No Breading Chicken Tenders (Air Fryer Recipe)
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!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb raw chicken tenders 7-8
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil or olive oil
- 2 teaspoon chicken rub homemade or store-bought
CHICKEN TENDERS RUB MIX
- 1 ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon chili powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon fine sea salt not table salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground pepper not fine
- 1 teaspoon sweetener brown sugar, coconut sugar or golden monk fruit
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- If you're making our homemade chicken rub recipe, add the onion powder, garlic powder, cumin powder, chili powder, smoked paprika, salt, pepper, brown sugar, and cayenne pepper to a bowl. You can also use your favorite store-bought brand too like McCormick's. Set the seasoning aside. This makes more than you need for this one recipe, feel free to cut it in half.
- Preheat the air fryer for 5 minutes at 400 F.
- Pat the chicken tenders dry with paper towels to remove extra moisture. Place the chicken tenders in a medium size bowl, add the oil, and toss the chicken to coat.
- Sprinkle the seasoning on both sides of the chicken tenderloins, making sure to rub the mix into the chicken meat so it'll stick.
- Air fry for a total of 8-9 mins at 400 F, flipping after 5 minutes. We recommend cooking the chicken tenders until the internal temperature reaches 160 F-162 F. 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, with the USDA recommended guideline for chicken tenders.
Notes
Additional Rub Options
- Curry Rub -1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder, 1 ½ teaspoon ground onion powder, 1 tablespoon mild curry powder (McCormick's is a good brand), 1 ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, 1 teaspoon brown sugar. Mix and sprinkle 2+ teaspoon per lb of chicken. Fantastic with tzatziki sauce. (or use an Indian yogurt-cucumber sauce).
- Store-bought rub- McCormick's makes great rubs, use your favorite brand. Sprinkle 1-2 teaspoon on the chicken.
- Italian garlic rub - 1 ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning, 1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper. Mix, and sprinkle 2 teaspoon (or to taste) on the chicken.
- Cajun blackened seasoning - 1 tablespoon smoked paprika, 1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder, 1 ½ teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, ½ teaspoon dried oregano, ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper. Mix, and sprinkle 2-3 teaspoon (for very spicy) on the chicken.
Recipe Tips
- If you didn't preheat your air fryer the 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.
- Our rub recipes makes more than you need for just this recipe. They're also fantastic on chicken wings, chicken breasts, pork chops, and ribs.
- 1 minute before the chicken tenderloins are cooked through, you can also add BBQ sauce like we did with our air fryer BBQ chicken tenders or you can coat the chicken with Frank's buffalo sauce to make buffalo chicken tenders.
- Serve the chicken with your favorite dipping sauces such as BBQ, ketchup, honey mustard, Ranch, or tzatziki sauce.
Nutrition
Calories: 176kcalCarbohydrates: 4gProtein: 25gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.01gCholesterol: 73mgSodium: 1891mgPotassium: 498mgFiber: 1gSugar: 0.5gVitamin A: 691IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 25mgIron: 1mg
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