Garlic Parmesan Air Fryer Chicken Tenders

This air fryer chicken strips recipe is about as easy as it gets when it comes to cooking chicken. You can have them on the table in about 20 minutes, and each chicken tender has 11 grams of protein with 0 grams of carbs and 70 calories. That leaves plenty o’ room for sides or my favorite—dessert!

It’s seriously an easy one, but I’ve still included a few ingredient notes and process photos as usual below. And as always, you’ll find the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.

Step 1: Coat boneless skinless chicken breast strips in olive oil, grated parmesan, garlic powder, salt, dried oregano, parsley flakes, and red pepper flakes. 

I used Perdue Farms chicken breast strips, but you could cut your own strips from chicken breast. If you wanted to pick up some of the Perdue strips or other products, you can use their store locator or order in bulk using my affiliate link: perduefarms.com/mason

You’ll want to cut 8 strips about 4-5 inches long if you’re cutting your own from whole chicken breast.

Step 2: Place the chicken strips in an even layer inside an air fryer basket. 

I used the Instant Pot Air Fryer and Pressure Cooker combo, which I’ve found has similar cook times as my other go-to air fryer, the Ninja Foodi. If you’re using another air fryer, you may need to modify the time in the air fryer by a few minutes. Check on your chicken tenders early and often towards the end of cooking.

Step 3: Air fry for 12-14 minutes at 375ºF, flipping halfway through.  

Or until the chicken tenders are golden brown and reach an internal temperature of 165ºF. A food thermometer makes life so much easier if you don’t have one already!

And that’s it for these air fryer chicken tenders. Easy peasy, right? You could use this same cook method to make other flavors of air fryer chicken strips using different seasoning blends.

If you need some seasoning ideas or more air fryer chicken recipes, check out my blackened chicken tenders, adult chicken nuggets, sweet chili chicken and brussels sprouts, mustard balsamic chicken thighs, or air fryer Greek chicken and veggies.

Dip Options for Your Air Fryer Chicken Strips

If you’re familiar with my recipes, you know I love a Greek yogurt based dip. I tested several blends to go with these garlic parmesan tenders and settled on the following as a favorite:

• 1/4 cup fat free Greek yogurt
• 1 Tbsp ground dijon mustard
• 1 Tbsp grated parmesan
• 1 tsp Hot Sauce

For a tangier dip, you could add some light mayo and swap the hot sauce for maybe lemon or lime. Get creative! I wouldn’t fault you for going with a pre-made dip or something like the Calabrian chili paste you see in the photos. You could mix the chili paste with a little marinara like I did in my air fryer Dominos bread twists recipe to cut the spice down a bit.

Calabrian chiles also work great in creamy Italian ground turkey soup!

If you have any recipe questions, leave a comment at the bottom of the post. Otherwise, enjoy your air fried chicken strips!

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Garlic Parmesan Air Fryer Chicken Tenders

Yield: 8 Chicken Tenders

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

A 20-minute recipe for high protein, low carb chicken tenders air fried with olive oil, grated parmesan, and a few spices and herbs.

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Ingredients

• 12 oz Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, cut into strips
• 1 Tbsp (16g) Olive Oil
• 2 Tbsp (15g) Grated Parmesan*
• 1 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
• 1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
• 1/2 tsp Parsley Flakes
• 1/4 tsp Kosher Salt

Instructions

1. Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel before tossing with the olive oil.
2. Mix the dry ingredients together in a small bowl and add to the olive oil coated chicken.
3. Air fry at 375ºF for 12-14 minutes, flipping the chicken strips halfway through.

Notes

*For crispier tenders, you could use 1/4 cup (30g) grated parmesan like I used for the garlic parmesan nuggets in my air fryer chicken nuggets recipe guide.

For baked chicken tenders, my buttermilk baked chicken tenderloins recipe would be a good example. Try 400ºF for 15-18 minutes.

For a dip, try 1/4 C fat free Greek yogurt mixed with 1 Tbsp ground dijon mustard, 1 Tbsp grated parmesan, and 1 tsp hot sauce.

Each air fried chicken tender has 1 WW SmartPoint (blue).

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 8 Chicken Tenders Serving Size: 1 Chicken Tender
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 70Total Fat: 3gCarbohydrates: 0gProtein: 11g

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