Air Fryer Chicken Tenders

Prepare the air fryer basket: Lightly spray the air fryer basket with nonstick spray. Make the buttermilk marinade: Into a medium bowl, add buttermilk, lemon juice, 1 tablespoon salt, and black pepper. Use a fork to stir to combine. Slice and marinate the chicken: Slice chicken breasts into 1/2-inch-thick strips that are 3-4 inches long. Try to make them roughly the same size so they can cook evenly. Add the chicken strips to the marinade and let it marinate for at least an hour and up to overnight in the refrigerator. Nick Evans Make the breading: In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, garlic powder, paprika, and the remaining 1 of teaspoon salt. Stir in about 1/4 cup of the buttermilk marinade into the flour to give it some lumps. A few lumps in the flour gives extra crunchy bits to the coating on the chicken. Breading the chicken tenders: Working with one strip at a time, remove it from the buttermilk and let any excess buttermilk drip off. Then, add the chicken tender to the flour mixture and coat all sides really well. Move breaded strip to the air fryer basket (4-5 tenders will fit in the basket at once). Place remaining breaded tenders on a sheet pan until you are ready to air fry them. Nick Evans Air frying the chicken tenders: Make sure your chicken tenders are laid in the air fryer in a single layer with some space in between. Spray tenders well with non-stick cooking spray. Air fry at 350˚F for 6 minutes. Then, flip the tenders and air fry for another 6 minutes. Chicken tenders are done when the breading is golden brown, and they reach an internal temperature of at least 165˚F in the thickest part of the chicken tender. Repeat with remaining chicken tenders (3-4 batches), until cooked. You can hold cooked chicken tenders in a warm (250˚F) oven until you’re done with all the batches. Nick Evans Nick Evans Garnish and serve: Garnish chicken tenders with parsley, if desired, and serve warm with barbecue sauce or your favorite dipping sauce.