How to make perfectly crispy frozen chicken tenders in air fryer or Ninja Foodi! Way better than when you cook breaded frozen tenders in the oven. This is how to make them taste like they’re from a restaurant.
How to cook frozen chicken tenders in air fryer is here, and are seriously the best! NO more need for the oven anymore because crisping them in this way is way better. Best kitchen hack right here. Find this and more easy air fryer recipes here on The Typical Mom blog. (affiliate links present)
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Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Tenders
These are probably by girls’ favorite snacks, or lunch. Now that they’re older they can make them by themselves. It’s so nice when they reach that age. 😉 Just preheat, pop as many in as they would each like and in just a few minutes it’s like eating at Chick Fil A but way cheaper.
Forget about using the microwave anymore, that leaves these soft and limp. We all want crispy chicken tenders that crunch with every bite right? Now you can have them right at home without frying in oil. Just a light spray if you want to get them super crispy, or none at all works too. This is a game changer friends.
If you love extra crispy food and quick recipes, here are some resources to start with:
- My Favorite models are this Cosori or for a dual machine, the Foodi.
- You can find more Ninja Foodi recipes here as well; bookmark them both!
- It is best practice to put food into a hot basket. this is how to preheat air fryer first.
- Here’s a printable free air fryer cooking time chart here for your fridge.
We started with air fryer chicken nuggets and I couldn’t believe the difference. I mean I had been making these for my 3 girls for years and years. Always thought “man I wish I could get them crunchy just like McDonalds nuggets” but there really wasn’t a way to do that back then.
Fast forward when my oldest became a teen and this magical hot air machine came out. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on one y’all. First time I tried it out I was in love. A quick cook time plus how crunchy the outsides got. I even ate them for lunch that day!
How long to cook frozen chicken tenders in air fryer
Just check out the temp and timing on our air fryer cook times but for the breaded Applegate, Tyson and Perdue brands we tried they landed right at 8 minutes to cook with 5 minutes beyond that to sit in the machine, not bad! In that time you can get your dipping sauces ready for lunch. 😉
If you like everything crispy, including tofu bites in the afternoon…this is the way to cook all the things! You will never go back to the oven again ever.
Frozen air fryer chicken tenders
Now it really doesn’t matter what brand you buy, but I show a picture of the variety we choose. There will likely be larger and smaller frozen chicken strips inside all packages. Depending on the size, the smaller one will get crispier and thicker pieces won’t get quite as hot.
If you follow the directions below you’ll notice that we leave them inside the air fryer basket for 5 minutes after the cook time is up. This is important to ensure the middle gets warm all the way. That is it my friends!! NO non stick spray or olive oil spray is necessary, they’ll get crunchy all by themselves with the circulating hot air.
Can I cook frozen chicken tenders and fries together in air fryer?
Absolutely you can. They both cook at basically the same temperature and cook time so throw both in right out of the bags. They’re great with some air fryer frozen onion rings too though so mix and match them all for a great quick meal. To get your protein done you’ll need:
- A bag of breaded chicken strips
- find them in the freezer section of grocery stores
- Any brand of air fryer
I used my Ninja Foodi Grill to make these, and then threw in some air fryer vegetables once they were done.
Complete meal. Done!! If you have one of these too you can find more Ninja air fryer recipes here, but any brand will work. I have a few at home myself now. My Cosori has a larger square basket which I love, but my AirWave is white and pretty so it lives on my countertop.
- We are here for you next time you want to know how long air fryer fish sticks take, or chicken. You’ll be able to make it all.
- Of course you should BOOKMARK my website because I share new tips and dinner recipes like this regularly too. 😉
Here’s what you do to make air fried chicken in just 15 minutes
I prefer the chicken breast strips variety to air fry. These cost just a bit more, using boneless skinless chicken to make into tenders but so worth it.
- Preheat your air fryer to 400 degrees for 5 minutes.
- Place as many pieces as you want to eat in one layer inside your basket.
- Set cook time to 8 minutes, no need to wait ___ minutes flipping them over, they’ll crisp just fine without it.
- Let them sit in the basket for an additional 5 minutes after the time is up to continue heating the inside of each piece.
Enjoy your fried chicken strips with dipping sauces! I mean ketchup typically satisfies my youngest but the older they got the more they wanted choices and lots of them.
Yes, cook time should not start until your machine is preheated. You don’t want to add frozen food before that time or it will begin to defrost and not get as crispy as possible on the outside.
How long to cook frozen chicken tenders in Ninja Foodi
Want to try other versions of fried chicken tenders? If you use a Foodi you will use the lid that is attached with the air fry button. The cook time remains the same, about 8 minutes with some time to rest in the warm basket when done as well. Total timing is about 13 minutes.
- If you want to make a low carb version, try our air fryer chicken tenders no breading recipe.
- These homemade breaded chicken tenders are great wrapped with bacon. They take 12 minutes to 14 minutes to cook with bread crumbs.
- Then try crispy chicken legs in air fryer and air fryer corn dogs next, your kids will love these too.
Of course you can use ketchup, but our favorite chicken strip dipping sauce is our homemade fry sauce! We use this on our frozen chicken tenders Instant Pot pieces too.
Printable recipe card and nutritional information for this brand of tenders is below. That will vary with the size of each piece and/or brand used.
Frozen Chicken Tenders in Air Fryer
Equipment
- 1 air fryer
Ingredients
- 1 bag frozen chicken strips
- salt and pepper, to taste when done
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 400 degrees.
- Lay frozen tenders in one layer, not overlapping, in basket and cook for 8 minutes. (timing will vary slightly depending on how large and thick your pieces are)
- When time is up leave them in the closed basket for 5 minutes so the middle can continue to heat up.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I think I have to. Hear. It !!!!!!
Was what I was just looking for to finish a leftover bag from a local shop. Surprised it worked in the foodi grill
Lol no one cares what your kids like, just make with the recipe, hack.
This was not enough time for the Hy-Vee store brand chicken tenders we have; my guess is that they’re larger than the brand you used. It would be nice to see a guide based on approximate weight per piece. Thanks though, this was a great start for me!
Every brand will be slightly different. Even in the same bag there are smaller and larger pieces. Just use the temp and general timing and check, add more time for larger pieces and remove ones that are smaller a bit earlier.
They all tasted very good but I overdid mine. Again. I did them for a little longer instead of letting them sit with the cover down because I was in a hurry. I will try your method next time. I’m sure it would have worked out great.
Just received an air fryer as a gift. Anxious to try it with the frozen chicken strips I have on hand. Glad to have found your recipe!!
I used Blue and Gold Chicken Tenders and some of the pieces are a little oversized. I cooked at 400 with a 5 minute pre-heat. I cooked for 10 minutes!! PERFECT!!! Thanks for the air cooker advice!!
Tricia C
Oklahoma City
Yay!
This was very helpful! Thank you.
Found this by Googling and it was JUST RIGHT! Tasted like they were right out of a fryer from a restaurant.
Totally!! GAme changer