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!
And finally, I recently made a blended cottage cheese pesto pasta that would be a great pairing for this chicken as well. Just slice them up and toss with the pasta for a complete meal. You could also use them to make parmesan chicken sandwiches with a bit of marinara and fresh mozzarella.
If you have any recipe questions, leave a comment at the bottom of the post. Otherwise, enjoy your air fried chicken strips!
Garlic Parmesan Air Fryer Chicken Tenders
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
- Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel before tossing with the olive oil.
- Mix the dry ingredients together in a small bowl and add to the olive oil coated chicken.
- Air fry at 375ºF for 12-14 minutes, flipping the chicken strips halfway through.
These were fantastic! My husband loved them and they re-heated super juicy, no drying out at all! Seasoning/spices were perfect. Will definitely be making them again.
I’m not a fan of chicken—I’m extremely picky & usually avoid it. This chicken. This right here. So darn good. Made it on a whim to mix up my meal prep, and it has such good flavor! I’m all for an easy recipe in the air fryer & this was just that! My husband was pretty jealous he didn’t have it for his meal prep after tasting it. Super quick, easy, delicious & not too many ingredients. Definitely recommend patting your chicken dry before seasoning. My only issue was the parm sticking to my air fryer, but I’d be willing to clean that up for something this good. Serve w/ some veggies & potatoes & you’re good to go.
The recipe? Easy. Taste? Delicious. Will strangers fall in love with you? Probably not but your family will. Whenever I’m lazy about meal prepping this is my go-to staple meal. Thanks for such an easy recipe!!
My bf loves anything that involves Parmesan so I had to give these a shot. They are amazing. Then once I discovered Mason’s suggested dip, I was done for. He should bottle and sell that stuff
I made these and they were so easy to make. I doubled the recipe to have enough for 2 days for meal planning. I usually don’t like 2 day old cooked chicken because the taste is horrible. But these hold up their taste. They were so easy to make. I didn’t make them in the air fryer as noted, but I just baked them.
These naked chicken tenders are the real deal. I never would have thought Parmesan cheese could crisp chicken up so well when paired with the air fryer. Dipped in honey mustard these are delicious
Could I make these with chicken thighs instead of tenders? Would that change the cook time? I can’t wait to try it!
I would think so. My balsamic air fryer chicken thighs call for 12-14 minutes at 400ºF.
Love these. I make them nearly every week… They’re super delicious hot right out of the fryer with a crispy outside, moist and tender inside and the seasoning is s fantastic. The leftovers are great cut up in salads, wraps, or quesadillas. I use the big pack (just over a pound) of pre cut chicken “tenderloins” (they’re actually sliced breasts) and double the seasoning. Usually that’s 11-13 pieces per pack which fits my air fryer perfectly. I aim for the shorter time if my pieces are smaller (closer to 13/pack) and the longer time if they’re larger (closer to 10 per pack).
i made these today for lunch but in the oven because my air fryer is too small but let me tell you, these are so flavorful! losing weight has been a challenge with finding protein that has flavor and being boring. can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
Yet another masonfit.com air fryer win for us! we paired this with the air fryer green beans and it was a quick and delicious dinner. We’ve been making 2-3 masonfit recipes each week and this is one of our top ones! Soooo quick and easy with the air fryer!