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Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Tenders are an easy, flavorful weeknight main dish. Using my homemade BBQ dry rub, you get juicy, perfectly browned chicken in under 30 minutes without flour or breading.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Here are my top three reasons this air fryer chicken tender recipe is a regular on our weeknight menu:
- Simple ingredients: Chicken, common spices, and a homemade BBQ dry rub.
- Tender and juicy: Air frying cooks the chicken quickly while keeping it moist.
- Quick and fuss-free: Ready in under 30 minutes with no flour or breading.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here’s what you’ll need to make Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Tenders perfectly:
- Chicken breast tenderloins: they cook quickly and evenly in the air fryer. Remove the tendons for the best texture.
- BBQ seasoning: this homemade brown sugar dry rub is simple, but has bold flavor from spices like garlic powder, smoked paprika, and more. Make a batch then use it in Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Thighs, Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Legs, and Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Wings.
- Avocado oil: Helps the chicken crisp in the air fryer
- Hickory BBQ sauce: Adds smoky, tangy flavor after cooking.
How to Make Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Tenders
Making BBQ chicken tenders in the air fryer is easy. Use these step-by-step photos as a guide to learn how to make it in a few key steps:
Prep the Chicken
Remove the tendons, preheat the air fryer, and toss the tenderloins with spices and oil.
Arrange the chicken in a single layer in the air fryer basket. You can use an air fryer liner like parchment paper to make clean-up extra easy.
Air fry & add sauce
Air fry the chicken tenders. Then, brush them with BBQ sauce so that it can caramelize without burning.
Finish cooking the tenders until they’re perfectly done.
Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes, then serve with extra sauce on the side.
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Pro Tips That Save Time & Add Flavor
Here are my top tips to get the most flavor with minimal effort:
- Remove the tendons: Tendons stay tough even after cooking, so removing them ensures tender, easy-to-eat chicken.
- Avoid overcrowding: Cook in batches if needed so the chicken browns evenly. If you’re in a pinch or don’t have time to cook in batches, I simply rotate my chicken more during the cooking process to ensure each tender cooks evenly
- Add sauce at the end: Brush BBQ sauce on during the last 5 minutes to prevent the sauce from burning.
Swaps & Variations
All of my recipes are kitchen-tested and designed to fit real life. Here are easy swaps and tweaks for this recipe:
- Protein swaps: Chicken thighs work well instead of tenderloins for a juicier bite. You can keep them whole like I do in my Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Thighs recipe.
- Budget-friendly tip: Buy in bulk or on sale and freeze portions. For the best flavor, I buy individually sealed packages of fresh meat (each pack weighs about 1 lbs). Then, I thaw the package as needed for chicken recipes.
- Low-carb option: Use a sugar-free BBQ sauce from the store or my Easy Keto BBQ Sauce Recipe.
- More flavor: Brush extra BBQ sauce after cooking for a super saucy finish.
What to Serve With This
If you want to turn these into a complete meal, try serving your bbq tenders with:
- Roasted Garlic Cauliflower Mash
- Keto Cauliflower Mac and Cheese
- Ninja Air Fryer Broccoli
- Best Keto Coleslaw
- Keto Cornbread Recipe
- Pressure Cooker Collard Greens
- Instant Pot Cabbage
FAQs
Cook the chicken tenders at 400°F for 6 minutes, then brush with BBQ sauce and air fry for another 5–6 minutes until cooked through.
Yes! Start with raw chicken tenders. They cook safely in the air fryer as long as they reach an internal temperature of 165°F.
Yes, but brush the BBQ sauce on during the last 5 minutes of cooking to prevent it from burning.
From start to finish, this recipe takes about 11–12 minutes of air frying, plus a few minutes for prep and resting, depending on the thickness of the tenders.
Storage & Reheating
- Store: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3–4 days.
- Freeze: Freeze cooked chicken tenders for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
- Reheat: Warm in the air fryer at 325–350°F for 3–5 minutes or in the microwave until heated through. Brush with fresh BBQ sauce after reheating to keep the chicken juicy.
Printable Recipe Card
Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Tenders
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Recommended Equipment
Ingredients
- 1.25 lbs Chicken Tenders, chicken breast tenderloins, or chicken breasts cut into strips
- 3 tbsp BBQ Seasoning
- 2 tbsp Avocado oil
- ½ cup BBQ Sauce, I prefer Hickory or Kansas City style
Instructions
- Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel and remove the tendons.
- Preheat the air fryer to 400℉ for 5 minutes.
- Season the chicken: Add the chicken breast tenderloins to a large mixing bowl with the bbq seasoning and oil. Toss to coat the chicken evenly.
- Place the seasoned chicken tenders in a single layer in the air fryer basket.
- Air fry at 400 °F for 6 min.
- Brush the chicken tenders with bbq sauce on both sides.
- Air fry at 400 °F for 5-6 more minutes to cook them through.
- Allow the meat to rest for 5 minutes, and serve.
- Leftover sauce can be served with the chicken in a dipping cup
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Recipe Notes
- Remove the tendons: Tendons stay tough even after cooking, so removing them ensures tender, easy-to-eat chicken.
- Avoid overcrowding: Cook in batches if needed so the chicken browns evenly. If you’re in a pinch or don’t have time to cook in batches, I simply rotate my chicken more during the cooking process to ensure each tender cooks evenly
- Add sauce at the end: Brush BBQ sauce on during the last 5 minutes to prevent the sauce from burning.
Nutrition Details
The nutrition facts come from entering the recipe ingredients into Spoonacular API, a database of food ingredients. They may vary for any recipe based on the exact product used.
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