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Crispy Fried Chicken Tenders

Truly crispy fried chicken tenders are a dinnertime staple you’re whole family will love. Get all my tips for making that crispy crust you crave, seasoning like a pro (and shortcuts if you don’t know how), and fry them up like “cast iron skillet” is your middle name. 

a plate of fried chicken tenders on a paper towel

I’m not going to lie or sugar coat this. If you haven’t ever fried anything, you’ll more than likely mess this up.

Because there’s some sort of rule that says that if you don’t get your first cast iron skillet by the age of 5, you won’t be able to hack it as an adult. No–frying takes practice. Lots of it.

Sometimes you’ll burn things, sometimes you’ll cook it too low and all the breading will fall off. Sometimes it will be golden on the outside and raw in the middle.

You just can’t give up. If you need to, use an electric skillet where you can set the heat or a fryer for safety. Please don’t burn your house down.

Don’t walk away from it. Don’t do laundry. Don’t take a nap. (I know a friend who has!)

My crispy fried chicken tenders don’t have any buttermilk listed, but if you want to wet yours in some before you drop them in the first round of flour, you can do that. I just didn’t here because I get the best crust with egg and flour.

No matter what–once you get the hang of this, you can FRY ANYTHING.

You can make your family the most unhealthy ones on the block. I mean–think about it: donuts, pickles, Twinkies, funnel cakes. Oh man. Funnel cakes. I’m just looking out for your best interests here.

I am your enabler.

Tips for the best crispy fried chicken tenders

-Make sure your flour is well seasoned. If you aren’t confident  in that area, I’ve given you measurements for salt and pepper in the recipe.

-Use a good skillet that controls heat well. Of course I’m going to recommend cast iron.

-Press the breading on your chicken tenders really firmly, then let them sit for a couple of minutes before you fry them. This makes the breading soft of gooey and it crisps up even better.

Watch me make the full recipe on YouTube

Add a skillet of cornbread and you’ll be all set! You can learn how to make cornbread here if you don’t know how or get brave and learn how to fry bone-in buttermilk fried chicken.

a plate of fried chicken tenders on a paper towel

Crispy Fried Chicken Tenders

Crispy fried chicken is a great addition to your dinnertime table and tenders are a quick and easy way to do it. 
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings 5
Author Rachel Ballard

Ingredients
  

  • 1-2 pounds chicken tenders or 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts sliced into 1-inch thick strips
  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 egg beaten with 2 tablespoons water
  • vegetable oil for frying

Instructions
 

  • Fill a 9-inch cast iron or standard skillet with about 2 inches of oil. Start heating it over medium-high heat while you bread the chicken. (Keep an eye on it!)
  • In a large bowl, mix the flour, salt and pepper.
  • In another large bowl, beat the egg and water
  • Dredge the chicken in the flour, coating well. Shake off excess flour and dip in the egg, the back in the flour.
  • Set the chicken to the side to rest for about 5 minutes. (This helps the coating stick better)
  • Check your oil temperature with a candy thermometer if necessary (you should be around 365-375 degrees) or drop in a little bit of flour–if it sizzles immediately, you can add one piece of chicken.
  • If the chicken sizzles, add about 5 pieces at a time and cook until golden brown on that side–about 8 to 10 minutes or so.
  • Turn, and repeat until all brown.
  • Cook the rest of the chicken in batches.
  • Transfer to a paper towel lined plate and sprinkle with a little more salt if needed.

Nutrition

Calories: 499kcal
Tried this recipe?Tag us on Instagram @feastandfarm and hashtag it #feastandfarm
Course Main Course
Cuisine American

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428 Comments

    1. Hey Wendy, well…chicken tenders aren’t usually made with bone-in dark meat chicken. You can bread your drumsticks in the same breading and fry them and you’d just have fried chicken and that works if that’s what you want to do. Frying drumsticks can vary on the time it takes depending on how large they are (some are huge) and dark meat, bone in chicken takes longer overall, but you’d want to cook them for about 15 minutes. Good luck! –Rachel

  1. 5 stars
    My son and I made these with your Baked Macaroni and Cheese. They were both delicious! Your instructions are perfect!!!

  2. 5 stars
    Made this tonight with the Kentucky Kernel flour. Turned out great! Even my kids are them!! Thanks for the recipie.

  3. 5 stars
    I tried your recipe tonight for dinner. It was so easy and tasted wonderful! My children ate it all!
    Thank you for sharing.

  4. 5 stars
    OMG, Its was our 1st time trying to fry anything, we were quite worried after the “If you haven’t ever fried anything, you’ll more than likely mess this up” statement, but this recipe and techniques worked absolutely wonderfully. So crispy and still juciy and not to mention tasty, amazing! Love it so much.

    1. Well congratulations Toni! I need to take that comment out of my post because you are not the first new fryer to pull it off successfully! I’ll just credit that to my awesome teaching and your awesome ability to learn. I really bungled a lot of fried dishes in the beginning until I got the hang of it. I’m so glad you are learning faster than I did 20 years ago. AND I’m glad you loved the chicken. It’s so much better than the store bought junk. –Rachel

    1. Hi MJ–you can put your oven on a low temperature, 170/180 and put a rack on a cookie sheet. Place the chicken on the rack and keep it in the oven until you’re ready to serve. –Rachel

  5. 5 stars
    I followed your recipe to the T(especially letting the tenders set for a while before cooking and the temperature of the oil). They were perfect. I had already made the mistakes you mentioned regarding the oil being too cool or too hot, so I was really hoping for success this time. I made these in a really old cast iron skillet that belonged to my great grandmother and was handed down to me. So nice to have something last so long. Thanks again for the great recipe.

    1. Hey Tony, first off great job! Frying is something that takes practice and if I’ve been able to convey that to you through a computer screen I’ve done my job. I’m so glad things worked out well for you and yes, cast iron is a treasure. Enjoy it! –Rachel

  6. 5 stars
    Hafta say, I tried this recipe for the first time. Normally I’d just crumb them, but I wanted something different for me n the kids.. I have spicy tenders from the Steggkes chicken shop (Australia) n they’re very much on par w/ kfc spicy chicken. So upon coating them, I started w/ a small batch so the kids could try them. They turned out PERFECT!! Every single one of them! Crispy, juicy, hot n spicy, but not greasy! Thanks for the recipe

    1. KFC was born just down the road from where I live Ryan. 🙂 And it sounds like you did a perfect job frying yours as well. So glad you (and the kids) enjoyed them! –Rachel

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About the Author

Rachel Ballard, RN, BSN brings more than 20 years of professional nursing expertise to Feast and Farm. With a love for nutrient dense foods that support wellness, she works to distill complex health information and current trends into recipes that fuel the best version of yourself. Read more about Rachel here.