When you are looking for a delicious option look no further than our air fryer turkey tenderloin recipe! Opt for a quick seasoning with dry ingredients and roast your turkey breast tenderloin pieces for just 20-minutes or go for a big and bold flavor with our homemade marinade prior to cooking your air fryer turkey tenders. Either way you go, you know your dinner is going to be a whole lot of easy and a WHOLE LOTTA YUM!
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Turkey Tenderloin in Air Fryer
We were pretty excited to try our turkey tenderloin air fryer recipe made with our homemade turkey tenderloin marinade. The soak in orange juice, apple cider vinegar, garlic, rosemary, and thyme was just what our boneless turkey tenderloin pieces need to air fry up tender, juicy, and delicious.
To make our meal complete, we opted to serve our air fryer turkey tenderloin pieces with air fryer sweet potato cubes and air fryer broccolini. It made for a dinner that was simple to prepare, full of flavor, and loved by everyone at the table.
We have been on a turkey kick lately and we are loving how easy it is to prepare various turkey pieces in the air fryer! Be sure to try our herb-seasoned air fryer turkey thighs as well as our air fryer turkey legs made with a homemade smokey dry rub.
Why You'll Love This!
- With our air fryer turkey tenderloins recipe we are going to show you how to cook turkey breast tenderloins whether you are opting for a dry seasoning rub, a soak in a marinade or brine, or with a coating of sauce.
- Since it's so tasty though, for this recipe we are going to soak our turkey tenders in our homemade marinade so we can infuse our boneless tenders with all of that garlic citrus flavor.
- Perfect for staying on a healthy eating plan, our turkey tenderloin air fryer recipe is compliant with gluten-free, keto, low-carb, paleo, and sugar-free lifestyles.
- As a great lean protien option, turkey tenderloins make a great option for meal-prep days! Add cooked turkey tenders to salads, wraps, or simply snack on them as-is.
Ingredient Notes
While your air fryer turkey tenderloins recipes technically needs just a single ingredient - turkey tenders - we are going to show you how to make a delicious batch of our citrus & herb turkey tender marinade to give those tenders some pizzaz.
- turkey tenderloins - left whole or cut into strips
OPTIONAL MARINADE
- extra virgin olive oil
- apple cider vinegar
- orange juice - without the pulp
- garlic cloves, minced - you can use either fresh garlic cloves or jarred
- fine sea salt
- ground black pepper
- paprika - sometimes called sweet paprika
- dried rosemary
- dried thyme
- brown sugar - optional but the brown sugar does helping with browning. Skip for a sugar-free recipe.
** Please see the recipe card at the bottom of the post for the exact quantities **
Variations
- To skip the marinade you can simply coat the turkey in olive oil and season with salt and pepper, or a turkey rub seasoning and cook it using our air fryer cook time and temperature.
Equipment
An Air Fryer- We have a Cosori XL basket style air fryer, an Omni Plus oven style air fryer, and a small 3.2L Farberware basket style air fryer. The Cosori was used in this recipe.
Step by Step Instructions
Making air fryer turkey tenderloins is as easy as seasoning the turkey pieces with your favorite blend or method, air fry following our simple steps, serve, and enjoy!
Prep Ingredients
If you are using our homemade turkey tenderloin marinade: Mix all of the turkey marinade ingredients in a shallow medium-size bowl. Add 1-2 pounds of turkey tenderloins to the marinade and coat the turkey. Marinate for at least 30-60 minutes and up to 24 hours. Remove the turkey from the marinade and discard it (the marinade not the turkey ;).
If you are short on time and can't wait for a marinade, brush your turkey tenderloin pieces with oil and season with your favorite poultry combination or the dry ingredients from the marinade recipe.
Temperature and Cooking Time
Preheat an air fryer basket or oven to 370 degrees Fahrenheit for 5 minutes.
Place the turkey tenderloins in the air fryer and cook it at 400 F for a total of 20-25 minutes, flipping it over halfway through air frying.
Let the turkey rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Slice and enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- Just a quick marinade is all that's needed to make air fried turkey tenderloins, but if you have the time you can leave the turkey in the marinade for up to 24 hours.
- Our cooking time is based on using whole turkey tenderloin pieces. If you opt to slice them into strips before cooking, reduce the cooktime accordingly.
- The cooking time can vary depending on your air fryer model. Use our timing as a guide and we highly recommend that you use a digital meat thermometer and cook it until the temperature reaches at least 165 F when checked in the thickest part of the turkey breast tenderloin.
Common Questions
Just like a whole bird goes good with mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, roasted greens like broccoli and Brussel sprouts, and even a medley of fall root veggies, your air fried turkey tenders will also pair well with them.
You can store cooked air fryer turkey tenders in the fridge for up to 4 days in a covered container. Likewise, you can freeze cooked tenders for up to 3 months.
While turkey tenderloin can be served safely at 165 F as it's cooked completely through, the connective tissue doesn't fully break down until 180F. .
More Air Fryer Turkey Recipes
Looking for more turkey recipes?
- Air Fryer Turkey Cutlets
- Herb Turkey Thighs in Air Fryer
- Turkey Wings in Air Fryer
- Turkey Legs in Air Fryer
Come connect with us on Instagram! Be sure to tag us (wholelotta.yum) when you make a recipe. You can also find us on Facebook, and Pinterest.
Air Fryer Turkey Tenderloin
Cook whole air fryer turkey tenderloins in a fraction of the time compared to a whole turkey in the oven. A terrific option for a small holiday gathering! First marinate the turkey breast tenderloins in a citrus marinade for 30-60 minutes before air frying for sliced turkey infused with citrus, garlic, and herbs.
Ingredients
- 2 turkey tenderloins, about 2 ½ lb
- OPTIONAL MARINADE
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup orange juice
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon paprika (sometimes called sweet paprika)
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
Instructions
- Mix all of the turkey marinade ingredients in a shallow medium-size bowl.
- Add 1-2 pounds of turkey tenderloins to the marinade and coat the turkey. Marinate for at least 30-60 minutes and up to 24 hours.
- Remove the turkey from the marinade and discard it (the marinade not the turkey ;).
- Preheat an air fryer basket or oven to 370 degrees Fahrenheit for 5 minutes.
- Place the turkey tenderloins in the air fryer and cook it on 400 F for a total of 20-25 minutes, flipping it over half way through air frying.
- Let the turkey rest for 5-10 minutes before serving. Slice and enjoy!
Notes
Just a quick marinade is all that's needed to make air fried turkey tenderloins, but if you have the time you can leave the turkey in the marinade for up to 24 hours.
To skip the marinade you can simply coat the turkey in olive oil and season with salt and pepper, or a turkey rub seasoning and cook it using our air fryer cook time and temperature.
The cooking time can vary depending on your air fryer model. Use our timing as a guide and we highly recommend that you use a digital meat thermometer and cook it until the temperature reaches 165 F when checked in the thickest part of the turkey breast tenderloin.
Shirley says
This sounds fantastic, we eat turkey all year long and why not? It is cheap compared to other meats especially now.
WholeLottaYum says
Thank you! It is cheaper for sure, and I honestly prefer turkey over chicken!