Air fryer chicken tenders (no breading) is the BEST way to enjoy flavorful low-carb and gluten-free chicken tenders in a variety of ways. Whether you are topping a salad, adding them to a veggie wrap, or simply snacking on these air fryer chicken tenderloins, you are going to love how quick and easy this whole recipe comes together.
With no breading and no eggs, your air fryer chicken tenders are going to work for everyone. They are gluten-free, dairy-free, Whole30, low-carb, and keto-approved. You are not going to find any other recipe that packs so much flavor yet works for so many eating plans.
Serve the air fryer boneless chicken tenderloin with air fryer tater tots and our healthy coleslaw recipe to make a complete meal that takes less than 30 minutes that will please everyone in your home!
And if you’re looking for more ways to cook chicken tenders, be sure to try our pan-fried chicken tenders or instant pot chicken tenders from frozen!
Air Fryer Chicken Tenderloins
Chicken tenders are seriously versatile food that doesn’t really get enough credit for all that they can do. In our home, we love them because they are quick and easy to cook up plus we can add as much flavor as we want.
For these air fryer chicken tenders no breading, we are ditching the typically breading option to make a light yet super flavorful option. Often we are eating them right out of the air fryer, but when we can restrain ourselves, you will find us chopping them up for a salad, adding them to a wrap, and even serving them alongside our favorite appetizers.
Why This Recipe Works
- No breading means you can enjoy these chicken tenders even if you have dietary restrictions, the healthy air fryer naked chicken tenders recipe is low carb, gluten-free, dairy-free, and keto-friendly too.
- Air fryer chicken tenders pack a powerhouse of flavor and the crunch you expect from traditional breaded tenders.
- With a cook time of just 9 minutes, your air fryer chicken tenders keto is ready faster than you can order take out and much faster than cooking in the oven.
- The whole recipe needs just 3 ingredients!
Ingredients
The Weight Watchers friendly and low carb air fryer chicken tenderloins with no breading will be one of the easiest recipes you make. With just three ingredients, you will have all of the prep work done while your air fryer heats up. And if you need more than 1lb of meat, simply double or triple all of the ingredients and cook in batches.
- 1 lb raw chicken tenders
- 2 tsp olive oil
- sprinkle with 1+ tsp homemade dry rub or store-bought chicken rub (look for brands that don’t add sugar, starch, or artificial ingredients)
Needed Supplies
To make your air fryer chicken tenders you’ll need an air fryer, of course. We use both our Omni Plus oven style air fryer and our small 3.2L Farberware basket style air fryer. Both fryers work great, but the basket style fryer may not accommodate a full pound if your tenders are large, which means you might need to cook the chicken in batches.
Making Healthy Air Fryer Chicken Tenders
Your healthy air fryer chicken tenders are going to come together really quickly. With just 3 ingredients, all of the prep work is done in just a few moments. This recipe is so easy, it would be a great one to start your kids in the kitchen with.
To make your healthy air fryer chicken tenders:
Preheat the air fryer to 400F for 3-5 minutes.
Coat your chicken tenders with oil then sprinkle or brush the chicken rub on the chicken.
Press the rub into the chicken meat (This is important! It makes sure more of the rub stays on your tenders and less on your air fryer).
Air Fry Chicken Tenders Time
Air fry for 8-9 mins, flipping after 5 minutes. Technically, chicken tenders are so thin it’s ok to skip the flip, but I seem to do it out of habit.
*** Things that could affect your cook time:
If you didn’t preheat your air fryer your cooking time will be extended to 12-14 mins to cook through. Or could take longer than 8-9 if they’re larger chicken tenderloins than we used. Our 1 lb package of raw tenders had 8 pieces.
Cook your chicken tenders until the internal temperature is 160F-165 degrees.
Recipe Tips
- This recipe is based on using thawed chicken tenders (see below for information on cooking from frozen).
- If you cannot find a rub you like feel free to utilize your favorite chicken herbs and spices.
- Flipping the chicken tenders is not necessary for even cooking, but we did find that the result was better when we filled after 5 minutes.
- Chicken tenders will need some air between them, so be sure not to overcrowd your fryer and lay them in a single layer. Cook in batches if necessary.
- Cooking the healthy naked low carb chicken tenders are great for meal prep too! Just double or triple the recipe and use them throughout the week or freeze them for later.
- Depending on your model type, the recipe could take less time or longer, to cook. If you skip the preheat the recipes will take about 12 minutes to cook. We do always suggest you preheat air fryer before cooking for even cooking.
Common Questions
Can You Cook Frozen Chicken Tenders in an Air Fryer?
The short answer is yes, you can make chicken tenders in the air fryer with frozen tenders. However, it will take 3-4 minutes longer to cook. Be sure you reach an internal temperature of 160F-165 degrees.
What to Serve with Chicken Tenders?
- Healthy coleslaw
- German potato salad
- Alfredo noodles or zoodles
- Chef salad
- Corn on the cob
- Air fryer broccoli
How to Reheat Chicken Tenders in Air Fryer
Preheat the air fryer to 400F and reheat the chicken for 2-3 minutes until warmed through to an internal temperature of 160F.
Are Air Fryer Chicken Tenders Keto?
Unlike store-bought, pre-cooked chicken tenders, this recipe is! Without adding any breading we did not add any carbs to the air fryer chicken tenders. To keep air fryer chicken tenders keto and low carb, we recommend staying away from packaged chicken and cook it from fresh with seasoning of your choice. However, watch any sauces you may choose to use as they do tend to have hidden sugars and carbs in them.
Can you put raw chicken in an air fryer?
Using an air fryer to cook and heat up frozen foods is one of the most popular uses, but don’t stop there! Cooking foods like raw chicken in an air fryer, steak, seafood, snacks, and even desserts are possible too.
More Air Fryer Chicken Recipes
- Air Fryer Chicken Wings
- Air Fryer Chicken Wings from Frozen
- Keto Air Fryer Chicken Tenders
- Air Fryer Breaded Chicken Breast
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Air Fryer Chicken Tenders (No Breading) Keto, Whole30, GF
Seasoned air fryer chicken tenders without breading are a quick and easy way to make healthy chicken tenderloins for dinner. Use them as a main dish or add them to your favorite recipe. They're great as a weekly meal-prep item too!
Ingredients
- 1 lb raw chicken tenders (8)
- 2 tsp avocado or olive oil
- 1+ tsp store-bought or homemade chicken rub
Instructions
Preheat the air fryer to 400F.
Coat your chicken tenders with oil then sprinkle or brush the chicken rub on the chicken. We used our homemade chicken rub recipe but any store-bought brand will work.
Press the rub into the chicken meat (This is important! It makes sure more of the rub stays on your tenders and less on your air fryer).
Air Fry Chicken Tenders Time
Air fry for a total of 8-9 mins on 400 F, flipping after 5 minutes. Technically, chicken tenders are so thin it's ok to skip the flip, but we prefer it.
*** Things that could affect your cook time:
If you didn't preheat your air fryer your cooking time will be extended to 12-14 mins to cook through. Or they could take longer than 8-9 if they're larger chicken tenderloins than we used. Our 1 lb package of raw tenders had 8 pieces.
Cook your chicken tenders until the internal temperature is 160 F-162 F, using a digital meat thermometer is highly recommended. Let the chicken rest for a few minutes before serving, the chicken will continue to cook and will be at 165 F by that point.
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Rehoboth says
Nice recipe
Thanks
Rehoboth says
Great post!
Thanks
Alison says
Totally worth the scroll- thanks for a great recipe! I am cutting my tenders up and putting them in my salad! Yummy!
imsen says
My family and I love it. I will definitely make again. Super easy and great flavor!
Quick and Easy Family Recipes
Katherine says
Amazing straightforward recipe. Second time using the air fryer and it came out perfect!! I used my own rub, too! lol! thank you!
Winter says
COOK IT ALL THE WAY TO 165!!!!!!
to safely cook chicken, you HAVE to cook it to 165 w/ an instant read of the number and it has to hold at that temp for 15 seconds !!!!
Learned this becoming a certified servsafe manager. Please don’t undercook your chicken 🤦🏼♀️
Erin says
Chicken continues cooking while it’s resting, so cooking chicken to 160-162 F will end up at 165 F after a few minutes of rest time before serving.
Lacy says
Tbspeachy, what a rude way to speak to someone.
I can’t wait to make these tenders with my store bought chicken rub this week!
Yvette says
So simple and so easy. Just the kind of recipe I was looking for.
Melanie says
Thanks for this RECIPE. Maybe it wasn’t many ingredients, but I forget how to make these (temp, duration). It’s really helped. Thanks. When I find a recipe that I like with good instructions but less than desirable ingredients, I usually just substitute and go on, I made my own rub for this, looked up a BBQ rub and do that. Thanks a million.
Brenda Faircloth says
I meant after preheat to 400 and cook chicken tenders do I cook them at 400 or do I lower the temperature to cook chicken tenders 8-9 minutes
WholeLottaYum says
They get preheated to 400 F and cooked at 400 F 🙂
Airica says
Thank you for a SIMPLE recipe that explains the whole process of tenders in the air fryer. Some people really need to go back and watch Bambi, there’s some really good life advice in there. Namely when Thumper says – “If you don’t have anything nice to say, never talk/type again.” Or something like that. Way to handle yourself with the people who have no time to read a recipe but plenty time to leave an ugly review 😁
Tbspeachy says
Just saying “Store bought chicken rub” is a very lazy way to write a recipe! What spices are in the rub? Garlic powder, chili powder, lemon pepper? I understand the ease of it, but come on. This is hardly even a recipe.
WholeLottaYum says
Most people buy store-bought rubs instead of making their own. I did go ahead and link our homemade chicken rub recipe as well if you prefer homemade rub. The recipe is more about teaching people how to cook chicken tenders in their air fryer, any rub of choice can be used!
Bryan Potts says
They put the recipe out there if you don’t like don’t use it! Pretty simple
Scott says
Oh My God. I had to scroll 5 minutes to finally find out its 400 degrees for 8 minutes. Come on man!
WholeLottaYum says
There’s a “jump to recipe” button at the top of the page that takes you directly to the recipe card. The post instructions and tips are written for beginning air fryer users or for people who might have a dietary concern or are interested in variations.
Sharon says
Print button doesn’t work 😕
WholeLottaYum says
I’m not sure why the print button isn’t working, hopefully you were able to get it to work! Sometimes I’ll just screet shot the instructions instead of printing.
Ven says
The recipe should be updated, I was looking for the air frying temperature too. It says preheat at 400 but nowhere does it mention actual the frying temp. These are not necessarily the same.
WholeLottaYum says
The recipe has been updated to further clarify! The majority of air fryer recipes (like probably 99%+) have the preheat and cooking temp the same…just like oven cooking. If a recipe just gives the preheat temperature, assume that’s also the cooking temperature unless the recipe states to change it. After owning 5 air fryers, I did notice one of the brand cookbooks preheated all recipes at 400 and then changed the temp to something else…but this had been the first time I’d come across that it 4 years. That was for my Cosori..maybe that’s the brand of air fryer you have too?
Leanna says
Excellent chicken tenders!! I never thought to pre-heat the air fryer.
WholeLottaYum says
Thank you! I’m glad you loved the air fryer chicken tenders! Yes, pre-heating the air fryer is actually super important and is key to making sure recipes turn out and that the food cooks evenly. If you have an air fryer that doesn’t automatically do it for you, preheat for 3-5 minutes before starting to cook.