Tortilla Encrusted Chicken Tenders coated with seasoned crushed tortilla chips and served with salsa. An easy, family weeknight dish!
Tortilla Encrusted Chicken Tenders
I love this fun tex-mex twist on chicken tenders! It’s perfect with a Mexican corn salad or a black bean salad. Chicken tenderloins are easy to cook for weeknight dinners because there’s not much prep. They are already cut to the perfect size so all you have to do is bread them and bake or air fryer. If you want more ideas for chicken tenders, try my Air Fryer Chicken Tenders, or these Pickle Brined Chicken Tenders.
This recipe got two thumbs up from my family. They are easy to make, and take less than 30 minutes – perfect for weeknight cooking! I crushed the tortillas in a ziplock bag and left it a little course for texture. The squeeze of lime on top and salsa for dipping, adds a fun Mexican-American twist to chicken tenders.
How do you get the breading to stick to the chicken tenders?
How To Keep Breading From Falling Off Chicken
- Pat the chicken dry.
- Dredge in flour.
- Dip in beaten eggs.
- Coat in the crumbs, pressing the crumbs with the back of a fork.
- Carefully transfer to a baking sheet.
More family-friendly chicken recipes:
- Healthy Baked Chicken Nuggets
- Baked Buffalo Chicken Nuggets
- Pickle Brined Baked Chicken Tenders
- Buffalo Chicken Strips
- Sesame Encrusted Baked Chicken Tenders
Tortilla Encrusted Chicken Tenders
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ pound chicken tenderloins
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, or gluten-free flour*
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 3 1/2 ounces crushed tortilla chips*
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- Olive oil spray
- 1/2 lime, cut into 4 wedges
- chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish
- 1/2 cup jarred salsa, for dipping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Season chicken tenders with 3/4 teaspoon salt. Place flour on a shallow plate and egg in a medium bowl. Place tortilla chips, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, garlic powder, cumin, and pepper on another shallow plate.
- Dredge each tender lightly in flour, then egg (shaking off excess), then chip mixture. Lightly spray sheet pan with olive oil, place tenders on pan and spray the top with olive oil. Bake about 8 to 10 minutes on each side or until cooked through.
- To serve: Place 2 tenders on each plate, garnish with cilantro. Serve with 1 lime wedge and salsa for dipping.
AIR FRYER Directions:
- Spray the chicken on both sides with oil. Air fry in batches as needed in a single layer 5 to 6 minutes on each side.
So good! Served with southwest cauliflower rice and my black bean and corn salsa.
Off the charts delicious! Another 5 star Skinny Taste gourmet winner. Thank you, again!
Thanks Ron!
These chicken tenders were delicious and a big hit in our house. We added a sprinkling of Himalayan salt just before serving to add an extra crunchy texture.
https://superbsalt.com/best-himalayan-pink-salt/
I so want to make this delicious looking dish. We have an egg allergy in our family. Any ideas on how to do it without the egg?
My daughter often uses lemon juice and oil instead of egg.
Haven’t tried these- but high on the Hubby friendly radar!!! Picturing these Fabolous in a low carb tortilla – or as salad topping ( the leftover ideas sound better than the ” main event” 😎
Absolutely delicious; quick, easy, tasty and moist! I used crushed Nacho Cheese Doritos and it was delicious. I need to cook up a second batch to use up the rest if the chicken tenders, put in the freezer, then pull them out for a future dinner and straight into the air fryer. I’m hoping the crust will stay crispy!
Excellent
These were delicious and the best part for me was how easy they were to cook!
I paired them with sweet potato fries and baked asparagus. My husband was very impressed.
Work with whole chicken breast?
Can you cook these in the air fryer?
Hi Gina, I made these and froze them. Would I cook these from frozen or would I thaw them in the fridge first? If I cook them from frozen, how long and would it still be at 400f?
I used salsa flavored SunChips instead of tortilla chips as that is what I had.
Thaw them first
What a great recipe. I used tortillas that has a hint of lime and I thought it made it even more delicious.
Made these last night. Was a big hit! My grown son said I should make this more often and my husband said more than once this dish was delicious! Home Run!!
I made these for supper. They were really good.
This recipe was so good!!! I loved the addition of the cumin as it totally enhanced the taste! The tortilla chips added a nice salt and crunch. Definitely recommend for a healthier chicken tender recipe.
Hi, Can I prepare in advance and leave in the fridge or will the tortilla crumbs become soggy?
It might become soggy.
where did u come up with freestyle points number? this is not accurate
Did you use the recipe builder?
I made a big batch of these yesterday, they are so good! I replaced the egg by egg white and it worked perfectly. My husband said that it was the best homemade chicken nuggets he ever had!
Thank you for all the good recipes!
These are so good!!! My 2 boys and hubby liked them. Made some honey mustard dressing, and leftovers over salad with some black beans. I have started weight watcher and love your recipes (bagels are awesome)
Very easy and delicious! We served it with the black bean and corn southwestern salad.
Can this be done in the air fryer? If so what temperature would you recommend and how long? Thank you!
I cooked these at 380 for 8-9 minutes and they came out perfect.
I made these for lunch Sunday along with your Southwestern Black Bean Salad and Quick Mexican Brown Rice. My husband kept saying “This is so good.” I didn’t tell him he was eating “healthy.” 🙂
Shhhh….he doesn’t need to know! Lol.
has anyone made these with the lime flavored chips???
I have made these with the bits of chips that are leftover in the bottom of the chip bag. You know, the ones that are too small to eat, but are too big to throw out. I use whatever ones i have left & mix them all together (taco, nacho, ranch-ust no potato chips.) a frugal way to use up those annoying chips!
Made these tonight with oven roasted corn on the cob. My husband & I loved them! Will make again for sure:) Yum!
Made these tonight for dinner, threw them over greens & fat free balsamic vinaigrette. So good!
great!
These were awesome! Dad and high school senior son Hoovered the other three servings. Only had blue corn chips, so ours turned out black – looked cool with the cilantro and lime!
I LOVED this recipe. I made it for my kids and they were huge fans. I added a couple more spices to my mix but it was wonderful. It will definitely go into our menu rotation.
Turned our great! My 3-year-old loved the,! FYI I put the nutrition info in my weight watchers app and it is actually 8 smart points.
Did you use recipe builder? The calculator is not accurate.
These Chicken tenders are so delicious! Loves, loves all of your recipes!