Name: Air Fryer Chicken Tenders for a Weeknight Skillet
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 47 min
Yield: 16 tenders
Ingredients: 1-1.25 pounds chicken tenders; 1 large eggs well beaten; ¼ cup all-purpose flour; ½ teaspoon kosher salt; ¼ teaspoon black pepper; ½ cup Corn Chex crushed & rounded* (or cornflakes, pretzels, etc–measure after crushing!); ¼ cup unseasoned plain bread crumbs; ½ teaspoon kosher salt; ¼ teaspoon paprika; ¼ teaspoon onion powder

Set out chicken tenders, eggs well beaten, and all-purpose flour before you start Air Fryer Chicken Tenders for a Weeknight Skillet. The batch is written for 16 tenders.

Count on 15 minutes of prep, 12 minutes of cooking, 20 minutes of resting, about 47 minutes from the first measurement to the plate.

Ingredients Method

What goes in the bowl

1-1.25 pounds chicken tenders
1 large eggs well beaten

For the Flour mixture

¼ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper

For the exterior coating

½ cup Corn Chex crushed & rounded* (or cornflakes, pretzels, etc–measure after crushing!)
¼ cup unseasoned plain bread crumbs
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon onion powder

How the cooking goes

Select 3 separate rimmed plates or baking dishes. In one plate add flour, salt and black pepper. Use a fork to mix. In the second plate, pour the beaten eggs. In the last bowl, add the crushed Chex, plain bread crumbs, kosher salt, paprika and onion powder. Use a fork to mix well.
Press chicken tenders dry and set up your chicken coating station: On the far left have your chicken tenders, then your plate of the flour mixture, followed by the plate of egg, then the plate with the exterior coating and, lastly, a landing tray or plate for your coated chicken. Working in batches determined by the size of the plates, add several tenders to the flour plate and coat completely. Shake off any extra and then place in the egg. You usually go ahead and dredge the next round in the flour before you get the hand covered in egg.
Dip all sides of the floured tenders in the egg, let the excess drip off then then place in the plate with the exterior coating.
Coat the tenders fully with the exterior coating and press it in to help it stick. Remove the coated tenders to the clean plate or tray.
Repeat with all the remaining tenders, working in batches to ensure all get a fair coating.
Set chicken in the refrigerator, uncovered, for 10-45 minutes (or as long as you need to get the rest of dinner going!) you do not recommend making it the day before.
When you are ready to cook, preheat the air fryer to 350°F on the air fry setting.
Spray the air fryer basket with nonstick cooking spray and place the tenders on the tray. You have a large air fryer so you can do them all at one time but they touch (it doesn’t really matter).
Cook for 12-16 minutes. Cooking time will depend on the size of your tenders. Mine were rather chubby so they took 15 minutes then you warmed them before serving in the air fryer for an additional 4 minutes.