or german potato salad, and mozzarella tomato salad.
It makes a light dinner any time of the year and one that the kids will love.
Enjoy! -Julie
Key Ingredients
- Chicken. Chicken tenders cook up so quickly, but you could also use boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs (because I know you may have some left from making our chicken stir fry!). Just add more cooking time as needed.
- Flour. Or make it gluten free by using almond flour or all-purpose gluten free flour.
- Cornstarch. Arrowroot or tapioca starch both work as well.
- Garlic salt, paprika, salt and pepper. All of these flavor the breading. Adjust the salt as you like!
- Peanut oil. Peanut oil is great for frying because it has a high smoke point. Alternative oils are vegetable oil or canola oil.
Fried Chicken Tenders Recipe
Your family will love our fried chicken tenders recipe! There's no buttermilk in this recipe, which keeps the breading light so the chicken takes center stage.
Servings 6
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 22 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken tenderloins
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons corn starch
- 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic salt
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 large eggs whisked
- 1/4 cup peanut oil or vegetable oil, for frying
Instructions
- Prepare the chicken. Place flour, cornstarch, garlic salt, salt, smoked paprika and pepper in a bowl and mix. 1 cup all-purpose flour, 3 tablespoons corn starch, 1 ½ teaspoons garlic salt, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon smoked paprika, ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Put the eggs in a separate bowl and whisk to combine. 2 large eggs
- Dredge each chicken tenderloin into the egg and then coat each with the flour mixture. 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken tenderloins
- Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, until it reaches about 350ºF. ¼ cup peanut oil
- Place the prepared chicken into the hot oil and fry it for 3 minutes. Once the first side is browned, turn the chicken and fry the other side for another 3-4 minutes, or until the chicken is golden brown and shows no pink in the middle. The exact timing will depend on how thick the chicken is, but the internal temperature should be 165ºF.
- Remove the chicken from the frying pan. Place it on a wire cooling rack with paper towels underneath to catch any drips. This will help keep the chicken from getting soggy.
- Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.
Notes
- Storage: Store leftover chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the air fryer to crisp it up.
- Save calories by making air fryer chicken tenders. Spay the breaded chicken with olive oil spray and cook at 390ºF for 3 minutes, then flip and cook an additional 3-4 minutes until the chicken tests done.
- Refer to the article above for more tips and tricks.
Nutrition
Calories: 416kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 139mg | Sodium: 872mg | Potassium: 245mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 0.1g | Vitamin A: 316IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 2mg
How to Make Fried Chicken Tenders: Step by Step
- Prepare the dredging station. Place flour, cornstarch, garlic salt, salt, smoked paprika and pepper in a bowl and mix. Put the eggs in a separate bowl and whisk to combine.
- Bread the chicken. Dredge each chicken tenderloin into the egg, let the excess drip off and then toss in the flour to coat.
- Heat the oil. Heat the oil in a skillet (a cast iron skillet works great!) over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, until it reaches about 350ºF. Use a candy thermometer or instant read thermometer to test the oil temperature.
- Fry the chicken. Place the prepared chicken into the hot oil and fry it for 3 minutes. Once the first side is browned, turn the chicken and fry the other side for another 3-4 minutes, or until the chicken is golden brown and shows no pink in the middle. Work in batches so you don’t overcrowd the chicken.
- Let the chicken drain on a wire rack. Remove the chicken from the frying pan. Place it on a wire rack with paper towels or a baking sheet underneath to catch any drips.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the secret to tender fried chicken?
The first step is to ensure the oil is at the correct frying temperature. 350ºF is ideal for frying. Pop the chicken in the oil when it is at the correct temp, then remove it when it is at 165ºF. Keep the chicken tenders juicy by not overcooking them!
Do you dip chicken tenders in egg or flour first?
I dip in egg, then flour. If you’d like, you could do flour, egg, then flour again. This would give you a thicker breading on the chicken. I prefer a light breading so just do one dip each.
What dipping sauces go well with chicken?
Try mustard bbq sauce, white bbq sauce, traditional bbq sauce, cheese sauce, pizza sauce or buffalo sauce.
