Air Fryer Chicken Tenders No Breading

Easy air fryer chicken tenders no breading recipe in Ninja Foodi or Cosori with barbecue sauce is great. Strips of chicken breast tender in no time. If you have only made crispy frozen chicken tenders in air fryer this is a healthy game changer.

Ninja Foodi Chicken Tenders No Breading

Let’s talk about a few specifics, and the kitchen appliances we have at home. We have both the Ninja Foodi, AirWave and Cosori and with air fry they all work the same way. Only difference is the size of the basket and how many you can fit.

You only need a few items to make these homemade chicken strips cooked in hot air like this or for our Oven Baked Chicken Tenders No Breading too. Super quick and easy meal that is family friendly.

Ingredients

1. Olive oil cooking spray will help it not stick to your air fryer basket
2. Fresh chicken tenders in this case is what you want
3. Homemade barbecue sauce below, or use bottled
   • Brown sugar
   • 1/2 cup Ketchup
   • Onion powder
   • Paprika
   • Salt and pepper

Substitutions

As far as the sauce goes that is up to you though this is a simple combination you can mix together. Teriyaki works well too. Or you can use this teriyaki air fryer marinated chicken recipe instead of this bbq sauce.

If you just wanted to use a bottled sauce instead of making your own homemade we share below you could use that too. With just 6 ingredients I am sure you have in your cupboard already though, it’s kinda’ a no brainer.

Can you make tenders with chicken breasts?

Yes! I mean technically it is not the same thing as the tender is from a different area but nobody would really know if you sliced a breast. This is How to Make Chicken Tenders yourself here.

Air Fryer Chicken Tenders No Breading Time and Temp

Yes we have breaded chicken similar to this and made bacon wrapped Ninja Foodi chicken tenders before. Those were good for the fry food taste we were looking for, this is a gluten free version though since we’re skipping the breadcrumbs. NO flour, Panko, or almond flour are used in these. That makes them really quick to throw together and are a much healthier air frying recipe to boot. All in just 10 – 12 minutes time too!!

Grilled Chicken Strips in Air Fryer

I will tell you that my girls loved these maybe more than the laborious process of whisking an egg, dipping into several different shallow bowls to coat the outside, and then cooking. I would try them both and see which you prefer. Then you’ll be ready to air fry everything like us! My oven is crying now, I hardly use it anymore except for cakes!

Can I eat chicken tenders on keto?

This is not necessarily a Keto chicken tenders recipe but you could make it as such.  You would need to omit the sugar and maybe just use seasonings as we did with our when just cooking chicken breasts sliced thin with salt, pepper and other seasonings.

I bet you’re thinking “man The Typical Mom blog has a lot of Ninja Foodi chicken recipes!” You would be correct.

How to Make Air fryer Chicken Tenders no Egg

1. Rinse and lay pieces on paper towels to remove excess moisture from outside. Set your meat aside and mix together other ingredients for your sauce in a bowl.
2. If you’re using bottled bbq sauce you can skip the mixing that. Scoop out 1/4 cup of your sauce and set aside. Marinate your tenders in the rest of the sauce in a bowl for at least 15 minutes.
3. Preheat air fryer to 400 degrees and spray inside of basket with non stick spray.
4. Use tongs to remove chicken from sauce and place inside basket overlapping as little as possible. If you have a smaller unit you may need to make 2 batches.
5. Cook for 10 minutes, then flip each piece over on to the other side and continue cooking for 4-6 minutes until internal meat temperature is 165 degrees.
6. Use pastry brush to add more sauce to the outside before serving!

How many pieces of chicken can you put in an air fryer?

2 full breasts work, smaller tenderloins can be closer to 12 depending on how large your basket is. 7 wings fit nicely without overlapping. You can fit 2 chicken cutlets in air fryer.

Do you flip chicken in air fryer?

Almost always the answer is yes. The only time I wouldn’t is if there is a type of breading that may fall off if moved around too much. I have yet to encounter that yet though. The whole philosophy on why you do this is simple. This machine works to make food crunchy because of the hot air circulating around the food.

If you overlap each piece you’re impeding the air flow from hitting those areas, thus they won’t get crisp. For chicken tenders with no breading however you won’t get that real crunch anyway so it isn’t all that important.

Can I use PAM in an air fryer?

Some say it could damage the coating of the basket, I have yet to see this. I personally prefer olive oil spray instead. Most times it is necessary to use something so the food doesn’t stick.

How to save leftovers

You always want to wait for food to cool to room temperature first. I like using freezer bags and suck all the air out. Store in the fridge for up to 3 days. Then the best way to warm again is I use a bit of sauce on top when reheating chicken in an air fryer.