Homemade Ninja Foodi chicken tenders wrapped in bacon are here for you to enjoy tonight! Easy 20 minute air fryer dinner idea even the kids will love.
Air fryer chicken strips are the bomb! Wrap them in bacon and it takes these Ninja Food chicken tenders to the next level. Of course you can keep them “plain” with breading too, either way they make a great dinner idea. Added to our roundup of easy Ninja Foodi recipes you can use any brand of air fryer you might have to make these. Homemade, healthy, and delicious. (affiliate links present)
- Have you gotten on the air fryer bandwagon yet?? We have this pressure cooker and air fryer but there are many models out there. Both big and small.
Here’s a bit of info. on the one we have:
- This is where to buy the Ninja Cooking system.
- It also comes with a 2nd lid not seen here, as well as a trivet and air fryer basket. Yes, there are 2 different lids so it can do it all.
- You can also grab a free recipe book here.
- You can print this free Foodi cook times sheet too
- Join my easy Ninja Foodi recipes Facebook group to get new recipes every day. And share yours too!
Here’s how to make our Ninja Foodi chicken tenders.
This is how you’ll want to set up your workspace so you can make these homemade air fryer chicken tenders like an assembly line.
- Preheat your air fryer first to 350 degrees.
- Spray basket with cooking spray.
- You’ll want one bowl to whisk an egg into.
- Another bowl will have bread crumbs and some olive oil.
- this will be your breading
- On a cutting board you’ll lay out your bacon strips if you’re using them.
- I cut 8 pieces in half and wrapped 2 halves around each chicken tender once it was breaded.
You could use avocado oil if you’d rather, I use what I have on hand. The only accessory you will need is either the air fryer basket or a wire trivet. I used the basket that came with my machine. Most of my Ninja air fryer recipes use this unless it’s a tall piece of meat, then the trivet is better.
- I used a different coating when making our air fryer fried chicken recipe the other night. There are tons of possibilities really when it comes to this. If you cannot use eggs then a coating of olive oil and a dry packaged rub or even Shake n Bake will work.
As for bacon I wouldn’t choose a thick style. Regular slices will get a bit crispier, that is our preference anyway.
This is what our assembly line of sorts looked like. 1 slice cut in half and wrapped around works perfectly. Typically tenders aren’t very big. Or you could use one strip and start at the bottom wrapping it all the way up. I just thought it would be easier to secure the ends with toothpicks this way.
- I made a few without as well to taste the difference and everyone enjoyed them. With and without the added meat.
If you just had chicken breasts handy you could use those too. I would cut them into strips similar to this size. You want them relatively thin and all of them to be the same size so they’ll cook evenly in the air fryer.
Items you’ll need to make chicken tenders in the air fryer
- Chicken tenders
- or breasts cut into small strips similar to chicken fingers
- Egg
- Bread crumbs – I used this, I think it’s easier than panko breadcrumbs
- both used to bread chicken
- Bacon if you want to wrap them
- Dipping sauces if desired
- I keep leftovers from Chick Fil A and use those
- Ranch, BBQ, and fry sauce are good too
- Oil spray if you want them really really crispy
Grab your power air fryer, or any other brand and give these a whirl tonight!
All you do is:
- Bread the chicken
- Cook chicken at 350 degrees for 12 minutes total
- After 6 minutes flipping over is necessary to get crispy on both sides
- If using bacon cook for 14 minutes
- We have directions for frozen chicken nuggets here too if you’re in a rush
This whole process should take 30 minutes including time to prep and preheat your machine.
You can print recipe below and find more air fryer recipes here.
Air fryer chicken tenders recipe with fry sauce and our tater tots make the perfect crispy meal!
Ninja Foodi Chicken Tenders
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken tenders 8 pcs. came in our package
- 1/2 c bread crumbs Italian style is best
- 1 egg whisked
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 8 slices bacon optional
Instructions
- Whip your egg in a bowl. In a different bowl combine your bread crumbs with your olive oil. Preheat your air fryer to 350 for 10 minutes while you're preparing your chicken.
- Dip each chicken tender into the egg on both sides letting excess egg drip off before putting it into the bread crumb bowl. Flip over so whole piece of chicken is covered in wet bread crumb mixture.
- If not adding bacon, place these coated pieces into your air fryer basket.
- If wrapping with bacon, cut 8 slices of bacon in half and lay 2 of your half pieces down next to one another horizontally.
- Place your coated chicken tender in the middle. Use 2 toothpicks to secure ends of bacon pieces on to chicken. Insert at an angle so they are somewhat flat so when you put them into the basket they lay relatively flat.
- Place chicken wrapped pieces into air fryer basket with toothpick sides down.
- Once all pieces are in basket and aren't overlapping (we did 2 batches so they didn't) close lid and select air crisp for 12 minutes if there's no bacon, or 14 minutes if you wrapped with bacon.
- Flip chicken pieces halfway through your cook cycle. If you want them really crisp spray oil on them for the last 2 minutes. Remove and enjoy!
Jenn says
05/07/2019 at 1:26 pmHOLY COW! You’ve totally outdone yourself here – these are fantastic!!
Taryn says
05/07/2019 at 1:23 pmI’ve made a similar recipe in the oven before but they were even better in the air fryer!