Air Fryer Pecan-Crusted Chicken Tenders

Air Fryer Chicken Tenders cook up so crispy without deep frying or oil. Made with a pecan, Parmesan cheese and gluten free breadcrumb crust, these chicken tenders are EASY and QUICK to make. Kids LOVE these tenders!

One of my friends got me Reese Witherspoon’s new book for Christmas. It’s called Whisky In A Teacup and I absolutely love that darn book. Just like me, Reese is from Tennessee and her book just SCREAMS southern heritage. When I read it, I feel like I’m back at home in Tennessee on my front porch swing enjoying the summer nights.

I’ve actually met Reese. She was still attending high school at Harpeth Hall and she and her family came to eat dinner at the restaurant I used to work at, The Franklin Chop House. I think Reese had only been in a handful of movies by this time but the second she came in, I immediately knew who she was. And she was the cutest and sweetest little thing! So polite and smiles from ear to ear. I wasn’t her server that night, but I remember exactly what table she and her family were seated at, tables 57 and 58.

In her book, Reese shares a lot of her family recipes and I’ve tried a lot of them. One recipe she shares is for her Pecan-Crusted Chicken Skewers. These are literally baked chicken tenders on a stick. You may remember me talking about being on the fence about buying an Air Fryer back in this post, 13 Recipes That Will Convince You To Buy An Air Fryer. Well, I convinced myself and I bought an Air Fryer. Oh my goodness – I love my Air Fryer! So I decided to take Reese’s recipe chicken skewer recipe and turn it into an Air Fryer recipe. I switched some things up a bit to make these Air Fryer Pecan-Crusted Chicken Tenders gluten free.

Ingredients

Let’s talk about the ingredients in this Air Fryer recipe.

• Chicken Breast Tenders
• Salt
• Pepper
• Mayonnaise
• Grainy Dijon Mustard
• Finely Chopped Pecans
• Gluten Free Panko Breadcrumbs
• Parmesan Cheese
• Parsley

How To Make Air Fryer Pecan-Crusted Chicken Tenders

Step 1

Rinse the chicken and pat it dry. Season the chicken tender breasts with a generous amount of salt and pepper. I typically take a big pinch of salt and sprinkle it on the chicken. I then repeat with a big pinch of pepper.

Step 2

Stir together the mayonnaise and grainy Dijon mustard in a bowl.

Step 3

Grab a separate shallow bowl and combine the pecan chips, breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley. Take a big spoon and combine all these dry ingredients together.

Step 4

You’re now going to coat each chicken tender in the mayo and mustard mixture until each chicken tender is well coated.

Step 5

Take a pair on tongs and coat each chicken tender in the pecan breadcrumb mixture until the entire chicken tender is thoroughly coated.

Step 6

When all the tenders are breaded, place them in the Air Fryer pan. Place the pan in the Air Fryer and make sure the pan is inserted all the way to securely close.

Step 7

Power on the Air Fryer and set it to the chicken setting. You’ll see the chicken setting defaults to 360 degrees Fahrenheit.

Once the Air Fryer is on the chicken setting, the menu is going to switch from 360 degrees Farenheit to 20 minutes. This is how long the chicken tenders are going to cook in the Air Fryer.

Step 8

Once the chicken tenders are done cooking, the timer on the Air Fryer will go off. Pull the handle and pull out the pan. You’re going to find the most delicious chicken tenders waiting for you. Look at that crispy crust. All of this with NO OIL AND NO FRYING!

Tips for Making Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Tenders:

• I know a lot of people spray their Air Fryer with cooking spray, but I’ve never had an issue with these chicken tenders sticking to the bottom of the Air Fryer pan. So no need to spray with cooking spray for this recipe.
• There’s no need to preheat your Air Fryer. Just turn it on and let it do it’s thing!
• You can make a gluten free version of these tenders by using a gluten free breadcrumb. My favorite brand is Ian’s Gluten Free Breadcrumbs.  If you’re not gluten free, use your favorite breadcrumb.
• To reheat these tenders, you can warm them in the microwave for 30 seconds or reheat them in the oven. If you want to reheat these in the Air Fryer, set the temperature to 360 degrees for 7 minutes to reheat, until heated through and crispy.
• My favorite brand of grainy Dijon Mustard is Maille Old Style Grain Dijon Mustard. My friend brought me a jar back from France and I’ve been a loyal fan ever since.

Dipping Sauces

Bring on the dipping sauces!! If you’re anything like me, I love to dip chicken tenders, chicken wings and chicken nuggets into different dipping sauces. Here’s some of my favorite dipping sauces:

• BBQ Sauce – you can get my homemade recipe here.
• Pesto Sauce – you can get my homemade recipe here.
• Ranch
• Honey Mustard
• Ketchup
• Blue Cheese

You’re going to love this super easy Air Fryer recipe. The Air Fryer really does make cooking and clean up so much easier! And we all need a little bit of easy in our lives! Happy Eats!

If you loved these Air Fryer Pecan-Crusted Chicken Tenders, give this recipe a star review! Also, snap a picture of your finished dish and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #recipesworthrepeating and tagging me @recipesworthrepeating.

5 from 10 votes

Print

Air Fryer Pecan-Crusted Chicken Tenders

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

20 mins

Total Time

35 mins

 

Air Fryer Chicken Tenders cook up so crispy without deep frying. Made with a pecan, parmesan cheese crust and gluten free breadcrumb crust, these chicken tenders are great for lunch, dinner or an appetizer!

Course: Appetizer, dinner, Lunch

Cuisine: American

Keyword: #Air Fryer, #AirFryer, #chickentenders, Chicken, Dinner, Gluten free

Servings: 4 people

Calories: 483 kcal

Author: Amanda Mason

Ingredients

• 8 chicken tender breasts
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 Tablsepoons grainy Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped
• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs, Gluten Free or Regular
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
• 2. Tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
• pinch salt
• pinch pepper

Instructions

1. Rinse the chicken and pat dry. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

2. In a bowl, stir together the mayonnaise and mustard.

3. In a separate shallow bowl, combine the pecans, breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese and parsley.

4. Take a pair of tongs and coat each chicken tender breast in the mayonnaise mixture and then roll the tender in the crumb mixture to thoroughly coat.

5. When all the tenders are breaded, power on the Air Fryer and set it to the chicken setting. You'll see the chicken setting defaults to 360 degrees Fahrenheit.

6. Once the Air Fryer is on the chicken setting, the menu is going to switch from 360 degrees Farenheit to 20 minutes. This is how long the chicken tenders are going to cook in the Air Fryer.
   

7. Once the chicken tenders are done cooking, the timer on the Air Fryer will go off. Pull the handle and pull out the pan.

8. Serve immediately with your favorite dipping sauces.

Nutrition Facts

Air Fryer Pecan-Crusted Chicken Tenders

Amount Per Serving

Calories 483 Calories from Fat 315

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 35g 54%

Saturated Fat 5g 25%

Cholesterol 80mg 27%

Sodium 510mg 21%

Potassium 466mg 13%

Total Carbohydrates 13g 4%

Dietary Fiber 2g 8%

Sugars 2g

Protein 27g 54%

Vitamin A 5.3%

Vitamin C 4.7%

Calcium 11.9%

Iron 9.3%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Looking for more chicken recipes? Be sure to try these too:

BBQ Grilled Chicken Wings

Gluten Free Chicken Tenders

Lemon Butter Chicken

Greek Marinated Chicken

Roasted Apple Cider Spatchcock Chicken

• Recipe inspired by Whiskey In A Teacup
• You will find affiliate links on this page.