Air Fryer Chicken Crispers
Crispy, flavorful and absolutely delicious these, Air Fryer Chicken Crispers are a deliciously easy dinnertime meal the whole family will love!
CHILI’S CHICKEN CRISPERS (NO OIL NEEDED!)
I am a huge fan of Chili’s. I know it’s not cool to love chain restaurants these days in the world of foodies but I am too old to care about trends anymore – ha! I love when I can make one of my favorite restaurant dishes at home and these Air Fryer Chicken Crispers are just that. These crispers come out perfectly crispy, juicy and super flavorful and you don’t even need a deep fryer. If you want the full Chili’s experience, try serving these with my Copycat Chili’s Salsa.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Yes you can! You will want to cut them thinly to create a smaller portion that will look like and be roughly the same size as chicken tenders.
If you are not a fan of hot sauce then you can leave it out. However, I only use a little hot sauce to add just enough flavor but not to overpower the other flavors.
This is a normal practice for coated items that are made in the air fryer. Since they are not being deep fried, we still want that crispy crust on them. The cooking spray helps the air fryer achieve that crispy coating.
A lot of nonstick sprays can gunk up your basket over time and leave a buildup that can be hard to clean. I have found that olive oil not only has a better taste but also is much easier to clean and remove than other nonstick sprays.
To store: place leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator where they will keep for up to 1-2 days. They will lose their crispness after being refrigerated. To crisp up and reheat, you can add them back to the air fryer for about 3-5 minutes.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- flour
- salt
- pepper
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- eggs
- water
- hot sauce
- chicken tenderloins
- olive oil spray
HOW TO MAKE AIR FRYER CHICKEN CRISPERS:
If your air fryer requires preheating, preheat to 400°F. In a medium-sized bowl, add together the flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Whisk this together until combined, set aside.
In a medium-sized bowl, add together the eggs, water, and hot sauce.
Again whisk until fully combined, set aside.
One at a time, place the tenders into the flour mixture and coat on all sides, shake off any excess.
Place the tender into the egg mixture until fully coated, let any excess egg drip off.
Place it back into the flour mixture and pack the flour on the tender to form a crust. Shake off any excess.
Spray the air fryer basket with olive oil spray, place the tenders not touching into the basket, you may need to do this in batches.
Spray the tops well with more olive oil spray, you want to make sure there are no dry patches. Air fry for 10 minutes. Flip your tenders half way through. After flipping, spray with more olive oil spray.
Chicken tenders are ready when they are golden brown and the internal temperature reaches at least 165°F.
Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
Air Fryer Chicken Crispers
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 2 large eggs
- 1 Tablespoon water
- 1 Tablespoon hot sauce
- 1 pound chicken tenderloins
- olive oil nonstick spray
Instructions
- If your air fryer requires preheating, preheat to 400°F. In a medium-sized bowl, add 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder and 1/2 teaspoon onion powder.
- Whisk together until combined, set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, add 2 large eggs, 1 Tablespoon water and 1 Tablespoon hot sauce.
- Whisk until fully combined, set aside.
- One at a time, place each of the 1 pound chicken tenderloins into the flour mixture and coat on all sides, shake off any excess.
- Place the tender into the egg mixture until fully coated, let any excess egg drip off.
- Place it back into the flour mixture and pack the flour on the tender to form a crust. Shake off any excess.
- Spray the air fryer basket with olive oil nonstick spray, place the tenders – not touching – into the basket (you may need to do this in batches.) Spray the tops well with more olive oil spray, you want to make sure there are no dry patches.
- Air fry for 10 minutes.
- Flip the tenders half way through. After flipping, spray with more olive oil spray.
- Chicken tenders are ready when they are golden brown and the internal temperature reaches at least 165°F. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.
Notes
- You can swap out chicken breasts for chicken tenderloins as long as you cut them thinner to create the same size.
- If you are not a fan of heat you can absolutely leave out the hot sauce in the egg mixture.
- Make sure you spray the chicken crispers well with cooking spray, this helps them crisp up in the air fryer.
- Even after spraying the air fryer basket well with olive oil spray, the crispers can still stick a little during the mid-way flip. I suggest using a spatula to turn the tenders over instead of tongs.
- This may take longer than 10 minutes depending on your air fryer so always go by the internal temperature.
- This recipe was tested in a 5-quart basket air fryer.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Brandie, I LOVE ALL YOUR RECIPES!!! THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH 🙂
Thanks so much for that Deb! It really means SO much!!
Just the recipe i needed. I just purchased my first air fryer and have been craving some good chicken tenders that i made myself….your recipes are all delicious. Thanks for all you do to keep us eating good food….
Oh yay!! I hope you love these ones! The key is to spray them liberally with the olive oil spray. It really helps and makes all the difference!