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The kids will love these crispy air-fried BBQ chicken tenders breaded and dunked in a sweet, fiery BBQ sauce! Serve them with some corn on the cob or a big salad.
Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Tenders
If you love your air fryer as much as I do, you’ll love this easy chicken recipe! I made these Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Tenders for my family, and they loved them. They have a bit of a kick, are covered with BBQ sauce, and are air fried until crispy with minimal oil. These easy chicken fingers are great for lunch, dinner or a quick family dinner. More chicken tenderloin recipes you may also enjoy are these Air Fryer Chicken Tenders, Chicken Tenders Parmesan, and Buffalo Chicken Strips.
Why This BBQ Chicken Tenders Works
- Healthy: These chicken fingers are much lighter because they aren’t fried and only require a small amount of oil.
- Delicious: Using shortcut ingredients, like BBQ sauce, seasoned panko, and seasoned breadcrumbs, pack these chicken strips with so much flavor.
- Kid-Friendly: For a kid-friendly dinner, skip the cayenne and serve these chicken fingers with fries for a meal the whole family will enjoy.
- High Protein: 3 chicken tenderloins are 43 grams of protein!
Featured Comment
Loved these! Made them into chicken sandwiches for lunch the next day and they were just as good as the night before. New regular recipe for sure!
BBQ Chicken Finger Ingredients
- BBQ Sauce: I usually try to find a BBQ sauce that’s lower in sugar.
- Chicken Tenders: You’ll need 12 chicken tenders.
- Seasoning: Salt, black pepper, garlic powder, cayenne powder
- Eggs: Use one large egg and one egg white to keep the breadcrumbs on the chicken.
- Breadcrumbs: Combine seasoned breadcrumbs and panko for the crispy coating.
How to Cook BBQ Chicken Tenders
- BBQ Sauce: Mix the BBQ sauce with some water to thin it.
- Season the chicken with salt, garlic powder, and black pepper.
- Dredging Stations: Next, combine the egg and egg white in a bowl and the breadcrumbs, panko, and cayenne in another.
- Bread the Chicken: Then, dip the chicken strips into the egg wash and then the breadcrumbs, shaking off the excess. Place them in a large dish and spray both sides with oil.
- How Long to Cook Chicken Tenders in Air Fryer: Air fry the chicken fingers at 400°F for five to six minutes on each side, turning halfway. Once they’re cooked through and golden and crispy on the outside, remove them and brush or drizzle the chicken with BBQ sauce until fully coated.
Variations
- Chicken: If you can’t find chicken tenders, buy a package of breasts and cut them into strips.
- BBQ Sauce: You can make homemade BBQ sauce instead of buying it.
- Spiciness: If you prefer chicken fingers with less of a kick, omit the cayenne.
- Breadcrumbs: If you don’t have seasoned breadcrumbs or panko, add spices, like garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and paprika.
- No air fryer? Bake these chicken fingers in the oven at 400°F for 18 to 20 minutes.
What to Serve with BBQ Chicken Tenders
- Sauce: Serve the chicken fingers with extra BBQ sauce for dipping.
- BBQ Sides: Baked Macaroni and Cheese, Brown Sugar Baked Beans, Coleslaw
- French Fries: Chipotle Sweet Potato Fries, Air Fryer French Fries, Garlic Parmesan Fries
- Salads: BBQ Chicken Salad, Cobb Salad, Corn, Tomato, and Avocado Salad
Storage
Store chicken strips in an airtight container for up to four days. To reheat, you can microwave them, but air frying will result in crispier chicken.
What kind of chicken is used for chicken fingers?
Chicken tenders are used for chicken fingers. Tenders are cut from the tenderloin muscle, which is underneath the breast, and are more tender than breast meat.
What is the best temperature to cook chicken tenders at?
For crispy BBQ chicken tenders, cooking them at a higher temperature, like 400°F, is best.
More Air Fryer Chicken Recipes You’ll Love
- Air Fryer Chicken Bites
- Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Nuggets
- Pickle-Brined Chicken Tenders
- Air Fryer Popcorn Chicken
- Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets
Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Tenders
The kids will love these crispy air-fried BBQ chicken tenders breaded and dunked in a sweet, fiery BBQ sauce! Serve them with some corn on the cob or a big salad.
Yield: servings
Serving Size: 3 pieces
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons favorite BBQ sauce
- olive oil spray
- 12 chicken tenderloins, 1 1/2 lbs total
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt and black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 large egg white
- 1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs*, or gluten-free crumbs
- 1/2 cup seasoned panko, plain or gluten-free
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder
- olive oil spray
Instructions
- Combine BBQ sauce in a small bowl with 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of water, to thin down.
- Season chicken with salt, garlic powder and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper.
- Combine egg and egg white in a medium bowl. In a shallow bowl, combine the bread crumbs, panko and cayenne pepper.
- Dip chicken in the egg wash, then into the breadcrumb mixture and shake off excess and place on a large dish or cutting board. Spray both sides of the chicken generously with oil.
- In batches, cook the chicken 400F 5 to 6 minutes on each side, turning halfway, until the chicken is cooked through and crispy and golden on the outside. Brush or drizzle chicken with sauce until fully coated. Serve right away.
Last Step:
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- Chicken: If you can’t find chicken tenders, buy a package of breasts and cut them into strips.
- BBQ Sauce: Make homemade BBQ sauce instead of buying it.
Spiciness: If you prefer chicken fingers with less of a kick, omit the cayenne. - Breadcrumbs: If you don’t have seasoned breadcrumbs or panko, add spices, like garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and paprika.
- No air fryer? Bake these chicken fingers in the oven at 400°F for 18 to 20 minutes.
Nutrition
Serving: 3 pieces, Calories: 312 kcal, Carbohydrates: 17.5 g, Protein: 43 g, Fat: 6.5 g, Saturated Fat: 1.5 g, Cholesterol: 171 mg, Sodium: 751.5 mg, Fiber: 1 g, Sugar: 5 g
I have made these twice, once in the air fryer and once in the oven. Both times they were phenominal. So good, in fact, that I had to double the recipe for my family.
Love it!
Made these tonight in my oven since I don’t own an air fryer. They were so moist and tasty. Easy dish to make.
What do you do with the barbecue sauce after thinning it?
What’s the weight of one serving (ie approximately how many ounces is 3 chicken tenders)? My chicken isn’t quite coming out to 12 equal sizes tenders
Do you have a seasoned panko and seasoned breadcrumb you suggest? Flavor and brand please
I like 4C brand.
Another winner! Followed recipe and my teen and husband loves them! Heat up great the next day and eat with a salad.
Fantastic and easy. Decided to just dunk chicken in watered down bbq sauce instead of brushing on.
These were very easy and tasty! I mixed a little buffalo sauce in with the BBQ sauce and brushed it on for the last couple minutes of cooking to get nice and sticky. I am loving my new air fryer I got for Christmas! I used to have the oven-style and this one is the basket style. Way better.
Great recipe!! The chicken was so juicy and flavorful. I loved the extra spices and seasonings. I’ll definitely make again.
Delicious and simple! I used a no sugar added sweet & spicy bbq. Served alongside garlicky green beans. A hit!
Delicious! Easy to make and minimal ingredients. Definitely a keeper! Entire family loved them. I think I’ll experiment with different sauces just for fun.
Loved these! Made them into chicken sandwiches for lunch the next day and they were just as good as the night before. New regular recipe for sure!
So glad to hear!
Great recipe. Easy to prepare.
Yum! Crispy on the outside, tender and juicy inside. Thank you Gina for another tasty and easy healthy recipe!
So tasty!
Can I prep these ahead of time and air fry later in the day/
Delicious! This was super easy, even using the homemade Kansas City BBQ sauce
This recipe was so easy to make! The chicken was perfectly cooked and juicy. Even my picky kids loved it. My husband liked it too. I’ll definitely add this to the dinner rotation!
This recipe is so good I made 2 times in one week! My daughter kept asking me to make them again!! Amazing and super easy!
So good! My whole family loved them!
My entire fam loved these!!! Another fabulous Skinny Taste recipe!!!
Excellent! Will be making again!!
So delicious!!! I don’t have an air fryer, so I cooked in the oven per directions. I put the bbq sauce on and cooked for about 5 minutes. Can’t wait to make this one again!
Delicious! So incredibly easy to make!
Thank you for yet another delicious and healthier meal!
Looks Absolutely Delicious To Eat For Dinner Any Day Of The Week & Who Doesn’t Love BBQ Chicken Tenders & BBQ Sause & Sounds Delicious!!!
My family loved these, so that’s a win in my book. Will be making again
Perfect!
These are came together so quickly and were delicious! I’ll be making them again for sure.
I might have missed it in the directions, when do we use the bbq sauce?
End of step 6. 🙂
There is no step 6. It looks like the sauce is on the chicken when it’s in the air fryer but that’s not what the directions say. Sorry, I’m confused.
Brush or drizzle chicken with sauce until fully coated after cooking. 🙂
I don’t have an air fryer. I am working on losing some weight, so I don’t want to fry in oil. Any other suggestions for cooking.
Sure you can bake them 425F.
No Flour needed?
nope