Crispy Chicken Tenders

This crispy chicken tenders recipe is so crunchy and incredibly moist! With just 6 ingredients, you can make take-out-style chicken to pair with your favorite dipping sauces for a meal anyone will love.

A crispy chicken tender on a blue plate with ranch sauce in a ramekin.

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Video
Ingredients
How to make Crispy Chicken Tenders
Expert Tips
Storage
FAQs
More Delicious chicken recipes
Recipe
Comments

These Crispy Chicken Tenders are a recipe my daughter requests ALL. THE. TIME. They are restaurant-quality and made right at home in less than 15 minutes...does it get any better? Grab a dipping sauce of your choice. I personally love ranch, honey mustard, ketchup, and even Yum Yum Sauce.

Let's get these tenders fried up perfectly. I'm sharing all my secret tips so they're extra crispy and juicy every single time. Just watch, they'll become a family favorite overnight. If you love a good chicken recipe, my chicken wings and baked barbecue chicken legs are two recipes you should also try.

Reader Review: "This was really good. The crunch is perfect and made a great crispy chicken sandwich! Panko is our preferred breading! Thanks for sharing!" - Brenda

Choosing your Frying Oil

Tongs holding up a piece of crispy chicken tenders.

When frying foods, you want to use oils with a high smoke point. Those oils include avocado, peanut, canola, sesame oil, and sunflower oil. BUT, that's only when using a high heat to fry (400°F and higher). For these crispy chicken tenders, I chose Vegetable Oil. It's affordable and works great when cooking at a lower temperature.

A hand holding a meat mallet and pounding chicken breast with plastic wrap on top.

Equipment

Flint and Flame Knives - I use these daily and have had them for over 2 years. I've yet to sharpen them! Definitely great quality knives. Code CHEFTIM40 to get 40% this knife or their entire website
Frying Pot - Using a tall pot will limit splashing. Note that if you choose a tall pot, you need to use long tongs.
Large Bowls - These are the BEST for this! Also great to use for pastas and soups. The deep bowls help with limiting the flour splashing all over the counter. Easy clean up!
Tongs - These are my go-to Tongs 🙂
Salt - When I'm using salt as a topper for finishing dishes, I like to use a quality salt.
Meat Tenderizer - I love the OXO brand!

Video

Ingredients

Chicken Breast: The base of the chicken tenders. You can also buy pre-cut chicken breast tenders from the store to save on prep time.
Pure Canola Oil or Vegetable Oil: Neutral frying oil for the recipe; these have a higher smoke point, which makes them ideal for frying.
Eggs: Helps the breadcrumbs bind.
Flour: The first step in the breading process is to help the coating stick.
Panko Bread Crumbs: The secret ingredient to the crunch, it makes a huge difference when compared to regular breadcrumbs.
Seasonings such as Onion & Garlic Powder, Salt, Pepper, Chili Powder, and Paprika: Add so much flavor. Customize how you please, but this blend is my personal favorite.
Coarse Salt: Always season again after frying to bring out all of the delicious flavors.

Tim's Tip: To ensure both a tender and juicy tender, I like to pound my chicken breast so that the tenders are all the same thickness. This helps them cook evenly for a moist bite.

How to make Crispy Chicken Tenders

Step 1: Gather all your ingredients and add your oil to the frying pot. Heat the oil on medium heat to give yourself plenty of time to prepare the chicken.

Step 2: Clean your chicken and trim off any excess fat. Pat chicken dry with paper towels.

A wooden cutting board with plastic wrap and chicken breasts on top. A hand putting plastic wrap on top of the chicken breasts.

Step 3: Lay a sheet of plastic wrap over your cutting board to cover it completely. Then, cut your chicken breast in half or even three pieces, depending on how thick the meat is. Lay them out, spacing them 1 ½ to 2" a part. Then lay down another sheet of plastic wrap.

Two hands holding up a piece of chicken breast.

Step 4: Grab your meat tenderizer and pound out the chicken until it is ⅓ to ½" thick. Make sure your chicken is at the size you want it. I stick with a 2 x 4-inch rule. The size will increase in step 6.

Tim with spices and dredging station for chicken tenders.

Two white bowls, one with flour mixes with a hand mixing, and the other with eggs.

Step 5: Next, place the eggs, flour, and panko in separate bowls. Mix your seasonings in a 4th bowl and then place 1 ½ tablespoon of seasoning in the flour and then 1 ½ tablespoon of seasoning in the eggs. Be sure to mix the flour well and the eggs well with the seasoning in it.

A hand dredging a chicken breast in flour, then egg, then panko breadcrumbs.

Step 6: Then, dunk the chicken tenders in the flour first, making sure they're completely coated. Shake off the flour, then dunk it into the egg mixture, coating it very well. Finally, dunk the chicken into the panko. I like to press down to ensure the panko adheres to the egg wash.

Tongs holding up a fried chicken tender.

Step 7: The last step is to fry the chicken, and it literally only takes 60 seconds per side, assuming you have the chicken breast thin. Finish by adding some really good sea salt after they come out of the fryer. Serve with some Homemade Buttermilk Ranch for a great dipping sauce!

Expert Tips

Make sure you cut your tenders to the same size. If the breast is large, then cut it in half crosswise to make it thinner, or pound it with a meat mallet to the desired thickness.
Swap the chicken breasts for thighs. When making tenders, I personally love chicken breasts the best, but if you love the thighs, those work well too.
Customize the seasonings. Make a mixture of your favorites; this is where you can really change up the flavor!
Always be cautious to let any excess flour, egg, or breadcrumb mixture shake off the piece of chicken. You want the coating thin and even for the best possible crunch.
When frying with oil, use a fry thermometer for the best results. This will help the oil always be at the correct temperature for that perfect golden brown fry.

Storage

Store any leftover crispy chicken tenders in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat in the air fryer, oven, or microwave until warmed through.

You can easily freeze leftover cooked chicken tenders as well, just be sure to thaw them overnight in the fridge before reheating.

FAQs

What is the secret to crispy tenders?

Make sure your oil is always at the correct temperature and dredge in flour, eggs, and panko breadcrumbs for the crispiest coating.

How do I know my chicken tenders are finished cooking?

You want to use a meat thermometer to make sure they register 165ºF.

Why are my chicken tenders taking forever to cook?

You may be using chicken that is too thick. This could cause the outside to burn before the chicken is fully cooked through.

More Delicious chicken recipes

What are the "must-haves" on your family menus? Let me know your family's favorite recipes in the comments! I love gathering ideas from fellow cooks! I hope you love this Crispy Chicken Tenders Recipe as much as our family does!

Recipe

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