Air Fryer Cheez-It Chicken Tenders
Homemade chicken tenders with a crispy, crunchy, amazing crust made out of your favorite cheesy crackers–Cheez-Its! This 4 ingredient recipe is so versatile, so yummy, and so easy to make. Kids and adults love it. And it takes less than 10 minutes! Talk about a quick meal option.
Serve with Italian Garden Salad and Smashed Potatoes for a great meal.
I am a huge fan of easy recipes, especially ones that only take a few ingredients, and it doesn’t get much easier than this, and the best part is there is no compromise on flavor. You still get that crispy outer coating you want from a chicken tender, and you get the fun flavor combo of the Duo Cheez-Its, parmesan and cheddar. Just giving these chicken tenders a little something extra special.
What You Need to Make Air Fryer Chicken Tenders
This recipe is eazy peazy and only takes 4 ingredients, which you likely already have at least half on hand regularly. Everything is easy to find at a regular grocery store, so no special trips or stores needed:
- Eggs: Large, medium, or small, it doesn’t matter for this recipe
- Salt and Pepper: to season with
- Duo Cheez-Its or Cheese Crackers of Choice: For the cheesy coating I like the Cheez-Its, but you can use almost any cracker you have on hand, Ritz is great too. Or Goldfish!
- Chicken Tenders: Pick high quality, and trim the tendons.
Recommended Equipment
- Air Fryer: You want a 5 Qt or larger in order to accommodate all of the chicken tenders.
- Instant Read Thermometer: Every air fryer is so different, the best way to get perfect chicken is to test the temp and cook to 165 degrees. An instant read thermometer will help.
How to Make Air Fryer Chicken Tenders with Cheez-Its!
These crispy chicken tenders with cheesy coating are the perfect quick dinner, and are so easy to make:
Step One: Prepare Eggs and Crackers for Dredging
- Season chicken with salt and pepper, and set aside.
- In a medium bowl whip 3 eggs and season with salt and pepper.
- In a ziptop bag, add cheesy crackers, and use a rolling pin to smash into a fine consistency (or use a food processor). Pour into another medium bowl.
Step Two: Dredge and Place in Air Fryer
Step Three: Air Fry
Serve With
This recipe for simple chicken tenders is so perfect for a quick and easy dinner and I love pairing it with:
Tips and Tricks
Making this recipe is Eazy Peazy…
- Tip One: Smash your cheesy crackers into a fine coating, if you have too many big pieces it won’t stick to the chicken as well.
- Tip Two: Use an instant read thermometer when you flip the chicken to gauge where your chicken is at and how much time you will need to finish cooking it. This will help insure perfectly tender and juicy chicken.
- Tip Three: Mix up the crackers for your flavor preference. Sour cream and onion crackers, goldfish crackers, etc. It can be really fun to change the flavor profile by changing the crackers.
- Tip Four: Press cracker mixture onto the chicken. If it isn’t sticking well, just gently push it on so you get that crisp coating on all sides.
- Tip Five:
Make Ahead and Storage
As this recipe only takes 10-15 minutes to make, and is far better fresh than reheated, I suggest making day of. However, you do have a few prep ahead options. You can prep the crackers by smashing them ahead. Then assemble and cook.
Or you can assemble, but instead of air frying, you can freeze, then simply remove from freezer, and air fry at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes, then flip and continue cooking 3-5 more minutes until cooked through and crisp.
Other Great Recipes:
- Air Fryer Pizza
- Sweet Potato Fries (Air Fryer + Oven)
- Roasted Cauliflower – Air Fryer
- Air Fryer Fries
- Air Fryer Chicken Tenders (Low Carb)
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Air Fryer Cheez-It Chicken Tenders
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- Salt and Pepper
- 1 1/2 cups Duo Cheez-Its or Cheese Crackers of Choice
- 4 Chicken Tenders
Instructions
- Season chicken with salt and pepper, and set aside.
- In a medium bowl whip 3 eggs and season with salt and pepper.
- In a ziptop bag, add cheesy crackers, and use a rolling pin to smash into a fine consistency (or use a food processor). Pour into another medium bowl.
- Dredge chicken in the egg mixture, then dredge in the crushed up Cheez-Its!
- Spray your air fryer with non-stick spray, and place chicken tenders in the bottom.
- Cook at 400 degrees for 5 minutes, flip the chicken over, take the temp, and cook for up to another 5 minutes on the other side, until an instant read thermometer reads 165 degrees F.
- Serve with your favorite dip.
Notes
Our recipe card software calculates these nutrition facts based on averages for the above ingredients, different brands, and quality of produce/meats may have different nutritional information, always calculate your own based on the specific products you use in order to achieve accurate macros for this recipe.
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