This easy recipe for extra Crispy Pan-fried Chicken Tenders comes together in 30 minutes or less and uses less oil than traditional recipes for chicken strips. These fried chicken tenders are just as crunchy and juicy as deep-fried chicken, and all the ingredients are pantry staples. Pan-frying is a quick method to cook a family-friendly meal.
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Lately, my son has been on an Applebee’s chicken tenders and Honey Mustard kick, so we decided to make our own. To make this recipe a bit simpler, I decided to pan-fry the chicken rather than deep frying which can sometimes be messy and overwhelming.
Pan-fried chicken tenders require less oil than deep frying, but each piece will be just as crispy and crunchy as the chicken you’re served in a restaurant.
All you need is 30 minutes and a handful of pantry staples. This quick dish comes together in a flash and leaves you with a delicious plate of extra crispy chicken strips. The batter is easy to prepare with a couple eggs and seasoned flour for dredging.
You can even dress this dish up by serving these crispy fried chicken tenders with a homemade dipping sauce such as Mango Barbecue Sauce or creamy Hollandaise Sauce.
Pan-fried chicken is a kid-friendly main dish which traditionally pairs well with Oven Roasted Potato Wedges. For a lighter side dish, you can also serve crunchy chicken strips with a refreshing, Cucumber Salad or Broccoli Salad.
Why This Recipe Works
This is a quick, 30-minute meal and the recipe is quite simple to follow.
All you need is a handful of pantry staples, so you don’t really need to plan much or take an extra trip to the grocery store. This recipe is so easy to prepare and extremely satisfying to eat.
Crispy Pan-fried Chicken Tenders is very kid friendly. Plus, everyone loves juicy, crunchy fried chicken.
How To Pan-Fry Chicken Tenders
Ingredients
- Chicken tenders
- Flour
- Seasonings: salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and paprika.
- Eggs
The entire recipe and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. You can print the recipe from the card, if needed.
Prep!
Place the flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and paprika in a shallow dish or bowl and whisk the eggs in a second bowl.
Pat the chicken tenders dry with paper towels.
Create!
Coat each chicken strip in flour, then dip into the egg, let the excess drip off and dip back into the flour. Place the coated chicken strips on a plate.
Heat oil on medium until hot and glistening. You need just enough oil to reach half the height of the tenders.
Once the oil is hot, add the tenders. Cook 4-5 minutes or until golden brown, flip and cook an additional 3-4 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink in the center.
Transfer the chicken tenders to a paper-towel lined plate and sprinkle with salt to taste.
Present!
Serve with your favorite dipping sauces, if desired.
Tips and Techniques
- Ensure the chicken is dry before breading. This will help the breading stick to the chicken better.
- Do not add the chicken strips to the oil until it is very hot, but not smoking. This will help your chicken to be very crispy and not soggy.
- Store leftover chicken strips tightly covered in the refrigerator. Reheat in an oven or toaster oven to re-crisp the breading. Consume within 3-4 days.
FAQ’s
How Do Keep The Breading On Chicken?
Pat the chicken dry before coating it in flour and then egg. You can either do another coating of flour or breadcrumbs.
Ensure that the oil it hot before adding the chicken. If the oil is not hot enough, the breading will soak it up before it can crisp, leaving you with soggy breading that can fall off.
What Do You Serve With Fried Chicken Tenders?
Fried chicken tenders can be served with a variety of sauces. They are most commonly served in restaurants with Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce. They can also be served with ketchup or any type of barbecue sauce. Try them with Raspberry Barbecue Sauce or Mango Dipping Sauce for a delicious combination of sweet and savory!
More Chicken Recipes
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Crispy Pan-Fried Chicken Tenders
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (plus more for sprinkling)
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 2 eggs
- 2 pounds chicken tenders
- canola or vegetable oil (for frying)
Instructions
- Mix together flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and paprika in a shallow dish.1 cup all purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon paprika
- Beat two eggs in a second shallow dish.2 eggs
- Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Coat each chicken strip in flour, then dip into the egg, let the excess drip off and dip back into the flour. Place the coated chicken strips on a plate.2 pounds chicken tenders
- Heat oil on medium until hot and glistening. You need just enough oil to reach half the height of the tenders.canola or vegetable oil
- Once the oil is hot, add the tenders. Cook 4-5 minutes or until golden brown, flip and cook an additional 3-4 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink in the center.
- Transfer the chicken tenders to a paper-towel lined plate and sprinkle with salt to taste.
- Serve with Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce or your favorite dip or sauce, if desired.
Notes
Tips and Techniques
- Ensure the chicken is dry before breading. This will help the breading stick to the chicken better.
- Do not add the chicken strips to the oil until it is very hot, but not smoking. This will help your chicken to be very crispy and not soggy.
- Store leftover chicken strips tightly covered in the refrigerator. Reheat in an oven or toaster oven to re-crisp the breading. Consume within 3-4 days.
Tayler says
These are the best chicken tenders EVER! My kids AND husband loved them!
Toni says
I love how quick and easy this recipe is!! Everyone at my house loved it! Thanks!
Ieva says
Simple and delicious! Served them with your Mango bbq sauce and it went down a storm last night!
Harriet Young says
Much prefer pan frying to deep frying so this recipe was great! They were so delicious and crispy.
Ned says
My daughter loves chicken tenders, so making these were right down her alley. She loved them. Thank you for this awesome recipe!
TAYLER ROSS says
I made these chicken tenders for dinner last night and they were incredible! Perfectly crispy and tasty!
Patricia says
Oooo! So crispy! Perfect as part of a great meal! The whole family loves these – good tip to make sure the oil is hot before adding! Thanks for this!
Tara says
Oooh, these chicken tenders look so good. I especially love that extra crispy crust. Yum!
Nikki says
I just realized I’m out of all-purpose… 😳 Can I make these using ALL bread crumbs, no flour? I have Italian bread crumbs and Panko bread crumbs I could use. My only other “batter” sub option is the just-add-water container of pancake mix. Which could be interesting..😂 Your recipe has been my go-to recipe since I found it about a few years ago. I’ve used to make chicken tenders (and your recipe for amazing honey mustard dipping sauce!) at least twice a week. It’s a staple in my household. Im really craving these chicken tenders right now, but it’s 5:00 am and the only grocery store near me doesn’t open for 3 more hours. I defrosted the chicken and got everything I needed together, started heating the oil, then open the cupboard and realized I’m out of flour. 😭 Will just Panko bread crumbs stick without flour? Well I guess I’m going to find out… I’ll try it on one piece of chicken and see how it goes. Worst case, I’ll have to wait until I can get to the store later today… Sigh… But only if I have to.
Lauren Vavala says
Hi Nikki! You should be able to use egg and breadcrumbs, but I haven’t done it myself so I’m not sure how that will affect the flavor. If you have cornstarch that is a great substitute for flour, as well. I hope they turn out for you without having to make a run to the store (that would drive me crazy having to do that for one thing ha!).
– Lauren
mary ellen orchard says
These tenders were just perfect! Will definitely make them many times more. And, the Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce was exactly right… I just may use it for a salad dressing! Overall, hihghly recommended.
Molly says
Wow! These chicken tenders are so delicious and crispy! The flavor from the seasoned flour is light and bright and not overwhelming or too salty. These will become a regular in my meal rotation. Thank you!
Erin says
Can you Air Fry the chicken tenders instead of frying them? If you can what would be the temperature and time?
Lauren Vavala says
Hi Erin! So funny you asked this! I am testing air fryer chicken tender recipes this upcoming week. I’ll make a note to circle back to this comment and edit once I have a definite answer for you.
– Lauren
Moop Brown says
These tenders look like something everyone will enjoy and is definitely something I need to try.
Chandice says
I love making these pan fried chicken tenders so that my oven is open for casseroles and other yummy things I want to serve with them… Super delicious, thank you!
Adriana says
Follow all your instructions, and the chicken tenders came out fantastic. My family wants me to cook this again for them soon.
Sharon says
You will never reach for a bag of frozen chicken tenders after making this easy meal at home. They come out so crispy!
veenaazmanov says
Thanks for all the tips to making this crispy Pan fry chicken which is definitely flavorful and just perfect for a party. Looks moist and juicy from the inside too.
Amanda Mason says
These were incredibly flavorful and pretty easy to make! I’ll be making these again!
Mikayla says
Oh my goodness, so easy and so much more flavor than any I’ve had before, not dry at all. Perfectly tender and juicy!
Natalie says
You have my kids approval for this fried chicken recipe! They couldn’t get enough, lol. Thanks!
megane says
These are so freakin good. Simple and perfect for the lunchboxes too.
Amy Liu Dong says
Oh my gosh, that is so easy and looks delicious.
I am going to make this for tonight’s dinner.
Heather says
At 7 months pregnant I’m still very picky about my chicken but these fries tenders I gobbled it up! Patting the chicken definitely helped!
Kelly says
These turned out great! I used small square pieces of chicken and we had them on Hawaiian rolls. Thank you so much for this simple but amazing recipe.
Jenny says
I have made these a few times and they are great! I do add a few more seasonings just for preference but the original recipe is a good one and they come out crispy & golden. I add Lawry’s seasoned salt to the flour mixture and also sprinkle in some Adobo. Other than that, I keep the recipe as is. My family loves these!
Jamie says
These were crispy indeed! My niece loves chicken tenders and loved this homemade version. She dipped it in honey mustard sauce.
Marie says
These chicken tenders look so amazingly crunchy and flavorful! I know they’ll fly right out of the plate so I’d better plan on making a double batch 😉
LaKita says
These chicken tenders are so crispy, flavorful, and delicious! Perfect for the whole family to enjoy with their favorite dipping sauce.
Naiby says
I always prefer pan-frying food to “drink” less oil. And like you say, they come out as crispy and crunchy as the deep-fried versions. Thumbs up!
Ronald says
how much oil?
Lauren Vavala says
Whoops…I’ll edit this post, but you just need enough to reach about 1/2 way up the thickness of the tenders. So, it will vary depending on the size of the skillet you use.
– Lauren
Dennis K Littley says
Your chicken tenders were so much better than store bought. I’ll never buy premade chicken tenders again, thanks to your recipe!
Loreto and Nicoletta says
I want some of those right now. Love the dipping sauce suggestions. That color and coating looks so inviting , I keep hearing the crunch sound in my ears. Great that you decided to make these instead of aplkebees takeout. I bet your are more juicy and tadty anyway! Well done!😋🥰👍🙏
Elaine says
Fantastic entertainer! I can’t wait to make these tenders for my next party – they are so good!
Carmy says
These chicken tenders are SO crispy. I LOVE that they’re pan-fried and the whole family loves it as well.
Leslie says
Honey mustard is definitely my preferred sauce for chicken tenders. I really like this recipe!
nancy says
wow this recipe is so easy to make! much better than store bought!
Sharon says
The pan-fried chicken tenders are a hit with kids and adults alike. They are so good dipped in honey mustard.
Gloria says
You can never go wrong with a great chicken recipe. I know my grandkids would love these. Great as an appetizer too.