Hot Honey Air Fryer Chicken Tenders
Juicy chicken tenders are coated with a crunchy cornflake breading, air fried until perfectly golden, then liberally drizzled with a sweet and spicy homemade hot honey sauce!
Servings: 5 servings
Calories: 502kcal
Ingredients
Chicken
- 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts sliced into strips
Egg wash
- 1 large egg
- splash of water
Cornflake breading
- 2 cups crushed cornflake cereal
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
Hot honey
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup honey
- 3 - 4 Tbsp hot sauce your favorite brand
Miscellaneous ingredients
- cooking oil spray (we like to use avocado oil) for the air fryer
- minced fresh parsley for garnish (optional)
Instructions
Prepare
- Add cornflake cereal to a resealable plastic bag, and crush with a rolling pin or empty skillet. Alternately, add the cornflakes to a food processor and pulse until crumbs form.
- Line up 2 shallow bowls next to an empty plate or baking sheet. In one of the bowls, add egg and splash of water. Whisk together the egg mixture until smooth.
- In the second bowl, add cornflake crumbs, salt, pepper, smoked paprika, cayenne, thyme, onion powder, and garlic powder. Stir to combine.
- Preheat air fryer to 400°F.
Bread chicken
- Add chicken tenders, one at a time, to the egg mixture, turning to coat all sides, letting the excess drip off.
- Next add the chicken to the cornflake crumbs, turning and patting/pressing to coat all sides in the crumbs.
- Finally, transfer the chicken to the prepared plate. Repeat with all remaining chicken tenders.
Air fry
- Spray the basket of the air fryer with cooking spray (we like to use an avocado oil spray), then place about 4-5 chicken tenders into the basket (or however many can fit in your air fryer basket). Leave a little space in between each tender, to make sure the hot air can really circulate. ** this will likely take multiple batches **
- Spray the tenders with a little more oil spray. Air fry for 8-10 minutes, or until cooked through. Chicken tenders should be golden brown and have reached an internal temperature of 165°F.
Make hot honey sauce
- While chicken is cooking, add butter to a small saucepan and heat over MED heat. Once melted, add the honey and hot sauce, stirring well to combine. Let simmer for a minute or two.
Drizzle and serve
- Drizzle chicken tenders liberally with the hot honey sauce, and garnish with minced parsley if desired. Serve hot and enjoy! We like to serve some ranch to dip the chicken into, to cool it down a bit.
Notes
- This recipe makes 10 chicken tenders, which I've estimated would serve approximately 4-5 people.
- Store-bought hot honey can be used, just omit the honey honey sauce ingredients, and replace with your favorite brand of hot honey.
Oven Directions:
- All ingredients remain the same.
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Add breaded chicken tenders to a baking sheet topped with an oven-safe wire cooling rack. Alternately, you can add the chicken tenders to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
- Bake in preheated oven for 20-23 minutes, turning chicken tenders over halfway through, until golden brown and chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165°F.
Nutrition
Calories: 502kcal | Carbohydrates: 81g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 107mg | Sodium: 1714mg | Potassium: 551mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 2213IU | Vitamin C: 27mg | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 28mg