Air Fryer Chicken Tenders | Keto Chicken Tenders Recipe (2024)

These Air Fryer Chicken Tenders are the absolute best breaded keto chicken tenders out there! They're so good and so easy to make with the help of your air fryer.

What Makes These Air Fryer Chicken Tenders So Great?

• Low Carb. Only 2 net carbs per serving.
• Fast. Make a family-friendly dinner in 30 minutes.
• Easy. Simply bread the chicken, air fry it, and enjoy!
• Gluten-Free. Use almond flour to keep them keto and inclusive for the whole family.

So if you've lived a low carb lifestyle for any length of time, one of the things you often miss is fried foods. Something about the crispy, breaded exterior really adds a lot to a dish, but breading and frying foods aren't exactly conducive to a low carb diet.

You get all that delightful crunchiness with these Keto Chicken Tenders without any worry of going over your carb intake for the day.

I know what you're probably thinking. "Another low carb chicken recipe using pork rinds..." But wait! This recipe DOES NOT USE PORK RINDS for breading! The breading for this recipe is actually almond flour-based, which gives it a delightful nuttiness while still keeping the recipe gluten-free.

Another trick to how these Keto Chicken Tenders turn out so delightfully crispy and juicy is how they're cooked. No, they're not deep-fried, so no worries about filling your house with an obnoxious odor or having your food dripping with cooking oil.

These bad boys are cooked in an air fryer, and if you haven't made anything in an air fryer yet, you really must get yourself one! They give you all the crispiness of fried foods minus all that excessive oiliness.

Make the perfect meal out of these Keto Chicken Tenders by pairing them with my Mushrooms and Bacon Keto side dish.

Is Fried Chicken Bad For Keto?

If keto is all about eating fat, what's wrong with frying chicken?? This is a legitimate question. Here are three points to consider:

1. No one recommends eating more vegetable oil. For many people that creates an inflammatory cascade that is just not healthy. We are talking about naturally occurring fats in meats, nuts, dairy, and avocados.
2. Many people on keto do choose to fry in lard. That's an option available to you.
3. You still have to watch calories even on keto. Frying in lard, while delicious, is also caloric. So you may need to trade off calories that day. I prefer saving my fat calories for a delicious fat bomb.

Is Fried Food OK On A Keto Diet?

I don't think a diet heavy in fried foods is considered healthy on any diet. Vegetable oils are inflammatory. Animal fats used in frying can increase calories dramatically. But of course, the biggest culprit for most fried foods is the breading.

Combing processed carbs like flour and breadcrumbs with oil is about the worst combination for your body anyway.

So can you eat fried foods? Yes, you could if you don't use traditional breading and vegetable oils.

Should you? Occasionally, maybe, but keto is not carte blanche to start frying up your frozen butter.

If you're on the run and absolutely have to grab Keto Fast Food, here are a few options to make it as healthy as possible.

An air fryer also helps keep your food healthier by minimizing the amount of oil that it takes to get the food crispy. And the less oil the food absorbs, the fewer calories you consume.

Can I Eat Chicken Tenders On Keto?

It depends on what it's breaded with. Flour or breadcrumbs? Nope. Pork rinds? Yes.

I also have this Pecan Chicken Tenders recipe that uses nuts for breading.

For this recipe, I decided to omit the pork rinds since many people choose not to eat pork, or don't keep pork rinds at home.

Can You Stack Chicken Tenders In An Air Fryer?

Yes and no. A slight overlap won't hurt anything. A stack 2 deep may be okay, though not optimal.

But you will definitely have to toss and turn the tenders a lot more than if you had not stacked.

It will also take a lot longer to cook a double stack and I find that they cook unevenly.

The fact is you're better off cooking in two quick batches and getting even cooking, vs cooking for twice as long, having to toss and turn and potentially shredding the breading straight off, and having them cook unevenly.

Ingredients You'll Need

• Chicken Tenderloins- These are the main protein source for the dish. They are typically marinated and coated before being air-fried to achieve a crispy texture.
• Eggs- They act as a binding agent that helps the almond flour, Parmesan cheese, and seasonings adhere to the chicken tenderloins during the cooking process.
• Superfine Almond Flour- Almond flour is used as a low-carb alternative to traditional wheat flour. It provides a coating for the chicken that, when air-fried, becomes crispy and golden brown.
• Parmesan Cheese- Parmesan cheese, particularly the type found in the green can (often referred to as "grated Parmesan"), is used to add a rich, salty, and savory flavor to the chicken tenders.
• Salt- It enhances the overall flavor of the dish and helps to bring out the savory taste of the other ingredients.
• Pepper- It complements the other seasonings and adds a bit of spiciness to the chicken tenders.
• Cajun Seasoning- Cajun seasoning is a blend of various spices that typically includes paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and other flavorings. If you don't have Cajun seasoning, cayenne or chili powder can be used as substitutes to add a similar level of heat and flavor.

These ingredients work together to create a delicious low-carb coating for the chicken tenderloins in the air fryer. The eggs bind the almond flour, Parmesan cheese, and seasonings to the chicken, resulting in a crispy, flavorful, and low-carb alternative to traditional fried chicken tenders.

How To Make Air Fryer Chicken Tenders

• In a small, relatively flat bowl beat the egg.

• In a ziptop bag, mix the almond flour, cheese, salt, pepper, and seasoning.

• Get a paper plate or dinner plate ready.
• Spray your air fryer basket with oil.

• Dip each tender in the egg and place on the plate until all the tenders have been dipped. Don't try to dip it in the breading or else you'll have messy hands and clumps in the breading. Just line up the eggy tenders until they're all ready.

• Now use a fork to pick up one tender at a time. Put that in the zip-top bag and shake that bag like you mean it. Ensure the tenders are well covered in the almond mixture.

• Do NOT dip in egg and breading again. Tried it. it's incredibly messy and less tasty.
• Use the fork to pull out that tender and place it in your air fryer basket.

• Spray the tenders with oil.

• Cook at 350F for 12 minutes or until the inside registers 160F. Raise temperature to 400F for 3 minutes to brown the crust.

• Serve with Big Mac sauce. You can also find the recipe for the sauce in myKeto Big Mac Salad recipe.

Can You Reheat Chicken Tenders In An Air Fryer?

Yes! The air fryer is fantastic for reheating food. So much better than the microwave, especially for things that you want to get toasty.

I usually do 350F for about five or six minutes and then check to see if it has heated through.

My air fryer definitely gets some use every day for reheating. I find it works much better for smaller pieces of things.

Reheating a massive pan of lasagna is probably faster in the microwave. But a slice of lasagna gets nice and toasty on top in an air fryer and heats quickly.

What If You Don't Have An Air Fryer?

If you don't own an air fryer yet, I HIGHLY recommend that you pick one up! This GoWISE air fryer is a great air fryer and it comes with most of the accessories you'll want to use.

If it's not in your budget to grab a new air fryer, check out my instructions to make these Keto Chicken Tenders in the oven below.

How To Make Keto Chicken Tenders In The Oven

You can also make this recipe in the oven if you'd prefer. Just follow the instructions for breading the chicken and cook them at 375F for 15 minutes in the oven.

Looking For More Great Air Fryer or Chicken Recipes?

• I've put together a list of the 21 Best Keto Air Fryer Main Dishes for you to try out. There's something for everybody on this list!
• Did you know you can make a burger in the air fryer? My Air Fryer Montreal Steak Burgers are fantastically juicy, and flavorful!
• If you aren't trying to keep things low carb, check out my delightfully crispy Air Fried Breaded Chicken Wings!
• The air fryer doesn't just do savory! These Fruit Hand Pies are absolutely to die for and they're crazy easy to make in your air fryer!
• Caldo de Pollo - A family favorite that's easy to make!
• Butter Chicken - How I got my nickname (and for good reason).
• Philly Cheesesteak - Made simple in the air fryer.
• Keto Basil Pesto Chicken - Creamy, delicious, and simple.
• Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup- quick, easy, and flavorful.

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So the next time you get a craving for some fried chicken put that deep fryer away and make some of these Keto Chicken Tenders! Make sure to leave a comment if you enjoyed this recipe!

Don't forget to check out my other Keto cookbooks.

Keto Instant Pot, Keto Fat Bombs, Sweets, & Treats, and Easy keto in 30 minutes.